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Lazzy the Spazzy

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  1. Lazzy the Spazzy
    Well, this is it.
     

     
    All joking aside, in less than three days now, I'm going off to college. Which means that the day I've anticipated, sometimes dreaded, but always prepared for, has come. It's time for me to say goodbye to BZPower. I don't really know how I feel. Yeah, of course I'll miss BZP and all the memories and connections I've made here. But, knowing for a year and a half that this was the day that I'd have to say a final goodbye has helped me come to terms with that. I've 'quit' BZP before, but this time I'm pretty sure it'll be different. I don't think I'll miss it enough to want to come back. And I've done so much these past eight months, enough to last me a few years I think, so I don't mind setting this obligation to rest.
     
    That's probably not the right word, 'obligation'...well to be honest, BZP did used to be an obligation for me. In 2007 and 2008 I felt more like BZP was something that I had to do, but I didn't want to, and it sort of stifled and restricted me. So why not quit? Well, I did, more than once. But each time I did, I started to only have memories of the good things in BZP, not the bad, so that always made me want to come back.
     
    I guess what I've come to realize as I went through my last year of BZP going above and beyond and doing more than I've done in the three years before, is that it's really all in the mindset. I told myself I had to do BZP and that I didn't want to, so that's what happened. This time I chose to treat it as what it was in the beginning, something I do for fun. And as expected, I had a lot of fun.
     
    There's another thing too. BZPower by itself has never been what I've liked, what I've tried to quit from and what I've always returned to. No, what it was, was the connections I made, the people I met, the friends and even good friends that I've made on BZP. It was the people that made me want to come back, the idea of having such connections that made BZP so addicting.
     
    So I've made a sort of 'thank you list' of people I want to, well, thank. Maybe we've been IM buddies for a year or more. Maybe we only shared one PM conversation. Whatever it was, I want to thank you for making my four year stay on BZPower meaningful, and I've tried to include everyone here, hoping that I didn't forget anyone.
     
    But before that, a considerably shorter list about me. More specifically, about things I'm proud of that I've done here. I sometimes find myself thinking about what I didn't do and what I could've done, but I'd rather focus on the positive.
     
    Things I'm proud of
     
    Won a BZP Contest: I accomplished this my first year, which was really surprising to me because I didn't think I could do it. That was really fun though, knowing that I met one of my goals I set for myself. And then another one, a team contest this time, which was better, I guess because it felt like we won as, well, a team.
     
    Made it to the Top 100 Overall Posters: I dreamed like every new member of racking up a high post count. Sort of forgot about that over the years as I found more fun things to look forward to in BZPower, but it's nice that I finally made it onto the list near the end of my time here. I'll probably fall off the list soon as others get more posts than little soon-to-be-inactive me, but just making it once was enough. =]
     
    Ran an RPG: I did this for two years until the RPG closed, though it was more of a failure than a success for me. Even so, all the mistakes I made as an RPG Moderator have at least taught me what not to do, so I'm grateful for that. As my last day drew closer, I kept getting thoughts of wanting to start and run another RPG, though I knew I wouldn't have the time to...and I would've had to leave anyone who joined out in the cold once I left. But after failing as an RPG Moderator the first time around, and spending more than half a year as just a 'regular' RPer to get back to the basics, I think if I had the chance, I'd be able to run an RPG successfully and fairly this time. Who knows? The experience is something I'm grateful for, at least.
     
    Ran the Story Fit: I know I canceled it a couple of months after it started, and sometimes I wonder if I should have kept it going. Even if it was only one person who participated, that could still be considered a success. Still, it was fun while it lasted, and I liked how the SS forum jumped in activity when I ran it. The Libraries always felt like one of the under-appreciated forums to me, and I'm glad that the BZP News Team is finally acknowledging the wonderful work that our writers and artists do. I hope someday the Libraries will be as busy as the other forums.
     
    Made People Laugh: Is that servile or not? But really, I liked it when I made people's days with my posts or blog entries. I try to lighten the mood, especially in the RPG forums where things can sometimes get melodramatic, so it's always nice when I succeed.
     
    Ran a Story Arc: After years of trying in the BZPRPG, I'm glad I finally managed to not only start a story arc but also end one successfully. I know, RPing in the thing counts as contributing too, but I felt like, having been a role-player for four years in the same RPG, I wanted something to show for it, you know? I'm sorry for being selfish in that regard, but my deepest thanks to everyone who participated and supported me in my quest for a complete story arc.
     
    Speaking of which, I guess it's time to get to my Thank-You List. This accomplishments thing has gotten too long already.
     
    People I Want to Thank
     
    Dr. Bionicle: You probably won't see this, but thanks for inspiring me to become a role-player. I've been re-reading the old Academy topic these past few months, and man were we Acad noobs a handful. If it were me I would've given up after the first week, but you dealt with us with so much patience. Thank you for that.
     
    EmperorWhenua 2.0: Wow. I have so much to say I don't know what to put on here. Thanks for being someone I can call a best friend on here. For all the moments we've shared, on AIM and off of it. The T-shirts, the mutual *glomp*ing, you giving me that lateral promotion from slave to toy, etc. You're funny, eccentric, nice, patient, and everything else, and I admire and respect you for that. I hope you continue to have fun with BZP and real life. Congrats again on Eagle Scout and Man Scout status. You earned it. =]
     
    Emzee: Thanks for RPing with me this last year. It was nice that I finally got to know you as more than just a name on the list of staff. Have fun with the rest of the 2010 storyline! Here's to hoping your master plan with the mods goes well.
     
    Female BZPRPGer: Gato, Gato, Gato. I have dozens of cherished memories of you, not least of which is that genderbending confusion, that Russian sleep experiment thing, your huge gallery, the 'herpaderp' in chatrooms, and finally your charming sarcastic wit. Loved your comments in the GD and the metagaming Ga. I think I can say I consider you one of my close friends here on BZP, and I'm glad I got to know you. Thanks for all the awesome memories!
     
    Friar Tuck: Friar, thanks for being here these past couple of years. As with Emzee, I'm glad I got to know you as a member this time...the wacky chatroom moments were great, and I hope you continue to have fun modding the BZPRPG. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Joske. =]
     
    GaliGee: GG, I can't thank you enough. You were one of the main reasons I was inspired to join BZPower in the first place...in November 2005 I stumbled onto your epic, Tangled Web, and I was mesmerized. I remember how, in your review topic, you'd take the time to answer the comments of each and every one of us...that's part of what gave me the idea of doing this list. Thanks for being so nice to us, and for treating us with more respect than we deserve. I hope that you'll achieve your goal of getting a book published...what am I saying, I'm sure you will.
     
