Memeage.

Number One: If I were an anime/manga character, whom would I be and why?

Number Two: Pick any topic for me to rant about. Will then rant about it. Or at the very least, give my opinion on it.

Number Three: Rec one fic for me that you think that I won't have already read, but will like.

Number Four: Reccomend a song for me to hear that you think I'll appreciate, or makes you think of me. A link to download it/listen to it would be helpful as well.

Number Five: Post one memory of me, even if we don't talk that often.

Number Six: Tell me something about myself that you think I wouldn't know.

Post this in your own journal after filling it out.

Stolen in parts from different people, including cairnsy and harmonybunny114.

Requested Rant #1 (part of the meme I posted).

Roleplaying, for a_white_rain.

Oh gods.

Roleplaying.

Where to begin on this topic?

First of all, people should not be allowed to be roleplay unless they pass some sort of basic English exam, or whatever language the roleplay uses.

Secondly, they should all be forced to read one of the basic manuals on RP, and then quizzed on it. That at least would give them the ability to RP basic fights and know enough to avoid godmodding.

Thirdly, they should be paired up with experienced RPers so that they'll have someone to watch over them to make sure that they don't make too many mistakes, don't piss off GMs and understand how to take their lumps.

Want to know some of my pet peeves?

People that have invincible chars. That means people who never get hit, never get injured (never STAY injured) or just shrug off everything that happens. Uh, no. Sorry. If you get punched, you're punched. You bruise, you get disorientated, you do not just ignore it completely or state that your character ducks every single move thrown their way. Yeah, you can have a character good enough at fighting for that to work, but at the very least, dodging so many attacks ought to tire them out. Characters suffer. Get used to it. Stop trying to insulate them from everything because not only does it look stupid, but it ends up annoying people to the point that you get mass-attacked.

Attention whores. Is your char not getting enough attention? Too bad. Wait it out. If the GM is worth his/her salt, then you'll get dragged into the storyline properly or given something else to compensate for it. Do NOT start something up of your own to try to get more attention (claiming your character was raped by an NPC you made was probably the worst example I've seen of that) and do not randomly throw your character into something. Shifting into the storyine smoothly and subtly is great, but if you can't do that, trust the GM to take care of it. Do not, I repeat, do NOT just barge in with all the finesse of a drunk buffalo!

Stubborn idiocy. Aka, trying to go up against a GM. *rolls eyes* Bad, bad idea. The GM controls the landscape, the plot and has complete power over your character. If he/she decides that you're going to be separated from the main group or captured by the bad guys, then what you do is fight it IC or talk to the GM OOC. You don't suddenly take over the NPCs (and don't kill them either unless if you've been given the okay by the GM since they might be important) and you don't yell at the GM. I mean, how stupid is it to yell at someone who can legally dump an anvil on your character's head?

I've had stuff done to my chars that I wasn't comfortable with or didn't exactly like, but professional courtesy meant that I kept quiet about it, and it worked out in the end to my advantage. Your GM is not against you. Yes, in most cases s/he ends up RPing the bad guys just because normal RPers don't want to take them on, but that doesn't mean s/he wants your chars dead or wants to make your life hell. The GM is aiming for a good, enjoyable, challenging RP, and that might mean short-term discomfort in exchange for a long-term workable storyline. If you have a problem with something, differentiate the GM from the problem. Do not assume that everything is their fault or that they just hate you. *rolls eyes again* Like any GM would really personally pick on one character because of the mun behind the char.

Inconsistancy. Develop your characters along logical lines. Do not start off with a wise elf who turns into a hyper, giggly little brat whenever you feel like it. Keep your character's personalities consistent, but remember to develop them. Characters' change according to their surroundings and the happenings of the RP, not out of nowhere. And adversity doesn't always make chars stronger - if you start off with a weak, cowardly char, you can make them either run away from trouble, or grow stronger after facing it. It's your choice, and there is no law saying you have to power them up. Weak chars are actually more interesting sometimes, because they reveal more of themselves and other muns understand them better.

