A New Way to RP

Introduction -

The following is not a fully functional idea, I am sure there will be some flaws, so if anyone is familiar with this kind of system it’d be appreciated greatly. I am willing to accept any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and logical ideas.

Now, let’s begin.

You know what bugs me? Silvermoon City and Goldshire. Both were once good places for Role Play. The key is the word “once”; Now, both areas are alive with Erotic Role Players, bad Role Players, and horrific grammar. Everyone has to be a special snowflake, like a Blood Elf with White or Red eyes, instead of the normal green (or blue, for Death Knights).

But what bugs me more is when people complain that there is no Role Play, especially when it is a group of three or more. Why? Because it really is not that hard to create your own Role Play! All you need is a little creativity.

Now, Blizzard being as busy as it is, they don’t really take much interest into catering to our role playing needs. But who can blame them? PvP and Raiding have a much larger community. And when the Role Playing is so bad lately, what with everyone being a demon, some sort of Japanese Anime, Vampires (I believe San’Layn would be killed on sight, so don’t pull that card), and a dragon (I am NOT bashing Dragonsworn Council, dragon Role Play just simply isn’t my style, I’m told the dragons in their guild do it right, I’m just saying I’ve seen some really bad things and it’s turned me off to it), the thought of helping would turn me off too.

By this post is not about bashing RPers, or pointing out the flaws in people’s story lines; I’ve seen what happens with that when in the forums, and it’s never good.

What I’m actually going to be writing about will be about a system I thought of last night in bed, one that will better private role play. It’s inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, other RPG games like Fallout 3 and Oblivion, and just my imagination. It may seem complicated, because it wasn’t exactly well planned out.

Introductory Details-

A lot of this new way to RP will require imagination. For starters, one person would choose to be a “Questmaster”, he/she will sort of be like the game master in D&D. For now, let’s say I’m that person. It’s my job to create a Role Playing quest of sorts. Right now, let’s say I’m searching for an ancient staff. I am a wealthy business man, a collector of artifacts and valuables I’d approach someone (The people I plan to Role Play with) and ask them for their assistance. For example:

Zajailik [says]: “Ey, joo! Joo (insert name here), jes?”
Friend responds.
Zaijailik [says]: I be looking for someting... valuable. I need some help. Ja see, I be a simple business mon, my only talents bein’ engineering and cooking, I  not da best mage. I ‘ear joo be searchin’ for some tings, perhaps I could ‘elp fund joor projects, if ja could help me find some people to protect me... and decipher some clues.”

    My friends would agree, as planned out, and then I’d emote:

    “Zajailik pulls a bloodstained scroll from his pack, grinning wickedly. He reads from the scroll, “Da trolls seem to ‘ave a strangle ‘old, the lack of food is turning me into skin an’ bones, I feel like I could break like a glass vase,” He looks back at (insert name here).”Any ideas, mon? I get is ‘as to do something with trolls, but...”

    The keywords would be TROLLS, STRANGLE, VASE. Meaning the next clue would be in Stranglethorn Vale, by some trolls, in a vase. Pretty easy clue. But what would I type? As Questmaster, I’d have many options. I could do a raid warning saying: *The next clue is Stranglethorn Vale, at Coordinates (33.45,15.27). The clue is inside the vases in the corner.*. OR I could do something a bit more adventurous, and name out all the troll infested areas in Stranglethorn (Zul’Gurub and the other troll camps), giving their coordinates, I of course would know where the next clue is OOCly, but In Character? Not the slightest clue. We’d have to go looking around in each place.

    “But Zaja, how is that fun at all? All it would be is solving your stupid riddles!” one might say. True it may seem like that, but here’s where the elements of D&D may come in! This is the fun part.
    Along your group’s travels, eventually the Questmaster can, at any time, type into a raid warning, saying: You smell blood and fire beyond the archway, you peer around the corner seeing five troll savages.” Literally of course, you wouldn’t see anything besides the usual one shottable mobs. But isn’t that what RP combat is? When you emote bashing someone’s skull in, you don’t actually see an animation for it. This why imagination is vital in this system. But how would one interact with the trolls? The group could negotiate with them, or fight them. It is the group’s choice.

    This new way to Role Play may also be dependant on level. No level is stronger than another, but higher levels means less chance to die Out of Character by a stupid stray mob.

Part 1: Combat System -

    “(Insert Name Here) uses Volley, raining arrows down on the trolls, killing them all.” Okay true, too easy. But, what if we do something more interesting? I’ve set up a combat system, inspired from what I remember from D&D, and think it’d work well now.

    The system would be quite easy to handle, the actual person gets to make a move first, whether it be negotiation or attacks. The would do a /roll for 1-10 (the roll range is not set in stone) for each person they plan to attack, so an AoE on five trolls, would be five rolls. For now, we’ll say the trolls have a defense of 3 and a health of 20, so in my system, you’d have to roll 1-10 five times for each troll, and for every roll about 3 will be a hit. So:

Zajailik rolls a 4 (1-10).  The four would be a hit. We’ll say Blizzard is hits for 7 damage. The Questmaster will announce if it is a hit.
Zajailik rolls a 6 (1-10).  See above.
Zajailik rolls a 9 (1-10).  A 9? In this system, that would be a critical hit. The attack will do double damage, so it’d be 14 damage done to this troll. I’d say any roll 7-9 will be a critical hit in a 1-10 range.
Zajailik rolls an 10 (1-10). A 10? The highest roll possible? Of course your luck will be rewarded, this would be an instant kill on the troll. Maximum rolls in any range, will always be an instant kill. (Unless it is a boss character, but we’ll get to that later.)
Zajailik rolls a 2 (1-10). This would be a miss.

So, one troll lies dead, the Questmaster will announce the final result of the attack, saying something like: “Troll 4 is dead, encased in ice. Trolls 1 and 2 take 7 damage each, both now at 13 health. Troll 3 has taken a critical hit, he is at 14 health now. Troll 5 dodges the ice, dancing around, mocking you. Now, it’s the trolls turn to fight back. In the following scenario, my defense will be 3, and my health 25.

