JULY 2021 NEWSLETTER
Life is filled with routine. Whether the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is to check your phone, lie in bed and groan about your busy schedule ahead, or get up and get ready for the day, we, as humans, are constantly moving and grooving. With all that happens in our daily life, whoever has time for a break? To stop and smell the roses? Or even have a chance to relax and wind without having something weighing over our head due to stress?
With school letting out for some parts of the world and less work piling on as days pass, family and friends are marking their schedule and starting their vacation! Time to uproot this mundane routine and add a little spice! Itβs about time we safely allow ourselves the ability to get away from the world around us! We deserve it!
That said, what is your ideal getaway? Is it a vacation at the beach? Or is it an island getaway where you have an island to yourself? If you choose an island getaway, what is your ideal island? What will you do on the island? Is it bathing in the sun and drinking fruity drinks? Feeling the sand between your feet? Or hearing the crashing of the ocean in the sea? Tell us in the comments below!
Housekeeping Notes
Official RpNation MerchandiseThe merchandise store offers t-shirts perfect for the warmer weather. There are multiple styles to choose from. Shop now!
RpNation Bake Off!Fire up the ovens and show off your culinary skills in this month's baking challenge! Ready, set, go!
Character ShowcaseLet's show off your favorite character creations in the newsletter next month! Submit your characters here.
RpNation Song RecommendationsLetβs show off some of your musical tastes in the newsletter next month! You can also see what has been recommended in the past. Submit your music here!
Helper Application FormRpNation's Helper team is looking for more dedicated people to aid with the creation of site events and the newsletter. Submit your application today!
Music that Escapes
ISLAND GETAWAY
@HappyHedgie β Featured Artist
Digital - Appy's character sketches/art
I was rereading the manga Berserk and I really liked these characters so I felt like drawing them :3c
@xxrarewerewolfxx β Featured Writer
Story - The Road Not Taken
Dead at night, I tossed and turned pondering about what had happened in school. The bell chimed at 2, allowing the students to finally go home. I picked my bag up and approached my friends who were sitting across the room. When I finally met up with them, I heard my friend Andrew talking about...
@butterfly aubade β Featured BBCoder
Accepting Requests - [ πππ’π«π’ππ₯ππ£ππ¬ ] β π πππππππ¦ ππ ππππ (retired)
ADOXOGRAPHY.request rules. 1. please be understanding about my circumstances. i'm a student. 'nuff said. 2. ask me questions when you don't understand. i cannot emphasize this enough !! it's your code, you are entitled to ask when you're confused and can't use it. i'll normally try to make it as...
www.rpnation.com
Thanny
β Featured Discussion
Experiences - Did You Ever Complete a Roleplay?
This has been nagging at the back of my mind for a while now, but as the title queries I was curious if many of you have completed a roleplay, or at the very least reached a milestone event where you and everyone was satisfied with leaving things off for a sequel. Roleplays can last a very long...
nondescriptname655433788
β Member of the MonthMy first exposure to roleplaying was definitely playing "warrior cats" on the playground and with webkinz plushies, but I soon switched to roleplaying on Animal Jam. After my Warrior Cats stint was over I got into Undertale and roleplayed on google+. Once I ran out of fandom content I figured, "hey, I can roleplay with my own original characters!", then I did so with my close friends over text. All this to say, I've pretty much been roleplaying my entire life, I don't think there was ever a period where I thought it was weird or didn't do it.
How did you discover RpNation?
I was really, really desperate to roleplay in a certain fandom's canon and none of my friends were interested. I wasn't keen on using discord for RP so I figured I'd try searching up roleplaying websites and apps on google. I found this website a little further down in people's top picks, but what drew me in was the "no ERP" rule, no other website or app had specified that- so I knew it was the perfect choice for me! After I got my fix for that fandom, I found I really loved forums and enjoyed how friendly the community was along with the variety in interests, now this is my home.
What are your favorite genres/settings to roleplay in?
*insert unsubtle Omori mention* Hmm... I feel like I haven't expanded my reach into enough genres to have a true answer but I very much enjoy fandom RP in which I get to continue or remake the lives of the canon characters and original settings that have a darker psychological aspect to them, lots of anime boys for me to ponder and take place in East Asia. I hope to try my hand at Sci-fi and Fururistic settings once I have the time, seems like the best fit for my (many) bug-humans.
What are some other hobbies you have besides roleplaying?
