JAG18

Thank you very much! 🙂 It definitely means a lot to hear this from another writer.

I started the year in a funk and even after I got out the year still had its ups and downs like always. I got to enjoy more of the same things I always do and I like to think I at least made some progress in the direction I want to go... ...And even if I didn't, I know for a fact I greatly improved my writing habits, which is one of the most important things for me right now so I'm happy abut that. 🙂

Happy Law Bringer Day! Admittedly, I've never celebrated it before today, but you know every tradition has to start somewhere. Today marks the six year anniversary of when (after several mouths of brainstorming and nearly three years of not writing any fiction) I started writing the first story in what would become "Law Bringer". I thought about honoring the occasion by posting a teaser or snippet of an actual story, but instead I decided to write about my writing. Recently, I collected the info below by pouring through my old word documents and obviously this isn't one-hundred percent accurate either because of poor record keeping or stories lost to computer crashes, but it should give you a good idea of my writing output over the years. Words written per year: 2004-07: less than 1,000 words 2008-10: 14,000 words 2011: 11,000 words 2012-13: 6,000 words 2016-17: 2,200 words 2018-21: 1000 words I don't know why I started writing I just did, although, I should point out that of the 35,000 words I wrote from 2004-2021 all I have to show for it is: 2 short stories (including a Hero Factory story I posted here) A lot of flash fiction most of which is either BIONICLE or Hero Factory fan fiction or not very good (or both). For some reason during this time period my go-to writing format was like the appendices from LOTR even before I knew what those were. No idea why. Something else I want to mention; I rarely finished most of my work from this time. This is definitely something I've improved this year because now I can actually write a short story from beginning to end. The idea popped into my head to try and finish some of my old stuff, but after actually reading some of it I figure most of it is best left where it is. This trip down memory lane confirms the narrative I've always assumed that writing was something I did in junior high up to the summer after my freshman year, but in my sophomore year I stopped and no matter how hard I tried or wanted to I just couldn't write fiction again. I kept writing notes and world building, but another piece of prose never came. I cannot explain why. Bringing this back to "Law Bringer", like I said I wrote the first bits of the story in late 2016 and early 2017, but then the block returned. I spent a long time working on my world building on-and-off until 2019/2020 when I got really serious about it and by this point I really wanted to make an attempt to write again hence my little bits of writing during this time period. Then last November I started watching videos about writing on Youtube. Before this, everything I knew about writing I learned from BZPower or what writers have said so just random sources. I don't think that's the only thing I needed, but I'm sure it helped and on Christmas Eve of 2021 I began to write and write, then run out of steam in the spring, but picked it back up in May and eventually managed to create some good writing habits. The long and short of it is this past year I've written 105,000 words resulting in: 22 short stories (18 "Law Bringer" 4 non-"Law Bringer") A fourth of a novel Half of a novella 2 pieces of flash fiction (both much better than anything I wrote several years ago) You know, after writing this out, I think December 24th sounds like a better date for Law Bringer Day, but since no one would celebrate it then because of conflicts with other holidays, I think I'll stick to November 30th. That's the story I wanted to tell and also why I'm optimistic about the future of my writing and "Law Bringer" and I'm hopeful I'll be able to share more of both with the world soon.

Xia

If you mean Kaita: Then Atakus

"watery" - Phem.