    Hahli Husky: Thanks for hosting all those contests, and leading one of the coolest forums in BZP. Besides the RPG forum, of course. ;P Also, thanks for hosting the Redwall RPG way back when.
     
    Hak: Thanks for being a buddy to me, trading reviews of each other's epics, RPing in the Acad...fun times. I hope that whatever you're doing now is going well for you. Thanks for everything. =]
     
    Khote: Thanks for being one of my first friends! If not for all your help and kindness those first few weeks with the Academy RPG, I probably would have dropped out. Speaking of your kindness, thanks for going out of your way to make that MoC of Lazok. I don't know if you'll ever see this, but if you do, I'm using those MoCs as my blog's sideboxes right now. =]
     
    King Sharkticus CXII: Oh, Shark. Despite all the poking fun at you in chatrooms, I really do value that you've been a friend to me all these years. The weird conversations, the wacky jams and RPs...Zezak and Lazok make a good comedy duo, I must say. With Lazok being the straight man, and Zezak the funny man. But yeah, thanks for all the fun times!
     
    Kiotu: I'm sorry I can't collaborate with you on that arena RPG. I hope you're able to submit it to a contest though! It was nice brainstorming with you for all of...one month? =P Thanks for the experience.
     
    Lady Kopaka: I still remember that time in '06 when I checked my inbox and got this PM from you. I thought of you as a legend at the time with all your artwork, so I was surprised to get a PM to little old me. I regret that we never got to interact more, with the group epic thing being discarded before we even started and then my never fulfilling my promise of reviewing all your works of art...and even the BZPRPG. I'll have you know you made me stay four months more than I had planned, thank you very much. =P But really, thank you for that...if that hadn't happened, I probably wouldn't have accomplished so much in these last couple of months. I hope that your health gets better and your life less busy. Some parting advice I guess, would be, don't be too hard on yourself with deadlines and all. Focus on your own well-being sometimes, yeah? =]
     
    Lloyd: the White Wolf: Thanks for the four years of memories, Lloyd. I enjoyed jamming with you, doing those survey things...you were always the serious one in our little groups. Thanks for everything.
     
    Lord Dunsparce of York: I'll always think of you as Jolek, personally. I still remember how, back in January or February or so, even though it was fun to have someone new to RP with, I was a bit annoyed that I had to change Lazok's text color so as not to confuse it with Jolek's. I forgive you. =P j/k But definitely, thank you for RPing with me. It was nice to have an RPing buddy, and a repeat of the connections we built from RPing together helped me deal with my, how do you say it, mid-life crisis with RPGs. Stick with the BZPRPG, I think you're one of the best out of the 2010 'newbies' and you'll only improve as time goes on. =]
     
    Lurking the Bolt: I don't know if you'll ever come back on to see this, but in case you do, thanks for the little RPing we did, and for the awesome stories.
     
    Moutekea: Mout. Man, I don't know what to say. If you happen to drop by here someday, I want you to know that, as with Doc B, it wasn't until I went back four years later to look through the Acad topic that I realized just how patient you were with us noobs. I know a lot of stuff happened that made you leave, but I never really had a chance to thank you for all you've done, all the help you gave me, and how you taught me to be a better, more mature RPer. Here's to another thirty-something years, you old fogey. =]
     
    Nid: Thanks for writing the Arachniphobia epic. It's one of the reasons why I became a member, to comment on your stuff. And thanks for mentoring me during the 2007 BZPRPG, and for creating the Nogans. We had fun with them the last few months. =P Anyway, back to Arachniphobia...I remember when I submitted that entry to your guest star villain request, and I felt so honored that you accepted it and even responded. But yeah, thanks!
     
    Nuju Metru: Nuju, thanks for RPing with me this past year. Your vibrant characters like Grokk and Uhuraz occasionally gave me a chuckle, and your posts were definitely among the ones I most enjoyed in the BZPRPG. Hope you continue to have fun RPing!
     
    Patient 065: Sera...wow. Three years of memories, buddy, thanks for making the BZPRPG fun during that time. Sharing music videos, etc...and the AIM chatroom moments, always got a laugh from your antics when you were on.
     
    Rising Moon: Right now I'm thinking about how it was a shame we never got to do that group epic together. It really would have been...well, epic. =P Anyway, I've always enjoyed reading your works; it's scary sometimes when I'm reminded that you're still only 13. I know you'll only get even better at writing as time goes on. Keep up that awesome work!
     
    Robo: If someday you come back and read this, then this is for you. Thanks for being my close friend and confidante for two years...we both listened to each other's rants, haha...that definitely helped me keep a cool head through all the RPG drama. Watch that ego, all right? =]
     
    Smeagol4: Smeag, you are a crazy, crazy man. And I'm glad that I finally got to know you this last year. Thanks for returning to the BZPRPG and exceeding my already high expectations of the kind of guy you were. =]
     
    Snoopy82: Snoops, thanks for RPing with me. I regret we didn't get to know each other better, but the few memories we did share were fun.
     
    Spink: Spinky! Thanks for letting me be your cat for ~45 days. =P And thanks for RPing with me in the NRPG, BZPRPG, etc.
     
    T-Hybrid: Thanks for transferring the lifetime PMship to me way back when. I wish I had talked to you more before you left, but yeah, I regret never thinking to thank you personally.
     
    Toa Velox: V...I can't believe that two years ago you were just some vague MoCer and writer I remembered seeing once or twice as I scrolled down the forums. But I'm glad we got to know each other better this past year. Thanks for the memories from RPG, Story Fit, suffering through the SSCC together...=P I regret that we weren't able to do the group epic, but oh well. Anyway, thanks for being my friend, and I hope you'll have fun in your new job of supervising the SSCC. You deserve it. =]
     
    Toa Zehvor MT: Thanks for I guess listening to my advice. =P I always feel happy when I feel like I've helped out a fellow RPer with his or her project. Good luck with the next contest!
     
    ToM Dracone: Thanks for catching that little mistake I made, and for hosting that Songfic contest four years ago. =]
     
    xccj: Thanks for being one of my inspirations to join along with GaliGee and Nid. I loved Kulagi's Kanoka, and I'll always remember it fondly.
     
