Letter To A Friend

Dear friend,

 Do you remember the times we would just chitchat until 4 am or later even though we both had work that morning? Going so far as to buy me minutes for my pay-as-you go account for All-Tell because we accidently talked so much in ONE day it ate all my minutes for the MONTH up... Do you remember when you came to me to bounce ideas back and forth, not just with the characters we ran together, but for feuds, storylines, etc. I do, I remember them as if it was only yesterday. 

By now you know who you are, the friend I am talking to. I won't say your name, there is really no need to. I want you to know I miss how we once were. We called each other brothers for christ sake and now... now I don't even think you consider me much of anything sometimes. From tearing down creations that took me ten years to build to their prominance in only a matter of minutes and all because I messed up and didn't do a segment. That hurt, you have no clue how much that hurt me. That you would do that to a 'brother' let alone a friend. To me repeatedly asking when I will get to do something and watching as someone else gets to do their third one; again that hurt me alot.

Maybe you didn't realize it would have that kind of effect on me. Maybe you didn't think I'd take it personally what you had a character of yours do. It happens, I know there are times I've done things I didn't realize would effect someone negatively. I know the segment thing was not truly personal, but it hurt me nonetheless because I never expected you of all people to do that kind of segment directed souly at my creations.

I've held that in for over a year now, its been that long festering inside me; spatting at me, and taunting at me. I don't say this because I'm angry; I'm not angry anymore... I've been over it. I'm just now at the point where I can say it and not sound bitter about it.

I miss what we once were; I don't really know what changed or why it did. But I have a feeling I know what it was, and for that; I can only shake my head; not just at that but at myself for allowing something as trivial as FAKE characters and storylines interfer with a friendhship... a brotherhood. I hope if you read this, you are shaking your head too because of the notion that fake characters has basically torn us apart.

In closing my dear friend, I want us back to what we once were. I want us to be brothers again. I want to feel like I matter in not only our little game with you, but that I matter to you personally. Because you matter to me, you've always mattered to me... because if you didn't dear friend?

I'd have left when the Exodus occured too.

If you read this, I'm ready... willing... and able to repair this. You know how to reach me. 

I love you, brother.

-Jer

Hello Universe, I See You've Adopted A 'Fuck, Jer" Motto

Let me preface this by telling you that overall I'm happy with my life. I got a steady job that pays my bills and allows me the luxary to enjoy my hobbies from time to time. I have amazing friends both out in the real world and on the interwebs. But there is something missing in my life and with me realizing that I'm about to turn 30 in 34 days... yeah, I'm starting to get that fear I'm going to become the one thing I never wanted to become.

That bitter single man that is doomed to be forever alone and honestly I feel I'm the one to blame for this. I wasn't single a year ago, I had someone I truly loved and saw myself marrying; we won't go into details of why that ended because honestly its in the past and she and I are better off now. I'd dare to say we are much closer as friends then we were during the final year of our relationship.

It's not for a lack of trying to move on, lord knows I've tried... and tried...and tried... only to run smack into a brick wall in some shape, form, or another. First one was at a friend's house warming party; she was beautiful, witty, and overall we hit it off to the point it was one of those so real it was unreal connections. Yeah that's fine and dandy had it not been for the fact she lives out of state... and she was the ex of the friend who's house warming party it was. Yeah... moving on.

Others would pass, none worth really mentioning, outside the batshit insane one I met off a dating website. NEVER again, oh God never again. Pictures can be a lie, folks, I learned THAT the hardway.

Recently there was this girl at work I was truly interested in and in the most poetic 'Fuck, Jer' moment the universe EVER pulled on me; she seemed interested in ME but before we could even get past that awkward feeling out phase, she was let go for having a tongue ring... fuck you, Walmart, and 'fuck Jer' because he was stupid enough to NOT ask for her number... and on the off chance she happens to catch this blog some how...

Leah, thanks for the Resse Cup and I'd like to go out for coffee sometime; you know where to reach me.

Yeah like THAT'LL happen; it'll just be another "Fuck Jer" moment. Just like it's 'Fuck, Jer' that tonight a friend of mine let it be known he was talking to a new girl that I just so HAPPENED to be interested too. Starting to see the trend here? I know I sure as fuck am.

Lets not even get started on someone else I have my eye on; that'll never happen so its not worth trying, I just know it. Too much alike, too 'perfect' so to speak. My 'equal' if you will when it comes to the battle of wits.

Sorry for this rant, I just had to get it off my chest. I promise my next blog will be about our little efed hobby, hopefully. Until then, this is Jer saying good night and Universe...