In raid warning: “Troll 1 throws his tomahawk at you.”

Questmaster rolls an 8 (1-10). It’s a critical hit! You Zajailik takes X damage. But where’s the RP in that? Of course target will have to emote his/her reaction based on the hit.

In raid warning: “Troll 2 charges at you.”

Questmaster rolls a 2. (1-10). Troll misses Zajailik.

In raid warning: “Troll 3 throws his tomahawk at you”

Questmaster rolls a 3. (1-10) Troll 3 misses Zajailik.

In raid warning: Troll 5 throws a small rock in Zajailik’s direction.

Questmaster rolls a 6. (1-10) Troll 5 hits Zajailik, he takes X damage.

Of course, the whole group of trolls wouldn’t attack one person, because you’d be in a group. They’d cycle their attacks on different targets, Troll 1 would attack Zajailik the Troll Mage, Troll 2 would attack Wonky the Gnome, Troll 3 would attack Fuzzar the Brute, and Troll 5 would attack Zajailik again, being only three Role Players in the current scenario.

Now, there is however an easier, alternate combat system. Simply the Questmaster and Player would roll against each other the how many times needed, just like the class roll combat RP.

Okay so that’s the basic combat system explained, but there are some details that need to be understood. The standard amount of AoEs allowed to be used in an entire RP session is 3, and only one allowed in each encounter.

Boss Characters are like any other enemies, but have more health, are immune to Charisma rolls (see below), cannot be instant killed, and have a higher defense range (a minimum of a 1-50 range, with a minimum defense of 40.)

Players cannot be killed, but instead go on a hiatus (maximum fifteen minute) set by the Questmaster, at the peak of set limit, they are allowed to come back. Health is regenerated between encounters, can be healed during an encounter (no rolls for healing), or potions which need to be in your inventory, or a loot system that will be explained later.

Player gear does not come into play in the combat system, there is no mitigation besides the set defense roll.

    Part 2: Stats -

Yes. Stats. I never said this was not going to involve some brain power, but it’s fairly easy.

   
    The different stats are: Charisma, Defense, Intelligence, and Accuracy. They are all roll associated stats. The stat limit is 5. You have 10 stat points to spend at the start of every session.

0 Char. -----> 3 points into charisma ------> 3 Char.
0 Def. ------> 1 points into defense -----> 3 Def.
0 Int. ------> 5 points into intelligence --> 5 Int.
0 Acc. ------> 1 point into accuracy ----> 2 Acc.

    Charisma - Is your player a bit of a diplomat? One that prefers to talk over violence? Then charisma is the skill for you. With Charisma, it gives you the option to threaten, charm, or negotiate with possible enemies If you choose to attempt to negotiate, charm, or threaten you must roll a 1-15, and roll higher than 10. In order to negotiate, charm, or threaten you must do this before your teammates attack. Players with the highest Charisma always get the first turn in an encounter. Successful attempts result in an encounter endFailed attempts result in a loss of turn. Higher skill in Charisma means higher low number in the range. 5 points in Charisma means your Charisma roll will be a /roll of  6-15, 4 points in Charisma means your Charisma roll will be a /roll of 5-15, 3 points in Charisma means your Charisma roll will be a /roll of 4-15, 2 points in Charisma means your Charisma roll will be a /roll of 3-15, 1 point in Charisma means your Charisma roll will be a /roll of 2-15, 0 points in Charisma means your Charisma roll will be a /roll of 1-15. Charisma is a highly important skill for players who like talking out their problems, and would like a bit more dialogue in their story.   

Defense - Defense is only important if you’re going by my definite rules, if you’re doing the alternate. defense does not matter. Defense merely increases your chance to dodge an attack. If you have say, 5 defense, the Questmaster will have to roll 1-15 when targeting you, and get a roll higher than 9 to be a hit.. 4 Defense is a 1-14 roll, and must be higher than 8 to be a hit. 3 Defense is a roll of 1-13, and must be higher than 7 to be a hit. 2 Defense is a roll of 1-12, must be higher than 6 to be a hit. 1 Defense is a roll of 1-11, and must be higher than 5 to be a hit. 0 Defense is a roll of 1-10, and must be higher than 4 to be a hit. Defense is important for survival and combat.

Intelligence -  Intelligence is a vital roll in certain quests. Intelligence helps you figure out clues that may pop up along an adventure. With intelligence, you’d be able to figure out anagram’s instantly with a roll. If you have an intelligence skill of 1, you must roll 1-5, and get a 1. If you have an intelligence level of 2, you must roll 1-5 and get either a 1 or 2. If you have an intelligence level of 3, you must roll 1-5 and get a 1,2, or 3. If you have an intelligence level of 4, you must roll 1-5, and get a 1,2,3, or 4. Intelligence Level of five means you can instantly crack clues without rolling at all. Intelligence is a HIGHLY important skill for easily completing an adventure.

Accuracy - Accuracy is simple, higher accuracy, more chance to hit. An accuracy skill of x many points means you change the lowest number in your range to 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, or 60% of the highest number in your range. Ex. #1: If you have an accuracy skill of 1 in a range of 1-10, your roll will become 2-10. Ex. #2: If you have an accuracy skill of 5 in a range of 1-100, you change your roll to 60-100. Accuracy is a useless skill if you are using the alternate, beginner combat system.

NOTE: If you are using the alternate, classic rolling RP combat system, you have 8 points to spend, instead of 12.

Part 3: Role of The Questmaster -

The Questmaster is very much inspired by the D&D GMs. The Questmaster controls nearly everything. He/She controls the enemies and their rolls, he/she controls the environment, he controls the content of the quest, he/she decides how much health bosses and enemies have, how much defense bosses and enemies have, what the roll ranges will be. My rule would be this: Any enemy is possible, just don’t pick a boss like Kil’Jaedan or the Lich King, that’s stupid, but pick mobs that are in the game.