I know it has only been a week since I posted a teaser here and a 1,500 word lore dump isn't the best way to drum up interest in a new Sci-Fi IP, but I felt compelled to write this yesterday and while I've shared pieces of the following on other sites I haven't done so here yet. Like all my creative works, make of this what you will. In the mid-40th century, humanity had achieved what many informed observers considered the highest level of civilization ever seen. Hundreds of worlds in dozens of galaxies were colonized, new technologies were easing the hardships of existence, and for most people times were good. Obviously, times were better for some like the industrialists of Wakile or the elite of Oyoheri Prime especially when compared to the rough living of the farmers of Mye-Othol or the inhabitants of war torn Iterlop. Potential troubles and problems still abound from renegade asteroids threatening to wipe out all life on entire planets, to widespread crime in the faraway parts of the universe, to the plight of the explorers pushing the edges of the map and encountering terrors beyond civilized space. Regardless of such inequalities and problems, overall the spirit of the age was optimistic. And this prosperity was due in no small part to one group: The Order of The Law Bringers. Founded in 3,455 A.D. by the greatest heroes of that century brought together by the legendary vigilante hero Ionnes Acanthio, for centuries The Law Bringers maintained peace and carried out justice across the known universe serving as security for rich and poor alike and never turning their backs on those in need. Unfortunately by this time, prestige, power, and complacency transformed The Law Bringers into something else. Agents prioritized helping people who would increase their fame and wealth over the needs of the average citizen and several officers abused their positions and acted as vile as the criminals they swore to oppose. By the 3,940’s, the people of the universe had come to hate and despise their protectors, although The Law Bringer’s leaders chose to downplay and ignore this change. The Order could have fallen on hard times even if it hadn’t been for the single-minded crusade of one man: Nicholas Caldwell. A middle-aged business man whose insane wealth had sketchy origins, around this time Caldwell put his massive resources towards the destruction of The Law Bringers. He funded media that attacked The Order at every turn and spewed a steady stream of anti-Law Bringer rhetoric to anyone listening. True, much of it consisted of lies and blatant propaganda, but legitimate misbehavior on the part of agents such as Captain Gripus made it possible for the average person to believe the universe would be better off without The Law Bringers. He also lobbied the governments of the universe to pass laws limiting or outright banning The Order from operating in their territories. At the time, the officers of Law Bringer High Command laughed at the idea of a “petty demagogue” tearing down an organization that had stood for five centuries. What they couldn’t so easily dismiss however were their so-called replacements. Most planet leaders were unwilling to risk calling up their militias to remove The Order from their lands and thus as an alternative Caldwell built the largest private army in existence The Justice Brigade. All he asked for was the approval of states and his army would disband The Law Bringers and take up their duties. By whatever means necessary. In 3,951, this finally happened when the president of Oyoheri (the greatest and most powerful of all human nations) signed The Official Security Act, effectively outlawing the Law Bringers and enshrining The Justice Brigade as the nation’s new primary policing organization. The Order declared they would resist the act and their defiance gave Caldwell the opportunity for violence he wanted. So it was that October 13 would be remembered as the darkest day in The Order’s history the day of The Sacking of Tobe. On the planet of Tobe rested The Law Bringers’ largest academy from where the training of thousands of agents including future officers was overseen. With the help of the disillusioned Law Bringer Brutus Eskarus, The Justice Brigade sacked the academy, killing thousands of agents and cadets and burning their magnificent buildings to the ground. Caldwell hoped this would be the first of many massacres of Law Bringers, but he couldn’t have imagined the tenacity of journalist Suzi Vi who was present for and survived the sacking. The official narrative pushed by Caldwell’s lackeys accused The Order of stockpiling weapons to stage a coup against the Oyoheri government, but Suzi’s footage destroyed this idea. Her reporting and especially the images of supposedly noble Justice Brigadiers, slaughtering thousands of cadets ages fifteen-nineteen, as well as hundreds of unarmed agents after they surrendered, and desecrating the academy grounds turned the tide of public opinion against Caldwell. Even though more massacres followed the sacking, it was clear to anyone watching that no one wanted The Justice Brigade to replace The Law Bringers. In response, the government hastily passed a series of acts, which established an official Security Corps and The Justice Brigade would disband a few years later. The Order had suffered a serious blow, but not one they couldn’t recover from, but Caldwell wanted to be sure they would not and he set in motion the next phase of his war on The Law Bringers. Unable to use his private army to kill agents, Caldwell instead outsourced the task by placing huge bounties on the heads of any Law Bringer foolish enough to step foot on an Oyoheri planet. Thousands of bounty hunters rose up to meet the demand including long time veterans (some of whom in the past worked alongside Law Bringers) as well as newer daring rookies hoping to buy their own planet by the age of twenty-five. The resulting violence is remembered as The Shadow War and the results were brutal. Order agents daring to operate in Oyoheri risked walking into deadly ambushes, although not doing so would mean abandoning their mission to protect the innocent. Combined with the loss of much of their funding (most of The Law Bringer’s financiers abandoned The Order in the face of bans or died under mysterious circumstances) these agents operated with limited resources, poor leadership, and in the face of hostility from locals. The Order organized teams to avenge their fallen brethren by tracking down their murderers and bringing them to justice, but soon enough, some Law Bringers acted more out of a desire for revenge than true justice. The most extreme example being Major Bitucus Bassus who formed a squad of like-minded agents and even non-Law Bringers to take the fight to the hunters. Eventually, it devolved into a band of marauders and The Order was forced to send a special task force to stop him. By this point, the universe had had enough of the constant fighting between Law Bringers and bounty hunters, as it often led to bystanders being harmed or even killed. This problem was exasperated by the fact certain hunters committing outrageous crimes and atrocities to draw Law Bringers out of hiding. Thus, with his bloodlust finally sated, Caldwell lifted the bounties and ten years after The Sacking of Tobe, was content to believe his blow to The Order was fatal. On some planets Law Bringers were allowed to continue their work, such as on Riqura, which was ruled by Queen Izebel Ezkira who as a young girl lost her family to anarchists and had it not been for the intervention of The Law Bringers she would have been killed as well and her country left in ruins. Out of gratitude, she refused to comply with The Act and instead turned her planet into a safe haven for agents. Other localities behaved similarly and despite Caldwell’s insistence, the government refused to crack down on local rule what with The Secession Crisis of ’44 being too recent a memory. Despite these signs of hope the situation for The Order looked bleak. Gendarmes, The Order’s battle-hardened elite force, swore to fight for was right to the end and many fought and died this way during this time, but most agents had families to support and a mass exodus occurred of lower ranking Law Bringers. Some retired early while others joined The Security Corps, or migrated outside of Oyoheri to serve The Order on planets less hostile to them. Their numbers dwindling, their image destroyed, and recruiting efforts stifled, the end of The Order in Oyoheri would certainly come sooner rather than later. But the time for change is now and destiny is calling. On the small planet of Aheju, in The Borderlands (the crossroads of the major nations of the universe) a young man has been given the chance to rekindle his lost dream and change history forever. As a boy growing up in the shadow of a Law Bringer base, this young man idolized the heroes and wanted to be just like them, but events beyond his control prevented this and he remembers the day The Order left his town as the worst of his life. Twenty years after The Sacking of Tobe, after spending years working for Law Bringer knock-offs created to fill the void left by the incompetent Security Corps, he has been given the opportunity to take up the mantle of Law Bringer and finally fulfill his dream by resurrecting The Law Bringers. To be continued in Law Bringer: The Return.

