WZCW Rookie Symposium!

Con T.

Yaz ain't enough, I need Fluttershy
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Saboteur is resting on a pool chair, poolside in Venice, Italy. Saboteur is sipping on a strawberrry daiquiri, wearing a magnificent robe. The faint sounds of "Lowrider" can be heard, and as women pass, Saboteur rises from his chair, and offers a meek wave. We soon see that, in the next chair over, Chelsea is laying down. Saboteur looks to his Chinese military sex doll wife, and scratches the top of his head.

Saboteur:What?

Chelsea does nothing

Saboteur:They mean nothing to me, baby.

Again, silence.

Saboteur:Don't you judge. I see the way you were looking at the pool boy.

After an awkward silence, Saboteur finally goes back to lounging in his chair, reaching for his daiquiri and taking a long sip.

Saboteur:Ah, it doesn't matter. We should enjoy a little R&R, and this is the perfect place to do it. But I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something...

Saboteur's cell phone begins to vibrate, and soon begins to ring

[YOUTUBE]ZyhrYis509A[/YOUTUBE]

Saboteur goes to pick up his phone.

Saboteur:A-hoy-hoy.

Saboteur listens for the voice on the other side.

Saboteur:I was supposed to give how many weekly quizzes?

He continues to listen to the voice

Saboteur:I've missed how many weeks, again?

The voice begins to yell, though intelligibly, as Saboteur cringes a little.

Saboteur:... I see...

The voice yells more, but Saboteur gets angry.

Saboteur:What? Why, no, I did not humiliate Celeste Crimson! Actually... Maybe I did, but she totally deserved it!

More yelling, as Saboteur starts to yell at the phone.

Saboteur:Fired?! You can't fire me... I'm tenured!What? I... I don't have tenure. Fine! I'll get my doctorate, and get tenure! And then, I'll quit!

More muffled yelling

Saboteur:That's... Not how it works? Fine; I'll start my own school!

Saboteur abruptly hangs up, and throws his phone, picking up Chelsea. He storms out of the poolside area, leaving a crestfallen waiter, who Saboteur never settled his tab with.

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At an abandoned school, Saboteur stands in front of a beaten chalkboard, which appears to have bullet shells stuck into it. Saboteur is wearing a mortarboard and gown, as he proudly points his yardstick at his DeVry University doctorate degree. Six very, very confused rookies look around uncomfortably at one another, almost sizing each other up. Of the six, only the Demon Foreigners sit together; all of the rest sit as far apart as possible. Fallout gives Theron Daggershield ugly looks, as Theron "polishes" his sword. Jonathan Hyada sits in the middle, wondering what exactly he got himelf into, as Ramparte sits in the back, pulling the wings off of butterflies. The windows are all boarded up, so only small slivers of natural light enter the room, as Saboteur picks up his clipboard and prepares to call role. On the wall of the decrepit room reads a sign, saying "Rookie Symposium". Just under that, reads, "No Armando Paradyse Gimmicks".

Saboteur:Good morning, class. My name is Dr. Saboteur, and welcome to our first ever WZCW Rookie Symposium!

The students skeptically look to one another.

Saboteur:Well, I see we're all here. So, if everyone is ready, we'll just go ahead-

Blade kicks down the door to the classroom, and walks in. He surveys the area, and takes a deep breath. Saboteur is flummoxed, and walks up to Blade.

Saboteur:Blade, what are you doing here? This is my school, and I will not tolerate any distractions in my classroom.

Blade:Big Dave sent me to make sure you don't screw up the rookies at all.

Saboteur:This is ridiculous! You can't teach, you're not even a doctor! What credentials do you have?

Blade:Well, did you know Dr. Coberer left his diploma when he left WZCW?

Saboteur:Er.... No?

Blade is already holding Dr. Coberer's diploma in his hand.

Blade:Well, now you do.

Saboteur:Ok... So, Dr. Saboteur and Dr. Blade. God... That's a lot of doctors in one federation.

