Animation Source Forums

Intro/Rules

Well, i hope this part won't come out longer than the rest of the post. Being completely new around, I just hope not to break any rule I failed to notice... And, most importantly, I hope that some things I'm going to do in a really untypical way won't get me in trouble...

Anyway, I'm beating about the bush. To get to the point - I've got some experience in narrating Polish PBFs (Play By Forum [RPG], for those unfamiliar with the - possibly not official - abbreviation). As it seems, the English ones are conducted in a completely different way. I believe that with a bit of tolerance and common sense a hybrid I'm going to create here will turn out to be officially acceptable.

To be more precise - the base of every RP around is one character, played by a GM (gamemaster, again an abbreviation that may not be known around...), leading a group of other players' characters. In the RPs I've participated/created, the rule stood oppositely - the GM controlled a multitude of characters, most of them appearing for a scene or two, others sticking with the team throughout the whole adventure. That's a rule I can't even imagine to lead a RP without, so would it stand highly against the will of site's administration - please, inform me about it so the case can end in a peaceful way. The last thing I want to achieve here is getting into fight with moderators about such a detail

OK, now that we've that set, I can say one more word about the idea of leading a RP on your forums. Originally, I was going to write a short story concerning the topic of this RP - and I probably will nonetheless, would this RP be accepted to stand or not. Having seen this forums, I just had to give it a try though. So here I am, humbly asking to wink at the different form of RP I'm offering.

And, oh, I know it'd probably be better to join a RP first to get a better grip on how to handle an English one, but...Nothing caught my attention. Apologies to all the RPs' creators, but I AM kind of selective when it comes to participating in such adventures... Even though I'm gladly reading whatever comes to my hand, as long as it's related with anything I like

In the title of this paragraph I've stated "Rules". Well, have you read the above text, you should know most of the rules' difference from the forum's official ones...

Storyline

Warning: Users expecting a RP to be filled with constant action, fights and such would get earnestly disappointed, had they joined my RP. The RP, as I see it, is a different way to write a story - there are several narrators, each caring for a certain character. Plus, there is one... master-narrator, caring for the overall flow of the story, responding to other narrators' actions etc. This stated, my RP will develop slowly, starting peacefully, building some tension to unfold the further events. It may seem boring, based at description, but I believe it will turn out just fine in English RP, like it had so many times in Polish ones. So, summing it up: by asking to join the RP, you're promising to be patient with the initial flow of the events.

The storyline below may not really by very informative... It's for the well-being of the events unfolding later. As it may be not suggestive enough, I'll just add that the story will deal mostly with some everyday life's experiences, even though the main event will of course be an action-packed adventure... At least I hope so.

Nome, 1931

Six years have passed since Balto, the town's hero, saved the children by leading a lost sled team out of the mountains. Since then, the town dogs' attitude towards the wolf-dog changed drastically. Nowadays, Balto is considered a hero, but - being a humble spirit - he treats all the other dogs as his equals, acquaintances or friends. It's been also five years since Balto and his mate - a red husky, Jenna - have had children. Being five years old each, their children are living their own lives, but often use the opportunity to meet their beloved parents... All but one. Almost two years ago, the most distinguishing child of Balto and Jenna - Aleu - ran away from home and ended up leading a wolf pack out of America.

Other than that, life flows peacefully in Nome. Kodi has officially affianced with Dusty a few weeks ago, being the first of Balto's children to make such declaration. Stella, Boris' girlfriend, returned home a few months ago for reasons officially unknown. Everything seems to be as normal as it could be... But not for long.

Posting your own character

The section that, I believe, is called "Bio" in every other RP. Since there's not much to tell about an animal's properties (since they have no swords, armors and such), I'd be glad if your character entries would be arranged more like a short, two paragraph, I guess, story of its own. Just give your character's back-story a quick flyover, describe their appearance and other features you find important (e.x. age, likes/dislikes etc.).

This form of asking to join has three advantages: it's not so strict, enables you to use your imagination from the very beginning and, most importantly, tells me something about your writing skills and devotion before I decide whether to accept your entry or not

I have no idea of how much people I'm going to accept (well, to start, I'm not sure if there will be anyone willing to join and if the controversy of my RP's leading style won't get it banned), but I think the upper limit would be around 7. Too much people playing often results in waiting for days to get a simple answer.

