βIt is only with the heart that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eyeβ
what is essential is invisible to the eyeβ
β Antoine de Saint-Exupery
There's no denying that stories, books, and movies frequently use the adage "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" (or something similar). But what exactly does it mean? When it comes to the beauty inside of us, appearances can be particularly deceptive.
Both the words we tell ourselves and the reflections we see in the mirror are misleading. I challenge everyone of us to take a quick look in the mirror and ask, "What do I see?"
Do you ever find yourself looking for bad things? What if we began to value them by replacing those self-doubting phrases with "I accept"?
Similar to the ugly duckling, once they began to accept who they were, they blossomed and became who they really were - a swan
HOUSEKEEPING
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What is Imperium (Futuristic Superpower rp) (O/A) about?
Imperium is a futuristic cyberpunk-esque rp with a twist of superpowers and superheroes on top. After a pandemic. Scientists create a quick cure however certain people develop powers. The company responsible, Imperium, and it's subsidiary companies work with the government to basically try to monopolize super powers and create super soldiers for their own use. Some citizens and supers though aren't with it and joined up forming a Rebel resistance. The two are clashing in a slowly growing war between freedom and tyranny
What are some of the things that inspired you to create this roleplay?
I originally had the idea after reading the Invincible comics and watching the Boys. Cyberpunk had just come out when I originally was drawing up the idea so even though I didn't play the game I thought the concepts could be a cool mix. The rp failed a few times on this site and other ones but after finally playing cyberpunk, watching edgerunners and rewatching more superhero series I decided to try one more time with some passion this time around
What has made your roleplay successful?
Honestly, the people who have joined. So far everyone who's come on board has come with amazing characters, who have interesting backstories, and they're good writers. I think that's what's attracting people and then good writing from everyone is keeping everyone else inspired to keep going
What's your favorite part of the roleplay so far?
The potential of each character. There are a lot of interesting characters with various backrounds. I think its gonna make for good world building and stories
Has it been moving along like you envisioned it to?
After how poorly my previous attempts have gone with this idea, this is definitely going better than i thought. It's very exciting to see so much interest
If you had the choice to adapt your roleplay into a different medium which would it be; comic book, novel series, TV show, movie, or video game? And why?
I think it could adapt well into a TV show, or animated series. There are a lot of interesting characters to explore and multiple episodes would help explore dynamics, characters, and the world itself
How do you maintain stability, comfort, and community between roleplayers?
Everyone has been communicating well be it via OOC or the discord. I try to be nice, but also straightforward, and follow my own rules when accepted characters. I think everyone has also been super cool and understanding with the rules in place and that just makes for a good vibe all around
How did you start roleplaying? How did you discover RpNation?
I originally saw my sister roleplaying on Gaiaonline as a kid. I thought the idea of making your own character and interacting with other characters in a custom world someone made was awesome. I grew older and needed better websites though and stumbled on rpnation. It felt more mature and dedicated so I've stuck around. I did take a hiatus from roleplaying but going back into it I knew rpnation would be the site to do it
What are some roleplaying tips and tricks you think others could benefit from?
I may not be the right person to answer this lol. In terms of creating a roleplay just make sure to have a clear picture of what you want it to be, and be straight up with people who want to join. I've had many rps fail from being to nice to bad eggs. In terms of being a part of one, just try to always think how your character can help the narrative and make a character you like so you're inspired to tell their story
Is there anything interesting your Imperium is building up towards?
Its early to say but there's definitely a lot of subplots forming and I'm getting exactly what I wanted. Unique characters and world building. I do have some plans for my own characters but I'm just excited to see where it goes 
Shoutouts!
I WANNA GIVE A SHOUTOUT TO EVERYONE CURRENTLY INVOLVED! Youre all great, have cool characters, and have some amazing writing chops that im definitely learning from. Thanks and looking forward to seeing where we take this @PlusUltra @SidTheSkid @Loomis @Loxely @Nellancholy @Sepokku @Meatball30 @Crocodile @kurukurupa @Gears
@PlusUltra @SidTheSkid @Loomis @Loxely @Nellancholy @Sepokku @Meatball30 @Crocodile @kurukurupa @Gears
How did you choose your username?
In Japanese, "Baka" has a few literal translations, such as Foolish, Crazy, jackass, etc. One such translation is "idiot." In my spare time I'm not a terribly perceptive person, and I'm constantly missing things that are directly in front of me (seriously, it's a problem lmao), so I figured calling myself BakaTheIdiot (Idiot the Idiot) would be pretty funny. I picked Japanese specifically because I lived in Japan for a bit while my parents were in the military, and I've always wanted to go back to Okinawa since then (seriously, it's gorgeous over there). I considered changing it a few times, but I always came back to it. It just has a nice ring to it, y'know?
How would you describe yourself in three words and why?
Only 3 words? Hmm... I think I'd stick with Snarky, Charismatic, and Patient. A lot of my characters in the roleplays I take part in tend to borrow some part of myself as a "seed" for their personality, and often it falls into one of those three camps. I've probably been called a lot of things in my life but people always point out (IRL) that I'm just a really friendly and approachable person with a witty sense of humor. I give people lots and lots of chances, both in-character and out-of-character, and I'm definitely no stranger to taking a while to reply. I'm patient with others so that maybe they'll be patient with me too - to the GM who might read this (you know who you are, haha) I promise I'm working on a response!!
When did you start roleplaying?