Those perks are nice, except for one thing: Everything the Questmaster does MUST be scripted and planned ahead. Nothing is allowed to be made up on the spot. The Questmaster’s job is to make plans ahead, sometimes a few days ahead of time to make a truly nice quest, though once you have all the rules down pat, it should only take a few hours to make a good story.

What sets Questmasters apart from D&D GMs is that they get to play WITH the group. They don’t fight at all, but they can sell items to their party, converse with them, and be part of the RP. Addons like MRP, FlagRSP, and Total RP are nice for the role of Questmaster, for anyone can type in a new description and be someone new, and in MRP you can even change your name. It’s useful so I don’t ALWAYS have to be Zajailik the Master Engineer and Cook, Eccentric Extraordinaire.

Part 4: The Environment -

   
    When planning an adventure, the Questmaster can use the environment with the story. He/She can make it so a yeti slams a frozen lake, cracking it, and they adventurers would have to escape before they go into the icy water. He/She can plan a rockslide into an adventure.

    An option, that I think some people will like, would be rolls, to dodge rocks in a rockslide and other things. It’s just an option I thought that would be nice for some people, personally it’s not my favored choice.

    Part 5: Loot and Items -

    This section is only important if you have the addon Gryphonheart Items (GHI). It’s an addon that allows you to create custom items and trade them with other people. You could make weapons and armor (not equippable), artifacts, quest rewards, stuffed animals, food, journals, cookbooks, just about anything.
    Basically, the Questmasters can hand out rewards, create quest related items, sell items to quest people, and so much.

    Part 6: Conclusion -

    The nice thing about this system, is that it’s private, just a system to create RP events for your friends and the roleplayers you like. You don’t have to go to Silvermoon or Goldshire and chance a bad walk-up RP. You can bend the lore of the game a bit, creating magic artifacts with tremendous power for your adventures.

Something Positive

Something Positive is now one of my favorite webcomics. Read it, and taste the cuteness of elastic kitties.

My Friends!

First  of all, it's been a while since I posted, and I apologize for that. This post is going to be about my friends, the people I (try) talk to every day. I'm going to be using a code, just because this post is inspired by a good friend of mine, who will be featured in this post. The order of the people has no correlation to my like for these people.

Also, if any of my friends from school read this, you're not in here for a valid reason. It's not because I don't consider you a friend, it's cause this is a list of people who are a different kind of a friend, seriously, you're all great people, but this is posted for a reason, you guys are all aware of how much I appreciate your friendship, the people in this list may not.

First there is M.  She is easily the nicest person I know. Never once have I witnessed her being been mean, she's even patient with complete jerks sometimes! A saint perhaps? She's never even jokingly insulted me (even about the dreaded taser accident =P). I don't trust people often, yet I trust her more than anyone I know. I have even brought up questions I haven't brought up with my parents, and she's always given me great advice. She's a very caring person, in fact, when she first started talking to me was because I was obviously in need of help, and no one else really was helping me. She had no reason to talk to me, all she had was my AIM through a WoW forum, yet she did, and I'm forever grateful for that. She gave me a friend when I needed it most of all. Not to be corny, but she was the silver lining in a black rain cloud. Now, I'm out of that dark place, and I try to talk to her every day, and talking to her is a highlight of my day, because I often end up with a new interest, webcomics for example, and a smile on my face. I wish I could end it there because that last sentence is a perfect closer, but I'm afraid I can't. M is such a fantastic person, and aside from all the nice she radiates and tacklehugs she oozes, my favorite part of her is that she looks beyond my age and treats me like a mature adult, even asking me for advice sometimes. So, thank you M, for everything you've done for me, and hopefully we can meet next summer. And now I realize the pronoun I should have used for M was L... fack.

Second there is S, my cousin. We don't always see eye to eye, but when we do we always have a fantastic time. S has a temper, and is the type of guy that always has to be right, usually I ignore those types of people, but he makes me want to work around those problems. He's smart, funny, and has been my equal since we were infants, even he insists he's older than me and is therefore my superior sometimes (It's just 3 months dammit!). S is a fantastic guy, and he's brought me into this world of computer gaming that's changed my life. In fact, if not for him, I wouldn't know M! So S, I need to say again, I fucking love you with the bottom of my heart, I've asked you for your advice and opinion on things, and we've been the best of friends since childhood. We've done stupid shit together (Pool jets into our anuses at 6 years of age, and shitting and pissing in Grandma's backyard when we were 4, and peeing in the same goddamn bathroom when we were 3!) and really fun stuff. You helped me get over my fear of waterslides at Great Wolf Lodge, and went to Delaware and played Texas Hold 'Em and Dungeons and Dragons while there. I know we argue you a lot, and I hate it, and it's not fair. I know I've been a shitty friend sometimes, picking sides with you and your brother, fighting with you over bullshit, hacking your World of Warcraft account years ago. I don't see you enough, and I don't really tell you enough (mostly cause we're guys), but I love you, you are my best friend, you've grown so much, matured so much over the past three years, really stepping up to the plate even playing with Makenzie sometimes. You fucking rock. Now stop hanging out with your band geek friends, learn to play The Underdog, and come over my house and veg out playing video games like we used too.

Next up is Th, another cousin. I think Th is the normal to my awesomely weird. He's the only guy that can get me to comment on the bodies of the opposite sex, or make me want to skateboard (which ends in losing finger nails), or make me do really, really stupid shit. Th and I have these little immature inside jokes that we love. I even get incredibly pissed off when plans to hang out don't pan out. Th has always made me do things I would never thought I had courage to do, and that's why I love him in gushy brotherly love type thing. He's made me go down a 45 foot waterslide half pipe, he's made me skateboard down a gnarly hill when I knew nothing about skateboarding, he made me go into the deep end of the pool when I was little, and made me drink Tabasco sauce, or play with a stun gun. Th actually has successfully made me care about cosmetic things like clothes and my hair and my glasses. I think Th is the guy I'm gonna have my first beer with, and have my first experiment into cigarette's or marijuana with, not because he's a bad kid, but because we're a dynamic duo, and have to do stupid shit together. I love you Th, even if you wear skinny jeans and still use "gay" as a negative term, cause I know as you age you'll get past all that stupid crap.

