Sixty

I figure I shall post this as well, but the words written here are no longer true in my heart, though I wish it were not so. It was once, months ago. But now...there is only emptiness. Or loneliness. I would like to find these feelings again.

EDIT, in early 2009: It seems the above little blurb is completely wrong. I think, all along, I was truly just thinking about LJ. For probably the past year...I can rightfully say she is all I truly think about.

________________________

For every minute of the day,

Sixty seconds pass by

And for any of you watching there,

It's just the blink of an eye

But to me each second is eternity

For every minute of the day,

I think of her sixty times.

Why I just can't say

I go through the same old paces

Boring familiarity day after day

But I'm not really walking here.

I can't keep the thoughts at bay

Remembering that wonderful smile...

Dreaming of other places,

Places I want to be

Wherever I can find you

For every minute of the day,

I think of you sixty times.

For every minute of the day,

I love you sixty times more.

Still Alive

I'm not sure exactly when I wrote this...but I think this is actually an unfinished poem from a couple months ago. Perhaps unrefined is the best word for it. In fact, I think I wrote it when I was half awake, and was just trying to justify my own lazy urge to stay home in bed and skip work. I just happened to find this in my folders and figured I should at least let people see it. I will say now that I'm not proud of this poem, as it feels very crude to me. But it's something. Since it's been a while, I don't feel the inspiration necessary to flesh out this poem properly, so I suppose I will be leaving it as is.

_______________________________

Woke up this mornin’ yawnin’

I’m still alive

Looked off the edge of my bed

Then took a dive

Just can’t stop all the fallin’

Into the dark

Don’t even care if it ends

I lack the heart

Used to care ‘bout what happens

Not anymore

Feelin’ so lonely lately

Life’s such a bore

Wakin’ to the sun each day

Too tired dammit

Plop my head back down again

Just can’t do it

Don’t feel like workin’ today

So shut yer yap

Sleepin’ feels so much better

Let’s take a nap

Let me rest a little more

I’m fine right here

Ursine Canine

All children need to have some item that they hold very dearly. Whether it is a blanket or a teddy bear, all parents know kids need something. When I was a child, I absolutely adored a popular children’s cartoon character known as Winnie the Pooh. I slept with a little Pooh and Piglet patterned blanket, I always carried with me a little stuffed Winnie the Pooh teddy bear everywhere I went, and I even had the honor of naming the family golden retriever Poohbear, when I was but 5 years old.

Poohbear, a name that will always be remembered with fond memories among my family, was the sweetest dog that will ever be known. The greatest thing about her was that you knew, without a doubt, that she truly did love you. Many people will say that dogs don’t think like that and they’re just being loyal to the one with the food, but that is a total fallacy. You could just see it in her eyes; Poohbear loved everybody, simple as that.

Love and loyalty often come hand in hand, and it was no different for Pooh. As retrievers come, she was more loyal than you could believe. We would take her for a walk without a leash and without worry. Oh, sure, she would wander this way to sniff at this bush, and then run over that way to chase after a squirrel, and then stop by the neighborhood kids to say hello and get a few scratches behind the ear, but she would always stay with us. All you had to do was call her name, and she would come running along, tail wagging the whole way. She would find a way out of the backyard all the time and go for a neighborhood romp, but we never had to worry about her. She would always come back and wait for us to notice her absence. We would open the front door to start searching for her, and there was Poohbear, lounging on the front porch and enjoying the weather.

I think the best way to describe Pooh is to say that she loved people. She wouldn’t play with other dogs at all. She’d smell them and wag her tail, but they were just casual acquaintances. When we got a second dog, a Chow Chow named Teddy Bear, he would try to play, but Poohbear would just ignore him. When we spent time with her, she would play with us without a second thought. It’s almost as if she were a human and not a dog.

Most importantly, she took care of my brother and me, as a grandmother would watch over her grandchildren when the mother was away. My father had always thought that she was his grandmother reincarnated as a dog. That’s just how I saw Poohbear; she wasn’t just the family dog, she was our grandmother. When I was depressed, she would just walk over and place her head on my lap, and I would feel better. Somehow, I got the feeling that behind her big brown eyes were knowledge and wisdom that no other could possibly possess.

