I have something to admit: I've had a serious case of writer's block for the last, let's say four months or so. I think my issue is the longer I go without writing the worse the block gets. I need something to break out of this funk. To that end, I entreat any who are interested to hit me with short story ideas. Nothing too fancy (or out there) but something that could be fun. Maybe even gather them into a small collection.

Also, first journal typed entirely on my Kindle.

Edit: If you have an idea, put it in the comment section.

It's been two months since the last time I dusted this thing off. So here we go for another round. I do so enjoy providing answers that may or may not be phrased in smartass.

Thus spake Ellen McLain, she who provided the voice for GLaDOS, at the voice actor panel at MAGFest this past weekend. Felt like the best quote to sum up the whole experience.

Oh MAGFEst, it was like visiting the Internet. Well, parts of the Internet. You'd have to locate your nearest red-light district to get a feel for the rest. So many people I watch online were there, but I'll get to that later.

First, I wanna' give a shout-out to  corvuspointer. He's a great guy, met him at his table in the dealer's den area. Bought prints of these two pictures from him: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1836861/ and http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1836841/ Talking with Corvus was fun, asked him just how fluffy wolves are (see his scraps gallery to get that reference).

Met Linkara of Atop the Fourth Wall and saw his live show. Even got him to sign my copy of Kingdom Come (he recommended it in his review of Superman: Distant Fires).

Visited Graham and Paul of Unskippable/ENN/Checkpoint/LoadingReadyRun at their table. They signed my Two Worlds manual. "Beware the Taint!" My friend Joe asked them what Kathleen De Vere's real hair color was. Apparently, kind of reddish.

Saw Jon St. John twice, once at his own panel and again at the other panel with the other voice actors. Ellen McLain included. Joe managed to ask him if he ever got recognized by his voice alone. He answered that he had just used his Duke Nukem voice to get some fat guy to stop blocking the panel in the elevator.

Several of the voice actors gathered outside the registration area for meet-n-greets. Managed to meet Kirbopher of Pokemon and, more importantly, Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series. Wes Johnson did his Lord Sheogorath for me. "No, I won't skip rope with yer' intestines. But I will pluck yer' eyes out if you disappoint me again! I gave you a task, now git goin'!" And then he gave Frank a new ringtone on the form of his Lucien Lachance voice, "You sleep soundly for a murderer. Wake, Child of Sithis, there is work to be done." Also got an autograph by Craig Sechler, the voice of nearly every elf in Oblivion. He did his Adoring Fan vocie at the panel, "By Azura, by Azura, by Azura. You're the Grand Champion." At the table he remarked that I was the nicest person to the Adoring Fan, since I parked him a castle rather than... doing something less charitable involving fire and steel.

And then came Ellen McLain's panel. There was some fail when these Pony fans had her read some MLP letter in the GLaDOS voice. But all was made right when she led the audience in a sing-a-long to both "Now I Only Want You Gone" and "Still Alive." Friggin'. Amazing.

Also, the second day Ashley, my friend and aspiring model, wore her fancy hat and corset. Just like Baltimore, she was being approached for photos.

An aside; what is it about... games that aren't all that good that inspire the best cosplays? Skyward Sword Zelda, FF13 Lightning, and FF10-2 Songstress Yuna were among the most impressive samples. But the good game/good cosplay combo was achieved by a female Redguard Dovahkiin.

Went to the Channel Awesome panel, where they had every member of the site except for four. The Spoony One, Angry Joe, Benzaie, and the Critic himself were absent. Afterward they set themselves up in a meet-n-greet gauntlet. Phelous is much taller and thinner in person. That Sci-Fi Guy, whom I almost called Sci-Fi Greg, is taller than me. And if you've met me you know how tall that is. Film Brain was a blast to speak with. The Nostalgia Chick really is that hot. Turns out JewWario's a brony. I gushed to Paw how I loved his Music Movies show and the King's Quest retrospective.

But the pinnacle of it all was Saturday night. That was when legendary Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu took the stage with his latest band, the Earthbound Papas. To hear "Battle on the Big Bridge" and "Dancing Mad" as played by the man who composed them in person... I imagine it's kin to seeing the Beatles live at their apex.

So yeah, MAGFest was incredibly fun. Yes, most of the people there did have less than adequate hygiene and social skills, but it would take more than BO and no concept of how to behave off a computer to deter me from going back.

