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Riisiing Moon

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Blog Entries posted by Riisiing Moon

  1. Riisiing Moon
    Isaac swore. For the fourteenth time. And for the seventh, walked up the door, inhaled sharply, and backed off. There was some cosmic force shoving him toward that door, and he believed that one was from heaven—the one pushing him away every time his hand gripped the frosty handle was from somewhere else. His breath was frosty in the air, his soul ever colder. As his brain screamed at him in that incomprehensible agony only a mother’s son can feel, he let his body take control and stumbled through the door.
     
    “Mom, I’m home.”
     
    She smiled warmly. He smiled back with a warmth that felt somehow deadened by the snow outside. And he felt guilty for that—since Dad had been gone, his mother had somehow absorbed his own warmth. But he was left to his own distance.
     
    “Hey, Mom.”
     
    “Honey, do you…” She coughed, spat blood on the sheets. Isaac bit his lip. “Did you get the medicine?” Her voice was frail, alien. That disturbed him. He dreamt about banishing the unholy demons that did this to her.
     
    “Nah, Mom…they wouldn’t take change.”
     
    She blinked.
     
    Awkwardness was the only word in the English language to describe the sensation that overtook Isaac, but that was something devoid of emotion. Something as cold as a Chicago winter and a doctor’s heart. What overtook Isaac had depth and sorrow, grief and guilt. It had shame. For him and for her. And that hurt.
     
    “Oh…well that’s okay honey. I love you anyways.”
     
    He laughed. Weak, but sincere. “W-we’re gonna make it, ma. Right?”
     
    Her eyes shimmered. That force from outside returned and manifested in her tears, which in her still-youthful confidence refused to flood from her eyes. She could not hold them in, but they stood there stoic and bold, in eerie contrast to her dying form. She was a shell, but she was not hollow. She held love and she rejected the cold that Isaac had carried in.
     
    “Yeah. We’re gonna make it.”
  2. Riisiing Moon

    Back, Writing!

    By Riisiing Moon,

    Back from a one week vacation in LA!
     
    Finishing up my entry for the Short Story Contest--it should be between 4K and 5K words, so get pumped and set aside a few weeks to read it. Who else is entering?
     
    Also got an idea for a book or Epic or something along those lines that my brain's been exploding with for a couple weeks. Wanna hear?
  3. Riisiing Moon

    >.<

    By Riisiing Moon,

    You have no idea how frustrating it is to have a sick idea for the LSO Short Story Contest and not be able to discuss it with anyone.
     
    Who's entering?
  5. Riisiing Moon

    Hiatus

    By Riisiing Moon,

    In response to Vorex's question as to whether I see his face when I fall asleep, I decided to disappear to Los Angeles and thus be semi-offline for the next week or so. I'll see you when the hype surrounding Vorex's curiosity dies down.
     
    >.>
     
    <.<
  7. Riisiing Moon
    So I just saw Dark Knight Rises, and my expectations were pretty much confirmed. Not those for the quality of the movie, those were pretty much blown to smithereens and scattered to the winds of cinema. I expected that Christopher Nolan, the brilliantly shrewd director he is, would be fully aware that you just can't top the sheer horror and humanity of the Joker, so he'd instead focus more on plot than on the terrifying genuineness of any one character.
     
    Which is totally what happened, and it's why despite the freakin' awesomeness of DSR, it just can't beat Dark Knight. DSR is intellectually fascinating--the intricate plot, the depth of character, the acting. Throughout the movie, I kept thinking, 'God, Bane is an amazing actor--the way he says stuff just isn't the way any other actor ever would approach saying that stuff, and he knows how to use the shortest words to make himself totally real and beyond real at the same time. Blind=mown.'
     
    This is a totally different experience than watching Dark Knight, during which I forgot altogether that Heath Ledger was acting. Dark Knight isn't just fascinating to the brain, it's emotionally a terrifying experience. Because Heath is the Joker. I have an appreciation for Bane's acting skills, but I don't have an appreciation for Heath's because they're not acting. And that's what's so scary, is that the Joker is real.
     