    Yukiko: Thanks for, well, RPing with me. =P And for participating in the Story Fit, I've always enjoyed your poems by the way, poetry buddy haha. Defending the merits of poetry against the naysayers in the BZP GD in, what was it, 2009? Something like that. Anyway, have fun in Ecuador!
     
    Zooplankton: Thanks for letting me make that MoC of your character. Same with MT, I always feel happy when I've helped out someone. I hope you continue to enjoy success with your epic...maybe someday I'll finally know how it ends. =P
     
    Captain, CJ, EU, Sisen, Kaitan, Vorik, Tahakki, Krayzikk, toatc, JMJ, and all the other BZPRPG pals; Chibi, Von, Hubert, Shadok, and the other WfE buddies: Thanks for making my last eight months here especially awesome. Keep on RPing, the BZPRPG can never have too many people. Don't stop improving your RPing skills either. =] Same with the WfE guys, I wish I had more time to get to know you, but thanks for the RPs we did have.
     
    Dwin, Gera, Hahligirl56, Hiraga, Poks, Tom, LFZ, Mr. E, and the rest of the old Acads: Man. Good times, huh? Not that you'll see this, most of you moved on way before I was ready to say goodbye to you all...but thanks for being my first group of friends, and for all the wacky moments in the chatrooms. I miss those.
     
    Advent, Allen, Nacatumi, Madara, Necro, and the rest of the NRPG folks: Thanks for dealing with my failings as a Moderator. I know we all struggled with balancing running the RPG and life, but I'm hoping that somewhere out there you're all managing better with real life and stuff. Nacatumi, a special thanks for that art topic you made back then featuring my RPG character.
     
    Akai, Rockhound, Toa Spirit, Neelh, Eyru, and the rest of the Story Fit: Thanks for a great few months! Proof that writers on this forum can come together and stuff...no, really. I was afraid that my project wouldn't get off the ground, but thanks to you the Story Fit thrived. I hope you all keep improving your writing. =]
     
    Janus, Toa Iranu of Atohune, AZBlue, and Tifosi92: Team Yes all the way! Thanks for all the fun with the SS Autumn Olympics, I was honored to be able to work with you guys.
     
    Rausaro, Takuna Nuva, Raptor, Paharak Girl, and the rest of the Redwall gang: Even though the RPG wasn't as active as others (understatement), I still had a lot of great memories with you guys. I hope that whatever you're doing right now is going well.
  2. Lazzy the Spazzy

    Story Fit! =]

    By Lazzy the Spazzy,

    Some of you may have heard of Exo-Fat's new RPG Fit Program. Due to its success, I'm starting a similar program for story writing rather than role-playing, named the Story Fit.
     
    Each week I will post a new prompt or task of sorts, such as a one-word theme to write a story around, or an idea to incorporate into your work. Other than that, you will have complete freedom with what to write – you can write your story in the Short Stories, Comedies, COT forum, or even in the Epics forum. Once you do, post to that week's blog post with a link to your story. There is no deadline for completing the tasks, unlike with the RPG Fit, so you can take as long as you need to write your story -- you still have to write it though. xD
     
    The basic idea here is to improve the writing skills of participants through weekly "exercises". But for members who aren't satisfied just with the prospect of becoming better writers, I will also use a point system similar to Exo-Fat's for extra incentive. You get points for completing the exercises, reviewing other members' stories, or inviting other people to join.
     
    If you want to, sign up here and I'll add you to the members list. Happy writing!
     

    Exercises 
    Season 1
    1/20/10
    1/27/10
    2/3/10
    2/10/10
    2/17/10
    2/24/10

    3/3/10 3/12/10 (Special)
    4/2/10 (Finale)
     
    Season 2
    4/3/10


    Members Akai Hana no Tenshi
    Rising Moon
    Rockhound
    protohuman
    Rassiter
    -Tilius-
    Emperor Alex Humva
    Rising Moon
    ~LG~
    ~Monday~
    Yukiko
    The Iron God
    snoopy82
    Toa Velox
    Lady Kopaka
    Grant-Sud
    Parugi
    .:Makutox The Nomad:.
    Contrary
    Spink
    AZBlue
    Ardros
    Toa Spirit
    Neelh
    Senjo
    Hahli Husky
    MechaFizz
    Saiph
    {Zaxvo}
    Lewa Krom
     

  3. Lazzy the Spazzy
    Well, excuse my language but holy ###### was this a pleasant surprise.
     
    I've managed to completely forget about BZP and all the great friends I made here, hadn't visited the site for just shy of a year now...heard about the "downtime" over the summer but that's the only news I'd heard about the BZP. Decided on a whim to pop in for a visit, and what is this?
     
    Wow. New format. So much cleaner and professional looking. Can't even remember the old look, trying not to so nostalgia doesn't overwhelm me.
     
    ...I'll keep poking around. See if any oldies are still here...if any of you remember me, please give a shout. I'd love to catch up.
     
    Nostalgic and pleasantly surprised,
    -- Lazzy
  4. Lazzy the Spazzy
    This just in:
     
    ++Dr. Bionicle Sighted in RPG Forums++
     
    A Dr. Bionicle was seen around noon PST today wandering the RPG forums. The scientific community is in an uproar at this latest development.
     
    The Dr. Bionicle, for those of you unfamiliar with RPG history, was a creature that flourished in the year 2006, even winning the first ever RPG Contest and hosting the highly successful Academy RPG for nine months (after which it was merged into the official BZPRPG). In the following years, however, the Dr. Bionicle's activity declined, eventually disappearing altogether around late 2008 to early 2009. Until today, the Dr. Bionicle was thought to be extinct.
     
    "This is a miraculous development," a scientist excitedly said as he rushed to the lab to conduct tests. He and his colleagues of the RPG Science League are currently working to capture this Dr. Bionicle in order to raise it in captivity. Once its activity grows enough to get off of the endangered list, the scientists plan to release the Dr. Bionicle back into the wild.
     
    Any assistance on the capture of this legendary creature would be appreciated. Below is a picture taken with the iPhone of a passersby.
     

     
    If any creature you see resembles this appearance, stay away -- the Dr. Bionicle is suspected to be armed and extremely deranged. Instead, contact the authorities and they will bring it in.
     
