[Amondaris' Scrapbook] Shackle Keep

by **Amondaris** on March 29th, 2011, 12:16 am

Shackle Keep

Welcome, dear visitors, to Shackle Keep.

This is just a little place for yours truly to ramble, essentially. I'm not really one given to writing down my thoughts, feelings or what have you. I roll with everything, and I have a horrible memory, so I live in the now, so to speak. It makes having responsibilities interesting, I'll tell you.

(Don't expect this to make any cohesive sense, or have any structure. I'm writing as I think, and will NOT be checking over this or altering it in any fashion, if I can help it. Stream of consciousness, or whatever it is they call it. Thoughtvomit!)

So, those of you who know me already, know me. Those of you who don't..Well, you will, if you keep reading and I keep scribbling in this scrapbook..Thing.

Name's Hugh. Surname Friel. Hugh in Irish is Aodh, which is the name of (many) Irish gods of fire/sun/war/chaos, what have you. I like it. My surname translate to Man of Valour. I like this also.
Used to be a time when I hated my name. When I was a kid (Small, chubby, crippled with shyness, and a geek), the other kids, naturally enough, capitalised on the many, many words my name rhymes with, and I hated it with a passion. Always wanted to be called Jack, or Wolf, or something..Cooler. Nowadays, though, I'm proud of my name. My dad's Hugh Friel, and my granded, though I never met him, was also Hugh Friel. I respect my dad a great deal. From what I've heard, I'd also have respected my grandfather quite a lot as well. I hope, too, that the next Hugh Friel (There will be one, be it mine or a sibling's kid) will respect me in turn. I know I've not done much to earn respect from people, but I've got a lot of time. I'm not even 20 yet.

Talking about respect..It's important. However, my view on it's a tiddles strange. If I respect someone, I'll take the mickey out of them big time. I'll be brutally, ruthlessly honest with them. I'll help them out when they need it, if I can, I'll be a regular bastard to people who try to upset them, and so on. My respect displays itself in an unusual manner, I guess, but it's genuine.

I'm a guy who banters a lot, and it's rough banter, but goddamit, it's enjoyable if you find someone who can take it in good humour. People like that are depressingly, depressingly rare. Hell. I gave someone a little nudge of a comment the other day, and they took it waaaay too seriously, even though it was painfully obvious I was joking. I just don't understand this. Why take everything so seriously? Why be insulted by the least thing? What especially baffles me is people who dish it out but can't take it. They infuriate me beyond measure. If you can't take what you dish, don't serve. Simple. Don't whinge, don't bitch, don't blow up if someone returns what you've been giving them the whole time. 'cuz god, that's just idiotic.
But yeah. If it looks like I'm insultin' you, well..I'm probably just messin' around with you. Take it in stride, give back in kind, and we'll get along famously.
If I don't like you, I will make it painfully, painfully clear. I'm infamous for doing this among my peers. There's a few people I don't like in my college. Not in my class, thank god, but they're friends with my classmates, or what have you. There's two particular guys I simply cannot stand, at all. Weirdly, they're both called Christian. One dresses like a neo-Nazi. He's an idiot. The other is just..Insufferably dense, and moronic. I have told them several times when they tried to initiate conversation with me that I do not like them. Simple as that. "I don't like you. Go away, you idiot." Took a few times, but they eventually got the message, and now we exist peacefully by ignoring each other. I like it. No back-biting, no bitching behind their backs, just right to their face, idunlikyougowai. Sure, it's harsh, rude and makes me look like a royal ass, but it gets the job done and saves a lot of heartache. I think it's the most efficient way of getting rid of idiots.
I don't like idiots.

I am aware, of course, that the majority of the world doesn't function like this. Most normal people will be at the every least polite to people they don't like. Others will be downright pleasant, and then bitch about them when they're not there. This behaviour baffles, and, admittedly, disgusts me. Why play at being nice when you can just be honest about disliking them? Sure, it'll probably hurt their feelings, but it's better that than lying to them for god knows how long and having them find out you were backbitching about'em. My approach is cavemannish, yeah, but I'd vastly prefer someone come up to me and tell me how they really feel about me to my face.
Now, my candidness doesn't just extend to intense dislike. It I think someone's cool, really sound, pretty, or possessed of some other admirable trait, I'll tell them as easily as I would tell them I didn't like them. This is something I wish people would do a lot more often. Let people know how awesome they are. If your friend is really reliable, is a genuinely nice person, or what have you, loveofgod, tell them. You'd be amazed how good it makes people feel. It really can turn their day around. Same goes for people being attracted to someone. Life would be so much less stressful and fluid if people could just go, "Hi. I'm single, and I think you're really cute/awesome/amazing/hunky." Sadly, doing this, for the most part, would just earn a weird look and a slow backing off. Depresses me a little to think that being honest with people gets you shunned.