Sadly, all good things must pass. In October of 2002, the vet diagnosed her with cancer. He didn’t give her very long. That is when I realized just how old she was. She was only 12 years old, but that’s a long time for a dog. When she had just been diagnosed, my parents decided to take her out to the camping grounds near Medina Lake just one last time. That was one of Poohbear’s favorite places to be, with all the squirrels and deer and roadrunners and raccoons. It was a paradise for her. When we got back, you could tell she had cancer. She just started to bloat up where the cancerous cells were, and she began to look larger than she really was. You could tell she was in pain, too, near the end; you could just see it in her eyes; she would not even walk because of how much she hurt. She never ever complained, not once in her life, not even when she had cancer, but you could see it: she hurt. She hurt so much, that one night my father decided we had no choice but to put her to sleep. It was the merciful thing to do, he said. Thankfully, he never had to make such a terrible decision. I said good night to her before heading off to bed, wishing that there were some other way. The next morning, she was gone. Nice and peaceful in her sleep, she just faded away, as if my saying good night was all that she was waiting for. When that happened, the whole family was devastated. I couldn’t even cry; I was just numb all over. We had her cremated afterwards, and her ashes still lay in a small wooden doghouse-shaped urn, with a photograph of her on the front. Poohbear lived from August of 1990 to October of 2002, and she had no regrets. How could she have? It’s not just the camping grounds at Medina Lake that were her paradise, her life was a paradise. She was always wagging her tail at something, never complaining about anything, and was always surrounded by those who loved her.

Her death was a traumatic moment for the whole family. We had always known that she would not be around forever, but it was still a shock. She was always so happy, cheerful, and loving that she felt immortal to us. Poohbear was a true guardian angel. She meant very much to us, and I believe she taught our family the true meaning of love. It was impossible to live with someone who radiated so much love and not feel the same way. I cannot help but think that it was her purpose in life to pass on to my family one all-important lesson: it is with actions, not with words, that you show a person how much you care, and that is as it should be

Roleplay Idea: Mutant Haven

This is something I tried to start over on the Gaia Online forums and never got off the ground. It's a roleplay idea I'd had when I found myself frustrated by how many X-Men roleplays out there. So much potential for a roleplay, yet such utter disregard for originality. I'm going to copy all this directly from the thread I'd made on the Gaia Online forums, because I'm lazy. I chose to call it Mutant Haven, but there are probably better names for it. Feel free to comment on what you think of it, if anybody actually looks into this blog at all.



Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Plot
3. Rules
4. Profile skeleton
5. Characters
6. Roleplaying tips
7. Favorites/Banned
8. Banners
9. Locations
10. Updates
11. Reserved

Introduction

Tired of all those X-Men roleplays that don't care about the facts of the X-Men universe (comic book or movie)? Tired of joining roleplays that sound awesome but turn into nothing more than a romance roleplay? (no offense to those of you who love romance RP, but I wish people wouldn't join an RP with an awesome plot and then only worry about fake online romance with somebody) Do you like playing literate roleplays? How literate would you call literate? Been looking for a serious roleplay that's so awesome, it should be a novel?
Well, then join us and write that novel!
This roleplay is a serious, literate roleplay that I've decided to try and start up. It's the first roleplay I've ever bothered to start, but I've seen a lot of roleplays in my time, joined a few, and have played a roleplay enforced MUD before, so I hope this turns out well.

This roleplay is, as the title hints at, one where you play as a mutant. Well, you can be a human if you want. I don't see many people doing that, but I do give you the option.
The main focus of this roleplay is that humanity has begun to evolve. It's much like X-Men, yes, but I really only started this to avoid messing with the X-Men universe and thus give us more creativity.
I really leave a lot up in the air though. We're not limited to one part of the planet. Not so much as even a single country, though our characters will still have to meet each other, so we can't just wander about wherever. I also allow you to choose your character's viewpoint on the events in the story. You don't have to be limited to good and bad. Reality is rarely like that. I want your character to be real, with emotions and personality flaws affecting their judgements. You can have the ultimate hero or the ultimate bad guy, but I don't want too many of those, all right?
I will say right now, although it means a more awesome story if the bad guys win sometimes, I want the good guys to win in the end, all right? Just keep in mind, you evil folk, neutrals, and double agents, that if this turns out very well, I may go for a sequel when this story reaches it's end, so if you lose, that doesn't mean it's all over.

If you have a suggestion about anything, please send me a polite PM. I will listen, but only if you're polite about it, or at least not overly brash. I will seriously consider your suggestion, but I won't guarantee that I will go through with it.

Serious?

Yes, serious. I mean I want this to be an awesome roleplay. When I roleplay, I like to treat it as if I'm writing a novel, but am only capable of directing one character. Let's just call this roleplay an interactive novel...or maybe even a team effort. No, I'm not trying to turn this into a novel, but I want to have something good here. I hope you know what I mean. It's hard to get across what I mean, because I haven't really seen any other roleplays that go for this. I love awesome stories, and it pains me to see roleplays that have a lot of potential to be an awesome story, and then people who don't know what they're doing go and ruin everything and lead their characters down paths that simply don't make sense.