I have conflicting views regarding Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition. It's derided as "Fourcraft" for a reason, it feels all to simplified and focused on combat. Choices and customization are included less in favor of organizing pre-built elements. And its flavor flows from the function, rather than the rules arising from the flavor.

On the other hand, there some things I like, like the races. Aside from the ever-studly dragonborn, minotaurs were introduced into the core PC choices. 3rd edition 'taurs were straight-up monsters, 4e 'taurs are more like tauren or Richard Knaak's mino's from Dragonlance. Although why Wizards felt the need to split elves into elves and eladrin (prissier elves) I'll never know.

And now the Heroes of the Feywild has dropped, satyrs have been properly brought into the playable fold. And they're an all-male race, the all-female being the sylvan hamadrayds. And satyrs pack all sorts of charming/beguiling options. Too bad it's in 4e terms so it reads like a class from an MMO.

Still, cross those charming skills with the Paladin of Domination and I think I have an naughty combination.

Of course the group I'm with now is a mixed blessing. On the bright side it's a Pathfinder campaign, aka DnD 3.75, with all its many options and flavors. On the other hand the group is made of my Church friends, so it's rather white-bread in some regards. Though be warned, church-folk make for some vindictive gaming buddies. This was the group where the druid, of all people, forced me into combat with a giant snake. Keep in mind I'm playing a sorcerer and, despite my rather hardy stats, I should never be within arms' reach of a monster. I'm a glass cannon over here. Though I may be less fragile when I start picking up certain polymorph spells. Monstrous Physique anyone?

Got this from  tawawawa

The way it works is you choose a number from the list below and I answer it according to my Vlagn setting. It's the world of Brogan, Runescar, Zhared, the mammut, and ketzali.

GENERAL:
1. What are some of the tropes you would use to describe your characters?
2. What are some personal problems that your characters are dealing with?
3. What are your characters' morning routines?
4. What are your characters' favorite things to eat for breakfast?
5. What are your characters' favorite foods?
6. Do any of your characters have any odd/unusual/obscure interests?
7. What is an experience your characters most embarrassed about?
8. What is an experience your characters most proud about?
9. If your characters were to transition from their world to our world, how would they react?
10. What are some songs you associate with your characters?
11. Who is the first character you remember creating? If you still have this character, how much have they changed?
12. Who's the latest character you've created?
13. Do your characters live in the past, present, or future? If past or future, how far back/forward?
14. Are any of your characters religious? If so, to what extent? If not, what are their spiritual beliefs?
15. What do you like most about your characters?
16. What do you dislike most about your characters?
17. How would you get along with some of your characters?
18. What are some of your characters' talents?
19. If one of your characters had to choose between their life or a loved one's life, which would they choose?
20. What are some of your character's fears? Are they irrational, or have they resulted from a particular situation?
21. What are some gross habits your characters have?
22. What are some habits your characters would be embarassed about if people found out?
23. If your characters attend a school - or if they were to attend a school - what kind of students are they? (i.e. class clown, straight A student...)
24. (Directed to any characters who feel like answering) How are you doing today?
25. Are any of your characters inspired by other people, such as celebrities or people you know personally? If you don't mind explaining, what attributes do your characters have from these people?
26. What are some of your characters' body types?
27. What do your characters seek in a romantic relationship?
28. What are the fashion senses of some of your characters?
29. If any of your characters don't like food in general, why?
30. Tell us a random fact about your character!

WORLD-RELATED:
31. What are some of the laws of the universe your characters live in?
32. Does the universe your characters live in have a god?
33. If the place your characters live in is different from ours, what makes it different?
34. Do ghosts or supernatural entities exist in your characters' world?
35. What kind of species live on the planet/in the environment your characters live in?
36. What is the climate like?
37. Is there an afterlife in your story's universe?
38. If there are supernatural entities in your universe, where did they come from?
39. If the world your characters live in are significantly different from ours, would you be able to live there? (If it's a place where humans are not supposed to live, imagine you've been given the ability to live there somehow.)
40. How safe or unsafe is the place your characters live in, and what makes it this way?
41. Does your world have multiple dimensions? If so, how many, and what happens in these dimensions?
42. How technologically advanced is the place your characters primarily live in?
43. Is the place your characters live in someplace people would want to go sightseeing in, or a tourist attraction?
44. Are there any other places in your characters' world that they want to travel to?
45. If there is a pop culture, what's considered "cool"? If there's no pop culture, what are some traditions that your characters follow that have been inherited from ancestors or the culture they were raised in?

