What would everyone say if I just continued where I was in the last column? Maybe even touched on the same headings? Granted, it may not be as awesome or cynical as then. Maybe the impact isn\u2019t there. Perhaps those issues have been resolved. But what would you say if I just did that for like a year. Every column, same four things piss me off. And THEN, a new column comes up on the site. It\u2019s not the Cynical View. It\u2019s the Pissed off Perspective. And it covers the SAME subjects. Now while my writing may draw you in. Some may keep checking because they want to see if I have some great line, but probably people are going to feel rather disappointed about these commonalities. Same crap, different pile\u2026LITERALLY.<\/p>\n
Then why the hell does everyone else do it? Have you read the\u00a0roleplays\u00a0for some of SCW\u2019s recent shows?\u00a0Seriously.\u00a0Go and spend a couple of hours and do it. Lord knows I do regularly. And let me be clear, this is not saying that quality is in the crapper. People are getting better in other ways, but at the same time, I now can\u2019t go one show without seeing three to five people having a similar piece of character development\u2026or some people writing the same promo they\u2019ve been cutting since 2005.<\/p>\n
Get NEW material! That\u2019s the point. What\u2019s this whole deal about? It\u2019s simple. Where has all the creativity gone? Just not to the tune of a Pete Seeger song. I mean it. No screwing around on this one. I\u2019m sick of reading some of the same stories, the same angles, the same everything! No more! This is my plea for people to start thinking a bit more, damn it!<\/p>\n
So here we go!<\/p>\n
Why does everyone hate authority?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Okay, I\u2019m not saying this one because I\u2019m technically the authority and ridiculously paranoid that everyone hates me. Let\u2019s look past the strong possibility that I cry myself to sleep as a result of everyone apparently questioning my decision making process.<\/p>\n But SERIOUSLY?!<\/p>\n I get it. People get pissed off at authority. They make decisions they don\u2019t care for. I don\u2019t like it when the guy at the coffee shop doesn\u2019t mix my coffee well enough. I don\u2019t cut fourteen promos about how they\u2019re against me and plotting my demise!<\/p>\n Yet some people see that if they don\u2019t agree with you, apparently, that means the Board of Directors is against you. The roster is made up of some of the most egotistical people on the planet. My god, I wasn\u2019t booked in the top of the hour match, someone on the board HATES ME! Well screw you, body of ten that only three have names! Screw you!<\/p>\n The problem I have is not this in general. In fact, some of the storylines directly lend themselves to people taking issue with the board (off the top of my head, Thirteen,\u00a0Hurse, Dark Fantasy, and to a lesser extent, Jackson Adams, Tatum McGraw and Foxx Global could all realistically claim some problems with the board due to various character issues, or the storylines). But contemplate this. I have had on some cards in recent memory, BOTH sides in the matches claiming that the match is the Board being biased against them.\u00a0Seriously.\u00a0It\u2019s the go to content for many people. It\u2019s just like I\u2019d see after someone loses a title and if they were in any way a heel (read: EVERYONE), the board showed that they didn\u2019t care about them and are biased SOBs who wanted to see them fail. Can you not see how aggravating it is to read MINIMUM six to ten\u00a0roleplays\u00a0A SHOW (especially pay per views) where a focal point of the promo is this? I could start naming names, but that\u2019s mean. In fact, Body, Heart and Soul\u00a0is\u00a0a great example. Read the promos and you\u2019ll see why at times I wanted to further cry to sleep (not because you all hate my fictional decision making, but because I tapped out.)<\/p>\n I get it. People can\u2019t take responsibility.\u00a0Great.\u00a0But be creative. The problem is\u2026some people mention it every pay per view. They could be given a title match: \u201cThe board wants to set me on fire and roast marshmallows with my corpse\u2026.the biased little bastards!\u201d But I\u2019ll flat out say this. I can name at least ten people who use this not because it helps their character. It\u2019s entirely used because IT\u2019S A CRUTCH. Why think of creative reasons to explain losses or how you haven\u2019t won your title yet when you can just claim the Board kicked your (non-existent?) child at the playground yesterday.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all well and good if there\u2019s a legit reason on the show. The Jake Starr\/Thirteen angle at Body, Heart and Soul, for example, lent itself to it.\u00a0Hurse\u00a0has the same claim with how his storyline has been done.\u00a0But everyone?\u00a0The problem is that at some point, you\u2019re wrong. At some point, you\u2019re showing your character is either paranoid or stupid. At some point, I tune out because I\u2019ve read it before. At some point, no one gives a damn if the board hates you as you\u2019ve given up trying to actually come up with a good angle. At some point, you just turn into everyone else who bashes the board and the problem is\u2026when that happens\u2026well\u2026I don\u2019t want to spoil it. Keep reading!