Literate?

You know, I see this term thrown around rather loosely on the Gaia Online forums. I think people are losing sight of what it means to be literate. It's not just about spelling your words right. It's also about having proper sentence structure. It's about using detail in your posts. It's about being sensible about your posts.
No, I won't be super nit-picky about your grammar and spelling. I'm lenient, though it bugs me to see the English language chopped up. Just try to make sure you get your message across and attempt to use proper English.
Remember: treat it like you're writing a fantasy novel. Or maybe imagine it as a movie, if you must. What would your character do if the roleplay was a movie? Picture it in your head and describe what you see.
I like detail. Don't do posts completely consisting of your character's spoken reply to another, if that's all you're looking to do. Post something about his body language. Maybe he chuckles. Maybe he turns his head away to stare at nothing as he replies. Maybe his hair or some other long garment streams out behind him in the wind to accentuate his heroic response. Catch my drift? This sort of thing can even allow your character to not say anything, if you work it right.

I make you an offer: if you ever want help with a post, whether it be your grammar or how to make it a better post, feel free to PM me or even IM me (if I'm online). Don't hesitate to ask.

Worried?

Don't worry. Roleplaying is about having fun. I have fun roleplaying as I've described. Rather, as I've tried to describe...I'm not sure if I've gotten across what I mean. Everybody has a bit of writer's block sometimes. It happens, so either don't post or just deal with it as usual. Sometimes, there won't be much to say or do anyways, you know? Also, everybody gets typos. Don't be ashamed of it. Don't worry about me beating you up with the grammar bat. If you make a typo, all I ask is that you go back and correct it. Especially big typos, like somebody posted while you were typing yours out and it caused yours to not make sense. Like if somebody throws a rock at you, but I catch it while you're typing your response. If that happens, don't leave it and then post saying to ignore. Go and edit it as quickly as you can. Also, before pressing submit on a new post: do a preview first. Scroll down and check the most recent post.

Plot

[I hope you don't find that this is too long of a read...I got carried away. ^.^;]

My name is Doctor Darien Trask. I'm 30 years old, six feet tall, with long brown hair and green eyes. I am one of the foremost experts in psychology. I am the sole heir to a vast fortune and the family land, upon which lie many buildings, including the family mansion. I am also a mutant.

Humanity is evolving. This is something you hear everyday in your science class. But humanity is evolving right now, before your very eyes. It started slowly at first. A teenage boy in Arizona putting out a fire without any water. A thief in New York being thrown through the air by some invisible force, with only an eight-year-old girl as witness. A little boy lifting up a turned over minivan to rescue his injured mother.
Humanity is evolving in some very amazing ways. We're becoming something other than human. We've been given wonderful gifts.

Normal humans, those without powers, have taken to calling us mutants. Many of them fear us, as though we're some new threat. Many of them support us, even idolize us, as the future. The next generation of humanity, destined for greatness. And there are also those who are undecided. Some even simply don't care, as though it does not affect them.
There is even division among mutants themselves. Many of us seek merely to be treated as equals. Though we acknowledge our uniqueness, we don't want to be seen as different. We don't want to be feared. We don't want to be shunned by our families, friends, and co-workers.
There are also many mutants who have come to believe mutants, being superior to humans, deserve to rule. Some mutants want to destroy humanity, forgetting that they were once human themselves or that they were born of humans.
And then there are the mutants that just want to be left alone. They barely acknowledge their own powers. They just want to live out their lives without much fuss, choosing not to let their powers alter their world.
Perhaps they're merely undecided, and trying to choose. There are even some mutants, I'm afraid, who play both sides against each other, their true goals unknown.

Yes, I am a mutant. I am one of the earliest-known mutants and one of the most powerful. My gift is telepathy, telekinesis, and even a limited precognition. Some may call me a psychic.
I secretly lead an organization to help mutants gain equal treatment by humans. To accomplish this end, I have turned my family's land, which has been in the Trask family for generations, into a haven for mutants. It is a place for those mutants who have nowhere to go or no one to turn to. It is also a place where mutants can learn to control their powers and to be trained in their proper use. In a fit of artistic flair, I have named this organization Magi.
Publicly, this is the Trask School for Gifted Youngsters and I am it's headmaster. It is also known as the Trask University, also headed by me. I personally approach young mutants in their teenage years, about when they first discover their powers, and invite them to my school. It acts as both a high school and a university. It is my hope that in doing so, not only do I provide these young people with a strong education, but the knowledge and training required to control their powers. I also seek to teach them to not abuse their power. It is important, especially at this critical time for mutantkind, that we not appear to normal humans as anything dangerous.