I absolutely love music, cannot play it or make it but I will listen to it for hours. I'm listening to music as I'm writing this! Reading, writing, drawing, gaming, animating, sculpting, programming and sleeping are complementary activities to my music-listening. I recently took up embroidery and merchandise collection as well, I firmly believe I can't hate something until I try it, so my hobby list is essentially an endless pit. I wanna put together one of those evangelion model kits next and try kit-bashing!
What is your favorite part of Rpnation?
I like seeing the strange things people write in their profile posts, but I also really like how civil and open-minded the community is. Typically I would be a strictly roleplay-only person but everyone here is so kind I couldn't resist being a liiiittle sociable.
Do you have any favorite literature pieces? Or maybe a beloved TV series?
I'm legally obligated to say Omori despite it's status as a video-game but aside from that I adore all of S.E. Hinton's works ESPECIALLY "That was then, this is now." I'm also a big fan of the kind of books you are forced to read in highschool (farenheit 451, lord of the flies, you get the gist), does that count as Stockholm Syndrome? I can't lie, I don't watch much TV and will not touch live-action but anything that Masaaki Yuasa puts out is an absolute win. I like cult classics and hidden gems, unsurprisingly I'm a sucker for psychological themes! Alien-Nine, Evangelion and Kaiba come to mind.
If you were to be stranded on an island, what three items would you have and why?
If it weren't for the lack of internet and air conditioning, this would be a dream come true for me! I'd probably bring a swimsuit, functioning computer and something to filter water with. One of those water-filter straws maybe. Will my choices help me survive? Maybe one of them, but this is my only chance to be completely alone on my own little planet! I sure hope it snows on this island...
What era would you want to be born in and why?
I'm actually very satisfied with the era I was born in, I have modern medicine, technology, domesticated animals and the social climate is pretty safe for me on a micro level. I'd have to know what my options in the future look like to have preferred another era, only dual citizenship opening up in Japan could sway me.
If you could only wear one color for the rest of your life, which color would it be and why?
It'd be black, I rarely wear any other color in the first place and it's my favorite. I don't put very much effort into my outfits everyday in the first place and you can never go wrong with black! ^u^
Got any RpNation projects that you would like to share?
I'm GM-ing my first group roleplay, "Roller-Skating High-Schoolers against the Vast Expanse of Space"! It's based off the anime and manga of Alien-Nine. I have a LOT of ideas in store for it, and I hope I can bring them to fruition in a satisfying way. We're just starting out right now, but it should quicken pace once we reach the second day, I'm anticipating opening it to more players once we reach the summer-break section since I just got some help to run the project. Other than that I'm pretty much just chilling.
What advice do you have for the newsletter readers?
Kindness is not a weakness. Whether it be having respect for others, listening to others, being non-judgemental or simply smiling. You will meet a lot of people you absolutely hate, but you gain nothing by hurting them, either ignore them or embrace them and tell them that they're okay and things will get better. Everyone deserves to feel loved no matter what mistakes they've made or life they've lived.
I'm in one of the roughest patches of my life right now and I'd say it's only extrapolated by the lack of love I've been shown by those around me. I can't do much to help myself, but I can tell all of you to tell someone you love them today. Friends, family, strangers- it doesn't matter. Make someone's presence feel appreciated and needed.
BoomersAndMash
β Roleplay of the MonthI was actually reading a webcomic called "Sword Interval". It has the same ideas with the supernatural and humans living in the same world, with hunters and an organization that watches out for the humans. I love those ideas with the "What if the supernatural and humans did indeed have to coexist? What would happen?" I also took some ideas with the organization in the RP Athena, where both humans and supernatural work together and use their skills to aid each other from another RP I was doing with a friend. We were doing something similar to this RP. I'm also a fan of having two or more factions clashing with each other.
What do you think got your RP to the point it's at now? (What's kept it from stalling/keeps it going?)
I honestly don't know how it got to this point. I think what keeps it from stalling is there is free range on what you can pick for your character. I don't limit as to what supernatural you can use when you create a character, or that if you want to make your own faction to go against the premade ones then I'm all for that. I think what keeps it going is how the world is growing. Like for example the faction, The Hive, I did not create that faction. That was a faction created by another member, Neo Alice and I think it's an excellent addition to the world.
How did you advertise the RP and did you do anything to make it seem more enticing?
So for advertising I really didn't do anything flashy. I just wrote an intro and hoped that it would catch the eyes of people that would be interested in it. I just tried to make a title that would fit the plot of the story and clicked "submit" and waited. Nothing really special.
