FA+
Shop
Origins
19 years ago
General
I'm gonna tell you a little bit about me, or more specifically, my avatar: Stone Hawk.
It was just at the beginning of the year 2000. Ah, remember the days? Napster was still around in its first incarnation and the industrial world of the previous era had been reeling with the shocks and terrors of the great digital unknown. It's a shame that those battles didn't turn out better than they did... but regardless their result, that was when I began the journey toward awakening to become who I am today. On NAPSTER.
You see, I got attached to a specific server, and then a specific room in that server, where I found like-minded individuals that, honestly, I'd never thought I'd find in my life. The 'community' was an impromptu construction, with people filling various niches of their own accord, with no direction or plan except 'this feels right'. In this open-ended environment, there was a casual RP setting. We turned the chatrooms into sets and scenes.
I'll not go into what my character was or what he did or what titles he had, as I was a TOTAL TWINK back then... but regardless, he had come to run into spiritual guidance at some point, specifically ABOUT his/my twinkiness. This spiritual guide, among other things, taught or at least Suggested balance and self-control. Now, enevitably in a chatroom full of 14-year-olds, there WILL be a lot of bullshit--but I seperated the worthwhile from the not-worthwhile, and found some scarce scraps of Genuine wisdom. Those scraps, I treasured, and they led me to do my own research and to learn on my own, through more legitimate sources. Perhaps I was not as naive at the time as I thought I was.
For my 'Studies', Master Skarn (as we called him) asked me to pick a name for myself, a name to represent my character's apprenticeship.
I forgot how he helped me choose, what exactly he explained that guided me to this decision, but I eventually fell upon the name "Stone Hawk", and it stuck ever since. I think what made it the most special was that it was not a name that was ASSIGNED to me; it was not a name that the government or my family forced me to use... it was a special name, just for Master Skarnkai and my closest, dearest friends to use. It was, perhaps sadly, perhaps humorously, perhaps pathetically, the first name I was called with respect. It was the name people who respected me called me.
After Napster failed, though, Stoney faded into oblivion for half a year. But eventually there would always be someplace where I needed to identify myself. Any community that needed something to call me, I'd rather be known as Stone Hawk.
When I took it to Furcadia, I needed an avatar that was just for me, just so I could explore without the pretenses of any character backgrounds or personalities. Naturally, Stone Hawk sprang to the forefront of my mind. It was enevitable though, that I wanted to RP and didn't switch out the name. I'm not sure where the current IC Stone Hawk came from or when he truly solidified in my mind, but he always carried a quarterstaff and many small daggers hidden around him.
Funny thing, a few days ago I only JUST realized the various inspirations I had for Stone Hawk's character design. In Robert Jordan's book series, the Wheel of Time, there is a character named Mat Cauthon. Mat (short for Matrim) is a quick-witted, smart-tongued gambler whose good fortune only leads him deeper into trouble--but it's not his personality that relates him to Stoney; it's the fact that he is a wielder and wearer of quarterstaves and wide-brimmed hats. Also the fact that his name resembles my IRL one.
I had stone hawk as a character for long before I found Mat Cauthon, but his hat, which has all but become his signature, was really inspired by outside sources, I'm sorry to say. He had his own reasons for preferring a quarterstaff as his weapon of choice, and the supplementation of throwing knives... but both of these are similarities to Mat.
I don't have to worry about any kind of infringement with that hat, though, since Matrim Cauthon's signature is his weapon--rather than a staff, a Naginata (called an Ashandarei in WoT). All I'm saying is... the combination of a hat like that with a weapon like that is not new. IN FACT...
It's one of the most popular portrayals of the norse god, ODIN. Odin, riding the six-or-eight-legged Sleipnir, wielding a spear and wearing that badass hat.
It could be said, though, that there are far more connections between RJ's Matrim Cauthon and Odin. There are many creepy if not intentional references.
1: Heavy plot overshadowing tends to point toward Mat losing an eye, specifically as a deliberate sacrifice, in the future. Odin gave up half his sight for knowledge.
2: Mat was referred to as "The Gambler" and "Son of Battles" by the finn, a mystical race of wish granters and truthsayers. Odin, according to wikipedia, is known also as "The Gambler", but then "Father of Battles".
3: Odin's hall, Valhalla, kept dead heroes of the past to be called back to fight in the final battle, the Ragnarok. Meanwhile, Mat is entrusted with The Horn of Valere, a mystical device that, when sounded, shall recall the dead heroes of ages past to fight in HIS world's final battle, Tarmon Gaidon.
4: Mat's Naginata (or Ashandarei) is engraved with "Thought is the arrow of time, Memory never fades, What was asked is given, The price is paid." --this, bracketted by Two Ravens. Odin owned two ravens, Hugin and Munin ( "Thought" and "Memory" ).
I am glad at least that I am not guilty of outright character theft... By no means is Stoney a gambler or even a risk-taker, just a simple traveler, "totally lost but making great time, don't know where to go but gettin' there quick"!