Next up is F! F is a totally awesome. He's nice, witty, funny, and totally sexy O.*. That was a winky face, I think. Anyway, whenever I talk to him, he opens up with an excited greeting. He's definitely on my "List of People to Meet in Person" list. Oh, he also actually reads my blog, unlike S and T. I don't think we're on bromance level, but he's definitely a good buddy. He's a pretty good vent too, and he thought my ranting was hilarious. Also, I am totally stealing his outfit when I come back, he'll know what that means if he reads this.

Next is D. D has REALLY changed my aspect on A LOT of things. But, I'm gonna be honest, I used to think he was a huge stinky poo poo, because he had a shitty reputation. That's why I fucking hate labels and reputations, they misguide me into thinking a totally awesome guy is a dick! Anyway, D has helped me separate myself from complete imbeciles. He's taught me a lot too, from Roleplay to Raiding to PvP, kind of mentoring me to become a better villain character (BIG HINT AT THE CODE). We also have a lot of the same hates, walls of ignorance being a big one. My only dislike is his like of Rise Against, but we both hate Avenged Sevenfold, so it's kay.

Next up is RG, but I want to call him Kaffledorf Oogglebooger in this piece. Kaffledorf... is well Kaffledorf. See, most people have this block in there head that makes them think before they speak. Kaffledorf does not have that block, thus making him fucking AWESOME. Literally, fucking awesome, as in, I'm pretty sure he and Awesome meet up in a motel and fuck, and then I video tape it. Seriously, he makes all these comments that are entirely inappropriate, and he always comes off hilarious. I'm pretty sure he's raped me through text, and some of the things could get him arrested dependant on who he speaks too. Honestly, when he gets older, I seriously hope he has kids, hundreds, names them all something hilarious, and train them to be just like him. Also, one of these children will be mine, and his name will be Phineas Optimus Gaga Perry Cornelias Adolf Oogglebooger. If people were more like him, the world would be a lot better... and also pretty much full of sex and sharing more than enough to much information knowledge.

Up next is K. "California Gurlz, we're unforgettable, daisy dukes, bikinis on top, sun so hot, we'll melt your popsicle!" Or how about: "Double Rainbow All the way, across the sky, yeah yeah, so intense!" Yes, that means K likes to sing those songs, over Ventrillo, and we record it without his knowing. Oh, what to say about K? Well, first of all, we've known each other for a while, but then kinda fell out of contact, but recently over the last summer, we've grown to be good buddies. We've had lots of laughs (Lake Ponch! Hail Floober!). He's done me good many times, making my last summer a lot better than it had looked. Because of him I'm now friends with D and F. We both like poking fun at people trying to be speshul snowflakes. He's introduced me into a lot of new and interesting things, and he, like D and F, is on that list of people to meet in person.

And finally, at least for this update, is T and B, two brothers. Pull up a chair and get ready for wildly inappropriate story time! That's who B is, he's a fun guy with awesome stories, and tons of experiences to share with me. While we clearly do not talk enough, I know he's a guy I could confide to in order to get some decent advice, and I really want to change that we don't talk enough. He's part of the original Blue Crew (totally just made that up), along with M and T.
   Along with B, is T, the older (maybe younger?) brother. He's a fucking brainiac, at least to me that is. He's helped me with homework once or twice where even my parents couldn't, and he better be prepared for more that in the coming years (Math...). He's one of the few people I can actually bounce intellectual ideas with about my writing, so that's a definite unique trait he has, cause I don't like sharing my ideas often. He's also got my taste in video games, RPGs and a good story, unlike the Modern Warfare dorks at my school. My only complaint is his claim that indie music is devil, which is complete poppycock (yes, I said poppycock).

Some how, I can just get the feeling this post is gonna come back and bite me in the ass, with a good ol' ripping for being a pussy by a few people on the list. What can I says, I be a lonely, effed up kid. =P


I'll add more friends as I see fit to this list.

Silly Loopy Cupcakes! -Dedicated to Dougers!

So. I was up all night, sitting in bed doing nothing. At about 8 am I logged onto World Of Warcraft to see my friend Doug (Nites) on RealID. I being starving (having not eaten in hours) and exhausted, and hopped up on cold medicine and Lexapro, was very loopy. I had my sister's and mine iTunes (I was playing around the family computer) on shuffle, and nothing but songs that just make me silly and want to sing like an amazingly gay Tiny Cooper. Songs I hate like "I Kissed A Girl" popped up, and I somehow knew the words to it. Regardless, I sang to Niteseye through chat (sadly not ventrillo). We both agreed I needed sleepy times. I'll give you the song list (That I may be ashamed of with some, but not all, the loopiness is my excuse.)

Songs that Came Up:
Double Rainbow Song
Don't Unplug Me- All Caps
Oxhorn Brand Medley- Brandon M. Dennis
Jump On It- Sugar Hill Gang?
LICD: You're Just A... - Ryan Sohmer?
I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry
Hot and Cold - Katy Perry
Dental Care - Owl City
Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk - The New Pornographers
Octopus Garden - The Beatles
The Yellow Submarine - The Beatles
Marlena - Frankie Valli
One Week - Barenaked Ladies
Zombie Zoo - Tom Petty
Best Day Ever - Spongebob
Pokemon Theme Song
You Are A Pirate - Lazy Town
Robot Pirates - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/531367


So yeah. You get the gist of it. But I'm still loopy. And I still want to type!