Nonetheless, there are some points I'd like to emphasize:

Race: The skies the limit. The only two restrictions are: not to small (there IS going to be some traveling and fighting in the RP, so a mouse or hamster would be a tad useless ) and friendly (since they have to be acquaintances of Balto; see below). Of course, no humans are allowed - it's an animal RP, after all.
Knowledge with Balto: The storyline will require all the characters to be somehow acquainted with Balto, hence they need to be peaceful enough to cope with. I'm not against undomesticated animals! A wolf or such would be more than welcome, they just have to be "civilized"
Official characters: Why not? Balto's children or the two polar bears can be a fun addition to the quest, yet I have to make a number of restrictions:
- Balto, Jenna, Kodi, Dusty, Boris (used in the storyline)
- Alue, Stella (not present)
- Steele (too fierce to handle and awakening hate in me )

Advancement

Since I used this unpopular term in the RP's title, I feel obliged to write a word or two about it.

I'm not claiming to be a professional English speaker, I'm still learning, but I find the not-advanced RPs' language a tad below my likes. That's why I'd like the RP to involve only at least quite advanced users to ensure the posts' length, clarity and interest. I hope that the original way of entering the RP will be enough to filter out the users not advanced/devoted enough to write in such way.

I don't mind people pointing my mistakes, it's a good way to learn. But I won't point anyone's mistakes unless they specifically ask for it.

There are two more things I've noticed while scanning the forums and would like to clarify for the sake of readability etc. There is a popular custom of using colors to emphasize the character speaking. Yet, since every player is only allowed to control only his character's actions, I'm seeing it as a flaw to readability.

On the other hand, there is often a need of adding something about the plot, clarify some of the character's actions, comment other post, etc. That's when - in my opinion - a color should be introduced. Other good way to hide such off-topic context may be using the spoiler tag... The whole thing is negotiable though, I'm open to propositions.

I'd also like to make a simple remark: living in Poland, I'm probably in different time zone then most of you, so the flow won't be rapid. Especially since I want the posts to be "advanced", so they can take some time to write

Well, I think that'd be all. I hope I'm not too much of a pain in the neck to ban me right away And I'm waiting to hear your opinion about the RP and, possibly, see some entries

Singed after over two hours,
Tigress

Id be glad to join Ive been roleplaying for several years now but its been a few months since i wrote much so i may be a little rusty.

Well, should you not be the only one, I'll still be glad to run it with you in the team

Not to be mean, but I'd be thankful if, sticking to what I've written about "advancement", you'd care more about apostrophes, capital letters and such Even if only for the sake of this roleplay

I will also be glad to join in

Glad to hear that.

You can as well start writing the pieces describing your characters - seeing them may give some inspiration to the others, perhaps we'll also be able to start out with few people, hoping for others to join in before the real action starts

Sounds really interesting. I'll be glad to join. I haven'y been in an advanced rp for a while, but I think I'll be able to get a few paragraphs written everyday for this rp.

Fantastic, I can't wait to see all your entries

(not really sure how to do this, but here it goes)

The character I am trying for is Fiata. (one of Balto and Jenna's unnamed pups)

Fiata's name means wolf in Gaelic. She prefers to be called Fee, though. Fiata definately lives up to her name. She is the most wolfish of her siblings, except Aleu, obvioulsy. Actually, her and Aleu were the best of friends and the family usually referred to them as the wolf twins, though Balto hated the nickname for his youngest and oldest dauhters. Things changed between the two pups when Fee got a home and Aleu didn't. Fee loved her human, Haley, who was about 20 and just moved up to Alaska from North Dakota, and Fee soon stopped coming to Balto's boat to visit her favorite sister. Later on, Fee started visiting Aleu again at least once a week. This resulted in Fee also becoming very close with Balto too. Things changed when Aleu ran away. When Balto went after her, Fee went to Jenna to find out what had happened. Jenna told Fee that she, along with all her siblings, were part wolf. Unlike Aleu, Fee was more than happy to find out she had some wolf in her. She tried to convince Jenna to let her go after Balto and Aleu, but Jenna obviously told her to stay home and wait for them to come home. It was a huge shock when only Balto came home. Fee was devastated that she never got to say good-bye to her sister. But life moved on and Fee soon was very happy that Aleu found a place where she belonged.