    After Heath put up such an indescribable performance (because that's really what it is, you can't restrict it to a few paragraphs), he realized he'd done the best thing any person has ever done and will ever do and died because his life couldn't get any better. Don't be sad, Heath fulfilled the destiny of the universe.
  9. Riisiing Moon

    Co-Write an RPG

    By Riisiing Moon,

    Who wants to do it? You'd need to be really good with plot--coming up with elaborate plot arcs to guide the RPG once it's already in play. And you gotta like what you do. That's the only two requirements. Comment here/PM if you're interested, I'll let you know what I got.
  10. Riisiing Moon

    Music

    By Riisiing Moon,

    It's kind of miraculous, when you think about it, that people can be so deeply, spiritually affected by something created by people. I just listened to the Across the Universe version of the Beatles' Across the Universe, and there's this kind of this metaphysical sensation going on, like the song channels some greater power to man. I get how cliche that sounds, but everyone's felt it at some point--a connection to music that goes beyond physical enjoyment. It's something emotionally deeper than I can comprehend.
     
    John Lennon (the song's author, for those of you who are unfortunate enough to not recognize the name) was a freakin' mad genius, but he was really just a guy. He was as human as any of us, despite his beauty, and I highly doubt he communed with aliens or spirits at any point in life (after all, George was the Buddhist). He had just as much access to the kind of divinity related to beautiful music as you or me, and it really strikes me as amazing that he can come up with something like Across the Universe, and that a bunch of dudes making a movie for the masses can adapt it into what's in my opinion even more awe-inspiring.
     
    The way I look at is this--music is created by man, it's discovered by him. John Lennon did not create the metaphysical scraps that form music and then piece them together and take credit. He simply found it, unveiled it for everyone to behold. It's not really a miracle that humans can write something that makes us feel beyond humane. Some of us are just really good lookers.
     
    For the record, John Lennon said the lyrics to Across the Universe 'just popped into his head' while he was listening to his wife yell at him.
  11. Riisiing Moon
    It looks like while I was gone a whole new league of active members formed--the guys who blog everyday and dominate GD are total strangers to me. Makes me feel kind of old and outdated, like I belong in the past and I'm rejected by the present.
     
    Rather than get to know them, I've decided to infiltrate their ranks and destroy them from within. League of Noobs, I have located your base and booby trapped your headquarters. My vengeance will not be satisfied until you beg at my feet for my mercy or offer me hot dogs because I'm hungry. The only way to avoid this terrible fate is to already know me. If my name's unfamiliar, you better watch your back. And your sides.
     

  12. Riisiing Moon

    RPG Idea

    By Riisiing Moon,

    You guys better not steal this. I probably know someone who has contact with a lawyer or a lawyer's friend.
     
    So, the RPG would be set at sea. Instead of submitting character profiles, you'd submit a profile for your ship--ship type, weaponry, allegiance (which, of course, depends on what the plot is), etc. You'd be able to upgrade all that junk based on your success throughout the game in the areas of battle and civilization-building.
     
    How, you inquire, does one battle and build civilization? Well, you'd have control of the entire crew of your ship, and based on your efforts in the realms of battling and building civilization you'd receive upgrades!
     
    But wait, RM, how do you have any kinda personal interaction with your buddies when you control entire crews? But wait, RM, how can you keep track of the entire crew's whereabouts?
     
    Well, in addition to your ship's profile, you'd submit a relatively short profile for your captain, who's the main focus of the RPG. The crewmen would be something between PCs and NPCs--controllable for the sake of battles and civilization-building and such, but one-dimensional, 'flat' characters who can't play as much of an RPing role (lol role-playing role) as the captain. If you wanna flesh out a crew member or twelve, all you gotta do is submit a profile for 'em and get going.
     