    Regular members are encouraged to help with the rejuvenation of this creature. Some techniques suggested include restoring the landscape of the RPG forum to pristine condition and attempting to convince the Dr. Bionicle to stay with us this time.
  5. Lazzy the Spazzy

    My New Life

    By Lazzy the Spazzy,

    Not so much a new life, really...well, maybe it is. I guess it just hasn't hit me yet, since I haven't been away from home for more than a month at a time for summer camps. Speaking of which, it really did feel like a summer camp last week during orientation. Carnegie Mellon really spoiled us with cruises and bowling and lasertag...someone said they must be tricking us, making us want to stay for the year and suffer through their super-tough classes.
     
    Not that I'm complaining of course, if I'm going to spend my next four years at CMU I'm grateful that we get a week of fun before all that. Plus I feel like it's all in the mindset, you can find the positive in any situation if you try, you know? Still, gonna be tough.
     
    Keeping this short, first week of classes and I've already missed three classes. =[ I need to step my game up...
     
    Anyway, haven't had time till now to get back onto BZP. I promised to do the occasional SSCC review and blog so here we go. And then another disappearance for...however long it takes for me to finish all my stuff again. Wish me luck.
  6. Lazzy the Spazzy
    To celebrate the birthday of Emperor Whenua, a very special friend (if at times eccentric), I have gone through 47 chat logs (and nine chatroom logs) accumulated through half a year of Meebo-usage, to find our most memorable chat moments and share them with you all. Here goes...
     
    My remarkable punctuality:

     
    Our relationship in a nutshell.


    EW actually inspired me to make one of the posts I remain most proud of in my four years here. I guess you're just an inspiring kind of guy, EW.

     
    We share the same opinions on a lot of things...interests, too. A shame I can't be there with you on the Jamboree right now, but we'll definitely do a camping trip someday.

     
    You've helped me out of potential mistakes that would've gotten me in trouble. That's what I love about you, EW...you're a depemdable guy.

     
    Another reason why I consider EW to be one of my best friends here -- he reminds me of what's important.

     
    Also, when I get out of line you bring me back to reality.

     
    Most of all, though, I'll cherish the silly moments we've shared.



     
    But what I value most of all in you is the way you understand me so perfectly.


     
    Here's to another three years (hopefully more) of friendship! Congratulations on making it to adulthood, Emperor Whenua!
  7. Lazzy the Spazzy

    Guest Star

    By Lazzy the Spazzy,

    Hop on over to EmperorWhenua 2.0's blog for an awesome story based on Snoopy82's epic!



    We got guest star guest star
    We got guest star guest star
    We got guest star guest star
    We got guest star guest star


    Does anyone still remember that rap? I feel old referencing it...
  8. Lazzy the Spazzy
    So, after sending someone a PM, the content of that message prompted me to try to figure out how to get to a list of my previous topics...
     
    It took a while, but first I stumbled onto the subscriptions page, containing the only topic I ever actually subscribed to -- the Covenant of the 13. It's an epic by Wolf Eyes (sadly no longer active), and it's a great read. I'm still rereading it, so I have no idea if she ever actually finished, but anyway.
     
    So, I finally wound up in my topics list. It actually took up two pages. It had every topic I've ever started, every story I've ever written, every RPG I've ever run.
     
    Wow. Can someone say nostalgia? (rhetorical question, don't actually say it)
     
    But man, I just started scrolling through those topics...one thing led to another and I was skimming through old epics I'd read, such as Nid's Arachniphobia (about Nidhiki's missing years).
     
    It really reminded me of how much I had experienced at BZPower...fitting for the reminder to come at a time when we're all celebrating this site's ninth birthday. But wow, four years passed by really quickly. I still remember the exact thoughts in my head as I typed up some of those stories...I even recognized a quote I pulled from real life, a few days before I actually wrote the story I put the quote in.
     
    But enough of that. I hope you didn't mind suffering through an old member's boring reminiscence...
     
    I guess what I really got out of this was that I realized how little I wrote as time went on. There was actually this one instance back in 2006, where I wrote two stories in the span of 15 minutes. Where did that prolificness (I know that's not the right noun, but bear with me) go? How did I go from that to one story a year? I should start writing more. Maybe keep better track of my time, make better use of it. We human beings can get a lot done if we use time management properly.
     
    Well, that's it. Just thought I'd share my thoughts with you all, if anyone's listening reading out there.
  9. Lazzy the Spazzy
    For an explanation of what the Story Fit is, please go here.
     
    Each week I'll post an exercise. This is the entry for the exercise of the week of January 20-26. Since this is the first week of the Story Fit, we'll start off with a simpler task -- a one-word prompt:
     

    Transformation

    Write a story revolving around the theme of transformation. You may interpret it literally or figuratively. There is no word limit or any other constraints -- the only requirement is that the story contain this theme. Feel free to put forth ideas on stories if you're not too sure about what you want to write. Note: You do not have to complete this task by the 26th, as there is no deadline for the Story Fit project. However, since new exercises will be given out each week, you should still work on your stories to prevent too many tasks from piling up...procrastination won't be pretty.
     
    Once you write your story, post here with a link to it. Extra points will also be awarded to those members who review other Story Fit members' stories. This will not only give you practice with writing but also reviewing, as well as promote an exchange of ideas and styles within the BZP Writers Community.
     
    At the end of the week we will vote for the "Writer of the Week" based on whose story is everyone's favorite.



  10. Lazzy the Spazzy

    Priorities

    By Lazzy the Spazzy,

    Bad experiences balancing BZPower with Sophomore life? ... Check.
     
    Thinking ahead to two years in the future? ... Check.
     
    Revelation that Undergrad life will likely require an absence of a commitment to BZP? ... Check.
     
    Decision to make long-term plans to "retire" from BZP by the end of senior year? ... Check.
     
    Adamant about decision despite persuading and/or objecting from BZP friends? ... Check.
     
    Almost ready to retire? ... Check.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    "What is the meaning of this status on EW's AIM? I shall ask. Hello EW...what? Do I hear you right? Lady K's joining the BZPRPG?"
     
    *tosses out two years of plans*
  11. Lazzy the Spazzy
    Same words, different context.
     
    In the end, the BZPRPG is just a game, guys. You can choose to play it like one or you can take it seriously. Take your pick, though I'm of the opinion that the former option is more fun -- taking something like an RPG so seriously more often than not leads to angst, anger, ego jousts, rants, and the loss of friends.
     
    I shall quote renowned BZPRPG economist Endearing Effeminate Son here:
     
    "BZPRPG: Serious Business."
     