There are others taking mutants under their wings. Unfortunately, they do not hold the same views that the Magi do. They seek to rule mankind. They masquerade as an organization for helping troubled teens and young adults. They personally approach mutants, especially those who have trouble fitting in with their new powers. Those who have been discriminated against. They invite these mutants to join their group, offering them power over those without power. A seat in their new world order. They call themselves, in a fit of obvious originality, The Organization.

There are other mutants out there as well. They do not name themselves, they do not reveal themselves often, and are few in number. I only know that they are there and seek to eradicate humanity. It is my theory that they approach only the most powerful mutants, seeking aid in their cause to rid the planet of humanity, leaving behind only mutants to form the world as they wish.

There is a war coming. I try to prevent it, but it will inevitably come. Which side are you on? Are you even on a side?

Rules

Oh boy, the rules. I know what you're thinking: skip to the next section. At least take a glance, okay? Roleplay rules are put up for a reason: to make sure that everybody has fun and that nobody is offended. If you think I should add another rule, or would like to make a rule less strict or something, feel free to message me through PM or IM. Just be polite.

--Obviously, be literate. Post in third-person, check dictionary.com for your spelling, make sure your grammar at least somewhat makes sense. Read it aloud, and if it sounds weird, fix it. If you need help with grammar, feel free to ask me through PM or IM.
--Be serious. I do NOT want this turning into a romance RP. I don't want this turning into nonsense. By all means, have fun, but don't do stuff like randomly blow up New York, okay? I understand this is a vague rule, so just try your best. Pretend you're writing a novel with several other people, okay?
--Be as creative and original as possible. Obviously. I don't want to see people with mutant powers that they are the wielder of the keyblade, okay? That's stupid. Come up with your own power.
--Obviously, follows the Gaia rules. I personally don't care if you start swearing. Just don't drop the F bomb and don't swear every other word. If the Gaia mods would get on your case for it, don't do it.
--Romance IS okay. Go ahead, flirt, kiss, have your characters date, but I will NOT let this become a romance RP. Also, with this, follow the Gaia rules. As I've said: if the Gaia mods would get on your case for it, don't do it. However, don't romance it up too much. This is a serious roleplay. If I think you're overdoing it, I'll ban you from the roleplay. I'll give you a warning first, as I'm not cruel. The plot may pass you up a bit if you overdo it, as well, so hopefully you'll realize it'd be good to take it down a notch.
--If you join the RP, you must be involved in the main plot. You will be ignored and the plot will move on without you. Don't be a loner. Don't go doing your own thing seperate from the plot. This ties in a little with the romance thing: it may be okay, but if the plot moves on, and you choose to keep romancing it up, you will be left behind.
--I don't mind side-stories for your character. Those are always fun. Just make sure you get other people involved. Especially be sure to let me know you want to go into a bit of a side-story to develop your character. Wait for me to give you the okay to do so beforehand, too, so that the main plot doesn't pass you by. This way, I can also find a way to tie it in smoothly with the main plot that I have in mind.
--If you're going to do romance, don't be retarded about it. I'd prefer it look somewhat like real romance, but also not be too cheesy, (unless you want your character to be cheesy for some reason...just don't overdo it)
--No controlling of other characters without their permission. The one exception to this is if your character is unconscious. Be aware that if you're knocked out and drugged to sleep, your character can be carried or dragged somewhere else. There's not anything your character can really do to stop them anyways. Deal with it.
--No killing without permission. I doubt anybody will actually allow their character to die. Personally, I think it'd be awesome for the storyline if a tragic death occurs at least once, but if death does happen, permission must be granted.
--No gods. You can't be all-powerful, immortal, and/or undefeatable. No matter how powerful your character gets, he ain't flawless. There is the chance that you will lose.
--Let us know when you go offline with a simple and short OOC message. It helps others out with their roleplaying so they know to be patient.
--No spamming. I will be somewhat lenient with this, but I don't want several pages of OOC discussion. Use PMs or Ims for that please.
--No bumping. This subforum ain't that active anyways. I will put up a recruiting thread in Barton OOC which you can bump if you really want something to bump.
--I don't care if your character is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or even if you're a guy playing a girl, just don't get carried away with it.
--Go ahead and post anime pictures if you want. I don't mind. You can also post real photos, that's even more awesome. Especially if you go to the trouble to modify it in Photoshop or something. I especially applaud those of you who put up text descriptions, whether it's because you don't want to steal images, don't like images, or just like the text descriptions. I absolutely forbid using the "looks like avatar" routine, though. Out of the question.
--DO NOT POST YOUR PROFILE!