Can I PLEASE catch a break?!

Teaser For Natasha

"Jesus fuckin' christ, this heat! Could you not have found somewhere else to look for this 'treasure', Michael?" 

A young man's voice broke through the silence that had been implemented well before this little trip ever began. It was painfully obvious that the man was ill prepared for such an undertaking as he was clad in all black and was missing one key piece of gear when one treks through a rain forest; a hat. The others in the group stopped and looked at him before they turned their collective attentions to the man who was leading this expedition. Wearing a white shirt with khaki shorts, Michael A. Coffer turned his head to look at the poor soul who was panting, devoid of water as he had foolishly drank his entire canten ten minutes into the trip.

"Now I will have you know, sir, that according to my credible source, this is the only place where the treasure I seek is at. For another thing, you are not to call me, Michael, only my dearest of friends can call me by that name, and you sir are far from a friend. You are but hired help and you will address me as Mr. Coffer, am I made clear?"

His voice had a Southern drawl to it, the kind that could send chills down the base of a lesser man's spine; but was unassuming enough no one would think twice of his motives. Michael for all intents and purposes was a 'business man' but in the real world, when he was by himself, he was cold and very much calculating in all he did. He had been born into money only to lose the majority of it on one bad bet; a bet he now wished he had never taken. Now Michael Coffer found himself using what was left of his fortune to travel here into the rain forest, looking for a 'treasure' that an old friend of the family told him he would find.

"Yes, Mr. Coffer, I am sorry." The young man replied, showing just how timid he truly was; Michael could only smirk as he turned his attention back towards the direction he was previously looking at. What these poor souls did not know was that Michael had no intentions of splitting the wealth with his hired help, why split it between five other people, when he could just be rid of them all and take it all for himself.

You see accidents happened around Michael... bad accidents; the kind that left men and women dead. And he was very good at keeping his hands clean of such affairs.

"Mr. Coffer, how much longer will we be out here? Steven is going to need water soon." 

Michael did not turn his head, opting instead to continue his trek, ignoring the question that was asked of him by the only female in their group; she was the 'bleeding-heart' varity and the type that Michael saw very little use for. "Give him your own water if you truly care for his well being, Miss." He finally answered, once more keeping it on a formal level; no need to become attached to them and to learn trival details such as their names.

They'd all be dead soon enough anyways.

And off in the distance, further into the rain forest, a young woman was watching all this transpire from atop a tree, her head tilting to the side; as if examining them all. She moved one hand towards them, as a bird flew away from her side.. and below them, a snake began to slither towards the uninvited guests as well. 

This woman showed no emotion on her face as her eyes blinked only once before she started to climb down the tree; these six invaders would be dealt with just like all the ones who came before them. Her bare feet touched the ground before she kelt down into a crouch, slinking behind the tree, placing her hand on it. They would be near her soon enough and one by one; they'd be taken care of.

The bird screeched off in the distance and the girl looked up as the scream of Steven soon followed suit. The snake had done it's job. One down... five to go. She was this forest's guardian and she'd protect it from the invaders, and what they were looking for; they would never find.

But what she did not know was... she was the treasure Michael seeked out and just like any shrewed business man would; he always got what he wanted...

always...

Match Writing 101

So you think you have what it takes to be a match writer do you? You've been given the greenlight from your fedhead in question and have just recieved your very first match! Exciting times are ahead for you as you get to blaze a trail of awesome match writing and getting praised for your skills by your peers...

Stop right there.

Let me tell you from experience, don't expect praise from your peers, EVER. Matching writing is one of the most thankless jobs one can undertake in this game of ours. In fact about the only person who's going to thank you or praise you is your fedhead. I've been lucky the few times I've actually gotten thanked by someone other than Mark(FFW/SVW), Adam(SCW when I was there and wrote a few matches for them), and a host of others I've written for in the past. And to those who thanked me, allow me this chance to thank you all personally.

Cori, Rod, Cory, Roberta, Mina, Josh, and Emma; THANK YOU for appreciating what I wrote for you guys and gals; means the world to me, it truly does.

Moving on. As I said and this is the key to remember; if you are expecting praise for your work from your peers, be prepared to be disappointed. With that being said, here a few simple rules I can give you all who are just starting to match write and maybe refresh a few of us match writing vets.