    And then qualify that profound statement. Yes, the BZPRPG is indeed Serious Business, but it doesn't necessarily have to be.
  12. Lazzy the Spazzy
    CartoonNetwork's old show
    Justice League is one of the best, if not the best, animated series in the history of animated series. Its sequel JLU isn't far behind.

    Give a shout out if Justice League was a fond childhood memory for you too.



  14. Lazzy the Spazzy
    TEAM 10
     
    Brief Team History:
    Team 10 is one of the most successful Genin teams; it is clear that Shikamaru put the right people in the same team, for its three members, Soratu, Ha, and Kikou, work as well together as brothers and are the best team in terms of teamwork. Team 10 has accomplished a surprisingly large number of high-level missions for a Genin team, and has largely met with success in completing them.
     
    SENSEI:
     
    Name: Hatake Zakiyu
    Member: All mods
    Age: 20
    Rank: Jounin
    Village: Konohagakure
    Background: Zakiyu was born soon after the attempted coup by Root to take over Konoha. During the early years of his life Zakiyu had little contact with his father, who was often away on high-ranked missions. However, when he was five years old, his father suffered a devastating injury in a mission (leaving Kakashi’s left arm withered and his Sharingan eye near blind), forcing him to leave the front lines. Kakashi and Zakiyu’s relationship improved since then, spending more time with each other. Zakiyu came to develop pride in his clan, looking up to his father especially as a role model. He advanced through the ranks through pure hard work (he did not have the genius intellect of his father), becoming a Jounin at the age of 19. Team 10 was the first squad he ever led, and he finds the experience fun, if at times frustrating. He recently began dating Saito Heira, a fellow Jounin who is in charge of a squad herself.
    Personality: Hatake Zakiyu is normally calm but can be fun-loving and has a surprisingly good sense of humor, often enjoying playing tricks on his colleagues. Despite this, he is serious in battle. Zakiyu has achieved much in his life through hard work, and that is thus his code in life.
    Appearance: Zakiyu looks exactly like his father, Kakashi, save for his Sharingan eye and his mouth-mask (his friends joke that it was the good-looking mouth he inherited from his father that won Heira over). Zakiyu dresses like a regular Jounin, except for a flak jacket; he opts to leave it off, exposing his black shinobi jumpsuit. Over it is strapped a sword-belt, extending diagonally from right hip to left shoulder. The Hatake clan’s tanto is in turn strapped to the sword-belt. Zakiyu carries scrolls on the sword belt as well.
    Abilities: Despite being Kakashi’s son, Zakiyu lacks his father’s trademark technique; the Sharingan. Instead, his abilities lie in electricity- and earth-oriented elemental jutsu, and his swordfighting abilities; Zakiyu inherited the broken tanto of his father.
    A unique trait of Zakiyu’s is his white-colored chakra. Although the Hatake tanto emits white chakra when swung, Zakiyu is the only known person to actually have white-colored chakra himself. However, if there are any special skills attached to that strange chakra, it is latent, for so far Zakiyu’s abilities are that of an average Jounin.
    Clan: Hatake; Zakiyu does not have the Sharingan of his father, as that Sharingan was surgically attached to Kakashi’s eye socket and not a real Kekkei Genkai.
     
    GENIN:
     