Blade:Who cares? Worst comes to worst, we'll kick out Zeus. We were here before him.

Saboteur:Ah.... Tenure. Anyway, back to business. So, I was going to suggest a little icebreaker, but... Well, let's face it, the less I know about you all, the better I'll feel. So let's just start, shall we? Now, I take it you all brought the rule books that were given to you with your first contract in WZCW?

The rookies look to one another, confused. Saboteur slaps his forehead, and sighs.

Saboteur:Right, of course. Blade, did you steal their rule books?

Blade is nonchalantly eating an apple and leaning on the desk at the front of the room.

Blade:Probably.

Saboteur looks at Blade, annoyed.

Saboteur:Um.... Blade, you know that was supposed to be my lunch, right?

Blade continues to eat the apple

Blade:Don't care.

Saboteur:Right... Well, fine, I printed off extra copies, anyway?

Saboteur opens a compartment of his desk, and pulls out copies of the rule book. He starts distributing them to the students.

Saboteur:The best way to make it here is to try and follow these, as much as possible. Learn 'em, as quick as possible. Not learning them makes you a Joey Sexton. And no one likes a Joey Sexton.

Daggershield:So true.

Tip #1: This may seem dumb, but following the rules of the RP is going to make everyone's life a lot easier. A copy of the RP rules can be found here.

Da Rules

Ramparte:
Pfft... Rules. The absurd playthings of an idle God. No, not idle.... Frightened.

Blade looks over to Ramparte in the back. He passes a glance to Saboteur.

Saboteur:Now, now... Maybe it's a good time to start with a little one on one feedback. A way of saying what you do well and... Well, what you don't do so well. Blade, you want to take this one.

Blade:Yeah... Sure. Let's see Ramparte... You're very.... Different, the best way to say it. And you seem to get really into what you say. Almost as if you really think you're the devil himself. But you aren't... You're just prac'tice.

Blade stares at Ramparte, as Saboteur attempts to pull Blade away.

Saboteur: Easy there, Bruce. I think what Blade's trying to say, Ramparte, is that you have a very poetic way of speaking. And it's always nice to break yourself away from the rest of your peer. But even Hercules can fly to close to the sun, and burn his wings.

Blade eases his stare at Ramparte, and looks to Saboteur.

Blade:That... That's so wrong, I don't even know where to begin.

Saboteur:Right, whatever. Point is, you could easily go over the top, and that can lead to problems. Perhaps a little less focus on... Whatever it is you are, and a little more focus on your opponents couldn't hurt you.



Ramparte:You have a very poetic style of writing, and have a great idea for the character. Just remember to keep a sort of balance; with a gimmick like yours, you can easily cross the line, and get into the comedic range. My suggestion: embrace subtlety. Perhaps the best thing I could offer is to read some Barbosa. I know, he's the world champ, so saying to read some of him is pretty obvious. But the man can do subtlety very well.

Saboteur:All right, so now I want to talk about a little something that helps everyone in the room; backstory. Sometimes, this can get ignored when developing a character; some people can just plop a character in the fed, and want us to follow along from there.

Blade:Not like that's a completely bad thing, right?

Saboteur:Well, of course not. But adding a little backstory can really give the audience a way of understanding why you do what you do. I mean, if we didn't know that Jason felt guilty for not stopping the green candle from burning, and robbing the green ranger of his powers, how could we understand why he had flashbacks?

Blade: So, let me get this straight... You wanted to use an example of backstory, and you chose Power Rangers?

Saboteur:Pretty much, yeah.

Blade:Ok; let me see if I can salvage this. If I toot my own horn... I'm a pretty skilled thief. And I don't try to hide it... I make it a part of me. And sometimes that part of me comes back and haunts me... I don't see any reason to hide it. In fact... I embrace it.

Tip #2: A little backstory in some RP's never hurt. Your character had to do somethingbefore he came to WZCW; what was that character doing? Why should we care about that character? What's the story you want to share?