Okay, maybe it's not something new since I've been mulling it over as a part of Brogan's character ever since his conception. I've always said he's an apprentice blacksmith with a scholarly bent, burying himself in books is his hobby and passion away from the forge. His family operates a beloved tavern, and Brogan was listening to travelers' tales before his horns emerged. He's a bull hungry to hear about adventures and would love to go on his own, if only the land for miles around wasn't pacified. So where can he channel that interest? Simple.

Brogan's an amateur bard.

I use the word 'bard,' but maybe he'd be closer to a skald. He likes to clean up tales and recite them. Like I said, this was something that was floating around in the back of my mind, but the minstrels in Skyrim really reminded me of that aspect of Brogan's character. Like this example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxCNsgaIRfc or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh2qV77h1eY&feature=related

So there you go. Brogan Stoutheart, minotaur blacksmith and orator. I love it when I can flesh out a character more.

Got another random idea for a story, loosely based on the generic fanatsy setting as put forth by DnD. I saw a big, tough minotaur warrior get sent into a mine to clear out whatever's scaring off the miners. The bull goes in and finds that it's been taken over by a gang of... well, I can't decide whether it should be gnomes or kobolds.

Of course, whichever it ends up being, you can bet that erotic complications will ensue for the minotaur. Also open to name suggestions for the new bull.

Just what the title says. Present me with questions and I shall endeavor to issue them a reply.

This was my first time at FurFright and I think it just may have been my favorite con thus far (though I love FA United a lot as well, please don't banhammer me, Dragoneer). It was a nice size, not as staggeringly huge as AC but more established than FA United. Being it was three days of glory I will try and share everything that I can pluck from the swirling haze of joy.

 modem_redpill and  knuxlight made the drive up to Connecticut much less lonesome. Also, things get creepy once you cross the Hudson River. Lovecraft and King know what they're doing setting tales of horror in those gloom-ridden woods and hills.

Hung out with my beef-bros,  brauner and  solusar. Ate some meals with  darren_zeraus and  sigil and her crew. Also ate with  umber-k and  najuk.

I also met  dbear,  sheppymilo, and  kody. So much ursine beefcake in one place... Said hi to  grisser and got an amazing pic from him (that's on its way soon). Ordered a conbadge from  eidy. Hung with  dmk and  makoim. Said hi to  griflyn,  punktiger, and  stinkdog

Huge thanks to those who made this possible. I mean you  silvermane. It was a blast and I really hope I can make it back next year.

MY THESIS PASSED!

Okay, I have to tweak a few things, really minor things. But it's done! Approved! Given a green light! My Master's degree is all but complete.

Thank you all for your support, and an especially big thanks to those who contributed the data.

I just finsihed the very last tweaks and fixes to my Master's Thesis and sent it off to my advisor. I defend it next Wednesday and, if all goes well, finally get my MA.

Huge thanks to all of you who participated.

Now I feel as if a giant weight has been lifted from my shoulders, like there's no longer a sword of Damacles dangling over my head. Now I just have to worry about the defense process.

But at least I can now refocus on story writing. Someone, quick! Inspire me with mental images of minotaurs in compromising situations!

Been a while since I posted a new journal. Thesis is coming down to the end and I will be so happy once it's done and defended. Be even better if that means I get my MA at long last. So while I hammer out the last few dings, I'm up for answering questions posed to me. (be warned, responses may or may not have a substantial degree of smartass-ness attached)

I was reading through one of the Pathfinder novels, one of those little popcorn fiction books where characters are defined more by their RPG class than actual characterization, and it being DnD related, got me thinking. Thinking about random/unorthodox race-class combos. And then it hit me; an orc monk.

Not just an orc monk in fact, an orc running a martial arts monastery in the wilderness teaching discipline to the savage races. Where else would I get the image of a gnoll monk in my head? And why not an ogre monk while I'm at it. Or an ogre mage monk... Okay, I'd better stop it before I end up creating Kung-fu Bugbear. But I really should file away that orc monastery for somewhere in Valagn.

And I could beefifize my latest custom Oblivion character build and make a minotaur spellblade aka magus aka duskblade aka eldritch knight. Because I can.

What do you like about them? I'm curious about what I'm doing right with them. And please can I not get 20 responses all about their loins. 17 replies about them would be acceptable, though.