    Name: Heikishou Kikou
    Member: Zyglakky Lazzy
    Age: 14
    Rank: Genin
    Missions completed:
    D: 2
    C: 3
    B: 2
    A: 1
    Personality: Kikou seems quiet and a bit shy to outsiders, but his friends know him to have a different side to him. Kikou is cheerful and has a determined spirit, and can be quite outgoing at times. He is also intelligent, and is good with numbers and abstract thinking, meaning he can quickly go through mental formulas and equations. He hates it when his teammates fight or argue, and tries to act as the voice of reason. Kikou’s hobbies include running and target practice, and generally likes to relax on his free time. He loves Misou ramen and most types of sweet food.
    Kikou lives in a large family, with a nuclear family of two parents, one younger brother, and one younger sister, and many relatives in his clan. Because of this background, Kikou feels most at comfort in large groups, which explains his natural fighting style that complements teammates and friends. However, Kikou finds it hard being the role model for his siblings, and a challenge leading and teaching them.
    Kikou is very close to his second cousin, Tsurijo, who he feels is the older sister he never had.
    Appearance: Kikou is fairly tall for his age (5’7”), with light brown hair that sticks up in the same direction as Kisame's does, and refuses to lie flat. Kikou’s eyes are deep blue, and his skin is peach-colored and slightly tan from his numerous missions. Wears a huge green jacket that holds various scrolls in its pockets. Kikou wears a black tight-fitting T-shirt underneath the jacket. Kikou wears khaki colored pants, and black leather boots. He places kunai holsters on both legs (ambidextrous), and has smoke bombs, light bombs, shuriken, and more scrolls in the pouch on his belt. His belt has several straps with scrolls in them as well, providing Kikou with a huge arsenal of weapons. Kikou wears standard shinobi sandals with fishnet “socks” reaching up past his ankles. Originally when he first received his Genin headband, Kikou wore it wrapped on his forehead, but during the Chuunin exams, Kikou wore it loosely on his neck instead.
    Fighting style/skills: Expert in ningu, presumably the best ningu user in his class (Seeing as not many others in his class use ningu often, it is unknown whether or not his weapons skill can be matched). Also extremely accurate and dexterous. When throwing kunai or other projectiles at unmoving objects, Kikou has a 100% hit ratio from up to 300 meters away, and the ratio decreases beyond that point. Kikou can hit moving targets 80% of the time. Kikou is also ambidextrous, though he prefers to use his left hand more often.
    Kikou is a mostly mid-range fighter, and uses combinations of Tobidogu and Soshuha to make several weapons attack the opponent from different directions at once while he himself stays out of range--this is a unique fighting strategy of his.
    Sometimes Kikou also first uses Doton: Dochyuu Eigyo no Jutsu first, so he can attack the opponent from underground. This adds another advantage, which is that he can attack the enemy relentlessly from all directions without fear of getting hit or getting his allies hurt, since his allies will have gotten out of range as well.
    His genjutsu skills are lacking in proficiency--however, Uchiha Soratu has taught him tips on how to deflect genjutsu, so he can block it if it is cast on him.
    Kikou’s forte is mid-range, though he is a passable fighter at close-range as well, usually wielding giant kunai or sickles in close quarters combat. He prefers to remain back from the main battle, assisting his two teammates (who are both close-range fighters) with barrages of projectiles to distract their opponents and allow Soratu or Ha to move in for the blow.
    Kikou is analytical in battle, constantly noting any weak points or openings in his enemy’s movements. He often relays this information to his two teammates, who can then exploit this to their advantage.
    Kikou has learned how to form elemental wind chakra, but so far only uses it to augment the blades of weapons. He has the capacity for earth chakra as well, but hasn’t learned how to form it, only using it for some of his jutsu.
    In team 10, Kikou provides a level-headed side in battle, being a sort of background fighter, mostly assisting his teammates as best he can. However, Kikou is very dangerous on in his own as well, and a force to be reckoned with. When fighting alone, Kikou usually alternates between close-range and long-range fighting, using Hien and Reppushou in conjunction to make his throwing weapons sharper and faster. When a fight isn’t going his way, Kikou tends to create a makeshift mountain out of his surroundings with Doton: Doryuu Jouheki. This leaves Kikou on top of a huge rampart of earth and his enemy below, giving Kikou a short time to recover from an attack, or setting the field up for his other earth technique: Doton: Iwayado Kuzushi. This causes an avalanche from the mountain he has just created, turning around the tables and putting his enemy on the defensive. To prevent from being caught up in the avalanche himself, Kikou often has his personal eagle summon, Kenta, get him into the air.
    Kenta is a valuable addition to Kikou’s fighting strategy, providing him with fighting assistance, diversions, a life-line in case he needs it, or even recon. Kikou usually has Kenta fly around the battlefield without participating in any actual fighting. This may not seem dangerous at all, but Kenta actually searches for traps or tricks that may catch Kikou off-guard; for example, if Kikou’s enemy is hiding somewhere in the battlefield and having a clone fight, Kenta would notice this and relay the information to Kikou. In this way Kenta acts as a second pair of eyes and covers for Kikou in the same way that Kikou covers for his teammates in team battles.
    One of Kikou's notable weaknesses is his inaptitude for blocking genjutsu, noted above. Although he has trained often to deflect genjutsu, Kikou is still lacking in that department.
    Kikou also lacks the strength and stamina required for efficient close-range fighting, even though he can wield close-range weapons expertly. Tenten made a point of training that, slowly improving Kikou's stamina. Kikou has also found a way to make up for his lack of raw strength; he concentrates chakra through his weapons to make them more durable and give them more force.
    Weapons: Growing up around weapons his entire life, Kikou had great exposure to them. As an Academy student, he could wield staffs and giant kunai proficiently, and continued to increase his skill with them as he progressed. He also learned how to wield a sickle before taking his Genin exam, and has by now trained enough to become an expert with it.
    Kikou began to use bomb-type weapons more often while learning under Tenten, such as explosive tags and pouches, and smoke grenades, but it is yet to be seen how this affects Kikou’s fighting style.
    Kikou has shown interest in learning a long-range weapon, but hasn’t yet.
    Kenta, Kikou’s personal summon is a white-tailed eagle with brown downy feather and a beautiful white tail. He also has tufts of brown feathers sticking out of his head into a “spike”, almost like hair. Kikou received Kenta as a chick, and trained him by attaching weights to his claws. Because of this Kenta has sufficient strength to carry Kikou and one other person, and still fly easily.
    Major Battles:
    1) Kikou, Ha, and Soratu vs. Zakiyu: This was set up by Zakiyu to determine the fighting styles and weaknesses of each person. Kikou stayed in the background and attempted to assist when he could, but could not keep up with Zakiyu's fast-moving ninjutsu.
    2) Kikou vs. Ha: This was a training battle between the two of them, but it was cut short before a clear victor was determined, as the weapons factory they were fighting in (Kikou’s clan’s factory) was being heavily damaged from their battle
    3) Kikou vs. Shadow Village Chuunin: This was just a chase from the roof of the factory to the main house of Kikou’s family; Kikou evaded the Chuunin’s attacks and managed to spring some traps of his own before his father stepped in and knocked out the ninja.
    4) Kikou and Ha vs. Fugama and Ling: This was a short skirmish before the battles broke into one-on-one fights. Kikou and Ha were cornered by long-range weapon attacks, and once they successfully countered them and lured the ninja out, they began one-on-one fights.
    5) Kikou vs. Fugama: Kikou fought against a Jounin of an unknown village, who was a genjutsu specialist. Therefore, Kikou was heavily outmatched, because of his lack of profiency in countering genjutsu. Luckily, using some tips that Soratu had taught him, he successfully repelled Fugama’s genjutsu assault and quickly incapitated him. However, Ling returned (he had been defeated by Ha earlier) and distracted Kikou long enough so Fugama could recover and summon his bull animals: Bjazi, a summon passed down from his former sensei, and Senjamaru, the king bull summon (equal to Gamabunta in strength).
    6) Kikou vs. Tsurijo: Kikou and Tsurijo demonstrated all that they had learned since last seeing each other, and the battle ended with Kikou’s giant kunai cut in half by Tsurijo’s chakra blade. Tsurijo was the victor.
    7) Kikou vs. Intaki: A very short battle in the desert near Sunagakure. A team of shinobi attacked Team 10, and originally Kikou and Soratu were fighting Eija. After Soratu used his improved Sharingan, however, Kikou began fighting Intaki. The team retreated soon after, so Kikou didn’t fight very much.
    8) Kikou vs. Ha: This fight took place during the training for Chuunin Exams. Ha made it into the tower in the center of the Forest of Death, where Kikou was training, and after Kikou taught the Tobidogu technique to Ha the two had a sparring match. The battle ended with Ha as victor, and afterwards the two exchanged notes and gave each other tips on ways to improve themselves.
    9) Kikou vs. Ha: After Tenten, Kikou's mentor, left on a mission, Kikou left the Forest of Death and encountered Ha once again. The two had a re-match of sorts, in which Kikou displayed his teamwork with his summon, Kenta. The fight ended with Kikou using a bomb to send the two falling towards the ground, making Kikou the victor.
    Team: Team 10, led by Hatake Zakiyu
    Relationships within team: Has great chemistry and strong friendships with both his teammates, Uchiha Soratu and Kumore Ha; has practiced extensively with Ha many times, and even developed a strategy with him, Epsilon Necrosis (This strategy has not been seen to its full extent, so it is unknown just how powerful or effective it is); recently, Kikou thought of a strategy that included all three members of Team 10 and took advantage of Soratu’s and Ha’s Sharingan Kekkei Genkai. Occasionally when Ha and Soratu get into arguments, as with who should lead the team, Kikou interrupts and stops the argument rather angrily.
    Outside of his team, Kikou considers Shawn a friend, often sparring with him and talking to him.
    List of jutsu: (not necessarily in order learned; shown with Japanese name first, then with English translation)
    1) Bunshin no jutsu/Illusion clone
    2) Kawarimi/Substitution
    3) Henge no jutsu/Transformation
    4) Doton: Dochuu Eigyo/Underground Projection fish
    5) Doton: Doryuu Jouheki/Earth Style Rampart
    6) Shunshin no jutsu/Body Flicker
    7) Kuchiyose no Jutsu/Summoning technique
    8) Soshuha/Manipulate Advancing Blades
    9) Fuuka Houin/Fire sealing method
    10) Tobidogu
    11) Doton: Iwayado Kuzushi/Stone Lodging Destruction
    12) Reppushou/Gale Wind Palm
    Clan: Heikishou: This clan specializes in fighting with weapons, including close-range, mid-range, and long-range. Almost all of the members of the Heikishou clan have wind-type chakra, to make their weapons sharper and deadlier; there are some exceptions, however. Some Heikishou clan members are able to use earth-type chakra as well as wind-type chakra from birth, but cannot mix them. Kikou is one of these exceptions.
    The Heikishou clan is also one of the largest producers of ningu, or ninja weapons, in Konoha. They own a large factory with innumerable shelves of weapons, including kunai and shuriken with sizes ranging from hand-size to as tall as an average adult, various cutting weapons of unique shapes and styles, clubbing weapons, long-range weapons like bows and arrows, flails, and more.
    Heikishou members tend to rely on weapons a lot in combat, wielding many different weapons in ingenious ways. Some are largely close-range fighters, like Kikou’s father with his sickle, some are mostly mid-range fighters, like Kikou, and some are even long-range fighters.
    Trivia: Kikou likes training in training ground 17.
     
