Newsletter RpNation Newsletter: July 2022

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🏛️ MYTHOLOGY


Mythology has been a part of Human culture since the dawn of the species, culminating into an endless wealth of stories, legends, religions, and philosophical ponderings about the world we all exist in together. From Gods and Goddesses to Mud Men and Faerie Women, there is always something so captivating and fascinating about the myths and legends we share with each other.

Many in the West first think to Greek Mythos, of Zeus and the pantheon of Greek deities, or to modern myths of Bigfoot, Mothman, or Loch Ness. Though there are so many more stories to tell, and never enough time to hear them all. Native to North America are the more widely known stories of the Wendigo spirit, the god-like Thunderbird, and the Inuit Goddess Sedna: Mother of the Sea, once a human girl betrayed by her father and cast into the cold depths.

In Asia there are many myths and legends dating back thousands of years, stories retold again and again, becoming new stories of their own, leading to a plethora of variety across the continent all without ever losing the core of their meanings. One such is the Four Auspicious Beasts: the Black Tortoise (and Black Snake) of the North, representing Water, Winter, and wisdom; the White Tiger of the West which represents the Wuxing element of Metal, Autumn, and purity; the Vermillion Bird (or Pheonix) of the South, representing Fire, Summer, and good fortune; the Azure Dragon of the East, embodying the Wuxing element of Wood (or Wind), Spring, and health or harmony; and last but certainly not least the uncounted Yellow Dragon of the Earth (Wuxing), representing Midsummer, the transition of seasons, and the center of everything, of good luck and balance. These symbols can be found in many forms from China to Vietnam to Japan and beyond, each containing their own unique differences and tales.

These stories inspire us as a community of creatives, and allow us to learn and understand cultures and histories from around the world that may otherwise go unheard. I encourage you all to comment below your favorite lesser known mythos and why you think it's interesting.





📜 ANNOUNCEMENTS


🔥 Latest Patch Note regarding Interest Checks and Disabling Accounts!
Is your interest check closed? Not looking for more members for your roleplay? Want to revamp your interest check? Members can now delete their interest check without needing to contact Staff! Moreover, members are now able to disable their account! For more information, click here.​

🐯 Badge Resolution Change
The resolution of the badges have been increased to upgrade their overall quality.​

🐢 Official RpNation Merchandise
We heard you! Our merchandise store offers t-shirts perfect for all weather! There are multiple styles to choose from. Shop now! and check all we have in store!​

🐉 Helper Application Form
RpNation's Helper team is looking for more dedicated people to aid with the creation of site events and the newsletter. Apply today!​





⚖️ ROLEPLAY OF THE MONTH




What are some things that inspired you to create Tales of Raeligard?
I would like to preface this that Novelight Novelight told me I could answer without much detail. Blame him if this feels too short, too vague, and seems like hot garbage.

The usual stuff - played some games, read some books, browsed some comics, and watched some shows. Then I took whatever concepts caught my interest, and recreated them in my vision, then integrated these reforged ideas into my own brewed (and still brewing) world. Raeligard has always been an empty spot that lay there, and I knew that I would be doing something with it at some point, but I wasn't sure exactly how I would get it out there - so I took some time to check what I've done and what I've worked with in the past. It turns out an RP involving a guild was one of the things I haven't fully explored yet, so here were are.

Are you satisfied with how the roleplay turned out? If so, what aspect of the roleplay do you think helped with the popularity of the setting?
Certainly. There may be a few things I might want to expand on or tweak here and there but for the most part, I am quite content with how it is going.

How am I supposed to answer that second question, the setting isn't popular - well, from what I know at least. The lore, I guess? The zero-to-hero progression maybe? Probably the fact that you can make animal-based waifus and not be tagged as a furry? You know what, I'll stick with that one - don't quote me on the furry part though.

What keeps you going to consistently write for Tales of Raeligard?
My co-GM, @AnonyMouse , and his endless desire to make more characters. Make him stop.