Oh, and while we're at it, less is rarely more. Less only works if you're going for elegant RPing, which is as difficult as hell to pull off properly so I'd reccommend you don't try it. When you make a post, explain your character's thoughts, explain their motivations, explain how they're feeling, explain what they want versus what they'll do - EXPLAIN. Muns are not mind-readers, if you want us to know something about your char, then you have to state it. And if you want other chars to know about your char's emotional state, then give signals. Write that they're shifting nervously, or that they're looking at the floor - anything at all that'll let other characters pick up on what's happening, since unless they're empaths, they are not going to be able to know how your character is feeling without you giving some sort of signal.

Nobody is perfect. Nobody is born knowing how to RP instinctively. You have to ask for help at times, you need to learn. You can't be still, you can't be static. You cannot just sit in an ivory tower, assume that you're perfect, then get surprised when your GM finally gets fed up and blows the damn place up. Talk to the other muns, chat with the GM, aim for OOC connections as well as IC connections. Put in the effort of trying to understand other chars and their needs/wants, then work with that to improve your character's ties to them. Don't use OOC knowledge to help your character's status in the RP and keep your character fair and consistent.

Above all else, DO NOT GODMOD. You are responsible for your char, and your char alone. Trying to control someone else's char is godmodding, and the most heinous crime that any RPer can committ. [/rant]

Icon-making rant, as requested by rhapsody_dragon.

Icon Making.

I took three hours yesterday searching for pictures of Barbies getting married. What I found was that a scary number of people are called Barbie, and most of them actually look like the dolls. X_x Very, very scary. You don't even want me to get into the pink Barbie-girls that I showed to Josie, seeing as they traumatized the two of us.

Now, what does that have to do with my rant? Quite simple, I needed just one picture to make an icon. One lousy picture! >_< Seriously, don't tell me that I'm the only one who has trouble finding good pictures to make icons. Fandom icons aren't that bad because there are a few warehouse sites which have tons of pictures but when you're trying to make original icons, then you might as well prepare for a few hours of screaming at the computer "I KNOW THE PICTURES EXIST, STOP HIDING THEM FROM ME!" After that, if you're using PSP, get ready to have it continually quit on you whenever you try using fancy fonts and have all your work lost. Or get into the habit of saving bases and saving finished icons separately so that you can keep working on them even after PSP decides to be moody.

Speaking of fonts, isn't it ultra-annoying that all the truly cool fonts are too large to show up properly when you make icons? You have to stick to small, simple fonts if you want to get the text on, but then you lose the swirlng effect! Which reminds me that I wanted to experiment with transparent text to see if that would solve my problem... As for small fonts, some of them don't work when you use the stroke/fill effect, and others (surprise, surprise) make PSP die. A horrible, screaming death, except you're the one screaming at it for dying.

Oh, and we all have to love the magic wand! It lets you select blocks of things by color/hue and saves you from using the lasso tool, but ooh, what's that? Oh. It selected more than I wanted? Okay, I'll just adjust that... what do you mean I can't adjust it?! ^^; Use the magic tool wisely, since it's a little indiscriminate. My personal favorite trick for the magic wand is to select small blocks at a time, then hold down the shift key to keep adding blocks. It takes longer that way, but works better over all.

So, we've covered the difficulties of finding good pictures, working with fonts and making selections - what else should this rant touch upon? Probably the fact that when you have tons of icon inspiration, you end up being unable to do them all, or if you don't have any at all, you end up frustrated at your lack of ideas. The fact that there are so many other people out there doing icons you wish you had thought of probably doesn't help either - there's a "Let the bodies hit the floor" Yami no Malik icon that practically kills me every time that I see it, just because it's so freaking awesome!

Fanart is an easy way to get good icons done, since the base is lovely to start with, but I try to avoid fanart as a general rule, unless I've drawn it. I prefer using photos or screenshots, and when it comes to photos, I like to use my own or pictures of my friends. Which reminds me that I wanted to make a Xena: Warrior Princess icon just because she rocks my socks off. Seriously, if I had to pick a role model, I'd pick her. Formerly evil overlord and lover of the God of War? Hell yeah, definitely my type of anti-heroine. XD

...but back to the point. Icons. Sometimes though, the icons just flow out exactly the way you want them, or an accidental click results in an effect that you would have never thought of on your own and an oh-so-perfect icon. I think that it's for times like that I keep making icons, but really, in the end? I just want the damn icons to look good. *smirks*

"kthxbai!" [/rant]