Jonathan Hyada coughs, and begins to speak up

Hyada: Excuse me, guys... But I'm actually kind of curious. You talk about sharing... But couldn't there be such a thing as oversharing?

Saboteur:I mean... Perhaps. It all depends on how you arc your story. Some people like to add a lot of backstory... And it can hurt their character. Some people don't share enough, and it's equally hurtful. So, if you don't mind... Fallout and Hyada, time for a chit chat.

Fallout: Ha! This impudent fool, who thinks he can teach me!

Blade:He can, actually. You have a great idea where you want to take your character. And you speak in a menacing way, and conjure up menacing images. But be careful with how much you add, before it becomes a bit much.

Fallout: You have the psychology of your character down pat. You also get where you want to take the guy, and how to utilize your character. Sometimes, though, you'll add way too much to your RPs. Sometimes, slowing down and editing a few things from your RP can really make it easier for the reader to digest.

Hyada:And, how about me?

Blade:You're the kind of guy people want to cheer for. You're very intense, and it comes across nicely.A guy who has taken his lumps and faced embarrassment is always good. But don't be afraid to share that.

Hyada: I really like the things you do, incorporating senses beyond sight into your RPs. It turns your RPs into an experience. But I still wish you would share more about his past, and why your character is the way he is. There' a reason Jonathan Hyada came to professional wrestling, and why he's so humble; share that. The more you share about your character, the more you get to work with, and the more your opponent gets to work with. And the more that they can work with, the more that can be added to feuds.

Kiriyami:You know, I don't agree with the freak on much... But I know I speak for my partner when I say this is all ridiculous

Blade:Well, I gotta admit... You two work well. One oiled machine. But the way you say things... I mean, far be it for me to sound racist, but gosh is it confusing.

Demon Foreigners: You two obviously work well together; there's a definite synergy between your RPs, that makes it extremely easy to follow your stories. But as easy as it is to follow your stories, it's hard as hell to read your RPs. Adding all of the gifs, the images, the spacing... I think if you simplified it, it would be a lot easier for everyone to read.

Saboteur:And finally, the most important thing I can say... Talk about what you love. I mean, look at Spiky in the front.

Saboteur points to Theron Daggershield.

Saboteur: That's exactly what he does. He talks about what he loves, and makes it part of his life. Which is great... Just don't go too far.

Tip #3: Write about something you really care about. Don't write something that hits too close to home... There can be such a thing as too "real" in the fed. But if you have a hobby, work that in somehow. A favorite show? Sure, add some ideas. But just make sure to not go too far over the edge.

Theron: It's clear you love what you write about. The only thing I can offer is, that it's a very encompassing subject. So dumbing it down? Not always the worst thing you can do.

Saboteur walk around his desk, after the Symposium ha ended.

Saboteur: They grow up so fast... Don't they Blade?

Silence. Saboteur now realizes Blade is gone... And hi DeVry diploma is also now missing. Saboteur looks down, and now finds his gown is missing. He reaches above his head, and the mortarboard is now missing.

Saboteur:Great...

This was the first in what I hope to be many Symposiums, for any rookies coming into WZCW. I'll add more ideas and thoughts, but I felt it best to see if anyone has any questions on RP writing. So, feel free to add questions below, and at the next symposium, I'll address them. Thanks, folks!
 
I have a few follow up questions, if I could, about "sharing."

I feel sometimes directly explaining, say by sitting down and simply talking to a camera, what's inside us all may not be as genuine or have the same presentation or weight that other avenues might have. Am I correct in this outlook?


In my RP for the tag match with Corvus, I opened up a little more of Jon's story through small bits of dialogue (such as during when "My Violent Heart" was playing, and description of his morning routine (the left side always being weak). Do you feel this is a good avenue to explain the character or should it be more direct, like say... a Mankind interview, where you spill your life to the world through "interview" segments?
 

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