Profile Skeleton

All right, first thing: if you want to join, PM your profile to me. Try to make your character somewhat deep. I like characters to have emotion and history. Also, don't say something like "Shy and quiet, but sometimes random and crazy and a party animal" because that sorta thing doesn't happen. It's like you don't want to limit yourself to one personality, so you just say something vague enough to let you do anything and everything.
Also, I will be listing requests. It's sorta like pre-made characters, except I'm just asking for certain powers or certain personalities, and I leave the rest up to you, so it's more like requests. If you want to make a request, say you want a certain kind of character as an important part of your own character's history or perhaps that would be important for future plot in the story, just let me know.

The more people who join, the better, so I'll try not to be picky. At least, I won't outright reject you. I may reply with suggestions on how to improve your profile. Please do not be offended if I do this. I'm just trying to help improve your roleplaying. I don't want to cramp your roleplaying style, though.

Explanations of stuff on the skeleton:
When I say nickname, I mean like Scott Summers is called Cyclops, not like a guy named Alexander will be called Al by his friends.

Under Misc, you don't have to post anything, but like..if you just want to mention extra things you don't feel fits elsewhere, put it there. Like maybe your character has a phobia of the dark. Or your character likes to fight with a weapon instead of just his powers. Maybe your character always has some object with him, like a piece of clothing that he doesn't leave home without. Maybe if you want to mention where his family is, or if they're dead. Anything can be put there if you don't want to put it somewhere else, but it's optional.

Political standpoint means where your character stands on mutant/human relations. Equality? Eradicate the humans? Mutants should rule? Double Agent?
Mutants, put either Magi (good guy group), Organization (bad guy group), Total Evil (want to destroy humanity), or Other (double agents, neutrals, and undecided). Humans, put For (you support mutant equality, possibly team up with Magi), Againts (seek a "cure" to the mutant "disease" or something similar), Evil (hate mutants, want to totally eradicate), or Other (undecided, uncaring, double agents). We'd like a good number of good and evil. Neutral, undecided, and double agents aren't really necessary, but I give you the option because having one or two of those around spice things up. Double agents tend to play either Magi and Organization against each other or the For and Against humans against each other. Don't get the eradicating groups involved, since they are a bit of a...less public group, let us say.

Note that you can choose to be a human, in which case, under powers, you can list weapons they use, what sort of martial arts they use to fight, what kind of technology they use in combat, etc. Don't be like "Antimatter gun" or "Ultima Weapon" but don't just give your character a dagger or something. If you do that, you won't have much of a role to play, trust me. We don't need humans for this plot, but it would add to the story. If you are a human, expect the possibility that you mostly lose to mutants, but still try your best to get your character to win. Mutant powers aren't necessarily superior and there will be battles where you win. Really, whether your human character beats another mutant character is entirely up to you and your foe...not to me.

If you want your mutant to have dormant powers that may later be awakened, that's cool. You can also choose not to reveal these dormant powers and thus make the story more dramatic (I've got something awesome in store with my main character).

The only thing I ask about your mutant powers is to try your best to be original. If there's already a guy with pyrokinesis, try to come up with something else, or maybe add something more. Maybe you don't just control fire, but you can do lava, too, and can convert your whole body into fire. It'd be better if you tried something totally new, but I understand that you can only be so creative with these powers.
If you're having trouble choosing your mutant powers, check out the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_powers_in_superhero_fiction

As stated before, you can use an anime pic (good), an actual photo (better), or a text description (best), but not your Gaia avatar (forbidden).

If I accept your profile, I'd like for your first action to be roleplaying how your character discovered his mutant powers. Consider it as a sort of preview of your ability to roleplay and whether I should have accepted you or not.

Finally! On to the skeleton. This is what you will fill and out and post in the Character Profiles section of this subforum. You must PM me with a link to that filled out profile.

Skeleton

Quote:

Gaia Username: Character Name: Nickname: Gender: Mutant or Human: Age: Height: Weight: Sexuality: Country of Origin: Political standpoint: Personality: Powers: Bio: Misc: Pic/Appearance:

Requests
--A mutant with powers over darkness and shadows would be awesome for either the Organization or Total Evil groups. Even better if he starts out with the Magi or Neutral as a mutant with weaker powers, (maybe he can only do something like turn invisible, I dunno), but then his powers of darkness are fully realized after some crisis and he is affected by the power, going crazy and suddenly deciding he wants to destroy/rule humanity. You don't have to mention that he has the dormant shadow powers if you want to surprise the other players as to who is this particular evil guy. In fact, that would be awesome. Imagine how things would be with the character's friends at the time he goes discovers his power and is corrupted by it.
In the case that this mutant discovered latent shadow powers and had been with the good guys until the discovery, he/she would need to be best friends, or at least really good friends, with my character (Static).