<\/p>\n Why is everyone suddenly having massive amounts of sex?<\/strong><\/p>\n Okay, let\u2019s get this out of the way. I don\u2019t mind sex. I don\u2019t mind sex in\u00a0roleplays. I have an open mind to this subject in\u00a0roleplays. I have no problem with homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual sexual content in\u00a0roleplays. Characters have relationships, whether with other characters or secondary characters specifically for that character, male or female. Some are kinkier than others. Some need to hang from the ceiling when they do. Others want to wear the pants.\u00a0Whatever.\u00a0Great.\u00a0I have no problem with sexual content in\u00a0roleplays.<\/p>\n But, I have to ask this question\u2026.Was there a guy passing out Viagra in the back a couple of months ago and EVERYONE got incredibly horny?<\/p>\n And not only that, everyone is having promiscuous sex. Based off Twitter and\u00a0roleplays, I swear this is what most people do between\u00a0roleplays\u00a0and shows:<\/p>\n Random SCW wrestler 1: \u201cSo, you have various sexual organs? Have you used them in the last fourteen minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n Random secondary character\/other SCW character\/hot blonde at the bar: \u201cWhy yes I do and no I haven\u2019t. Let\u2019s go back to your extravagantly expensive hotel room and make passionate love?\u201d<\/p>\n And here\u2019s where the shift is.<\/p>\n If it\u2019s a random character: \u201cExcellent. This will show I can attract young females\/males and enjoy life. Life is good.\u201d<\/p>\n If it\u2019s an SCW character: \u201cNow I\u2019m going to have an off and on again relationship for any time stretching between four minutes and a lifetime!\u201d<\/p>\n And if that doesn\u2019t work, you\u2019ll turn to lesbianism. Seriously, half of the female roster has had sex with another member of the female roster in a\u00a0roleplay\u00a0since October.\u00a0HALF.\u00a0I\u2019m not even exaggerating. Again, that\u2019s fine and all. In some cases, it\u2019s a key part of the character evolution. In others, it shows them being adventurous.\u00a0All valid character development.\u00a0The content itself I have no problem with. But the problem is\u2026outside of a select few, it\u2019s done for the sake of doing it. I\u2019m not sure why. Is this to enact some fantasies in\u00a0roleplay\u00a0form (I note this with many female characters being written by\u00a0male\u00a0handlers)? Yeah, roleplaying is a form of escapism, but half the time, characters are taken down this route and for what reason?<\/p>\n It\u2019s almost become a rite of passage for female characters. It\u2019s done for the sake of doing it. It\u2019s done to be \u201cedgy.\u201d The problem is, it ceases being edgy when EVERYONE has\u00a0roleplays\u00a0on the subject. It ceases to have much point also if everyone just does it because well, why not?! And it\u2019s a shame as there have been some very good characters that have come through SCW and been homosexual or bisexual and it\u2019s a pivotal part of their character. Now, it seems to be done just because it\u2019s an avenue the character could go down. When in doubt, have them have sex with their friends.<\/p>\n Sexual scenes in\u00a0roleplays\u00a0can be VERY good. They can add some extra levels of intimacy to certain relationships and actually add layers to characters. The problem is that especially with half the roster apparently making it their mission to screw everyone else, face or heel, friend or foe, male or female and just for the sake of doing it, again, I tune out only because it\u2019s becoming par for the course for a number of characters in SCW. It\u2019s no longer a successful development piece. It\u2019s rarely used as a key character element. It\u2019s done to do it. All it means is those who do it well need to try harder to make sure it\u2019s a pivotal element and not a throw-away scene to keep someone reading a\u00a0roleplay\u00a0on an off-week.<\/p>\n Wait? I\u2019m supposed to know EVERYTHING going on?<\/strong><\/p>\n And this gets me to my point for both\u2026.in both cases, what would be valid development concepts for characters would be far more effective if people just every once and while actually read someone else\u2019s\u00a0roleplay. I\u2019m going to point something out to everyone on the roster. I\u2019m going to give you a moment to prepare yourself for this earth-shattering news.<\/p>\n Ready?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Are you sure?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alright\u2026here goes\u2026.<\/p>\n I READ EVERYONE\u2019S WORK!<\/p>\n So if you happen to write something similar to someone else, GUESS WHAT? You\u2019re going to be compared to it. Roleplaying is relative. Not just to your opponent but to everyone else.\u00a0Especially when CREATIVITY matters.\u00a0If half the roster has\u00a0roleplays\u00a0about how they slept with some hot blonde in a bar, only the best of the best will have a fighting chance and those that do it more poorly are going to suffer. Add to the fact that you may actually hurt what may otherwise be a good\u00a0roleplay. I see it often. People have a great promo and they ruin it by doing something that half the roster is doing and they don\u2019t realize it. Let me just give some examples RIGHT NOW (mid-Feb 2013) of common things I see in\u00a0roleplays\u00a0(not even going into promos):<\/p>\n – emotional conversations with close friends\/girlfriends\/boyfriends (not normal happy hanging out, emotional, are we sure, soap opera\/The O.C. level stuff)<\/p>\n – Someone is in the hospital and\u00a0this forces\u00a0the main character to cut a soliloquy on how much they mean to them.