Rule One: READ THE BIOS
This rule should be common knowledge but I can't tell you how many times I've read a match someone has written and then I go and check one of the bios and there was not a damned move in their moveset used, let alone any of their labeled 'strengths or weaknesses' used. The bios are there for a reason; they are a tool for you as a match writer to take advantage of. If a weakness is say 'fights to keep their mask on' USE that to keep some cheap heel heat if it's the face who's wearing the mask! And please, don't try and be cute and add some move you think someone should have unless you ask ahead of time and get the okay from the handler in question.

Rule Two: PACING
This is an often overlooked aspect of match writing and hell I've made this mistake myself from time to time; pace yourself in the match. Treat it like a thrill ride, build up the match, start slow and then drop them down the hill with an incredible spot but then give them time to digest what just happened and when you feel they are ready, hit them with another high. Don't make it a mile a minute 'car crash gone wild affair', slow and steady wins the race is a great quote for a reason, folks. Pace the match out, give an even number of highs and lows as to not burn out 'the fans' or the readers either.

Rule Three: Further The Angles
If any of the wrestlers in the match you are given has an upcoming match with another wrestler not in the match; have your commentators sell the upcoming match; it can be something as simple as saying that this match shouldn't be overlooked because they'll be facing Person C later on and they need to take this seriously. In fact and this is another thing I tend to skip sometimes because I'm human and can make mistakes; if Person A is set to lose to Person B... have Person C, the one they are feuding with be a cause of it. Have their theme hit during a turning point of the match where person A is in charge and that moment of disraction causes Person B to secure the win. It's simple but it's effective and you've JUST advanced an angle. You've killed two birds with one stone by doing this, really. You've given a different ending, while selling an upcoming match later on down the road. There are many ways you can help advance angles through the match though not just the one I gave.

Rule Four: Too Many False Finishes Cheapen The Real Finish
I know this rule is going to be pretty unpopular to people who love the false finish; hell I LOVE the false finish too; when its not overused. Here's the deal, the false finish loses it's luster and is cheapened if its overused on every match on the card. For me personally I'd save false finishes for big angle matches at PPV's or for the main events of the regular shows, again that's just me. For those that don't know, a false finish is often when the match looks like its over, Person A just laid out Person B with their finisher and goes for the 'winning pinfall' but right as that three is about to be registered, they kick out! It's exciting, don't get me wrong and it can get the crowd PUMPED like nothing else can; unless you overdo the damned thing. Hi Rock vs. Cena II. If you want to make a false finish not overused; if person B has a manager, have them jump on the apron to distract the ref to buy their client time to recoup while person A is 'pinning them for more than three seconds'... it builds HEAT for Person B while also not cheapening the real finish to come. Again two birds with one stone; I like them odds.

Rule Five: Arena Awareness
This one is more towards matches that don't involve 'rules', like falls count anywhere matches and the like. USE the arena, the WHOLE arena if you can. There is more to it than the squared circle, the announcer table, the barricade, the steel steps, and the ramp. You got the fan section it's self, the actual ring apron, the time keeper's bell; when was the last time you read a match where THAT was used? Yeah, get my point? The arena is your playground, use it; have fun and I bet you're readers will enjoy it; they may not thank you for it, but they'll enjoy it.

These are only a few basic rules that come to my mind. As always if I missed something, by all means let me know; I love feedback, whether good, bad, or indifferent. As always, I thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my blogs; because without you guys, I'm nothing but a guy writing for shits and giggles.

Until next time, 

-Jer

Relationships and When Enough is Enough

Often times I like to patrol e-fed boards and read rps just for the fun of it, or to see some of the talent out there and more often than not, I'm shocked by the amount of side characters I see in their work. This also includes my own home feds of SVW and FFW at least in the past; because some of the people who were guilty of the too much is a bad thing crime are no longer apart of those feds. Hell, I was guilty of it myself early on in my 'career' in this little hobby of ours... having about thirty side characters for one single character is to put it simply as overkill.

Side characters are important to the longivity of our main character's stories and are often called NPC's, which I always found to be amusing because are we NOT playing these side characters when we write them? Are they not being fleshed out just as much if not moreso than the main character themselves? But here's the thing and I honestly believe this to be true, you really only truly need about four side characters, maybe six if you want to push it a bit. You need your antagonist for sure, that thorn in your main character's side, the driving force of the story if its needed. An example of this and I'll use one of my own creations for this one. My main known characters at least now a days are Katherine Stryfe and Liam Alexander McIntyre, the brother and sister duo, and with the Katherine Stryfe her main antagonist or this case antagonists are the duo known as Charlie Evans and James Anderson; these two are the main foil in an overarching storyline I've been doing with Katherine for over two years now... if Kat's in trouble, one of those two are somehow involved. You need a good villian to the story, there is no denying this and for me, these two are just that; they are vile human beings that only want to see poor Katherine lose her mind and sucumb to the darkness and hatred that curses her family.