How/where did you get into roleplaying?
I actually got into roleplaying with a friend of mine in middle school. Back then I didn't realize it was roleplaying, I just thought we were passing notes with our made up characters and making up stories. But that was my first taste of roleplaying. It then grew and any forums I would join I just had a tendency to make a persona for myself. What really took it off was when I joined Gaia and they had a roleplay section there. I started off small with the beginner role plays of one to two sentences but then began to expand myself out in joining more advanced roleplays/making my own.
How/when did you discover RpNation and how has your time here affected your RP ability/experience?
I discovered this site after my roleplay partner and I, who have been roleplaying together for close to 10+ years now, parted ways. I wanted to keep roleplaying but didn't know where to turn or who would actually want to roleplay with me, since I haven't roleplayed with anyone else besides my one partner, so it was scary at first to try and find a group. I found RpNation by Google searching roleplay forums, and was greeted with many other forums, including this one. What caught my eye to this one was how active and welcoming the community was. I was nervous to start all over again and didn't know where to turn but when I was looking at some of the posts by other members I knew this place was for me. I've been enjoying my time here greatly and I hope that the more I stay here the better I can get at my writing skills with details and emotions. I just enjoy the fact that everyone is willing to help each other out and give out helpful advice to improve their skills.
What's your favorite roleplay? (Or which one has had a special quality, be it a character, plot, world-building etc, that makes it special?)
Oh this is a tough question but the one roleplay that sticks out to me has to be one that I managed back on Gaia called Iron Hands. It was a very popular roleplay where again two factions were against each other. It was set in a dystopian world where the government had complete control over everything and ruled with an iron fist, hence the title. But there was a group that sought to bring truth to the web of lies that the government was spreading. Each side had their own special units. It was a lot of fun and managed to have 2 spin off roleplays after the original. It went so far even that someone made a city map for it and I was creating a music playlist for everyone to listen to the music that was being mentioned by any of the characters in the roleplay. It was just one of the best memories I'll have.
What is your ideal RP? (Even it doesn't seem like something that would work out or be popular)
An ideal RP? I thought the last question was hard but this one is the hard one. I'm not too sure to be honest. If it's about wordage wise then I'll say having it be a few sentences is ideal for me. Doesn't have to be a book full of details, I don't want the person to feel like they need to write a chapter to roleplay. That's not to say one liners are bad; I'm just that person who tends to enjoy reading what others write and I love to see what others have for ideas. Roleplay itself, I think my ideal roleplay would be to have a large group of people to roleplay with. And I can already see the troubles with having a large group. But I love meeting new people and also just seeing the interaction with the characters is fun.
What advice or tips would you give to new or rising players?
Just have fun and don't worry about post size. The old saying goes "Quality over quantity." Also don't be afraid to ask for some tips if you're feeling like you're hitting a roadblock with your writing. But I honestly think having fun is the most important thing. You'll find your groove when it comes to adding details. Just don't force it.
Anything in an RP that sucks the fun out of it? Any rare and or subtle things that make your mouth water?
What can suck the fun out of it for me is attitude. If someone has a rude attitude that sucks the fun right out of it. Subtle things that make my mouth water is when a person's character picks up on subtleties that either I or someone else might use and brings it up in a later post. Those are always fun because subtle details are sometimes dropped "carelessly" to be used for a bigger plot point later but we don't want to just shout out "Hey! I want you to use this plot point now! Right now!"
How do you feel about Humanity Stands...As it stands? Has it sparked any new ideas for other things?
As it stands right now? I'm pleased with it though I know there is always room for improvement. But as it is right now I couldn't be happier. Those who have joined are wonderful folks to write with and it's just been a blast to see how the world unfolds. It has indeed sparked some ideas for other RP's and I also hope that maybe it can continue to be its own entity and perhaps have it's own continuation. We shall see. For now I'm just going to enjoy roleplaying with those that have joined and see where it goes from here.
How are we doing? Leave the newsletter your feedback!
), RpN wouldn't be the wonderful place that it is now, much less would it have been something I'd be able to call /my/ wonderful place. RpN is somewhere I can always come back to at the end of the day and know I have friends who'll be there with open arms and a spare pen when mine runs out of ink. Some of you, I met before you were admins, and I believe I even met some of you before you were even moderators (though I might be misremembering that bit), and I met every single one of you before I was even a helper for that like, one or two months before I somehow earned DWiz's terrifying invite xP. Every single time I saw any of your names anywhere on the site, it made me smile. 