For as long as I can remember, when I was little I always thought it was cool how my initials spelled a real word even if it's not a super common one (unless you're in the navy I guess) and as for the "eighteen" in my teen years I was one of those dumb kids who thought turning eighteen meant you became the boss of your own life (and that's a good thing) so that's why I became attached to the number eighteen. I can't remember if BZPower was the first time I used "JAG18", but definitely since I've done a good job of making it my internet identity across as many platforms as possible. I'm a millennial so I grew up thinking having (or being) a "brand" was a good thing and being easy to find online was part of that. In the last couple of years I've come to realize making my online content so easy to find is probably going to come back and haunt me, but you know the past is dead the future yet to born. I'm just glad I joined BZP later in high school so my early posts are only moderately cringey. 😝

I haven't played with toys in years nor do I keep up with the industry so I admit what I have to say isn't very informed, but the first thing that came to mind while reading this was an observation the writer of an article I read a few years ago about Barbie's declining sales . Basically, the reason for the decline is as simple as kids don't play with toys as much these days. Based on that, I'm willing to believe that yes, BIONICLE was the last great toy line, which I guess is a pretty cool thing to go out as.

"Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl" - Broken Social Scene

Notes: By "coming soon" I'm speaking in relative terms. Yes, I know that's a Mass Effect skin by Todd McFarlane, but until "soon" gets closer I don't need to hire someone to make art for this yet. In the meantime, I do need to say this out loud. Or I guess write it out loud...you know what I mean. I'm pretty sure this site gave me my love of comic sans and some people I hang around now enable the habit so that's my reasoning behind the font choice. Get ready.

I haven't done one of these in awhile mostly because I don't visit this site that often anymore, but also because I only have four of these and I've covered three of them already in this blog (find them all here). The three I've already covered I found circa 2011 and had a lot of fun with them in high school, but this new one I found years later (maybe 2016) on deviantart from user Amei-San. It is a little longer than the others (25 questions) so if time or playlist size is an issue keep that in mind. Either way, since I haven't used this one much (or done any of these in awhile if we're being real) why not use my Favorite Songs of 2021 Playlist? The Fourth Music Quiz: 1. If someone stole your favorite item, what would you yell out of anger? “Cry Little Sister” – CHVRCHES (OK, that is funny, not super appropriate, but funny) 2. You trip and fall in front of your crush, they say: “The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version)” – Taylor Swift (No comment I guess?) 3. A moment of disappointment hits you, what do you mutter? “Harshest Critic” – Alison Ponthier (Oof, that’s almost too perfect) 4. If you could have anything in the world, what would it be? “Crash and Burn” – Maggie Lindemann (Well, that could actually happen so…) 5. What's the best way to describe your closest friend? “Inferno” – Sub Urban; Bella Poarch (Hey a BIONICLE book title, not bad) 6. Best movie of all time? “Love Took Her For a Ride” – Bella Goldwin (Sounds like a movie title, but not for a good movie) 7. Best make-out spot to take someone? “brutal” – Olivia Rodrigo (No comment, next) 8. A song that would play during a wicked torturing of your enemies? “Whatever It Takes” – Zyra (NO MERCY) 9. A theme song that would play every time your parent(s) enter a room? “Nothing” – Jetty Bones (Not feeling it) 10. You're walking home and you find 20 bucks, what you say? “Conman” – Shima; Sumire (Yes, this is very sussy) 11. Your Theme song? “Player of Games” – Grimes (That’s funny if you remember I used to be active in Games and Trivia, but doesn’t really fit now) 12. The end of the world is near, your reaction? “Everyone Is Disappointing” – ari hicks (Wow) 13. A good song to kill to? “Creep” – carolesdaughter (Double wow) 14. Someone broke your heart, what will you do now? “Flux” – Poppy (That is actually kind of fitting) 15. Your make-out song? “virtual reality” – Renforshort (starting to get the feeling either the quiz or my playlist is trying to make me feel bad) 16. You punch someone in the face, what do they cry out? “Burning Bridges” – Sigrid (No comment) 17. A rock is thrown through your window with a note on it. It says? “IH8EVERY1” – Sarah Barrios (Yeah, I got the message) 18. Someone compliments you on something, your reply? “Bonnie & Clyde” – YUQI (Meh) 19. What does the world and everyone in it think of you? “I Don’t Wanna Be Touched” – Meredith Bull (By me? Ow) 20. An opening fight scene song? “All I Ever Wanted” – Claire Ridgely (Meh) 21. If you were one of the 7 deadly sins... which would you be? “Rumors” – Maria Domark (The odds of it being one of the actually sins was pretty low I think) 22. Your favorite bedtime story? “Build A @#$%&” – Bella Poarch (No comment, but dang it now I got censor this) 23. The song you'll make your husband/wife dance to when you get married? “I Just Needed You” – Pale Waves (OK, not bad) 24. You and a friend are trapped on an island, how will you decide leadership? “Time Of My Life” – UPSAHL (What?) 25. How will people remember you when you're dead and gone? “Ghost In Me” – Darla Jade (It fits, but I don’t think it should) Favorites: 1, 6, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19