Speaking of family, a good side character is a family member, but you don't need the entire family involved; because again it can and often does become overkill; trying to force your readers to keep up with so many names, personalities, and the overall agendas of all of these characters can take its toll on them and cause them to burn out from memory overload. So keep it simple, we don't need the great aunt Betty or the long lost uncle Bart. In fact unless the family member is going to be a big deal going forward, never bring them up... ever.

But what about the best friend or the rival from high school? Yeah, what about them? Do you as a the writer plan to make them a big deal in future rps you plan to write? Or are they just going to be a one-off character for this one rp you are writing because you got nothing else to write about? If you answered the second choice, don't do it... don't make us have to learn ANOTHER character just to never bring them back up ever again. I mean there is nothing wrong with the old rival showing up to try and rub salt in old wounds, but make it have a point to it if you plan to go down this road.

I read an rp here about a month or so back by a character named Neon, it was an introduction piece that showed flashbacks to her past and introduced some characters she herself had bullied. This would be the exception to the 'don't do it' rule because it was an intro rp for the character of Neon, it showed us, as the readers why she acts the way she acts. Now, I'd love to see in future rps a resolution of these past characters as a building of the Neon character. Whether its her going to these characters and asking for forgiveness and not being given it because of how she treated them or them actually accepting it and seeing that Neon has changed and is honestly sorry for how she acted all those years ago.

In fact I think the 'don't do it' rule really can be forgone for flashbacks to some extent... now don't for the love of God take this to mean I'm saying make every rp a flashback just so you can create a one-off character, if you do, I'm going to groan and wish I never written this paragraph in this blog and probably cry. Do you want to make me cry? Do you?

Pets, believe it or not, pets can be considered side characters because they are very much a part of our character's lives and they can be good storytellers in their own right. Whether its a characters fear of Dogs and having to overcome it for the sake of a child having taken a likeing to a stray one that just won't go away. Hi, Valerie Lamb, give Spike a hug for me. Again don't overkill this either, unless you want to be called the crazy cat person that has twenty-six cats that live with them... don't laugh, I saw an rp once where there were that many cats living in the guy's apartement... how he was able to get that past the landlord I never could figure out.

My final point I want to make here and if you take anything to heart about this blog, it's this... a good rule of thumb is if you don't plan to use a character more than once, don't name them... hell keep them genderless, the less we know, the less we have to remember and wonder about when 'Jenny that long legged red haired waitress from IHop' is going to return to "Billy Badass's" work?

Until next time, this has been yet another random musing of Jer. Have a wonderful day or night and remember I'm reading your work even if you don't believe I am.

It's All In The Base

Dear readers of my blogs, it is I, Jer, once again coming to you with a request blog... and yes, you guessed it it's another one centered around my hobby and judging from just how many page views I've gotten, I get the feeling you guys and gals love what I'm writing, so I'll keep at it. If it's not broke, don't fix the damned thing right?

Today's blog is all about 'the base' and by that I mean the picture base in which one would give his or her creation to represent what their character looks like. Now the Pic Base to me makes or breaks the character's gimmick nine out of ten times because there are the rare exceptions to the rule much like anything in life when it comes to 'rules'. It's where the character transcends an obvious faulty pic base choice or the character stinks so bad the base choice really didn't matter to begin with. Now that we got that out of the way, shall we begin? I do believe we can.

Okay, let's say you've got this excellent character concept in mind, one you feel is going to be great and that your audience is going to enjoy reading and getting lost in the story you tell with them. You've got the height set at an impressive six feet and ten inches tall, he's a monster of a man weighing in at well over three hundred pounds of pure muscle mass, not an ounch of fat on him. You set his gimmick (personality for those not in the 'know' with wrestling lingo) to that of a man who is both frightening and impossing to all who would dare look at him; that children, men, and women would cower in utter fear of this man. Sounds great right? Oh it's great, you know it is... what could go wrong, right? Well... it can go wrong with a picture base choice such as....

Yeah, not so scary now is he? Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Jim Parsons, I think he's hilarious in Big Bang Theory; but he's not the least bit scary, let alone would he ever make children cower in fear with his pressence. I'd say Jim Parsons would be better suited for a different gimmick all together, it's why I use him to represent the cameraman of April Evans, who happens to be a bit socially awkward and has a fear of cats. It works, trust me on that one. Now this pic base choice could also be used for a different kind of 'fear' where its the fear of the unknown, he's unassuming, you never see him coming... that 'silent fury' styled gimmick, I could see that working for a pic base choice of one Jim Parsons.