Now this was a while ago. Way back like seven years ago or something around there, my aunt gave me my very first """smart""" phone that could technically use google play apps. I started out just playing things like Angry Birds, but one day I found this little crappy Russian GMOD ripoff called "Prop Hunt Portable" and accidentally spawned into a roleplaying lobby. I had no idea what was going on, but I enjoyed it and played along. This was technically my very first time ever roleplaying, and what followed was an absolute rabbit hole of different sites and apps all with the intent of finding people to write with. For literal years.
How did you discover Rpnation?
On that note, I actually discovered RPNation by complete accident. At the time, I was a member of an app called Amino, which is kind of like proto-reddit for tweens and not very good in retrospect. I was having fun there, but I lost my phone and could not for the life of me remember my password on my next phone. Rather than keep trying, I actually just gave up and decided to move on. So, I hopped on google, typed "places to roleplay online" and, by chance, came across RPN. I liked the aesthetic of the pages and it seemed like it was active enough, so I made an account. The rest, as I'm sure we all know, is history!
Do you have a favorite character from your history of roleplaying?
Ooooo, favorite character! I had this proto-tyrant egomaniac cousin belonging to a royal family that I really really wanted to use in an awesome low-fantasy drama, but unfortunately the roleplay never quite got off the ground due to a series of unfortunately timed catastrophes on the side of the GM. Even though I was sad about the roleplay dying, I was so pleased with how my character had turned out that I copied the whole thing over to my google drive - where it still waits just begging to be used! Vitya Antonov II was an exercise in "evilness" for me, since I was so used to being the good guy in many roleplays. I wanted to push my creative muscles to their limits, and really go outside of my comfort zone for once. He stands as a testament to how far I've come in the *checks notes* nearly five years that I've been on this site!
Not to mention, he's just a complete badass character and I love him to pieces.
Not to mention, he's just a complete badass character and I love him to pieces.
What are your favorite genres/settings to roleplay in?
I love SciFi. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love SciFi. Elite: Dangerous, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, these things are the color of my soul. I'm also a sucker for the more fantastical elements of roleplays, although I tend to steer clear of things like fandoms since I just can't really get into them. Whether its dragons, plasma rifles, alien colleges or Satyr Law Firms, generally speaking if it's got a really fleshed out world with lots of potential for future expansion, you can pretty much guarantee I've laid my eyes upon its interest check!
What other hobbies do you have aside from roleplaying?
I'm definitely a computer guy. I work as a de facto IT guy for my university's library, and I enjoy it. I built the PC I'm typing this on, and I'm always looking for ways to get my friends' laptops working just good enough so that we can play some Halo or Minecraft. Speaking of, it should come as no surprise that I play an absolutely unhealthy amount of video games. Believe it or not, most of the time that's actually because I'm working towards my degree in Game Development! When I'm not tech-ing around or gaming with the friendos, I'm a foodie by trade. I love trying new foods, where my student budget allows. I've even got a killer chickpea soup recipe I could share here sometime. In fact, I'm gonna write that down for later-
Do you have a favorite TV series, novel, comic, or video game?
In the vein of SciFi, I think I nominate Battlestar Galactica as my favorite TV series of all time - the reboot, I mean, not the 1970's dumpster fire. Absolutely stellar acting from pretty much all sides, a somewhat contrived but still satisfying ending, intriguing lore, some deliciously aged-like-milk CGI, and some absolutely outstanding stellar combat. There's really nothing like it, and if Peacock is anything to go by, it's looking to get a whole new revamp in the coming years!
Whatβs a memorable moment youβve had on RPN?
One truly memorable moment I had was when I stumbled across the 2nd iteration of Baka's Algorithm - for people who don't know this, a while ago I tried to create a "tool" (which was more of a guide) for worldbuilding, specifically building countries. I had completely forgotten about it, and it was just sitting and gathering dust in some forum thread probably still on the site. When I scrolled through the comments though, it wasn't about "this is great!" or "this is bad!" It was all about how to tune it for the next iteration - which I did the same last time. Instead of just saying "wow this sucks and it's super contrived blah blah blah," people were dissecting it, trying to make it better. At the end of the day, I think that's what Roleplaying is all about: collaborating with other people to make something incredible, be that an escape from an admittedly pretty boring world, or some fantastical story of epic proportions. It all deserves to be heard. Maybe someday I'll go back to that thread and take one last crack at that guide.
Are there any future projects youβre currently working on? (this can be inside or outside of Rpn)
Oh, far too many! My work as an EAE student is never done. Right now I'm only actively participating in one roleplay, but I've got a homebrew campaign I'm setting up IRL and I'm starting to workshop some ideas I may turn into an interest thread within the next week or two, now that the semester is over. Not gonna give too much away, but let's just say I got some wacky SciFi adventures planned! Also, I've got this gamebook I've been working on as a final project, and once I've polished it up a little bit I'll most likely be posting it here too for everyone to have a look. This barely even scratches the surface of what I'm getting up to, haha.
What advice can you share with the Newsletter audience?
As far as advice goes, this might sound a little abstract, but here we go. In game development, something we get taught very early on in the cycle is that not every idea is going to be a good one. You learn pretty quickly that at some point you're going to have to cut your losses and kill your darlings, so to speak. But until you actually try it, until you actually post that interest check, assemble that group, and give it a whirl, you'll never know if it's a good idea or not. My advice, dear readers, is this: that idea you have? Make an interest check. That character you wanna try out? Put pen to paper and scribble it into existence. Time is precious, so why waste it worrying about if it's a bad idea or not? Throw it out there, and give it your best shot. Who knows? You might just land yourself some lifelong roleplaying partners.
May Donation Badge by merrbles