First, thank you for your interest! And for it's worth, I think your card design actually looks pretty good. Since making this post I've decided to give the game a generic fantasy theme. Unoriginal I know and using characters from established franchises like Bionicle, Star Wars, LOTR and whatnot had its appeal, but I feel like plain fantasy can reach a wider audience. Especially, since my next largest source of interest for this game is a discord I'm in for a SW board game; if I themed this game around just Bionicle, they'd probably be like, "What the heck is that?" A lot of other things have been eating up my time lately so I can't say when I'll have the game available to play, but I did make a post on my board gaming blog with the rules and some other design notes if you'd like to read them.

Well yes, but actually no. Technically, I made a "living card game" not a trading card game and (since I'm just playing testing right now) I'm using images from a variety of things I like. I've made about 110 cards so far and above are the ones I've made based on things from BIONICLE. Right now I'm trying to figure it out how to put the game on screentop.gg so I can play with people online and then I might try and figure out how to do the same on tabletop simulator. The original inspiration for the game was Richard Garfield's original idea for "Magic The Gathering", a game you could play while standing in line for something. So, that's the main selling point of my game, you "could" play it standing up, but I know if anyone really would want to. My main design goals have been making a simple trading card game and one that improves on the things I don't like in several other games I play. Alright, that's all I'm going to write here. Make of this what you will.

1: I've never noticed that before, but I guess it fits the theme of the EP. 2: Thanks. 3: "The JAG18 Stronghold" (2006 was always my favorite Bionicle year). I've never felt like changing my blog name back (and looking back now I don't think it was a very good name) or coming up with a new name so I just leave it as it is. Oh and I just remembered I had a second title or "subtext" like "100% Awesome, 0% Boring" to go along with the name. Yeah...

(Some lyrics aren't safe for BZP, so instead of a youtube video here's the album art instead.) I'm too sad to cry, too high to get up Don't even try ’cause I'm scared to mess up Don't like to talk, I just lay in my bed Don't even try to go out with my friends Lied to my doctor, she knew I was fakin' Gave me some pills, but I'm too scared to take 'em I try and I try, but I'm too sad to cry

"Pineapple Pinata" - Teddi Gold.

Antroz

Ussal

Archives Mole

All Matoran elements have a gender split of 50/50.

Spear of Fusion

Seeker

Oh wow, that's so cool. I've been using Spotify since the end of 2014 and it more or less turned me into a hard core music lover. To play this, 1) copypaste my list into a comment (or a word document which is what I do), but remove my answers 2) Grab a playlist (I don't know how many you've made or if you prefer the saved/library features, but you can use any playlist with at least 19 songs in it) 3) Hit the shuffle button on said playlist 4) Answer each question with the song title and either wait for each song to finish or just hit the"skip" if you want to go faster (but artists only get money if you listen to at least 30 seconds of a song so you know...) 5) Once you've answered all the questions, copypaste the result in my blog (or your blog or you can keep it to yourself, which is fine too) 6) ???? 7) PROFIT!

Iron Wolf