CUPCAKES! Cupcakes. Red Velvet. Chocolate Icing. Rainbow Sprinkles. Vanilla Icing. Chocolate Sprinkles. I am just very happy. And giddy. I've haven't had a cupcake in 8 years. I'm going to make cupcakes! Right now- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~

"Will Grayson, Will Grayson", Fabulousness, and Nerdfighters

Me failing Nerdfighter salute.

At 4 a.m. in the morning I started reading "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan. I read all 310 pages until about 10 a.m. First, I found the book watching John Green's YouTube channel, vlogbrothers. This channel is John and his brother, Hank, making videos back and forth to each other. It is a wonderful channel, and shows how cool being a nerd is! Seriously, I love John Green, he's a fantastic author and he's smart, he basically agrees with me! Why is being a nerd an insult? "Saying someone is a nerd is like saying: Hey I notice you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than vapid, and believe there are things more important than the arrest record of Lindsey Lohan? Why is that?" So, yes, not only John Green is a great author, but he's funny, witty, and smart! He proceeds to say some Shakespearean insults. And his brother Hank is amazing, so check out John and Hank at http://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers!

Anyway, I'm rambling, onto "Will Grayson, Will Grayson". The book is a collaborative effort by John Green (Author of "Looking For Alaska", "An Abundance of Katherines", and "Paper Towns") and David Levithan (Author of "Boy Meets Boy", "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist", and "Wide Awake"). John writes the odd numbered chapters, and David writes the even numbered chapters.
 The book is about Will Grayson and Will Grayson. They are two teens in their year.
One Will Grayson lives in Evanston, near Chicago. His best friend is the fabulously gay Tiny Cooper. Will has two rules: 1. Never care too much, and 2. Shut up. The other Will Grayson lives in Naperville. The other Will Grayson is a depressed teen, with no "true friends" besides Isaac, a friend he's met on the internet. The other Will Grayson is gay, and he loves Isaac.

Later in the book, Will Grayson and Will Grayson meet in a porn store (Don't worry, nothing too explicit in it). The Naperville Will Grayson becomes devastated, and Evanston Will comforts him, and eventually the massive Tiny Cooper meets Naperville Will, and comforts him, and the two bond.

In the book you'll learn that Tiny Cooper is a key player in the Gay-Straight Alliance in Evanston, and Tiny Cooper is preparing a musical that tells his story, Tiny Dancer. The musical is fantastic, and it gets funding. In the end the musical is a success, and I want to have it on an album, because the lyrics were fantastic. But the book isn't just about the musical. It's about the change of both Will Grayson and Will Grayson, and the lessons the learn, where they learn more about friendship, love, and themselves.

Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" was my favorite book, but after reading "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" I'm not so sure. I think the two books are in a coliseum, in loincloths, fighting to the death to win my favoritism.

"Will Grayson, Will Grayson" is a book for adults, because it really makes you feel for the characters, I felt bad for the Will Graysons, I laughed, I even felt angry for some characters. And the fact the book puts homosexuals in a good light is awesome too. I recommend this book to anyone, it's funny, sad, and fun to read, I even found myself singing along out loud to the lyrics of Tiny Cooper's play, despite not hearing anything! It's books like this one that make me want to open Google Documents and spend hours writing, which exactly what I'm going to do.

One of my favorite parts of the book isn't even the story, I love the acknowledgments.

"We acknowledge that nerdfighters are made of awesome."

I have "Paper Towns", "Looking for Alaska", "An Abundance of Katherines", "Boy Meets Boy", and "Wide Awake" in my Amazon shopping cart, and I must go get my mother or father's credit card. I can't wait to tell my honors English class about John Green and his books and how great they are!

GO NERDFIGHTERS!

P.S. I also finished "Lowboy" if anyone was curious. It was a good book, but a little confusing toward the end, so I'm debating whether or not if it's worth writing a review on it.

"You're Gay" "Well You're Ignorant and Unoriginal"

Today, someone called me a "gay homo". First of all, that's a little redundant. Second, I'm not all that insulted, I have gay friends and family, and they are all fucking awesome.

   Whether their sexual preference has anything to do with it, I don't know, but I approve of gay relationships 100%. I don't really care about other people's sexuality, and I don't mean that negatively. People could be homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, or they could love autobots (or an Audibot =D). Though, I don't know how that would work in bed... Regardless! Calling me a gay homo is closer to a compliment than an insult, So, Several Idiot World of Warcraft Players, several YouTube commenters, and kids in my school, I apologize, for your futile attempts to hurt me have failed. Instead I laugh at you, and I know how much of an ignorant jackass you are. Also, it's not even an original attempt at an insult.
   In fact, the only thing that bothers me when it comes to the term "gay" is when it is used as a synonym to "lame". It's a gigantic pet peeve of mine, and I usually try and correct people for it and then I come off as a condescending jackass. Using the term gay as synonym to lame or "that sucks" is not always a sign of homophobic attitude in my opinion, because even I used it like that once. The problem is kids grow up around people their age and older saying that, and television contributes. Shows like South Park are both popular and use the terms gay and fag as something negative in nearly every episode, sometimes this is okay in the acting world, because Cartman's character is an ignorant douchebag, whether South Park's writers have a prejudice to homosexuals, I don't know, but South Park is a touchy show, which touches controversial things, so I doubt South Park hates every single type of person that is not a white straight male. Now I'm rambling about television, what I'm trying to say that is kids grow up thinking  the term "gay" is just another word for lame or stupid. I think I might have a solution or two to fix that problem too as well, but you'll just have to wait for it.

I guess my largest complaint is the lack of creativity in all insults. Please, can't anyone call me a selfish, steaming pile of putrid shit.

I Don't Care

My cousin Joseph came over yesterday, and that is the reason for the lacking of a post yesterday. Today I asked him what I should write about, and he replied "I don't care". I asked, and I took him literally. Therefore, I decided to write about things I don't care about, and mostly these my replies from conversation from real life friends.