So, I'm outspoken. I know I am. I was told recently I was outspoken, to a fault, but it was listed amongst a sprinkling of other good qualities I possess, so I'm good with it. Some places, though..Well,most places, the outspoken gig isn't great. You clash with authority a lot, and it gets you into shit a lot. I'm used to it, but I can say I stand up and speak up about what I think isn't being done right, or what could be done better, or what shouldn't be done at all. I'm proud of that. Normally, things don't bother me enough to stir me to say anything, but I'm largely an apathetic kinda guy unless I have some personal investment in something. This largely takes the form of people I'm fond of. I wouldn't call'em friends, per se, as I don't think I have one of those. Friends in my eyes are people you can trust absolutely, rely on, tell anything to, have them tell you anything, and get on great with. I don't have anyone remotely like that. Which is fine, but I do have people I'm fond of. Now, I'm a loyal, loyal fella. If I like someone, even a little, I'm going to go to great lengths to make sure I do what I can to help them out in life. Lend them money, randomly buy them a treat, generally be there for them, and standing up for them. That kind of thing. I'm normally a fairly passive guy. I actually, amazingly, don't like arguing. I'd rather keep my head down and soldier on in blissful ignorance, but I can't. If someone upsets my friend or is the cause of something upsetting my friend, I will tear them to shreds. I'm vicious when it comes to my friends and family, and I get very obvious about my displeasure. For the most part, people appreciate this. A fair bit of the time, though, they don't. Which upsets me a little, but hey.

Anyway. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd make an awesome friend, and would have awesome friends, if they just understood where I was coming from a little better. This extends to my online interactions. It's much worse, because people don't have the visual cues or vocal expression to attach to the words, and will generally assume I'm just being a jerk, when I am really not. It bugs me, but I'm slowly beginning to not care. I have two or three people who understand and appreciate my peculiar sense of humour, and that's all I need. To those, who should know who they are, if they read this..Thanks, guys. Really. You make all the thin-skinned morons and idiots tolerable <3

Hm. I believe I have rambled quite a lot this time. I will probably do so again.

If you feel like jotting down some thoughts, comments, criticisms, "IHATEYOUAMONS", or what have you, do feel free. I'll read anything posted here.

Here. Have a cyborg laser unicorn. He's called Jeff. Treasure him forevermore.

by **Amondaris** on March 29th, 2011, 6:46 pm

So, today, I am not at home.
I am at my family's home away from home, so to speak. Castle Archdale Caravan Park. S'a nice place. Scenic, relaxing. Comes with a lake for watersports, and what have you.

Anyway. As I've mentioned before, I'm in a Creative Media course. Currently, one of the modules we're doing is Filming. The major part of this module is being split up into teams and producing a short, ten minute long movie, entirely by ourselves. No pressure, right? We have to procure actors, props, locations..Everything. Intimidating.
But! Archdale is perfect. What is not, however, is that our main character's actor is too busy to do it. So..

Guess who's being both director and the main character? And who's never acted before? This should be..Interesting. I get to run about and be all athletic in a forest, get shot and fall off a pier in my clothes, wash up on a beach, crawl through some mud, stagger around and kill some people whilst being rugged and manly. Sounds cool, but..I'm not rugged and manly D:

Unlike this guy!

We start filming tomorrow. We're doing the gets shot and falls into the water scene, and the getting washed up on the beach thing. Good thing I'm neither partial to my clothing nor a bad swimmer! I'll see if I can't upload the scenes if we get them all done, and I might shove'em up on youtube or something. We'll see. Here's hoping the water isn't too cold, and the showers work..

by **Vala** on March 30th, 2011, 4:35 am

I wish you the best of luck on your media adventure Hugh. (Yeah I read your first post...) I've always wanted to be in a short film... but unfortunately I'm too lazy to start any cool projects. I can't wait to see the craziness you'll come up with!

Here's a response to your awesome picture.

Santa Squid Face

by **Amondaris** on March 30th, 2011, 10:48 am

Thank you kindly, Vala! I just got rudely woken up by one of my team mates. Inconsiderate jerk

Granted, he came bearing jaffa cakes, so I had to spare his life. Well, if you or anyone from here feels like being in a short movie, just head over here! 8D

I give you, the windmill beard.

by **Rhuryc** on March 30th, 2011, 11:32 am

IHATEYOUAMON.