    This is an extremely rough draft of an idea, so there'll be lots of holes. Please point them out so I can figure out solutions, or if you think it's entirely bogus scrap it all together. Thoughts?
  13. Riisiing Moon

    The RMeturn

    By Riisiing Moon,

    So, I'm back.
     
    Dunno if anyone remembers me [/vie for social approval], but it's a weird sort of nostalgia, being back on here.
     
    Entering the BZPRPG shortly.
     
    Anyone think I should get back to writing on here? SS appears to be devoid of horror/thrillers--shall I take the challenge?
     
    EDIT: Too late, I did. Check out my new SS, http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=6166<----The Captain and his Beast (Can't figure out how to get the links right. God, it's been too long since I've been on here. ).
  15. Riisiing Moon
    Clueless? Check out this entry!
     
    Want to be part of the admin team for Worldscape? Allow me to give you a quick reminder of an admin's responsibilities--as an admin, you filter the suggestions given during tasks, have the ability to (in conjunction with the rest of the team) edit the final result, and ultimately participate in the creation of an Epic, RPG, or something else entirely based around the Worldscape realm.
     
    So, if you want to be admin, all you gotta do is post in just a couple of sentences why you want it so badly, and why you think you'd be a good fit. So, post away!
  16. Riisiing Moon

    If...

    By Riisiing Moon,

    If I brought back the WA (not sure what it is? Ask!) while the League of Authors (see previous parenthetical statement) is still up, how many of you guys would join it? Along that line, how many would join it if it was a distinctly different entity from the LoA, as opposed to its previous format?
  17. Riisiing Moon
    As you've probably noticed (or not noticed, I guess), I've had a totally neutral stance on really any argument concerning HF. Primarily that's because I simply don't have a strong enough motivation to stand at any of its multifarious ends (always wanted to use that word in a sentence. ), but nonetheless that neutral stance has given me a sort of observer's advantage. Like any major decision, there's controversy. And like any controversy, criticism is spawned.
     
    Criticism, conceptually, is not an emotionally fueled action. You don't see movie critics posting reviews that say, 'LORD ABOVE THIS MOVIE FREAKING SUCKED AND NOW I'M GOING TO GO HOME AND BASH MY HEAD INTO A WALL ONCE OR TWELVE TIMES.' There's a development to a criticism, an analytical process that observes what's objectively wrong, not what you personally see as not making sense or as sparking emotion. Along that line, if you feel emotionally sparked by another's opinion, that emotion applies specifically to you--can't go generalizing and applying it to every other Bionicle fan. So, criticism is an objective analysis, not a subjective, personalized bashing, however sophisticated, of the thoughts of another. Bonesiii's got a lot to say on this topic as well; I'd check out his blog for some more info on how to specifically address the thoughts of another you disagree with strongly enough to put it in writing.
     
    The 'how to' part's not quite my major issue with the criticism concerning HF vs. Bionicle. That part's the 'When.' Controversies of smaller magnitudes--such as the lack of discussion in GD, or the best character--don't spark genuine searing emotion. It doesn't take much to recognize when a particular controversy is so large it will spark emotion. And when that happens, don't speak unless spoken to! That's a serious key to stating your criticism of another's opinion when it comes to a major argument. Feel free as a bird to state your own opinion, however strong and detailed. But when strong emotions are involved, don't go criticizing why a select individual--or everyone else--is wrong, unless you're asked to comment. You can be as upright, kind, considerate, and articulate as you want, but people are always offended, even in the slightest sense, when you come around shooting down their opinions and they don't see it coming. In fact, it's probably worse if you do it in an intellectual manner, since you've got actual facts to support why they're wrong. And that's downright embarrassing, and irritating to other bystanders, particularly the neutral ones such as yours truly.
     