Characters

Quote:

Gaia Username: DrakeWurrum Character Name: Doctor Darien Trask Nickname: Cerebro Gender: Male Mutant or Human: Mutant Age: 30 Height: 6'0" Weight: 200 lbs. Sexuality: Heterosexual Country of Origin: Britain Political standpoint: Magi Personality: He's a very generous and kind young man, and a very understanding individual. This may stem from his ability to read your thoughts and thus understand your point of view in full. As such, he is very tolerant of the actions of others, so long as they do not truly cause harm. He is the sort of man who fights for what he believes in, no matter the cost. Powers: Telepathy, Telekinesis, limited Precognition Bio: Darien was the only child of two rich parents, and he thus inherited their forunte and their vast plot of land. They raised him well, and they weren't even too busy with their jobs to take care of him. He'd never been happy to see others in misery or pain. Nobody is sure of when or how he'd discovered his powerful mental abilities, but he has since developed them to a great degree of power and control. Few mutants can match his power, though there are even those who surpass him in power. He has very strong morals and only uses his powers to do the right thing. Currently, that involves furthering the acceptance of mutants among humans and protecting humans from dangerous mutants. Misc: One of the richest people on earth. One of the most powerful mutants. Leader of the Magi. Headmaster of the Trask School for Gifted Youngsters and the Trask University. He usually dresses in business casual, with slacks and button up shirt. Pic/Appearance:

Quote:

Gaia Username: DrakeWurrum Character Name: Drake Wurrum Nickname: Static Gender: Male Mutant or Human: Mutant Age: 20 Height: 5'10" Weight: 180lbs. Sexuality: heterosexual Country of Origin: United States of America Political standpoint: Magi Personality: In contrast to the chaotic element he has command over, Drake is a rather calm person in general, and few things truly surprise him. As such, when a crisis occurs, he is often the first to act and help out. He only uses his powers to do what is right, having been raised as a gentle-hearted, yet strong-willed, young man. Often it is his natural gut instinct that denotes what is right. If somebody were to ask him why he chose to do something, he will usually just shrug and say "I went with my gut instinct." Powers: Technically speaking, he has electrokinesis. Basically, he can manipulate, generate, and absorb electricity. He often uses this power in the form of blasts of lightning from his hands, generating and manipulating electrical fields, and manipulating electronic devices. He also has control over electrical charge, and can thus give the appearance of having control over magnetism by manipulating the charges of objects and people, including himself. He can fly or hover in the air by manipulating electrical fields around himself, and has had considerable practice in doing so. (if you need a point of reference, his powers are just like those of Static Shock...you know, that cartoon on Cartoon Network of a black high school student who gets electrical powers from some strange purple gas...except Drake's powers aren't purple, they're blue...and he can fly without a silly metal disc) Bio: Drake originally lived up in the colder weather of the north-western states, just outside of Seattle. One moonless night, when he was still in elementary school, he was walking down neighborhood streets watching the stars, as he always liked doing this. A car without it's headlights on came out of nowhere, full speed, without even honking the horn. He didn't see it until it was too late to get out of the way, and he knew it. He put up his hands in instinctual fear and electricity surged from nearby power transformers, into Drake, and then straight out at the car, frying the engine. Drake was totally unharmed, and so was the driver, but the power was out for weeks. Fortunately, whoever had been driving the car was not paying attention and had not seen Drake's mutant ability. He realized then that he had special powers and secretly honed them on his own. Fortunately, nobody ever discovered his powers, thus leading a fairly normal life. One day, when he was 14 years old, a psychologist by the name of Doctor Darien Trask visited his suburban home and made an offer to attend his School for Gifted Youngsters, to which Drake happily agreed. He was Dr. Trask's very first student, and is still his star pupil and a member of Magi. He stayed on to join the Xavier Institue and aid in the training of other mutants and their powers. He has become quite talented in the field of computer science. Misc: He is almost always wearing a black oilskin duster and a dark blue scarf, which is wrapped around his neck so that it also covers his mouth, the two ends thrown over his shoulders. He will sometimes lower his face down into the scarf so that only his eyes show over it. He typically wears black cargo pants and a black T-shirt as well. His hair is actually a natural color of blue, perhaps being related to his mutation, but he will tell most people that he dyes his hair. Pic/Appearance:

Roleplaying Tips

I'll try to constantly add to this section as I think of more ways to help out your roleplaying. Also, feel free to PM me your own Roleplaying Tips, and I'll post them up here. For now, my brain is fuzzy from typing so much already, so I'll just put a little bit here for now.

