Iwaku Newsletter: Gifts of the Crew

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Pirogeth

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Lead Editor: Pirogeth
Co-writer: Sakura
Featured Article By: Corvus Corax


Welcome

Welcome to another edition of the Iwaku Newsletter. Let us be the first to say Merry Christmas and Eid-Uhl-Ahla Mubarak to everyone at the Iwaku. Everyone enjoys the holiday season to some effect so here is that glimmer of hope to those of you still hopeless. This month's letter includes a wide assortment of old ideas and new ones so be sure to pay attention to the announcements as well as the featured articles. Speaking of the featured articles we would like to welcome Patty Pixie and Corvus Corax to our Newsletter team. Their help will make the letter a true success. Now onto the show.

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Roleplay Therapy

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WELCOME TO ROLEPLAY THERAPY !



Ever had trouble coming up with the little details to start an rp ?

Don't have enough confidence in your posts to take major plot action?

Do a lot of your roleplays end up dead ?

Do you want to know why they don't work out?


You've come to the right place!


Here at the Roleplay Therapy Office we're committed to helping diagnose
every possible problem you may have in the roleplaying world!
Our eager to help, ready to assist staff of talented therapists
will make sure to make this a pleasant experience for us all!
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Yes to all that are having writer's block, are stuck in a rut, or just need some extra help there is Roleplay Therapy. With the varrying arrangement of therapists everyone should have an answer for you for whatever problem you have. Of course you will not be forgotten as there is a unique way to get a session with one of these brilliant minds. A form will be filled out and shipped to the therapists. They will then answer your question when they get to you on their list. They are highly effecient and should be nearly no delay in getting your answer. So who are the therapists? Well the Major Therapists are:

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SAKURA manages the Roleplay Therapy Office. PM her your diagnosis form to make an appointment

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PALONIS Specialist on Story Conventions: Fight Scenes and Cliches

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ASMODEUS

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COFFEECAKESADIST

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DIANA NOTACAT Specialist on Creativity

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JACK SHADE

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KITTI

Comiing Soon...

Kingdom of Seasons

From the distant thoughts of Pirogeth and assisstant directed by Steven Spielberg Rory comes the newest Mass Roleplay to the Iwaku, Kingdom of Seasons. The story itself revolves around said Kingdom and the twelve knights that guard the King. They are there to protect against the mighty force of King Letum and his Twelve Knights of Entropy. These forces have been evenly matched, until recently. With a new faction appearing the balance is wobbling and it is tipping in favor of the dark forces. The faction is a group of mercenaries who call themselves "The Brotherhood of the Moon." What can the Kingdom do as more and more are recruited to opposing sides? What will become of the peaceful Kingdom of Seasons? Why are the last three sentences always questions? Only you can decide the fate of this land.

Coming New Years...


Gathering at Steamworks

Calling all Steam members! In an attempt to kidnap recruit more members, a Steam Group has recently been created for Iwaku members. Any Iwaku member who has a Steam account, please add your Steam Account Name to the list found at Steam Roll-Call. Shortly after all members have been added to the Steam Group, active recruitment on Steam will commence.

This advertisement has been brought to you by TheNeverThere


Short Stories

Huh? What? Someone call for some writing? Yes, that would be the Newsletter. This is our attempt to not only to get them creative juices flowing but to also make some names more recognizable across the Iwaku. Short stories are a nice way of showing literary prowess and potential as a writer and we at the INS are giving you a conduit to present your works to a local public eye. All entries should be pm'd to Pirogeth and will be looked over by all INS members. For further details check out the Short Story Information Thread.

[align=center]Pirogeth's Review

Chrono Trigger DS[/align]

I know most of you have played the game already but to those who have not, I suggest you check it out. Honestly this has been one of the best RPG's I have played ever. So before I get talking about how much I love it let's break it down into a few categories.

Story

You begin the game like any other, a boy in a bed that has yet to be named, of course we will be using the default Crono. You find yourself in 1000a.d. and celebrating at a carnival for the long prosperous life of your continent Truce. During the carnival you bump into Marle who looks like she's out of Disney's Aladdin. As you continue on with her you explore the fair and eventually end up meeting with your inventor friend Lucca. From there she shows off a teleportation device and the plot thickens as Marle is dragged into some kind of vortex.

You go in after her and the story ensues in your time traveling escapade. You meet other friends along the way like Robo a robot from 2300a.d. and Ayla from 65,000,000b.c. On your adventures you find your main antagonist, Lavos, has destroyed the world at one point in time. Your efforts are then focused on finding a way to defeat this creature and save the world from total annihilation. The story itself keeps you interested but at certain points can be confusing and you do not know which way to go. Veterans will have no trouble but new guys might suffer some frustration on that part. Yet, the story makes you want to keep on pressing onwards.