    Lemme clarify, I'm not saying don't argue. There are very few issues on BZP that involve very strong emotions, and in every other issue no one will be sincerely offended by an out-of-the-blue criticism. But in a larger-scale, more serious and emotionally involved case, criticism of an opposing opinion as opposed to just stating your own thoughts will get you nowhere but a more heated debate, and people will only stick by their prior thoughts, this time purely on principle. Someone asks you, go for it. Otherwise, stand your ground with your thoughts, and defend against wayward criticism, but don't carry that out yourself.
  18. Riisiing Moon
    Welcome to Worldscape!
     
    Whoa, What's This?
     
    'Creation' is a pretty vague word. The immediate meaning is bringing something into existence that wasn't there before. Of course we can't apply this definition to physical objects, as in today's modern world it's slightly impossible to actually create a tangible thing from nothing. Creation, though, applies to thoughts as well as objects. There is a clear distinction between impulse, and creative thought--impulse is when a thought enters your mind, and creative thought is when you actively draw it out of that dark chaos.
     
    Everyone, of course, incorporates creative thought pretty much constantly, but the people who employ it the most, I believe, are writers. That term is vague as well--I'm referring to fiction writers, for one, but that also means RPG writers, RPG players, artists of all forms, and anyone else who's wanted to do any of that, but never quite got down to it. Worldscape is, as its name suggests, the process of creating a world. It is open to any human being who happens to occupy this planet and utilizes creative thought. Your task upon joining is simply to draw the best kind of thoughts from your head, and sculpt an entire world with them.
     
    Not too bad, right?
     
    Worldscape is an elaborately thought-out process. To answer the burning question on your mind, it will, in fact, be fun. Hopefully loads of fun. And, considering the fact that this is a major project, it'll last a while--which means yes, you won't see results until that while is over, but you'll be stalling that time by having unchecked amounts of fun. And yes, there will be results--the more effort you put into Worldscape, as the saying goes, the more you get out, and you will actually get something out of it. The world will be created by you as much as it is by any other participant, myself included. In that sense, I guess you could call me the founder or director of Worldscape, but you literally deserve as much credit as me.
     
    The Admins
     
    Worldscape is a step-by-step process. The first step is to pick a team of Worldscape administrators. So, what do the admins do? Basically, they direct the whole project. Worldscape is kept off the ground by tasks, each run for two weeks. Each task is constructed of a couple of steps. Tasks have a specific purpose, and the end of each task merits a result. For example, say I give you the task to make an indigenous population to the Worldscape realm. The end result will be hopefully close to perfection based on the fact that everyone's participating and so should be well-liked, but when the subject is set in stone, its up to the administrative team to fix and flukes. We're the editors, the guys who improve based on what we think is wrong. We're also the guys who submit for publication, in a sense; it's our take on things submitted by you guys that becomes part of the actual world.
     
    Don't fret, though, because the end result edited by us will be mostly the same as the one you guys, the participants, wanted. The admins exist to serve, not take the glory. In fact, if all goes well, your guys' end result should be so good we may barely need to edit at all.
     
    So, just how d you get this esteemed position? Well, the admins--four of 'em--are going to be handpicked by me. Some qualifications are needed--friendliness, for one. A harsh, robotic leader isn't exactly the essence of representation and motivation. Charisma's a pretty useful one as well. Someone who can really get down to it fast and efficiently when it needs to be gotten down, someone who can get Worldscape followers and participants, someone who's really confident they can actually make a difference. Of course, you've gotta be a smart guy. You have to know what the people want, what seem the most fantastic for the world. Peeling away business words, that basically means you have to know what's freaking awesome and what just doesn't fit or work. You've probably got to be a pretty decent writer, as well, but that doesn't matter as much.
     
    Now comes the easy part. A couple of days after this entry's posted, I'll post an entry which is really nothing more than auditions. Everyone who wants to take on the responsibility of an admin and thinks they'd be a great representative of Worldscape gets to post a quick paragraph or two as to why they want to be a Worldscape admin, and what makes them worth it. If you get shot down, doesn't mean anything other than someone else is a better leader, which doesn't say anything about your own leadership skills. After all, I can only choose three others. And it definitely doesn't mean you can't participate--in fact, it'd be pretty devastating if you didn't, since all admins and no participants is kinda self-defeating.
     