    Name: Kumore* Ha (*Member of Uchiha clan; see Clan)
    Member: Necro
    Age: 14
    Rank: Genin
    Missions completed:
    D: 2
    C: 3
    B: 2
    A: 1
    Personality: Having lost his father and seeming to be the cause of it, The few who know the truth about Ha's past would expect him to be a loner, And uncompassionate. However he usually has a rather easygoing and agreeable demeanor. Only his squad-mate Soratu, who suffered a similar loss in his past, knows about it, besides surviving family members. Often trying to be a peacemaker among his squad, He usually gets involved in the fight.
    Ha has a taste for Ramen, as well as a determination to become a skilled swordsman. Not easily startled, he isn't caught flatfooted by an ambush very often. When entering combat, unless for sport, such as a tournament, he is hesitant, and usually seeks a peaceful solution, often offering his opponents a "Last chance" to be captured before pulling the knife.
    Appearance: Black hair coming down in front of his face, His hair may seem untidy and unkempt, giving him a bit of a loner’s appearance, however the rest of what is visible of his face would make him seem more like a nerd than a warrior. His emerald eyes are hidden behind a pair of large, full-circle glasses that contain a deadly secret. The rest of his face is hidden behind bandage, but is not damaged, As on multiple occasions, in his team’s company usually, Ha has removed the bandages, usually for a jutsu requiring his mouth such as a fireball jutsu as well as for a meal. His peach-colored skin is tanned slightly as a result of much outdoor training, and its normal color is a light shade of tan as a result.
    Bandage covering his hands up to his knuckles, Ha wears a set of darker, Slightly earthy colours to help him blend in. His shirt is deep purple, His vest a dark shade of blue. His pants are an earthy shade of green, With his Konaha headband strapped to his lower left leg, The emblem facing out. His sleeves are rolled up halfway down his forearm, Where the bandage on his hand begins. He keeps a Katana hidden behind his left leg, And two large swords are on his back, Which he is learning Tobigodu to be able to keep as scrolls.
    Fighting style/skills: Ha tries to keep his Gen, Nin and Taijutsu in balance with each other, And is a potent fighter in each. His style is mainly short-range, However his speed allows him to close gaps rather quickly. Ha usually begins with a feint, As to get his opponents off-guard. He then falls back, Delivering a strong Taijutsu blow.
    Not knowing much Genjutsu, He does know some. He often uses his Water Clones in great amounts, Often sending them in rather than himself. A water specialist, He is strongest near a body of water, However has learned to take the scarce amounts of water in the air and transform it into usable water. He can only due this with Water Clones and to summon raw water without use in a jutsu at the moment. He prefers to end a fight quickly, And will, When all else fails, Use shots of Chidori to end the fight.
    Weaknesses: 1. While well-balanced, Ha does not specialize in any one area, Usually leaving his weaker than others in sed areas. 2. While he can close gaps fast, Ha is vulnerable when at a distance form his opponents. 3. Being a water specialist, Ha is at weakness away from water, With his Water clones being the only water-based Jutsu he does not need a body of water for. However, his water clones must remain 100 meters of the real body or Ha loses control of them.
    Weapons: Swords mainly. Though he often improvises, His weapon of choice is the Katana on his back, And he is also, Though not as much as with his Katana, Skilled with the larger swords on his back. In a pinch, Ha's glasses hold a deadly secret. When the thin wire frames are broken, The edges of the lens framing opens, Revealing spikes, Transforming the glasses into a pair of Shuriken. Ha does not actually need glasses, But uses these to seem weaker and so he has backup weapon if needed.
    List of jutsu: Suppose I'll start with what, As many of you from the original remember, Has become a trademark for Ha.
    1) Mizu Bunshin/Water Clone
    2) Water Prison
    3) Kuchiyose/Summoning: Orca Whale At the current time, Ha can only summon one, a small whale named Puchi.
    4) Tobidogu x2: Ha uses this with his two larger swords.
    5) Chidori
    6) Kirigakure/Hiding in Mist
    7) Body Double Jutsu (Custom Jutsu): With an unbroken line of sight for 3 seconds, The user can disguise themselves perfectly as another for one hour.
    8) Fireball/Goukakyu
    9) Kawarimi/Substitution technique
    Team: Squad 10. Team members: Uchiha Soratu. Heikishou Kikou Squad leader: Hatake Zaikyu.
    Relationships within team: Thoughts on Soratu: Similar to Ha in many ways, Yet seems quiet. His brother can be annoying, But he is a fun guy to be around, And a competent fighter. Thoughts on Kikou: A great friend, And skilled with weapons. Has sorta become like a brother after Ha spending months living with him while his parents are away. Thoughts on Zaikyu: A lot like his father, Kakashi Hatake, In many senses, As well as his outfit. Also was a good source of free Ramen until a deal was hammered out between the two of them.
    Clan: Uchiha, Family name changed to Kumore by Ha's birth father, Who is now deceased. Hopefully you know what a Sharingan is and does.
    Trivia: Ha often uses training ground 29, as it is near a lake and thus has a large water source for his jutsu.
     