I don't care about Modern Warfare 2, and what your Kills per death rate is.
I don't care about Lil Wayne and his horrendous music.
I don't care about what hand your masturbate with.
I don't care about care about what you named your penis and testicles, even if Ralph and Alfonse are cool names.
I don't care about your opinion on Xbox 360 or PS3.
I don't care about your Sims characters.
I don't care about your opinion on my atheist lifestyle.
I don't care about your cell phone, it's just a phone.
I don't care about the Nintendo Wii.
I don't care about Kinect.
I don't care about the PlayStation Move.
I don't care about the Final Fantasy games.
I don't care about any Dragonball Z video game.
I don't care about any movie or TV show into video game.
I don't care about any movie by Uwe Boll.
I don't care about the Avatar: The Last Airbender movie, it was a disgrace to a wonderful show.
I don't care about 3D movies, they're all a gimmick to make cash after Cameron's Avatar success.
I don't care about your Asian letter tattoo and what it says.
I don't care about any Lego video game.
I don't care about Lindsey Lohan, Hedi Montag, Britney Spears, or any other attention craving celebrities.
I don't care about the latest celeb sex tape.
I don't care about who was best and worst dressed at a red carpet event.
I don't care about the latest sex scandal.
I don't care about what you think of me, sorry.
I don't care about The Hills.
I don't care about MTV.
I don't care about celebrity gossip.
I don't care about tabloids.
I don't care about who broke up with who last week.

A New Webcomic to Read!

I was clicking the stumble button from StumbleUpon, and came across this new (to me at least) comic. It's called Virtual Shackles. It's about a year into the comic, so read it now before you have years to catch up with (like I did for many comics!). It's written by Jeremy Vinar and Mike Fahmie. You can find the comic on Virtual Shackles. Also, here's the first strip, get your taste of it now.

As you can tell, the comic is just spoofing of video games, where the Jeremy and Mike poke fun at games they've played.

Also. Click the new Stumble button on the side, in order to get more people to find us through StumbleUpon. 

The PS3 vs. Xbox 360: I Put It To Rest

                     VS

 "teh ps3 has wayy better gamz than n00b xbox."

"nowai, xbox haz way better online multeplayar"

We've all heard the arguments on forums, YouTube comments, or maybe just conversation your friends. Today, your friendly neighborhood zombie will put a rest to it, showing that they are both equally fun consoles. I own both, and spent the last year and a half enjoying them both equally!

PS3 has amazing games, Heavy Rain, inFamous, LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted 1 and 2, and every single Ratchet and Clank games are all FANTASTIC titles. Xbox has some fun console exclusives too. Prey (though for PC) is a revolutionary title, and was one of my reasons for buying a 360 when I was 4th grade, when it was a big title. Aside from Prey, Xbox had Oblivion as an exclusive for a while too, and personally I prefer it on the Xbox. Halo 3 is a marvelous game, no doubting that.

I refuse to acknowledge any of the Call of Duty games, cause I hate them all, and I've only played the game once, and I know a great deal of the guns from overhearing stupid conversation about the game. So yeah I hate Modern Warfare.

Anyway, I'm tired of all the BULLSHIT arguing I hear over any mention of PS3 or Xbox on the internet. So here's what I'll say: Grab a copy of Hooked on Fonix, teach yourself proper grammar and spelling. Then take time to enjoy your rival console, and play it, and experience everything it has to offer. Then realize that both consoles are equally fun.

When I first came up with this idea, I expected something long and detailed. But I have failed to get any sleep. Perhaps after a nap, I'll update it. But I planned on ending it like this.

To settle this argument between fanboys, I will say this. PC gaming is superior in every way, and the Wii sucks.

I was online at 3:42 am...

I was clicking the Stumble button from Stumbleupon, and I well stumbled upon this comic. I thought it was hilarious (being an atheist myself).

 I did NOT write or draw this comic. Don't sue me.

Why I Write This Blog

I know your pain Mr. Popsicle.

Anyway, I write this blog cause my summer has been really uneventful (but it's starting to pick up), I've gone to one of my friend's concerts for his band Pangea. I've gone to New York a couple times with my cousin Jason, who brought me into and interest of photography. And I've played lots of World of Warcraft and video games. Don't get me wrong, I love all those things. But, after overcoming a stint of depression, going back to school, and forming and fixing friendships, I just expected a lot of it hanging out with my friends.

I've gotten a few phone calls and such, but nothing ever really became of it. I mean, my friends I met on the internet are by far some of the greatest friends I can ask to have, but they're all much older than me, and none live by me. Plus my parents are those parents that think anyone on the internet are gonna kidnap me... but yeah.

My friends never contact me, and it pains me when I was trying to set up seeing a concert (which didn't happen) with a friend he asks me "Are you going to the movies tonight?". It just sucks when I have to say, oh I wasn't invited. I just feel like I'm that awkward guy from the movies that Jesse Eisenberg and Michael Cera play. Except, at the end of the movie they wind up getting laid and happy or whatever. I know I'm cool with kids at my school. And I have good friends from my school and what not, and maybe I don't put enough effort into hanging out with them, but I never get the phone call. Maybe it's also because not a lot of people know my phone number, and my phone's be broken all summer until a week ago. But there are other ways of contact, Facebook, Myspace, AIM, Yahoo, Skype, and etc.

Anyway, now I'm giving away the illusion I'm some friendless loser. Which is only half true. (Insert emoticon that displays joking, I guess?) Anyway, I also write this blog because I wanted a scheme to make money. I thought adsense was that key... but it's not, I couldn't even it work it. But instead I realized it's a fun thing to do. I love writing, and I think my opinion is a lot more mature and different than the rest of my age group. Hopefully, this blog will catch on in popularity somehow, and people will start looking at it.

Also, I love writing. I love it every way possible. I consider it my one true talent, cause I hate sports, suck at FPS games, and so on. I am pretty good at World of Warcraft raiding... and RPing.

So yeah, Internets, you are my vent. Now do your magic and make me a millionaire. Haha, I wish.