<\/p>\n – Someone comes to someone\u2019s house, they tell this person their philosophy on life, some sexual tension (or flat out sex), promo<\/p>\n – Randomly wealthy character flaunts wealth in clich\u00e9d ways<\/p>\n And that\u2019s just off the top of my head. And I didn\u2019t go into promos. I\u2019m not saying the above concepts suck either. It\u2019s more that you sometimes need to realize that other people are doing similar things. This doesn\u2019t mean you need to change it either (especially if your backstory is building to this\u2026although, in many ways, I would question how many people legitimately are building to one of those ideas). It may mean you need to up your game, write it better, make it stand out in your own way.<\/p>\n But I don\u2019t know how to smile and be happy? That\u2019s what being a face is, right?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n And this leads to me to the problem of being a face. The fact is everyone wants to be a heel. It\u2019s easier. You can just be a jerk and voila, instant heel. In fact, I would say at least half of the people claiming to be a face right now are just as\u00a0heelish\u00a0as the heel portion of the roster. And I\u2019ll again stress. It has less to do with whether they want to be face or heel. It has to do with the fact that being a heel means less effort\u2026somewhat.<\/p>\n I said somewhat.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll tell you why. If everyone is a heel, it\u2019s harder to stand out. Just being arrogant doesn\u2019t work. Just being violent does work. Just being ditzy doesn\u2019t work. Just being this, that or the other doesn\u2019t work. You actually have to work harder on adding the layers to your character. And how is that often done\u2026.look above. People don\u2019t get much more creative. They go to further clich\u00e9s.<\/p>\n The fact is that being a face is NOT necessarily easier. It\u2019s more that it may take you a bit longer to establish what motivates your character. You don\u2019t need to kiss babies, shake hands, take your vitamins, be a role-model, etc. You need to be someone people can get behind. Whether you just go out there and are a no-nonsense ass-kicking machine, or someone who is the kid who is living out his dream, to someone who stands up for underdogs, to BEING an underdog\u2026.all of those don\u2019t require you to be the \u201csmiling\u00a0babyface.\u201d<\/p>\n The problem is that people equate heels to being the \u201csmiling\u00a0babyface\u201d (Which admittedly IS hard to write only because it\u2019s hard not to get dopey and look way out of touch) or the \u201crebel bad ass\u201d (which in my opinion is EQUALLY as hard only because most people who try this just bury people and figure it\u2019s a license to be a cheered heel\u2026not quite). But there\u2019s a lot more to do and honestly, if some people figured going face made sense and thought about it for a few moments, thought about their character and often, just emphasized certain matters more than others, it can pay off MASSIVE as you add to your character, get those layers and STAND OUT. That\u2019s the point of this whole rambling column. STAND OUT. Take five minutes longer to think things out, come up with a long-term plan (and not necessarily detailed) and voila, you may have a character that people remember or you have a great story and it rides you to greatness.<\/p>\n Taking crap and shining it up to AWESOMENESS<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This is what it\u2019s all about. There is NOTHING wrong with the ideas I mentioned above.\u00a0NOTHING.\u00a0Except that everyone is using them and often in the exact same ways.\u00a0The same goes when people take one of those clich\u00e9d ideas or even simple ideas. If they\u2019re executed well, they stand out just on that alone. But if your character adds something different to the scene, it becomes unique, it only gets better. It stands out more. I can\u2019t then swap names out and interchange\u00a0roleplays\u00a0which sadly is starting to become more prevalent. And it\u2019s only going to continue if half the roster tries to sleep with the other half and everyone blames the Board of Directors for everything. Come on guys. You know you\u2019re better than that. You know you can come up with something that\u2019s distinctly for your characters.<\/p>\n That\u2019s all I ask. Take a chance and break the mould. Be the first you and all that jazz. Stand out from the crowd and blah, blah, blah. Insert a few more clich\u00e9s here and you\u2019ll get the point. I\u2019d come up with a better ending, but well, the Board of Directors didn\u2019t let me and Dark Fantasy and I are going to have a threesome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What would everyone say if I just continued where I was in the last column? Maybe even touched on the same headings? Granted, it may not be as awesome or cynical as then. Maybe the impact isn\u2019t there. Perhaps those issues have been resolved. 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