It was fun, really, really fun. I mean, last year was a total blast but I was shellshocked by the scope. This year, I was better prepared (and I remembered to eat regularly this time, that always helps). What follows will be a stream of consciousness summation of the event. A lot happened and it's a lot to recap so please forgive me if I neglect anyone.

The Omni's a nice hotel. A short walk from the Westin and the Convention Center, but I'll take 5 minutes of walking over however long it takes waiting in line for the Westin's elevators. Especially since  dineegla wasn't around, sharing priority. I'd like to thank  ryusuke573 and  modem_redpill for being such great roommates to this (more than likely) snoring bull.

I met pretty much everyone I resolved to meet before the con. Found  gh-mongo and picked up my badge. Need to get it laminated. He's so much less irascible in person. Managed to find  havoc214 and we discussed our shared love of Brogan's sculpture. Found  tiptoe too, he's a great guy; and pretty big for a rat Almost didn't meet my goal but I found  dazen_cobalt in the Dealers' Den 15 minutes before it closed on Sunday. Great Success!

 winddragon was expecting me to be hairier (see me shirtless and that expectation may yet be met).  hysterium thought I was black (nowhere close, the only way I could be any whiter would be to inject Norse blood into my veins). So now I'm a deceptive minotaur. A rogue as it were.

Got a commission and a belly scritch from  donryu. People just luv mah belly. And I kept running into  larathen, poor lizard probably thinks I'm stalking him. But it's just because New Jerseyans gravitate toward each other. And I met/ordered a pic from  beastlybahamut and will soon have a pic from each of my 5 furry art gods, those who first drew me here. The others being Braford, DBull, Musclewolf, and Solidasp.

Also got a pic from  cooner, whom people have been telling me I need to commission. I have done it now! All is right with the world.

And I dined on a sashimi boat with  kaishi and his gf Kris. Mmmmmm, sushi, how I love thee.

So I had more fun than I can put down in writing. Now I really want to apply a segment of my power toward going to FurFright. Let's see what happens.

Okay, enough recollecting. They'll be new art posted tomorrow.

PS. I have the phantom sensation that I'm still wearing my conbadge. I felt so naked without it today.

So this is an alert to everyone who responded to my last few journals on the topic. Tomorrow will mark the start of the actual research/data gathering phase. People who replied earlier shall receive notes in their inboxes, all details and questions included. The main focus is on WoW players, but other MMO's should work. Speak up now if you haven't already. I mean, most MMO's are WoW-clones anyway and have the same features and gratifications I wish to study.

So let's get ready to do some science people. I'll try to keep the killer AI's to a minimum, but I can't promise anything.

So this is a call out to anyone who is currently playing or has played World of Warcraft. I'm looking for volunteers to help me with my graduate thesis. There have been several studies looking at MMORPG's and the needs they gratify, be it escapism, prestige, or something else. Those studies approached the subject with quantitative questionnaires. I intend to tackle this subject through qualitative interviews.

So comment here if you want to help a scholarly bull out. Essentially we'd just exchange notes on here, or on MSN, as you answer my interview questions. And so you know, no names will be used. Participants will be referred to on the study by the number in which they were interviewed. Looking to get about 12-20 volunteers.

Spread the word if you can, and thanks for taking the time to read this.

Three days of awesome hikinks and I am tired, but oh so contented. Not sure where to begin so I'll just jump right in to the highlights.

Dinner at Pei Wei with  tkd_dbull and  dmk, dinner at Don Pablo's with Darius,  brauner, and  solusar. Then lunch at Pei Wei again with Dbull,  jazzwolf, and  zakrhyno.

DBull's also took a pair of commissions from me, one will be up soon and it is smokin' hot. Also will be posting pics from  sigil and  blondevelvet18. Sigil's pic had some input from  larathen. And there's also a pic from  gideon on the way.

Games!!! Oh so many games did we play, like Zombie Fluxx with Braun and Sol, and more games with  kaishi, his girlfriend,  kee_fox, and  darren_zeraus

Also met  buck_hopper again. Said hi to Larathen, who got a aweet tattoo. Chatted with  dyne less than I would have liked to.

And picked up a piece from  knuxlight, who is a ball of energy, and ordered a pic from  modem_redpill, who is a cool guy.

And the whole thing was topped off when  dragoneer, our illustrious leader, proposed to his girlfriend,  sciggles at the closing ceremonies. I can't say the image of him in fursuit at the altar didn't enter my mind.