Image from http://drytoasts.wordpress.com/ I did not draw it all. Don't sue me for copyright infringement. Please.

Yes, I'm Bragging...

August 4th 2010. A day I am gonna mark on the calendar and make a little X on each day until that day... cause I've always wanted to be cliche like that. I am going to see Arcade Fire at Madison Square Garden, Promenade Section 123, Row A, Seat 9. And to top that off, Spoon is the opening act. I see my only three followers are good friends, so this isn't directed to them, but anyone else that reads this, this is directed to you.

Nanananananana I'm seeing Arcade Fire + Spoon and you're not! =D Also. Sorry for the late post. Working on today's post after this.

I know, I know...

I know I said I was tired just a few seconds ago when I finished my last post, but I was reading a hilarious article posted by Asylum (CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE). Well, not a hilarious article, but it gave me a giggle or too. It's an article of some funny last words. Being a sucker for a good pun, my favorite was number 3. It was the last words of James D. French. He was executed via electric chair. What did he say? "How's this for a headline? French Fries." Someone give this man a medal! Well... if he wasn't dead... and couldn't use the medal as a murder weapon. Anyway, NOW I'm going to bed... or to play some World of Warcraft or some other video game, might as well stay up and go to sleep early.

Exhausted!

I pulled an all nighter watching popular movies of the 2000's I never watched, some were bad, some were good, and I'm exhausted. I'm just gonna show you a few works of writing I wrote in middle school, aren't that good it being a while ago. And they all have generic titles! Yay! Kind of ironic when yesterday I just complained about the generic music industry. Teehee!

 The Empty Sea

A sea of emptiness

With a dark hidden abyss

No tsunami of anger

Just a lonely boat that will linger

No beach to enjoy

Just a drowning boy

Fire and Water

I've burned in a fire

For what seemed like eternity

Will I have water?

We All Live in The Yellow Submarine!

It was late. 3:00 am. Maria was half asleep. The bus was moving slow. The bus was approaching the pier. It began to accelerate fast. And faster. And faster. And faster. Maria, startled, went to the bus driver. The driver smirked at her sadistically, then vanished into thin air.

The bus hit a person, and another, and they burst into blood, no bodies to be recovered. It annihilated another car, crushing everyone inside. The Beatles song "We all Live in the Yellow Submarine" started to play on the radio. Maria began to scream in panic. The emergency exits locked. Before she knew it the bus was launched off the pier and was sinking to the bottom of the bay. The water began to flood the bus. The pressure of the water crushing Maria's bones, it was excruciating. The water around her turned to a bloody mist.

18 years later the bus was still at the bottom of the bay. Yellow with grime and sewage. Maria's corpse long devoured by the bottom feeders. At the bottom was the long haired bus driver in a phantasmal form. His ghostly fingers snapping in rhythm. His eerie voice singing.

"We all live in the yellow submarine!"

"We all live in the yellow submarine!"  

And done. Now, I'm going to sleep. 

Today's Mainstream Music - Beyond Meh

Actual conversation between me and my cousin.

Me: Hey John, what are you listening to?

John: Lil Wayne. He's the best musical artist to man! His songs his are so deep and raw!

Mainstream music is not only dead, but it doesn't even deserve a funeral. I'd like to address this to my cousin, John D. Lil Wayne is -crap-, absolute garbage. I could produce better vocals and music if I was a deaf mute. The fact that songs like Lollipop are popular are disgusting. With lyrics like: "Man, she ain't never had a love like mine. And man I ain't never seen an ass like hers. And that pussy in my mouth had me loss for words. Told her back it up like erp erp. And I made that ass jump like jerk, jerk" Seriously what kind of garbage is that? Is that what my generation finds entertaining? Shitty lyrics about sex and the female anatomy? Is there an creativity in that? That's basically just a conversation or the thoughts/fantasies of a horny teen, add some auto-tune, and somehow call it music.

That's the first thing I am going to address. Now there is the whole thing unoriginality in mainstream music. Let's start with Lady Gaga. a prime example. Gaga is Madonna recycled. Madonna wore crazy outfits. Gaga wore crazy outfits. Madonna sang poppy, catchy, repetitive music. Gaga did too. Madonna did it with a nice balance though. Gaga parades around on stage with camel sometimes! And don't even get me started on the shit she pulled at that Mets game, wearing underwear, and get pissed off when people take pictures. Not only is she famous, she's acting like an IDIOT wearing underwear and a jersey, she's attracting people to her like flies, and Gaga is the steaming pile of crap. Of course people are going to take pictures!

Next up, let's talk about current rock. I used to love rock/punk/ska music. Less Than Jake, Social Distortion, Weezer, The Offspring, Switchfoot, etc. But I grew tired of it. It all sounds the same. In fact, all mainstraim music is just offspring copycats of each other. Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez (And what's with all Disney stars also having a music career?) Justin Bieber is freaking Aaron Carter again. Ludacris, Usher. It's all the same generic crap. It's boring. And don't get me started on that Ke$ha freaking made a new genre of music! SHE FUCKING TALKS AND AUTOTUNES IT! That's NOT MUSIC!

And then there is the genre of rap and hip/hop. Eminem, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Black Eyed Peas, T.I, Kanye West, Flo Rida, etc. I hate mainstream hip-hop/rap. With a burning passion. Like I said above, it's all recycled and nothing new. As Greg Allman said, rap rhymes with crap because that's what it is.

Well there. Now you know my opinion on mainstream music. I hate it. Tommorrow expect a post on what music I do like, probably just a list and few songs though, nothing in depth.