    The admins tie straight into--
     
    The Purpose of Worldscape
     
    So, that's pretty fantastic that when this is all over, you've created a whole world and such, but what's the point? Where's it all go? Well, that's where the admins really take over. Worldscape has ended, but the project has not. The admins decide on exactly what they're going to do--an epic, an RPG, etc.--but when it's all over, we're going to take the Worldscape universe and construct a masterpiece of writing--of creative thought--out of it. Be prepared...
     
    So, How's This All Going to Work?
     
    Or as I like to call it--
     
    Get to the $%&$^&*$%* Point, RM
     
    Like I said before, Worldscape is a step-by-step process. Let's dive straight into it--
     
    1. Every task is two weeks long, give or take depending on the task. At the beginning of each task, I'll post an entry with a simple topic. Using the example I did before, say I post an entry on creating a species. For seven days straight, the whole first week of the task, everyone who cares about the topic enough to participate (feel free not to) posts completely unfiltered ideas. No qualifications, other than remember this isn't a comedy project. That's pretty much it. Submit as many ideas as you want, with as much thought put into 'em as you want--after all, if they're too vague, either the admins will fix 'em up or another task pops up to elaborate on them. Feel free to compliment, comment on, or criticize the ideas of others. This is a totally unchecked discussion.
     
    Occasionally a task may include several different topics, often with no relation whatsoever--say, species creation and geography, just to get more work done. Discussion's still seven days, and you can submit ideas for however many topics you want, however detailed you wish on whichever topics you choose. You get the idea--just think. Stream of consciousness and all that. If you came late, it's up to you as to whether you want to read through the whole thing, or just post ideas, and never return to the task.
     
    2. Another entry comes up, basically a refined version of the first. No more ideas may be submitted for the topic(s), but everyone has the chance to edit their own that they put forward in the last entry, or submit the same idea just as it was, word-for-word if you want. The polls are up next, and any idea submitted in this refinement entry goes on to the polls. Anything not listed in this entry won't go on to the polls, so if you liked your idea in the discussion entry, make sure to go back and post it in the refinement one, whether edited or not. The refinement entry's not the time for commentary on the ideas of others. Submit your own ideas--again, only if they were listed in discussion, no new ones--edit if you want, and wait for the polls.
     
    The refinement period's four days long, so edit and submit fast!
     
    Note--Admins are participants as much as they are admins. They still only get one vote, so there's no bias. The admins can't just reject an idea for their own anyway, so it's all fair. Admins, feel free to admit.
     
    3. The polls! Depending on the topic and how many submissions were made, polls can range from two options to twenty. Each option has a link to the submission in the refinement entry, so it's at your convenience to browse through the options and pick your favorite. Depending on the task you might get to vote for a few different options. The winning option becomes the result for that topic, to be listed in a separate entry on just what the Worldscape realm looks like right now, and can be changed only if the admins see fit.
     
    Polls are up for three days, give or take. It's very possibly the following task may already be up while the polls are still going on, just so you know.
     
    First task should be up within the next week--what're you waiting for? Tell everyone you know!
  19. Riisiing Moon

    Forty-seven!

    By Riisiing Moon,

    That's right, The House of the Rising Moon already been listed 47 times in the Favorite Blog topic. I managed, by divine intervention, to have been listed as the favorite blog a number of times exceeding the actual number of posts! I am beyond thankful.
  20. Riisiing Moon
    So I'm reading Homestuck, early Act II. I'm on my Mac, and just as Rose attempts to pick up John's dad's car, it falls over the edge, his devastated face peering down into the depths overhead as it tumbles. A little box pops up that says, 'Connection lost.' Everything's fine, of course, and the pop-up disappears.
     