4/5

Controls, Game Mechanics, & Battling

The controls are pretty simple and there is no super long boring tutorial that you must go through. In fact the tutorial itself is entirely optional making the game easy to start up and get going. The battles are different from your average RPG. The enemies can be anywhere on the screen as well as your characters rather than dividing them up into two or three specific zones. Your techniques then have an effect radius or line which you can use to hit multiple enemies. All in all pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

As a little prize for searching through the world you also get things called capsules, a clever powering mechanic. The capsules add to your power, magic, speed, etc. permanently. Giving these to your main team will definitely make them stronger than the others you neglect so be wary the first run through.

When I say first run through that does mean that this game has cycles. You can cycle through it many times and the capsules do return making the power you can achieve limitless. The only downside to running through this again is you lose all your "legendary" items. Thus you have to rely on the super powered swords and armor you picked up in late dungeons rather than the ultimate sword but that is a small price to pay.


5/5

Graphics & Cutscenes

The graphics are done nicely and nothing seems odd about them. The world itself is pretty elaborate with it using layers to give a sense of that third dimension. As for the cutscenes those are pretty neat and a good display of what a voiceless one could be. It is all animated and gives good scenes that feeling of epicness. Overall well done.

5/5

Overall

This is definitely a game worthy of its reputation. Nothing beats something that can be in the flow at the same time unique. The game makes me wish for something like it or even a sequel, however, we know how those go and would never be as great as the original. If you RPG'ers are looking for something to try go for Chrono Trigger if you have not yet played it.

5/5

[align=center]Art Gallery[/align]

The Art Gallery, something new to the Newsletter and hopefully beneficial for members. Here we select a few submissions that have been put up in the Art & Writing section and show them to you, the audience. Experience the creative visuals from your fellow Iwakuans.

Merry Christmas Anthro - Natani

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Crimson Jin - Paorou

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Baby Don't Look - TZS

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[align=center]Meet the Staff[/align]

Asmodeus

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Welcome to a new addition to the Newsletter. Here we are going to get you guys familiar with the staff members. And the person most people want to know about is Asmodeus. Well let's get one thing straight, the man is British so expect more than your average bear on this one. Despite his public view Asmo is a well mannered individual who likes to discuss the plotting of stories, writes for more than the Iwaku, and has a good but not so well deciphered sense of humor.

He may be the topic of several contreversies but he also seen as the secret literature judo master who shouts at kids to get off his lawn on Sunday. He is willing to teach the secrets of his arts to students who understand his odd ways. In essence it is like our version of Mr. Miyagi. So do not be afraid to wax onto one of the RP's he does because they will not only be interesting but sharpen your abilities as a writer. And remember, don't feed the Admins.


[align=center]Christmas Thoughts[/align]

So it is that time of year again. Just one day until Christmas, or perhaps even Christmas if you are reading this the day after. We are taken in by what we can get and what we give to people, our thoughts lost to the economical propaganda machine known as big business. But this is not a rant about how they love to screw us over each year.

Instead let Iwaku return to what the meaning of this time of year is. It is a time to let down our constant guard we have over ourselves and at the very least be in the same room as one another. Communities come together to celebrate this time and cherish the snow covered bliss that we can never have any other time of the year. So what does this have to do with Iwaku?

Well Iwaku itself is a roleplaying community and coming together is something that we normally do, however, we really don't have the same physical feel as a family does and you would hardly take some ill mannered advice from anyone on here. So what do we do to come even closer together? Well Pirogeth has his own way of doing that.

Unbeknownst to anyone on the Iwaku Pirogeth has handed in an application, and if he successfully gets the job, then he will be donating to the Iwaku $100. Yes it is a copious amount but it is all worth it for giving back to the community. So Merry Christmas Diana and all of you who enjoy the Iwaku.



[align=center]Top ten![/align]

Hello all! This is Corvus corax here! Say…have you ever wondered to yourself “Hmm, Iwaku needs more statistics!…perhaps a top ten list of goofy and or random things!” WELL THEN…We are on the same page! If you haven't thought this then you have tapped into the scaryness that is my mind. You may want to run if you did the latter. No seriously, it’s dangerous in here.

Moving on, moving on!
Get your snacks, stab Sho, and sit back! We have a list to read!



Top ten weapons seen in the cbox (and the people who use them!)