--Stick to third-person. It really helps add to the feel that this is an interactive novel, which is what I consider a true roleplay to be.
--Add body language if you don't do much but verbally respond to somebody. Body language plays a big part in conversations between real people, such as smirking, smilling, your eyes glinting mischievously, turning your head away from the other person, staring at the ground, mumbling...all sorts of stuff. Maybe your scarf or hair streams out behind you.
--Add what your character is thinking with italics. This sometimes helps let the other players know why your character is acting the way he is, and is useful for telepaths.
--Don't be afraid to add random weather. You can suddenly decide it starts raining in your area, assuming you don't change the weather too rapidly (of course, if you control the weather, you don't have to worry about this too much)
--Be creative and original. Repetition gets dull, so make sure your character is at least little dynamic and human.
--Before you post, click on preview and look it over. Be patient with your posts, okay? We're not in a rush. If you try to rush art, it comes out horrible. If you take your time and remember to preview, you may notice that somebody else posted while you were typing, causing you to have to modify your post. You may also notice typos and bad grammar.
--Above all, have fun! This is a roleplaying GAME!

Favorites

These are the people that are really awesome roleplayers and deserve a medal for contributing a lot to this roleplay, and perhaps even for advancing the plot in surprising ways I did not foresee. I hope to make this a long list.

Banned

These are people I shall not allow in this thread, and will appeal to mods to keep out of my thread. Try not to get on this list. You have to try really hard to piss me off, and if you do, I will show no mercy. Please keep this list empty.

Banners

I would love to either get some art I can make into banners for this or to get some banners for this. Consider using the words Serious Mutants or Magi and portraying a mutant exercising his mutant powers. Like my character, Static, showing off his electrokinesis.

Locations

This will be a list of locations in the roleplay. Obviously, it's located on planet earth in the real world, so there are places like New York City and Baghdad and Hong Kong...but this will be a list of specific places in the roleplay. I will be continuously be adding to this as the roleplay goes on.

-- Trask Mansion : the Trask Mansion is owned by Doctor Darien Trask, one of the world's richest and most powerful men, and a world-renowned expert in psychology. The Trask Mansion is located on a large plot of land in the state of New York, far from any actual cities, with many buildings upon it.

-- Trask Family Estate : a large, gorgeous plot of land owned by Doctor Darien Trask. Several buildings have been built upon it, but it's natural beauty and charm has been left largely intact. The Trask Mansion is, obviously, located on the Estate as the most prominent building and located closest to the single road that leads to the Estate from the nearest city. Many of the buildings serve as housing complexes for mutants that choose to stay on at the Estate afterwards. Some of them become the teachers at the schools, while others join with the Magi and help fight for mutant rights while protecting humanity from the Organization. Others stay at the Estate simply because it is a haven for mutants everywhere.

-- Trask School for Gifted Youngsters : a special school for teenage mutants, still discovering their powers and learning how to use them, run by Doctor Darien Trask. Only the students and teachers at the school know that every student that attends is actually a mutant. This is to protect the budding young mutants from being attacked by mutant-haters, although their only defense against other mutants are their own powers. The school is located on the Trask Family Estate in several of the buildings, including the Mansion itself. The students live in a building which has been set up as a dorm.

-- Trask University : a special college for mutants, though this aspect of the college is kept secret. This is for mutants who choose to stay on at the Mansion Grounds to learn more about their powers, while still remaining under the guise of leading a normal life. The students attending this University live in a seperate dorm from the students who attend the Trask School.

-- Magi Compound : a secret facility located underneath the Trask Mansion, only known to a few select residents of the Trask Estate, and trusted friends, where mutants train their powers for combat use. It contains the latest, most advanced technology, including a supercomputer with the ability to locate any mutant in the world. There are advanced medical and research facilities which human scientists can only dream of. It also houses several highly advanced vehicles, including a specialized jet far more advanced than anything the military has. It is a vast, multi-level complex that only be accessed from the Trask Mansion itself via secret elevators that react to DNA scanners.

OOC Updates

6/20/2006 : The roleplay is opened; waiting for people to join

6/22/2006 : Realized I needed to add a list of locations; also realized I needed to add an update section; still waiting for people to join

IC Updates

None yet, the roleplay has not yet started

Reserved

Sky

No-one takes the time to watch the clouds roll by
They just can’t stop to stare up into the sky
Because then they feel they’re wasting the day
They’re too obsessed with counting minutes away.

Always so busy, walking here and there
Only with purpose do we go anywhere
We never walk at a leisurely pace
Instead viewing life as one big race.

Perhaps it’s that we find the sky is too bright
We’re indoors for so long, away from the light
That we forget the sky is there at all
Even when in the skyscrapers oh so tall.

Or maybe it’s that I’m too slow
Taking my time, watching you go
When I should be racing along, too
Constantly stressing over all I must do.