    ...What does it mean?
     

     
    On a more serious note, I'll be offline tomorrow and Wednesday. When I get back I'll get back to more serious blogging and writing--some more detailed, more serious entries (along with the funny stuff, of course), Worldscape's initiation (get followers, or join if you haven't already!), maybe some reviewing, and quite possibly begin the write-up for a COTRPG.
     
    Saving the best for last--Check out the First Annual Short Story Awards, hosted by Zar and judged by Spawn, Zar, and I!
  22. Riisiing Moon

    Writing?

    By Riisiing Moon,

    Hey guys! So, in lieu of the universe throwing one week of [insert expletive of your preference here] at me academically, there'll be a short break before Worldscape and the like start. In the meantime, I want your guys' opinions on a couple things--
     
    1. Firstly, Worldscape itself. Is anyone itself actually genuinely interested in it? I've heard some doubts about it, but how many of you would you commit and actually not participate at all, or just have your doubts but subject to the madness anyway Any general suggestions on how you want it to function or play out? Comments or questions in general? Need to hear all this before I go through with it.
     
    2. Yeah, it's true, I'm considering rescuing the WA from the dark depths of RM's chaotic mind. Going to ask you guys to be totally appreciative of how tough an endeavor like that is to run--keeping it not only up and running, but flying off the ground, with constant activity; coming up with a totally new, understandable theme every week, and pretty frequent updates. On the other hand, you of course gotta get how much freakin' fun it is, and the power something like that has over the writing forums and hopefully your writing in general, whether you be beginner or experienced.
     
    Zarayna, you can hold back on trying to appreciate the toughness, as you've already expressed on numerous occasions your being mentally incapable of such a task.
     
    3. Who seriously wants to see an awesome RPG? I've got a pretty spectacular idea that a few of you already know, but with the WA and Worldscape going, it'd be a seriously tough task. How badly do you want it in relation to anything else I'd have running at the same time?
     
    4. Haven't written in almost two months, and I'm dying to be back in the game. I'm toying around with an SS about a painter--whose paint is the blood of his victims. He sincerely believes man's only purpose is beauty, and he sees no wrong in the beautification of what makes man himself alive. He doesn't really understand people anyway, so there's no problem. Lotta philosophy, likely. Might even be an epic. Thoughts?
     
    That's all for now, tune in next week, and bring your hamsters!
  23. Riisiing Moon

    Away

    By Riisiing Moon,

    Going to be offline tomorrow, Saturday, and probably most of Sunday--Worldscape and all will be resumed and active when I get back! Don't kill yourselves!
  25. Riisiing Moon

    Worldscape

    By Riisiing Moon,

    It's been a long while since I've taken a serious undertaking on BZP. You know, a full-fledged, multi-person effort that requires devotion, time, and unprecedented overuse of your creative engines until it explodes. I have a spark of an idea that would merit such a title, and it's called Worldscape. How it actually would function on a day-to-day basis, I have no idea, but it's an idea I've been toying with for a while, and the idea seems particularly tempting.
     
    The basic concept is that a team of members, probably three to five, gets together to administrate Worldscape. Both the administration and participants can submit ideas for, as the title suggests, a world--things like setting, geography, history, plot, so on, in an order the administration would establish. The adminmen would filter these ideas and put 'em through processes like editing themselves and putting them through polls. Every single participant would have an extremely significant part in Worldscape, both in terms of daily activity (of which there'd be a lot), and long-term goals and planning. It'd be created in such a way that not a single part of it wouldn't be fun, and it'd a fantastic, hopefully even revolutionary experience for participants of every variety--writers of every kind, artists on and off the computer, visionaries, leaders, followers, procrastinators.
     
    The burning question--what happens when it's finished? Easy answer--the administration will put the whole thing together into a massive kick-butt RPG (after all, you guys designed it, how could you not love it?), or a masterpiece of writing, or both, or something else entirely.
     
    Thoughts?
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