But that led to Fee wanting to find a place where she belonged. Fee thought she had found her one and only home with Haley, but now that she knew she was part wolf, she was having her doubts. Not long after that, a lone wolf came to town named Thunder. Fee though she had found her soul mate in this lone black wolf. She went with him to his small family pack. But not all the wolves liked having someone part dog in their pack, especailly one of the females who wanted Thunder to herself. She told Fee that she would never be good enough for the pack or for Thunder. Brokenhearted, Fee returned to town the next day. This happened about two years ago, but it stilll has an affect on Fee. She used to hide the fact that she wanted to live the life of a wolf, but she is more comfortable with it nowadays. Fee is very adventurous, but keeps to herself. Her greatest wish is to find that perfect someone in a wolf and join his pack, but to have a happy ending this time. Fee can be a bit pessimistic about, well, everything, but her heart is in the right place. She is usually calm and relaxed and doesn't get angered easily, but if you push the right buttons, watch out! Her bite and her bark are about equal and she is unafraid to use both. She is the oldest female of her litter, and she usually acts the older sister, protecting all her siblings and friends. She isn't too welcoming to strangers anymore, but she is definately a dog who you want to be on the good side of. She sometimes doesn't want to be the over-protective sister and wants someone to take care of her. The quailities she looks for in a male is someone her will take care of her, give her respect, and stay with her till the end.

Fee has very unique looks. Although she inherited the red fur of her mother, her fur is a darker, almost rusty red. Her under fur is bright white and helps her hid in her snow. She has the same basic facial markings and leg markings as her mother, but what makes her unique are her ears. Both of her ears a bright white like her chest and stomach. Her tail is mostly red with a bit of white underneath, though the tip is also white. It resembles Jenna's tail for the most part. She got her crytal blue eyes from her grandfather (my version). She has a slender build that is bulked up by her thick fur. She also inherited the large paws of her wolf heritage.

A random fact about Fiata is she has a very beautiful voice. Her howl is described as musical. She has never really been into the whole singing thing, but sometimes hums to herself when she is bored.

http://iaza.com/work/091012C/Saba284256.jpg - Really old pic and badly done!

http://iaza.com/work/091101C/Fee66270.png - little bit better!

Hey I was going to do Saba

Splendid, that's exactly what I wished to see

The story's well written, sticks to chronology quite well and justifies both her features and character. The only inconsistence I found is that Aleu ran out two years ago and in your story it's been over three years since then, but it's a detail.

I also like your writing style - at least its informative version. We'll see how good you'll do with the semi-action one (not to question your abilities, of course - I'll just haven't got to know much people around here yet).

And I love the last sentence, imagining a humming dog, who feels she is more wolf was... amusing

Captain Talon: First's first, sorry Still, the choice is wide - I'm sure adjusting whatever you've thought about to another Balto's kid will be a simple correction, especially if you haven't written much yet...

erm...me and Black Rose worked something out she has allowed me to take on Saba

Talon's right. I was just making up a random pup, but Talon did fanfiction research. I changed her name, but the bio is exactly the same. Her name still even means wolf! So, no biggie. Same char, just a different name.

I apologize for taking so long, creating a really good bio is difficult for me and I want to make it is up to your standards

Sure, no extra haste expected.

I'm relieved you saw eye to eye on that matter, there's nothing worst than having the players arguing even before the roleplay is started

Black Rose - are you somehow interested in long-dead cultures or at least their languages? Or was your name search just a skin-deep meeting with Gaelic?

Well, I don't know much about it, but I really enjoy learning about older cultures, especailly the Gaelic language and the Druid religion. But, like I said, I wish I knew more. I took a class on Gaelic, but I didn't really learn than the very basics. I actually found Fiata in my Gaelic dictionary when I was looking up random words. There was this big long paragraph on just the word wolf and one of the was Fiata. I just thought it would be pretty for a name.