What can I say. Big sticks are best compliment with Bigger hats.
It was just at the beginning of the year 2000. Ah, remember the days? Napster was still around in its first incarnation and the industrial world of the previous era had been reeling with the shocks and terrors of the great digital unknown. It's a shame that those battles didn't turn out better than they did... but regardless their result, that was when I began the journey toward awakening to become who I am today. On NAPSTER.
You see, I got attached to a specific server, and then a specific room in that server, where I found like-minded individuals that, honestly, I'd never thought I'd find in my life. The 'community' was an impromptu construction, with people filling various niches of their own accord, with no direction or plan except 'this feels right'. In this open-ended environment, there was a casual RP setting. We turned the chatrooms into sets and scenes.
I'll not go into what my character was or what he did or what titles he had, as I was a TOTAL TWINK back then... but regardless, he had come to run into spiritual guidance at some point, specifically ABOUT his/my twinkiness. This spiritual guide, among other things, taught or at least Suggested balance and self-control. Now, enevitably in a chatroom full of 14-year-olds, there WILL be a lot of bullshit--but I seperated the worthwhile from the not-worthwhile, and found some scarce scraps of Genuine wisdom. Those scraps, I treasured, and they led me to do my own research and to learn on my own, through more legitimate sources. Perhaps I was not as naive at the time as I thought I was.
For my 'Studies', Master Skarn (as we called him) asked me to pick a name for myself, a name to represent my character's apprenticeship.
I forgot how he helped me choose, what exactly he explained that guided me to this decision, but I eventually fell upon the name "Stone Hawk", and it stuck ever since. I think what made it the most special was that it was not a name that was ASSIGNED to me; it was not a name that the government or my family forced me to use... it was a special name, just for Master Skarnkai and my closest, dearest friends to use. It was, perhaps sadly, perhaps humorously, perhaps pathetically, the first name I was called with respect. It was the name people who respected me called me.
After Napster failed, though, Stoney faded into oblivion for half a year. But eventually there would always be someplace where I needed to identify myself. Any community that needed something to call me, I'd rather be known as Stone Hawk.
When I took it to Furcadia, I needed an avatar that was just for me, just so I could explore without the pretenses of any character backgrounds or personalities. Naturally, Stone Hawk sprang to the forefront of my mind. It was enevitable though, that I wanted to RP and didn't switch out the name. I'm not sure where the current IC Stone Hawk came from or when he truly solidified in my mind, but he always carried a quarterstaff and many small daggers hidden around him.
Funny thing, a few days ago I only JUST realized the various inspirations I had for Stone Hawk's character design. In Robert Jordan's book series, the Wheel of Time, there is a character named Mat Cauthon. Mat (short for Matrim) is a quick-witted, smart-tongued gambler whose good fortune only leads him deeper into trouble--but it's not his personality that relates him to Stoney; it's the fact that he is a wielder and wearer of quarterstaves and wide-brimmed hats. Also the fact that his name resembles my IRL one.
I had stone hawk as a character for long before I found Mat Cauthon, but his hat, which has all but become his signature, was really inspired by outside sources, I'm sorry to say. He had his own reasons for preferring a quarterstaff as his weapon of choice, and the supplementation of throwing knives... but both of these are similarities to Mat.
I don't have to worry about any kind of infringement with that hat, though, since Matrim Cauthon's signature is his weapon--rather than a staff, a Naginata (called an Ashandarei in WoT). All I'm saying is... the combination of a hat like that with a weapon like that is not new. IN FACT...
It's one of the most popular portrayals of the norse god, ODIN. Odin, riding the six-or-eight-legged Sleipnir, wielding a spear and wearing that badass hat.
It could be said, though, that there are far more connections between RJ's Matrim Cauthon and Odin. There are many creepy if not intentional references.
1: Heavy plot overshadowing tends to point toward Mat losing an eye, specifically as a deliberate sacrifice, in the future. Odin gave up half his sight for knowledge.
2: Mat was referred to as "The Gambler" and "Son of Battles" by the finn, a mystical race of wish granters and truthsayers. Odin, according to wikipedia, is known also as "The Gambler", but then "Father of Battles".
3: Odin's hall, Valhalla, kept dead heroes of the past to be called back to fight in the final battle, the Ragnarok. Meanwhile, Mat is entrusted with The Horn of Valere, a mystical device that, when sounded, shall recall the dead heroes of ages past to fight in HIS world's final battle, Tarmon Gaidon.
4: Mat's Naginata (or Ashandarei) is engraved with "Thought is the arrow of time, Memory never fades, What was asked is given, The price is paid." --this, bracketted by Two Ravens. Odin owned two ravens, Hugin and Munin ( "Thought" and "Memory" ).
I am glad at least that I am not guilty of outright character theft... By no means is Stoney a gambler or even a risk-taker, just a simple traveler, "totally lost but making great time, don't know where to go but gettin' there quick"!
What can I say. Big sticks are best compliment with Bigger hats.