Jokes aside, what keeps me going is interest - if I were to summarize it in a single word. Seeing the interest of the participants is one of the things that fuels the engine - it could be commenting on a recent post, it could be theorizing on a possibility, or even making casual banter with the other participants. As long as their interest in the RP is there, I feel like my work, at the very least, has led to something nice.

Of course, I am interested as well, but if I am the only one to hold that with no one to share the world with, then I might as well write on my own rather than making an RP.

For those who are looking to start their own roleplay with hopes of it becoming successful, what are some tips you think would help with their endeavor?
I don't really have any sort of advice than what was already said by many others before me. You know, the usual, read a book, work on your writing, and all that. Well, I could give one but it might be wack. It probably is. Screw it.

Make your goal the experience. A lot of RPs have a set goal, a specific point they want to reach, and while I agree that it is crucial to have an endpoint, it is just as important to make the time reaching that goal a worthwhile experience - that way, the payoff is not only rewarding but also warranted. What is the point of a destination if the travel makes you forfeit midway, or worse, not even make the journey at all?

Or you could do whatever you want and just get lucky. That worked for me.

Do you plan on releasing new roleplays in the future similar to your current one?
Probably. Most likely? I'm not entirely sure. I could stick with this RP and remake it over and over again just like a certain birdman does. I could experiment with a new genre. I could make an RP in the same setting but in a different time period. I could launch a new iteration of RP in Arlandia, or maybe redo Project: ARK - don't get your hopes up on any of those fellas.

The possibilities are endless, not because I am a genius with a billion ideas, but because I don't really know what I'll be doing in the future - this is not a job interview so I can say that unironically.





✨ MEMBER OF THE MONTH



Abyss Abyss

When did you start roleplaying? Where was it? Did you enjoy it at first?
Of all the places, I first learned about roleplaying through the wild-life simulator videogame Wolf Quest. It's no longer available, but they used to have a multi-player option and players could create their own temporary server for up to 5 people. I was around 11-12 years old at the time and most of the RPs were animal related but there wasn't really a limit to what kind of genre you choose. I remember people making servers for everything from Warrior Cats to The Hunger Games. If you could describe your idea in the given title space for a server, people would join!

The Wolf Quest servers were small. It was sort of drop-in, drop-out and you had to describe your character every time that you entered a new server or someone joined. There was also a very small chat box to work, so you'd have write 'continue' at the end to let the others know that you hadn't finished writing yet. Overall, it was a very spontaneous sort of environment and totally different than the way I RP now. It wasn't really designed for the purpose of RP, that was just what it eventually became as a result of the community. My memories of it are good and I'd say that it was an enjoyable experience from beginning to end.

How did you discover RpNation?
You know what? I can't actually remember. I think that I went from Wolf Quest, to Dragon Cave, and then after that I finally found RpNation. This was the first website that I encountered with Roleplay as its main focus. Until I came here, RP had been something that I would sort of stumble across accidentally while meeting people playing computer games or exploring the extras section on other websites. What I do know is that I'm super happy that I did find this place.

What are your favorite genres/settings to roleplay in?
At the moment, my favorite setting is usually modern with elements of fantasy, or a not-to-distant future featuring apocalyptic and sci-fi/fantasy elements. Add in a touch of science-experiment themes to the mix and I'm happy as can be!

What are some other hobbies you have besides roleplaying?
Lately writing has been becoming the hobby that I really put a lot of effort in. Outside of writing, I work with a lot of animals. I also do some hobby photography, play a few videogames, and of course I read. A lot.

What is your favorite part of Rpnation?
There's a lot to love about Rpnation, so it's a bit hard to choose. I fell in love with this website as soon as I discovered it. I think that the real magic of this place comes from the community. I've met some amazing writers here, and I've never felt afraid to ask for advice or for help, because there's always been someone willing to respond to my questions. Writing has always been a very personal adventure for me and my confidence to be able to share my thoughts and ideas has grown thanks to the wonderful writing partners I've found along the way.

When you get onto RPN on any given day, what do you generally like to do?
First thing I do nowadays is check the Roleplay Discussion & Advice and General Discussion areas. This is actually a new habit of mine, since for the longest time I was purely focused on keeping an eye out for new interests or paying attention to the RPs that I'd joined. I was experiencing a lull in terms of finding a new Rp to join, so the first time in ages I decided to explore around the site a bit to see what I might have missed.