10.) Patty’s giant squeaky hammer.
9.) The slap. Or rather, the wet trout slap. We have all done it at one point. Fish!, its what’s for *slap* ..dinner.
8.) Angl’s frying pan.
7.) TC and his sledgehammer.
6.) Porg’s continuity shovel.
5.) Piro’s mad script.
4.) …Mabu‘s tentacles.
3.) Myrn’s Tf Gun.
2.) Rory’s random

And the number one weapon….
1.) Asmo’s stairs! For when you just want the easy way out!


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Heylo :D Did you miss me ?
Your supposedly co-writer hath returneth && I have random stuff for you this time :) So without further ado, lets get started~



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Kaaay :D I've got some fun stuff planned for you~ So where shall we begin?



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[align=right]Contents
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  • WHAT IWAKUANS WOULD RATHER DO
  • GOSSIP FROM THE CBOX
  • ROLEPLAY SNEAK PEEKS
  • RANDOM IWAKU KNOWLEDGE QUIZ :D
  • THE IWAKU PLAYLIST <3
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~What Iwakuans Would Rather Do
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You've got to read them to believe them ! :D
The Rules for my crazy thread] were to put the items in order of preference of doing them! && Here's the original list::


  • Love at First Sight
  • Have an authentic English Tea Party
  • Walk around in Victorian-Era Clothes
  • Rob a Bank for the fun of it
  • Write a book about your pet chipmunk
  • Dress up as Superman on your birthday
  • Stalk someone because you love their shoes
  • Eat a banana topped with maple syrup
  • Eat dessert before dinner
  • Go to a foreign country and do the chicken dance in the streets
  • Pretend to be Spiderman and jump off a building


DARKNESS would rather Rob a Bank for the Fun of It, than Eat Dessert Before Dinner

JULY KNIGHT would rather eat a banana topped with maple syrup, than walk around in Victorian-Era Clothes

ASMODEUS would rather write a book about his pet chipmunk (if he gets royalties for it), than go to a foreign country and do the chicken dance in the streets

PIROGETH would rather fall in love at first sight, than stalk someone because he loves their shoes

AUGUST KNIGHT would rather have an authentic English Tea Party, than Pretend to be Spiderman and jump off a building

SAKURA would rather write a book about her pet chipmunk, than dress up as Superman on her birthday

MIRU would rather fall in love at first sight, than stalk someone because of their shoes


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~Gossip from the CBOX
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SPOTLIGHT on two of our members who took a problem in a roleplay and addressed it to each other in a nice, civilized way.
I was impressed :D Remember, it reads down to up

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~Roleplay Sneak Peeks ! :D
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What's this, you ask ? Well, its something new for you to check out and give your feedback on. What I've done is gone through a couple of roleplays on random and quoted my favourite posts~ If something sounds interesting, maybe you'll join ?

Pretty Please && Thank you ;]
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From "Lethal Reword 3: Lost Dice!"
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Alarice said:
Edric breathed a quick sigh of relief when she was able to shake that hand--er, the entire arm off! "Thank you, Mr.--Sir--Stuffy--Er, Bear!" she stammered, shaking her head to stop ranting.

She was moving forward to take care of more zombies, further into the mine when Athena bumped into her after being hit by that zombie head! Edric didn't fall but she did lose her grip on her sword and was forced to get down on her hands and knees to find it! Who would have thought it was so easy to lose a sword in the midst of falling zombies and eerie darkness?

The ranger looked up when Athena got up and began swinging her sword! She spotted her blade next to the smaller girl's feet but when she went to reach for it, she had to pull her hand back or risk having it trampled! She looked up again--ducked when Athena tottered closer.

"Athena, please have tea--er, be careful!" Oh crap, she was getting caught up in the moment again!


From "Exalted the Second Age"
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coronairish said:
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<o:p> </o:p>
As Leo’s mind phased back into the present, he could help but notice a beggar approaching the caravan stationed in the center of the main road in town. Leo had been hired to travel with said caravan and thus had great interest in the beggar’s intent. Just as Leo had suspected, the peasant nose led him straight for one of their food carts. He reached deep into the cart with his scrawny little arm and pulled out a shiny red apple. Taking a bite with what teeth he still owned, he savored the juices squirting out from the very ripe fruit. Leo watched as his eyes lit up with joy at the taste that accompanied the satisfaction of feeding; he would not punish the beggar for sustaining his own life. In two more ravenous bites the apple was no more, however, the peasant did not carry on as Leo thought he would. Instead, he turned back to the cart with big, greedy eyes in search for more. Leo did not react well when his good graces were stepped on, whether it is on purpose or not. The peasant had reached in and grabbed all the food he could carry, but before he could turn and run he heard a deep, ominous voice coming from above, “One should not take what does not belong to him.” Instinctively the peasant dropped everything in his arms and tried to worm his way out of the situation, “I was…was just… I was just tryin’ to…” his voice ran short as he turned to lay eyes on the Might Leo Strighkar. The Solar grabbed him by the scuff of his tattered clothing and raised him off the ground to his eyes level before speaking, “Don’t sully my ears with your spineless babble. Run and pray that I never lay eyes on you again.” Leo dropped him and watched as he hit the ground and ran off into the distance, not stopping until he was well out of Leo’s sight.