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks: A Most Macabre Story (Spoilers)

Iain Bank's The Wasp Factory is a book I read a while back. It was a fantastic novel, with quite a twist in the end. It is the story of Frank Cauldhame, a sixteen year old living on an island from coast of Scotland. Frank has no official status, no birth certificate, nothing: to the government he does not exist. Frank's father Angus is secretive, and has a study which he keeps locked, and cautions Frank to enter it. Frank hates women, he thinks they're inferior and dumb compared to males. Frank also has a secret. He's killed three people, two cousins and his little brother. Frank did these things when he was a young child

When Frank's older brother, Eric, escapes an asylum both Angus and the local police are on edge, seeking any information on Eric. Eric was sent to the asylum for burning and eating dogs (and this is Scotland, these are domesticated) and feeding worms and maggots to children. But what happened to Eric? Eric was a perfect child, he was pursuing a medical career. At Eric's hospital there was a baby, that had a soft skull because the bones did not form well in his head and he always wore a metal cap. Eric fed that child. One day, the child didn't respond as usual, and Eric swore he saw something move on the child's scalp. (Prepare for your stomach to turn) Eric lifted the metal cap... flies had gotten into the boy's brain... and laid eggs, maggots had infested the boy's skull, and Eric screamed loud enough for the entire hospital. Eric backed into the wall, and the guard on duty had went into check what was happening. The guard proceded to vomit. I'm actually not describing this very well, but read the book, I promise, you will get sick. :)

Anyway Iain Banks is incredibly creative (and morbid) in this novel. When Frank killed his family members it wasn't a generic stab or gun shot, no. When Frank killed his cousin Blyth, he put an Adler snack in Blyth's prosthetic leg. You can imagine the result. I won't go further into detail, because I'm writing this to get people to read this, and I seem to spoiling it for you. I apologize.

Anyways The Wasp Factory is probably one the most morbid books of all time, getting to the point where some people were sickened. One of the things I loved is that both Banks and Scribner publishing agreed to put NEGATIVE reviews on the back of the book. "Rubbish!" -The Times (London) and "There's nothing to force you, having been warned, to read it; nor do I reccommend it." - The Scotsman. I mean, what other book have you seen do that? The Wasp Factory's publishers had the balls and confidence to that, contradicting reviewers and making them look like idiots, this book even got in list of 100 Best Books of All Time by the Independant. It is a masterpiece, and I am happy I got to read it at such a young age, where literature like this can help blow my mind and forge my interests.

A Review of Some Great Indie Bands (My Favorites)

Wilco- Wilco has never ceased to amaze me, it is why it is one of my favorite bands. Jeff Tweedy (Let it be known Tweedy is an amazing last name, and I am jealous of him) formed the band in the '90s, after the band Uncle Tupelo disbanded.

    Wilco is the perfect band to start with when you first start to explore the Indie scene. Their soft, mellow music is very relaxing, I often find myself reading to it, and falling asleep to it later at night. In my opinion, their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is my favorite. It is a prime example of Wilco's potential and experimental ability (Listen to Poor Places, with the woman eerily repeating Yankee Hotel Foxtrot towards the end.), Yankee Hotel Foxtrot brings you to very poppy songs, like I'm The Man Who Loves You, and songs that bring a very mellow vibe to you, such as Jesus Etc.

Arcade Fire- Arcade Fire is my favorite band. I plan to see them in Philly this August. They are a seven member band (10 in concert), with Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Will Butler, Tim Kingsbury, Richard Parry, Jeremy Gara and Sarah Neufeld, all very talented. Their songs are indescribable. They were the first band I listened to when entering the Indie scene, and I loved them. I started listening to them in early 2010 after learning about them through the webcomic Questionable Content (here I'll give you that very excerpt). The vocals in Arcade Fire are awesome, especially in the album Funeral. "Butler sings like Radioheads's Johnny Greenwood used to play, like a lion-tamer whose whip grows shorter with each and every lash. He can barely contain himself, and when he lets loose it's both melodic and primal". (Quote From Pandora Radio's James Christopher Monger.)

  A fun fact about Arcade Fire? For the album Neon Bible, they retreated to an old decamped church to practice and record.

Modest Mouse- Modest fucking Mouse. They are probably one of the only bands that I listen to that compare to the musical audacity Arcade Fire possesses. The aren't even close to the same type of music Arcade Fire is though. In my opinion they're much more raw, and aren't afraid to swear. Their albums are very diverse, and some of them are a required taste. When first diving into Modest Mouse, I suggest listening to the album We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (which includes the Smiths' guitarist Johnny Mar, which makes it one of my favorite albums).

    Though We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank is a fun album, it is not my favorite album. I am still actually listening to Modest Mouse and learning about them, and I am actually enjoying their older stuff over the new stuff, but I still have much more to listen to (I am tapped out on cash, and I don't like using programs like Limewire with bands I respect immensely) . We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank is a more recent album. But albums like The Lonesome Crowded West are just... amazing.  Talk about original, songs like Cowboy Dan is such a dark and pounding song, and then they do songs like Jesus Christ Was an Only Child (which I love to sing along to in car rides. Repeatedly.) which is really funky emo stuff. The Lonesome Crowded West isn't even that old though. It is a real white-trashy sounding album, which is a pretty good at not being stupid with their analysis of the world's current state.

   1996's This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About is my favorite album. But DO NOT buy this album when first diving into Modest Mouse, stick with something Like We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank or Good News For People Who Love Bad News. "Bipolar would be the best way to describe it because half of the time it makes you want to go sit in a rainy cafe and contemplate infinty while the other half is comprised of you wanting to smash fax machines and run cars into walls." I love that person's description of this album, because it is perfectly accurate. This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About is so chaotic and mellow, and really shows how deep Isaac Brock (which by the way sounds like a superhero name) can be, showing his true potential and most obscure thoughts with lyrics like "I changed my mind so much, I cant even trust it".

   It's funny cause, even though We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank is something I love listening to, when I went backwards chronologically, I realized their older stuff is better, and I truly hope with their next album they go back to the older-less mainstream type music.

I like a lot more Indie bands, like the Shins and Spoon and The New Pornographers, but I am still fairly a noobie in the Indie scene, and I still need to listen to these bands older, less mainstream stuff. Do expect more posts like this one, on different bands.