No really. It's good to see you express yourself brah, I want people to understand you more toooooooooooooooooooooo.

by **Berus** on March 31st, 2011, 3:40 am

Hey Amondaris, Hugh, Lord Friel, whatever you want to be called! I really admire that you are honest and outspoken like that, though I find that I have a hard time doing the same. :\ I find it difficult to admit dislike to a person though I do currently have an omgnemesis that I pointedly ignore! I also don't tend to buy my friends treats >_< or give them magical lazer unicornsWhen I was reading through your post, I accidentally scrolled too far and saw the unicorn! After that, I excitedly read through the rest of your post at a double pace so that I could see how it tied in! Hello Jeff!

>.<

I do hope, however, that I can come to be one of those friends that can take jokes! I often dish out jokes in real life that offend people myself (though I curb this on the internet where I am able to pause and be like "Now do I really want to send this?"). I personally don't find anything you say to be offensive as I don't generally take things to seriously, but I do see it happening in the chat from time to time

.

Well, I think I'm rambling... and not even in MY scrapbook >_< Very well! I shall depart! Keeping with the current tradition of this scrapbook, here is a picture for you! (Okay, so it isn't a crazy beard. But its the next best thing!)

by **Amondaris** on April 6th, 2011, 7:55 pm

Love you too, Rhu. <3

Apologies about getting your hopes up about a beautiful unicorn post, Berus. I will make it up to you in the future. And trust me, man. Being as blunt as I am doesn't make life easy. You're better liked as you are

Nemesis, eh? On Miz, or out there in the real world?
Time will tell! And feel free to ramble all you like. My scrapbook is for sharing!

So yeah. I've wanted Amondaris to have a mask since his inception, but never could find an image that fit. So I, uh..Broke out my pen and red marker and did one myself. As a warning, I suck at drawing. Seriously.

Secret :

I'm using it sheerly as a point of reference for people who interact with Amondaris, for myself when I wish to describe it, and so on. I'm thinking I'll have the first iteration be simply carved out of whatever. Move on to an Isurian steel one later, and then have that one Magecrafted when I have silly amounts of Mizas to spare. For those of you unaware of what Amondaris is like, he harbours a deep-seated, incredibly powerful rage deep inside him. He keeps it locked up, so to speak. I like (And therefore he likes) to treat it much like one would a separate entity that's a splinter part of his soul. The mask represents the duality of his nature, the constant struggle of the cold willpower with the savage, volcanic rage. Yay for internal conflict! I intend to do some dreams about them actually meeting face to face, which should be fun.

Thoughts, comments, criticisms? Generous offers of photoshawp improvements/doing it better?

by **Dusk** on April 9th, 2011, 9:30 pm

Hello, husband!

I found a mask picture that is simpler than what you've drawn, but might work. Also, if you need a quick rendering done you should talk to Sho (who plays Flick and Khiara). She does gorgeous artwork and has been known to take a request if she has the time.

Also, I don't even want to go into the weird gas mask fetish porn I stumbled across while looking for that. So, you know, I blame you for the unavoidable nightmares.

Finally, this is a zombie unicorn. Her name is Cecilia. She wants to be Jeff's friend, but also wants to eat his delicious brains. It is something they will have to work on.

Much love, darling. :-*

by **Amondaris** on April 9th, 2011, 9:58 pm

Well, hello there, wife! I didn't expect to see you in here.

Ah, yes. Ichigo's mask. It would have worked marvellously, but I'm a little nneeeh about using an established, popular anime character's trademark on one of my characters. I'd feel cheap

I do thank you for the effort, though <3
D: I hate asking people for stuff! I don't even know the woman. I'd die of guilt, unless I could pay her somehow, which I can't. And I'd rather not die of guilt. Once again, though, thank you for the suggestion. You are such a helpful wife.

Tell me about it. It's a freaky one, alright. How would kissing work?

I would expect no less. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't laughing on the inside at that.

Well, I'm not quite sure if Jeff has a cybernetic brain or an organic one, but I think they would get along splendidly.

I can see their children now.

Secret :

Beautiful, no?

Oodles of love, darling. I haven't forgotten about out game of Flowers and Blushing, by the way.

by **Amondaris** on April 14th, 2011, 11:08 pm

So. I got my hands on the raw footage of the movie we've been doing and, as I lack any video editing software, or a Mac, I have settled with taking screencap thingies of bits I like. I'm knackered, so forgive the lack of wordiness.

So. We kinda have a lot of fake blood goin' on. (Beware big picture sizes)

Secret :

Here's one or two from the pier bit we did first.

Secret :

And some manly ones for shiggles.

Secret :