Maybe I should get a special calendar
Carry with me a portable planner
Strap a shiny new watch onto my wrist
So that not a second is ever missed.

But no, that truly is quite silly
Racing about like ants willy nilly
Life is not about work work work
That turns everyone into mean old jerks.

You need to stop before life passes right on through
Or before you know it, you’re eighty-two
You might miss something important
That’s not something you should want.

Take the day off to lay down in the grass
Just watch the clouds roll by, simply relax
Come sit with me, if just for a bit
Look at the wonders you’ve surely missed.

Do you see that blue and white, so way up high?
That, my friend, is what I call the sky.

Alone

I sit in front of my laptop, day by day
Always at the keyboard, typing furiously away
But nothing ever happens, not one thing
So I spend my days waiting, always waiting.

When I go outside, I walk with my head held high
Walking briskly one way or another, not caring why
But then I go inside, and my shoulders stoop down
I shuffle my feet, and I stare always at the ground.

I do not understand why I am so lame
I do not understand why things stay the same
But I know for sure, just one thing only
The last thing I want is feel this lonely.

I go out on the town, have a blast with my buds
Smiling so freely in my snazzy cool duds
But I walk home alone, my feet in the mud
My mood falling far down with a mighty big thud.

No matter where I go, the rain always falls
No matter what I do, nobody ever calls
And though I always love to dance in the rain
I don’t like to be alone and in so much pain.

I have many friends with which I often chat
But these friends are never more than just that
Though I’m always told I’m an awesome guy
Feelings between us couldn’t possibly fly.

Perhaps it is merely that I show such sadness
Perhaps it is merely that I am too full of kindness
It’s never with the nice guy that a girl falls in love
Even if they fit together like a hand and a glove.

Always am I waiting for my skies to clear up
Following my friends like some little lost pup
But I’m a dog that’s never tossed a bone
When all that I want is to not be alone.

And so I spend my days waiting, always waiting
But nothing ever happens, not one thing
Though I’m always at the keyboard, typing furiously away
Always in front of my laptop, day by day.

So here I am...

So here I am...
I’m walkin’ down the sidewalk
And I’m starin’ at my feet
As they cross the cracks in concrete.
I'm thinkin’ ‘bout the world
And formin' ideas that swirl.
How I wish to turn it upside down
And make a smile into a frown.

If fiction could be truth, indeed
So many people would be freed.
None would stare up into the sky,
Wishing they could fly way up high.
For any who want the power of birds,
Wings will sprout with only a word.

We’d build space ships and travel to the stars,
Then no longer would we have to wonder what they are.
Whether they be great big burning balls of gas,
Or magical pixie fairies made of glass,
If you make a wish upon the sparkling lights,
All your dreams will then take flight.

Fairy tales and myths are in our dreams no more.
The world around us no longer such a bore.
The world of make-believe no longer just for show,
But all around us a reality and everything we know.

Wouldn’t that be lovely?

But here I am…
Walkin’ down the sidewalk and I’m starin’ at my feet,
With nothin’ to look forward to, but crossing cracks in concrete,
As these thoughts swirl around inside my head,
Wishing they were real instead.

I turn my eyes up to the starry sheet,
See a streak of light, so discreet,
And smile up at this magic feat.

I make a silent wish of reprieve:
Wouldn’t it be wonderful…if we could all believe?

Swirling Down

Fear of another icy shoulder

Fright of unsaid farewell.

Like a fool, I fought my fate

And was betrayed in the storm,

Too trusting for mine own good.

I envy the weeping rain,

For it grieves as I cannot.

“What have I done to deserve this?

“Am I not allowed to love?”

Questions I always ask.

Questions never answered.

“I don’t want to be alone!”

I cry out to the world,

But the wind steals my voice.

All that’s left is emptiness,

As my soul falls beneath the waves

And is lost in a sea of sorrow.

Whenever love finds me

It serves only to hurt;

Love must end in pain,

Time has chimed once…twice…thrice…

Three times was my heart cleft in twain.

Beneath my stoic demeanor

A maelstrom rages within.

This May Be Rather...Quiet...

I've made this Blog for posting all of my writings that don't fall under the header of full-fledged in-progress fiction works. I didn't want to just post them up under my Blurbs blog, because then they'd be lost in the archives eventually. I also feel, however, that this particular blog won't become very full. I rarely find inspiration for poetry, and it's even more rare for when I write a short story without the intention to make it into a full-fledged fiction work. I'm also not fond of writing essays. I'm too lazy for that and will just blurb my thoughts.

Either way, that's what this blog is here for. Who knows? Maybe just having this will help me get out more miscellaneous writings.