Now lets go back to your character here, you know what you've got him set at, you realize before you even send in your app that your original pic base idea is just not going to work... so what do you do? Who do you pick to represent this monster of a man that's going to hopefully in your mind be the top level bad guy in your company? You scower the internet for that perfect base and then it hits you, you find him... you find...

Much better right? He looks like a killer, he looks like he'd cause fear in the hearts of all those who stand in his way. All it takes is one mistake in choosing your pic base and you go from a great character concept to one doomed to fail because of that choice. Bane looks the part, Jim Parsons did not. Now sometimes its not that simple or obvious because of the gimmick you are looking to portray; and again its about preception. If you pick someone like Zack Ryder as a pic base but he's nothing like the 'Jersey Shore' gimmick he is in real life, it can still work in the hands of the skilled writer. Now please the next time you wish to create a character always remember this one simple rule, dear readers.

It's all in the base...

Until next time, this has been another "Random Musing Of Jer". Stay safe, keep reading and as always, feedback is much appreciated.

When Real Crashes Fiction

Welcome one and all to my second blog, and tonight's is a topic that was requested by various people within my e-fed circle of friends and fellow players. Yes, it's another e-fed blog, so if that's not your thing feel free to hit that little X at the top of your browser and be along your merry way; but thanks for the page view though. *cheesy thumbs up*

Now my topic for this blog is all about name dropping of "Real Wrestlers" in our little game of ours with our creations. For those who don't know me all that well in this circle, which as shocking as it sounds, is a few of you I'm sure, I've NEVER liked name dropping of the real world wrestlers into our game. I find it cheapens our creations, it crashes our world's 'party' so to speak and our escape from our sometimes harsh reality is taken away from us. I said this a few weeks back and someone took offense to it and for that I don't apologize for my opinion because that's what it is, it's my opinion and I DON'T sugar coat, EVER! Anyways, the comment I made was this.

"I don't care how great your work was, the second you name drop a real wrestler, you've lost my complete interest in what you've just written."

Is it harsh? Yes, it is; but its also how I truly feel and there are others just like me. Because if there wasn't, I wouldn't be devoting a blog to the subject now would I? See there is a fine line between 'subtle refrences to our real world wrestlers' and just out right saying "I'm the son of "Stone Cold" Steven Austin!" Actually, no, no you're not... because in real life, Austin has no son and our mind's whether you want to believe it or not will go to that cold hard truth and go 'bullshit, Austin doesn't have a son, he has two daughters and an adopted daughter!" and now you've made me lose all interest of ever wanting to become invested in this character.

It would also be like bringing a character into say "The Hortonverse" which for those not in the know are the feds SVW and FFW ran by a good friend of mine, Mark Horton; that's their universe and in that universe, real life wrestlers don't exist. So for the sake of this ideal, you decide to bring in a character, it looks great on paper, a solid gimmick, a great looking picture base, believable moves... the whole nine yards until I read your actually 'history' and I notice this one big and I mean BIG no-no and that is "his greatest achievement to date was being the first man to ever beat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania!" There are two problems with this and I'll explain them both in detail.

Number One: Undertaker is still undefeated at Wrestlemania, sitting at 21-0; our minds will quickly go to this fact and go, you guessed it "BULLSHIT!" It's harsh, it hurts to know it's harsh but I'm sorry, it's the truth. So now once again I'm sadly just not going to be invested in this character because I know what your first promo is going to be about and I'm going to groan, roll my eyes and hit the back key just to escape the eye torture I've just had to endure.

Number Two: This is the biggest one here in The Hortonverse at least.. YOU DID NOT READ THE RULES WHERE IT STATES DO NOT REFERENCE REAL WRESTLERS! So by default if you couldn't even follow that one simple rule; how are we as a community of handlers going to believe you'll follow the fed's other rules? You see what I'm getting at here?

I could go all night in this blog why it's simply just a bad idea to name drop real wrestlers in our game; but I'm going to leave it at this and again it's going to be harsh and you'll need to swallow this bitter pill and get over it.

There's a reason why 'Real Federation E-feds' still exist... you want to rp as "Stone Cold" Steven Austin and beat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania? Go for it in those feds and leave us poor fictional writers alone okay?

This has been another 'Random Amusing of Jer' and as always I thank you for taking time out of your day or night to read my blog. Until next time, I bid you all a fond farewell.