[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon I

[Eridanus]

That was an interesting view on magic that I've never really thought about. Reflecting on it, it would give my character much more areas to explore, and I'm going to shamelessly incorporate it into my writing, so thanks Goss!

I actually started out Eridanus with a minimal ability in flux, as Mizahar is my first RP site with such an intricate and complex magic system, as well as my first RP site with a point based skill system. These two mechanics made me wary about diving head first into magic, and even at the start I made plenty of newbie mistakes regarding gauging and understanding.

Slowly, Eridanus dived slowly into various disciplines as I, the writer, slowly got familiar with the various magic disciplines and the levels of proficiency at every skill level. Of course, I still make mistakes, and would always be happy when someone points it out to me when it happens. Magic has always been fascinating to me, and the amount of interpretation allowed is generous. For example, when Tarot told me that the actual Magecraft process is up to the player, I went crazy with the whole Paradigm system. I went crazy with pseudo-technicalities such as Djed Demultiplexers and such for Glyphing, and I know I have more crazy ideas for Animation. I love exploring such details in-depth.

A little insight to what I think of magic IC and OOC:

As a writer, magic is an excellent plot device. It lets me create tension, build twists, and construct things out of the ordinary. After all, Mizahar is our place of relaxation outside of ordinary real life. What then, is the purpose of not weaving an extra-ordinary tale in such a fictional setting? Of course, I acknowledge that it is possible without magic, but to me magic is something fascinating there, to provide that little oomph in the story.

To Eri, magic is a tool, and something for him to accomplish what he wants. More precisely, it is something to provide him the luxury of choice. Let's take the cliche example of killing someone. Without magic, there are many ways to do it. Hack and Slash, Ninja stabbing, Poisoning, Rigging an Accident, hiring a mercenary, sniping with a bow. With magic, there are a million and one ways: voiding, roasting, flux discharges, projection-hulk-smash, to name a few. Eri prefers to the luxury of choice, of alternatives, so that he could pick out the most optimal decision for every situation. Other than that, as a typical mage-wannabe, he suffers from the same curiosity and "I WANT MOAR" that all magic practitioners suffer from. Not to mention that he's a scholarly person as well, and that doubles his thirst for knowledge.

Reading Seven's post, I would like to say that I'd be as irritated as you to this group of people. In view of the instability and danger of magic, combined with the inherent distrust people have of magic especially post-Valterrian and post-Djed Storm, such behaviour is utterly reckless. Fortunately, such a group does not exist, as far as I know, so there's some comfort in that.

[Gossamer]

Don't use my scrap to shamelessly plug your group. Seriously, I don't mind hearing about your views and your character's perspectives... but its irritating to be advertising here.

[Eridanus]

Apologies, I've edited to more appropriate content.

[Mirage]

"Your ancestors called it magic, and you call it science. Where I come from they are one and the same." -Thor's words of insight

Probably my favorite part of the entire movie, and when you put it that way I can definitely see the resemblance between what he is saying and how magic works in Miza.

[Gossamer]

. Powerful Words . .

[Paragon]

I like that, and it's very true. We make judgements about other people based on our own understanding. It's a perplexing subject but we have to remember we exist in our own paradigm. No one else understands the paradigm we exist in, because it's been shaped by our own interactions, our upbringing, and our environment. Everyone understands things a little differently. When someone annoys us, we should try and stand back and think on our reaction, and how that person might have viewed what happened from their point of view. I'm trying to learn that myself

[Gossamer]