From "Darkstalkers: End Game"
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Pirogeth said:
With the water and icicles fully keeping the attention of the DNS soldiers Ains decided to start taking advantage of the situation. Under his sleeves he whipped out two small katars. There were two bottles on his waste that allowed the thin knives through the neck. Inside the knives were dipped into a clear solution. Quickly Ains pulled the weapons back out and started to go in with quick slashes. Even a small cut still knocked out the DNS soldier. After his half was done he wiped the blades off and retracted them. ”It is a paralysis mixture. They will not be able to move for several hours. Let’s get going shall we?”



From "Valley of Death: The Forest"
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September Knight said:
Joseph tensed up as Evy cried out, his ears straining to hear the sound that had set Evy on such high guard, but unable to pick up anything. He looked around, seeing hearing sensing nothing, as if they had walked into a void of the undead, the landscape a dull grey from the lack of penetrating sun, as if the underworld was sucking the life out of this forest. He sighed as Evy decided that she was mistaken, continuing on deeper into the forest, following the lead of the soldier, the land getting a little firmer, the squelching that had accompanied them so far slowly dieing, as if an old friend was departing.

The hammer, never still, just twirled and twirled, representing the chaos that he was trying to avoid in his head, the twisted vortex of agony that threatened to overwhelm him every moment he was conscious. It sometimes got to the point of where he wanted to just give up, but he had to keep fighting, if not for his life then the life of his 2 companions. And the hammer, ever twirling, his anchor to the real world...


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The How Many Random Things You Know QUIZ :DD
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This is just a random fun thing I added from random things here and there ~ :) Enjoy if you cann LOL



1- Who calls me Sakureepoochan ?



2- Why did Paochama disappear for so long ?



3- Whos the new villain in Iwaku World as of the central plot ?



4- Whos signature is in Irish in red ?



5- Who finally said that Asmo has a fairly dry sense of humour?



6- Who gets credit for the new "KNIGHT ___" name trend?




7- What posting color does Diana use in the Cbox?



8- Who imagined Asmodeus as a scary death knight ?




9- Who imagined Sakura as a bouncy ball ?


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~THE IWAKU PLAYLIST <33

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10 Avantasia - Avantasia October Knight

9 Dark Tranquility - Therein Darkness

8 Hideki Naganuma - Funky Dealer Pirogeth

7 Metroid Prime 3 OST-"Skytown" King Weavel

6 Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place TZS

5 UnSun - Whispers TK .09

4 Non mollare mai Torsty

3 Big Simon Band - Y Seras Cancion Darkness

2 Undead-Hollywood Undead Inky Joey

1 Heart-Magic Man Xnijmai


DONT LIKE ANY OF THESE SONGS ?
Never heard any of these tracks ?
Post what YOU'RE listening to and maybe you'll find it in the next newsletter!
Song of the Moment Thread
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Its been a while, isn't ?
Ehhh ~ So nostalgic :)
This may not have as much substance or be as interesting as before, but I hope you like it!
:D
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Remember, we won't get any better if you don't give us your FEEDBACK!
Tell us what you liked reading and what bored you!
Give us your thoughts, your suggestions, and your creativity!
Leave YOUR impression on the Iwaku Newsletter!
I'll be waiting~ Bubbai <3

 
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Great newsletter as always! XD

I KNOW WHAT COLOR DIANA USES IN THE CBOX! >:D
 
The moment I saw that coronairish's post was in the spot light, I had to call him and tell him.
 
I'm sorry I wasn't able to get an article together this month.
>_< Stupid computer.
 
Great job, Y'all.
 
Very nice, was surprised to not only see me and TNT's little bout in there, but also one of my posts! I'm flattered, great job, keep it up!
 
I feel so violated... >__>
 
Extremely well done...thanks go out to the Newsletter team.
 
Yahoo :) Everyone likes it AND it looks great :D

@Danana-chan: YOURE NOT ALLOWED TO ANSWER XD

Great Job Pironii~ even with your computer troubles and all, you did awesome ! :D
 
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Reactions: 2 people
I'm glad you enjoyed Edric's post, thank you. <3
 
Awww.. No Isabellas mentioned.. but I am going to be around more often now! Soon I'll be mentioned again! AAAAHUEHUEHUEHUEEUHEUEHUEHUEHEUHEUEHUEH!
 
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