I know I'm rambling but the joy that's been sustaining my stamina is waning and I want to share this all before I crash. Next year's FAU will be in the beginning of May, meaning that the last day of that con will fall on my birthday!!!

So, in summary, it was a fun time despite some logistical hiccups. I'm looking at you registration line and packed panels. And now I am getting psyched for Anthrocon.

PS I do feel a little drained after so many people wanting to do stuff with me. Such are the perils of being desirabull.

Okay, I'm going to bed.

In the coming weeks I'll be working on my master's thesis, which involves actually doing scholarly research. The topic, which my mentor professor has endorsed, is to look at WoW players through the Uses and Gratifications Theory. I'll spare you the boring specifics, but the gist of what I'm doing is asking why people play the game, what gratification it provides and what uses players see in it. If Facebook can go game with Farmville, why can't WoW be a social networking device? So I may be looking for players to interview over the summer.

Also, the cashier at Macy's thought I was British. So now I'm apparently the British/Scottish/Irish Leatherbull. Suck it, Wales!

It just kind of happened and, like my screenname, it was something I grew in to. I could reject it, but I think I'll embrace it. No one else can lay claim to that. So I am Zigzag Ziggy, Mad Bull Writer and Scottish/Irish (I could add more, I do have three other nationalities) Leatherbull. Hear me moo!

Don't get me wrong, I do like blasting hordes of zombies in Left 4 dead, but zombies are getting overplayed. And they're not even 'real' zombies. Like how vampires went from being 'damned souls cursed to steal the vitality they can never again enjoy' to 'just very pretty people with awkward social issues who may or may not sparkle and be really fruity', zombies have gone from the actual walking dead to people infected with a variant of rabies. It's more 'scientific,' but since when did any of our most primal monsters need lengthy treatises of vague science to justify their existence? Next thing you know they'll be making a mummy movie where the bag of cloth has been infested with ambulatory fungi and its 'curse' is really just festering spores.

Know what I'd like to see/turn into a horror/comedy story? A tale where these bio-zombies rise up, and a necromancer has to show the world who the real master of the walking dead is by raising the actual undead from their graves. "Any fool can devise a plague that turns men into mindless savages. I command the blackest sorceries of Hell to infuse the dead with a perversion of life and bind them to my will. And my shambling corpses keep moving even after their heads are gone."

I was flipping through the latest 4th edition sourcebook, Heroes of Shadow, when something caught my eye. Now 4E isn't 3E or even 3.5E, it's harder to create flavorful character classes when PC's are lists of attacks. They've worked around that hurdle, somewhat successfully, by folding the vast array of 3rd edition classes into the less numerous, and more restrictive, 4th edition classes.

One such example was by making the blackguard into an alternate paladin. In 3rd edition, paladins and blackguards were seperate entities, considering paladins were a core class and blackguards were a prestige class. But to cut through all the game mechanic clutter, blackguards are now a subgroup of paladins drawing on vice instead of virtue. One such suggested vice is domination.

Yes, they have the advice on how to make a paladin of domination.

Do I even need to outline the erotic possibilites of such a dark warrior? Especially if such a warrior was an orc or a gnoll.

It also has a picture of a dwarf warlock in black leather and buckles wielding a cat-o-nine-tails. Bahamut help the poor DM who has to hear from a player "I bind the minotaur and whip him until he submits."

I'm feeling conversational, toss out any questions and let's see what kind of sarcastic, caustic answer I can come up with.

Sometime during the overnight hours my page seems to have surpassed 40,000 views! I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who contributed to that and I'd aslo like to thank all the artists whose works went into making it happen. Maybe I need to do/commission something to commemorate this. Any suggestions?

And I'd also like to thank everyone who took a look at 'Rough Ridin'', which has racked up over 2,400 views in the four days since I posted it. My second most-viewed pic, the one done by  gideon and inked by  tkd_dbull, http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4075533/ took nine months to only hit 2,100. Damn, what did I do right? Though I am aware that views does not always translate directly to readings. I'd better get started on part 2: Where stuff gets explained and the bulls have more fun.

And one more thing, I've been toying with the idea of redoing Tarn's backstory. He'll still be a big, subby leather bull, but how he got that way will be tweaked.

And that's all I got for right now. Once again, thanks everybody!

I feel up trying one more round of writing a little story based on a picture submiited via link here. Why not? I'm feel wordsmithy. So, link me a picture that you have the rights to that you think would make for a good. I'll write what it inspires me to write.