. Friends and Acquaintances Can you really know someone off the net? Can you really know someone in real life without spending a great deal of waking time with them? I don't think you can. And I have to tell you that recently I've felt a lot like someone people turn to when they 'need' someone in their life to substitute their real friends. I'm not sure how to explain it. I'm a creature of habit. I fairly accurately have set hours of operation and places I can be found. And lots of times, truthfully, I feel like a doormat for people that just need someone to talk to when the going gets rough. There are those on the net that love hearing about other people and their problems. I suspect its about time I faced the truth and said I am not one of those people. Why? Because generally, unless its something drastic and beyond their control, I have very little sympathy for people and the situations they get into. People in life have never been that kind to me. I've clawed and fought and struggled for everything I have in life, while I've watched a great deal of folks slide by without effort or thought. And when they have issues, its blatant why they have them. Mostly there's a string of situations and decisions strewn behind them that got them in the pickle they seem to be in and that's that. This should be painful to admit, but truthfully its more of a relief. A great many people AIM me when its convenient for them. They talk about their lives, rattle on about their problems, but as for listening to me and my life and my issues there's never time. I once told a young man on here that I really didn't appreciate him because he'd pop on aim, tell me all about his life, and then finally ask me how I was. Once I was done listening, and that final question came out he'd vanish... never respond to a single word I said and often timeout or go linkdead. He did it so much that I finally told him I wasn't his sounding board. And when I confronted him about it, he was so entirely awkward filled with excuses and so much text filling the screen that I realized almost instantly that I was not interesting to him. What interested him was him telling me about him. He wanted me to know HIM without the effort of knowing me. I thought I was crazy. But I see that more and more in people every day. Later, quite recently in fact, he isolated most of the game with poorly worded selfishness in his scrap that lead me to believe I was not crazy after all. It is what it is and I pegged him correctly. And the sad thing is I'm not even mad. I just feel sorry for people that walk around in those kinds of bubbles. And, of course, that my instincts are solid. And I have to keep telling myself to trust those instincts. But the thing is.. internet friends, like real friends, should talk to each other daily even if its just a hello in passing. There are thousands of people on Mizahar now, a couple hundred really active, and I can really only call three of them currently my friends. I'm glad for that, to hear from them every day and see what they are doing and to share my life with them. Would I like more? Sure. Probably. But friendship is so fleeting here. Players are here one day, gone another, and truthfully terribly self centered for the most part. If you aren't talking about them, their lives, their problems, and their insecurities they don't want to even involve you. If you don't shell out sympathy and understanding without judgement or with judgement to the world which is bringing them down, then you aren't the people they want around. It seems the more 'real' you are, the more true to yourself, the less they care for you. Sometimes I feel like the guy with the stapler in Office Space. I just want my red swingline stapler and no one seems to care enough to make that happen until after the crisis is over. You RP your heart out with someone for a month and they get board with it, retire the pc, and play with someone else. You ask yourself if its because you are a terrible writer, but the truth is its just them. They don't know what they want and so they try things on for flavor. I've also noticed a stat shyness. If a PC has been playing for a while and has great stats, people would rather play with others that do not. Many people's comfort zones lie in threading with 'equal' partners. But the problem is they can't build stats if they don't stick to one PC. You must stick to one and play your heart out with them, even if people constantly come and go in your life and there's no stability of scene whatsoever. So... I think I've been licking some abandonment wounds again. If I respond to your 'How are you?' pms and AIMs with 'Just fine..' its never the truth but more of a 'I don't feel comfortable telling you how I am because you always leave and we don't talk day to day.... so you haven't earned the right to hear it." When I'm not happy and when I'm really dealing with shit, I go on development sprees and ignore my PCs because PCs are too personal and development isn't. And I'm on one hell of a development spree right now. So if you pop into AIM and just hug on me, even if I know your sweaty as hell because you just got out of Yoga and I punch you in the arm virtually, its because I love you and am glad you really care enough to check up on me. And if I call you Cinderella a dozen times a day, its also because I love you and consider you the dearest friend ever. And if I call you at odd hours on the phone and force you to take your dog for a walk (even if its three am) to talk to me.. its cause I appreciate you even though we both know I can't hear you because I'm driving on the freeway but just wanted to talk anyhow. Thank you... I don't say it enough. And for the rest of you? Nice try, but you don't have a clue how to be friends. And if I don't know you and your a great person but have never tried to be my friend, I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about those false starts and even worse pretenses. I just want to tell you folks, you false starters, to get over yourselves... but I know that won't ever happen. You are the center of your world and to some extent its understandable. .

[Montaine]

Just wanted to bump this so it would get a little more love. Excellent piece, I think it's part of the anonymity of the Internet that people feel freer to espouse their problems, an opportunity to rattle off whatever is bothering them without the potential repercussions of doing so in real life. Frankly unless they are willing to reciprocate they don't have any right to your time, or your sympathy. Friendship should be a hard won thing, earned through hard work and based on actual companionship, not taken for granted.

Obviously it's not a good thing that you've been subjected to this, but it makes me happy knowing that you understand it and have actual people, actual friends to whom to go when you need cheering up.

Just felt like saying.

[Verilian]

Ah, the internet friend dilemma. Who is a real friend, and who isn't? I'll say right now I have two or three real friends on Mizahar. One is you, and the other is Jules and there might be another, and I would hope you feel the same about me. Sorry everyone else, but you guys are internet friends. So what's the difference between an internet friend and a real friend? Well, my real friends have my phone number (I think), and my internet friends have my AIM. I have their phone numbers also.. not that I call them, but that's because I hate talking on the phone. I also have their addresses, but that's because I'm a creepy stalker. These people I would go meet one day (and am saving for it as we speak) and would not bring a baseball bat "just in case." These people I have extended conversations with about myself, and if they want to talk about themselves I'll happily listen. Jen doesn't talk about herself that much to me, but she's free to if she wants to. These people know things about me that other people don't, and I know things about them that if I didn't consider them a friend I wouldn't have even bothered to read when they typed it. Now, internet friends are like work friends. I'll be friends with you on the internet, and I might go hang out with you.. but let's be honest, have you ever come to one of my birthday parties? Do you know my wife's name? Do you know who my best friend is? Probably not. And let's be honest again, how long would you miss me if I left? A month? Two? Would you even notice? Internet friends come and go, and while we like them while they're here, when they're gone we don't miss them for very long. Now.. I have no idea where my point went, and I don't remember what it was.. so... um.. I'm just going to let this trail off and die... The End

[Seven Xu]

People need to stop trying so hard, I think!

I don't think of you as a friend. That isn't to say I don't like you. We share interests, obviously, and sometimes we share opinions. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes I draw pictures of half-naked Akalak and put them in your scrapbook. We don't share problems because we aren't close, and that doesn't bug me and I'm sure it doesn't bug you. I think it's good to have acquaintances in your life, as good as it is to have some great close friends.

However, there's a huge difference between 'acquaintance' and 'fair-weather friend'.

I mean, I've met some pretty damn cool people on this site. I'm happy with my friends and acquaintances (I wouldn't like to put a number on it), and I don't worry about people who don't want to be friends. I feel so very grade school saying that, hah.

I feel you've given them too much attention by even taking the time to mention it. I feel you know this already. Keep on keepin' on.