And I'm glad that I decided to branch out! It turned out to be a good way to pass the time between RPs and I've read a lot of interesting stuff written by other players as well as taken the time to share some of my own thoughts. It's been a good way to get to know the community a little bit more as well as an outlet for fingers itching to write something.

So, if you ever find yourself with some extra time on your hands or your struggling for ideas to write, I'd recommend checking out the discussion areas. They make can be a fun way to warm up or find someone with similar interests.

Do you have any favorite literature pieces? Or maybe a beloved TV series?
I have a lot of favorite books, movies, and TV Shows—I could write an essay on this subject, probably several of them if I had enough coffee and time to re-watch them all—but limiting myself to two choices, I would recommend The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells and Arcane on Netflix. Both are beautiful in their own way and follow very different storylines, but I think that they both share the same strength in that they have very unique and well written characters.

Oh no, you accidently fell out of reality, luckily for you the RPN Shark has given you a chance to live in another world, what would it be?
First I'd ask the Shark if maybe I could travel through the multi-verse with them for a bit, but if I had to choose a place to settle for good it would be Marvel Comics. It's huge, still confuses me, and filled with so many different worlds, characters, and events that there's bound to always be a little bit of everything happening all the time.

I'm an indecisive person, so I figure this would be the best place for me.

What advice do you have for the newsletter readers?
Enjoy what you do and rest when you need to. One thing that I've learned is that Role Play takes a lot of time and a lot of work, from yourself and your partner(s). I've had a lot of friends burn out recently and this year I also had to push through some pretty difficult writers blocks where I just completely lost track of the muse.

And that's ok! I took some time, kept in touch with the friends that I had made here on Rpnation. I read some books, watched some TV, and beat a couple of video games. Then when I began to feel the itch in my fingers to start typing again, I reached out to chat about ideas with my friends and found that I'd regained a lot of my enthusiasm.

Rp can be a lot of work, but when you feel overwhelmed, don't forget to take a breather. And remember that the goal of Role Play is to have fun. So enjoy your favorite genres, indulge in your favorite cliches, and focus on writing what makes you happy.

After all, you're in the write right place.


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July Donation Badge by @Onmyoji

 
I like how this was written (especially the piece about mythology). Well done!
 
Congrats Serobliss & Congratulations Abyss! & Thank you staff <3

Over the course of learning and stumbling upon different mythos, I came across Adamastor which I had never heard or seen before, a personification of Cape Good Hope, giving character to the tumultuous and once untamed sea, which the Portuguese did end up taming. Another is the Princess of the Foam and Raja (Prince) of the Bamboo, a girl appearing from the seafoam and a boy born from a stalk of bamboo adopted by a queen and king. These two eventually gave fertility to the people (humans). I'm not sure what interested me in the tale, it was a nice read but me paraphrasing likely makes it sound less than what it was.


Editing post because I read that was by Serobliss; Congratulations Reinhart!
 
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congratulations to our featured members, Reinhardt Reinhardt and Abyss Abyss !
shout out to our newsletter crew, happy to be working with you Chordling Chordling , Novelight Novelight , Life. Life. !
TerrorKitty TerrorKitty did an amazing job with the introduction!


Reinhardt Reinhardt Never thought I'd see the day. Seems like yesterday when Arlandia was a thing. How time flies. Congratulations!
eeee ! this reminds me of when i was in Reinhardt Reinhardt 's roleplay Tales of the Rising Phoenix! It feels so long ago and so excited they were nominated!
 
eeee ! this reminds me of when i was in Reinhardt Reinhardt 's roleplay Tales of the Rising Phoenix! It feels so long ago and so excited they were nominated!
This is like finding out we went to the same school but never seen each other until years later when I happen to bump into you while going out for a newspaper, then comes the revelation.
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
 
Minions Rise of Gru release date boys and girls. Wear your Sunday best. 🤵‍♂️
 

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