    Name: Uchiha Soratu.
    Member: Greed The Ultimate Shield
    Age: 15.
    Rank: Gennin.
    Personality: Soratu is a very clam, and pretty lazy guy. He prefers to stay out of fights, and arguments. He is usually very nice to the people around him, unless they did something to make him mad, or annoy him. But it’s very hard to annoy someone like him. But at times, he can get very emotional, especially when it involves his former sensei, Amuzara Riazaki. And if he ever gets into a fight, he will fight with everything he has.
    He is also very smart, and knows how to handle a situation. And he doesn’t have many hobbies. You can usually find him training in the Uchiha compounds. But for some unknown reason, he likes to read the infamous Ichi Ichi Tactics novel series, despite being under age. But he reads the book in a mature way, and isn’t considered a pervert like Kakashi and Jiyara.
    Appearance: Soratu has smooth white skin, with dark blue eyes. He has dark black hair that is spiked up towards his back. He wears a dark blue long sleeve shirt with the Uchiha Fan symbol on the back. He also wears long black pants. He also wears lighting amplifiers for his arms and legs, for some of his ration jutsu’s. They looked exactly like Dosu's, except these thinner and lighter. The amplifiers are also black.
    Also, Soratu wears a face mask that is connected to a regular black tank top shirt under his long sleeved one. The mask covers his face from the bottom of his face, to underneath his eyes, just like Kakashi’s. Soratu is about 6ft 2”.
    Fighting style/skills: Soratu specializes mainly in Nin-jutsu. His gen-jutsu is a little above average genning level, and his taijutsu is at standard gennin level. He is also a fire/lighting chakra type user.
    Soratu is good at mid and long range fighting but, not as good with close combat, unless he is using his swords. He is also currently working on some close range nin-jutsu. His speed is also above gennin level.
    Soratu has no disabilities, and his body is in good shape. His weaknesses are going up against people who specialize in taijutsu, use water jutsu’s, or use wind jutsu’s.
    Soratu is good at tracking, thanks to the wolves he can summon. But so far, he has not had to use this skill.
    List of jutsu: n/a
    Weapons: Soratu uses two twin katana’s that are kept in black sheaths. The name of both blades is Kitsuki. If you placed the two swords on the ground standing up, they would go up to Soratu’s shoulder (That’s how long the swords are.).
    The blades of the two swords are obsidian black. In the middle of the blades is a dark red line that goes through the blade. On the sides of the red lines are the tips of the Sharingan tomones (There’s two on each side of the blade, and there at the end of the red line, to begging of the line.). The hilts resemble Kakashi's Mangekyou Sharingan. And the handle is long, with a good grip.
    Soratu learned how to use a sword from his father, a master of the sword, and the previous owner of the kitsuki swords, when he was very young. He has mastered the way of the sword, and in doing so, his father gave him the twin kitsuki blades.
    Team: Soratu is in Team 10. His fellow team members are Uchiha Ha, Kikou Heikishou, and his sensei is Hatake Zakiyu.
    Relationships within team: Soratu gets along pretty well with his team. Soratu and Kikou usually help out each other with training, and Soratu and Ha get into fights here and there. And Soratu considers Zakiyu a pervert for always trying to take his books. But they make a good team, and there team work is good.
    Clan: Uchiha Clan
     
    Comments:
    1) @Necro: While spell-checking and editing your profile, I noticed that you left out some of the lower level jutsu that you had at the beginning of the original RPG, namely Kawarimi and Henge. If you'll tell me specifically which E-rank jutsu you had so I can add that in...? You also need to add in a brief description of Pucchi's appearance; post it here.
    2) @Greed: I've sent you numerous PMs on this subject and you haven't obliged so far. I need appearances for your wolf summons and your twelve jutsu; preferrably before the Chuunin exams start, please.
    3) You may notice that, halfway through team 10, there are spelling and grammar mistakes. This is because, with so many profiles with their various spelling and grammar mistakes, I decided to go through all the profiles in the Word document I kept, and clean them up. The reason I stopped halfway through Team 10 was simply because I snapped; I'd already edited Teams 7, 8, and 9, and the Academy student profiles (including the current Teams 14, 15, and 16; back then they were still Acad students). Given the torture I went through, I hope you can forgive me of the various mistakes still in there. ^^;
     
    Anyway, there's Team 10 in all its glory. Team 8 will be posted next.
  15. Lazzy the Spazzy
    4/3/10 Story Fit Exercise

    For an explanation of what the Story Fit is, please go
    here.

    ---



    This is the beginning of the second successful season of the Story Fit! We got really great stories last time, with a few writers especially standing out (Season 1 Finale).

    And with this last season behind us, let's start the second season fresh. Most long-running television series always start off the new season with a bang, usually a story arc that spans two episodes. Likewise, this week we will have two simultaneous exercises.

    ---



    Our first theme this week is:

    Angst

    A cliche term, often used mockingly, angst is nowadays used to describe "downtrodden teenagers thinking they're the only bloody people in the world who have it tough" (thanks Urban Dictionary). Indeed, lots of stories exist which make fun of teenagers' angst.

    Like we did last season, it's once again time to take a cliche concept and turn it around. Make it interesting. Make it unique. Make it something worthy of being discussed seriously in literary circles once again, rather than a derogatory phrase. Approach angst as a literary tool, to be manipulated and employed like any other.


    Our second theme this week is:

    Periodicity

    Sine graphs. The Earth orbiting around the Sun. The Periodic table. All exhibit some form of periodicity, and periodicity is what you will write about in this exercise.

    Cycles are a common theme in literature...the repetition of events in history, the way a story ends up in the same place that it starts, even the old phrase "what goes around comes around"...it's all about cycles, about periodicity.

    And that's what you'll tackle in this exercise. What cyclical theme can you work into your story?


    ---


    Introducing a new workout from Rising Moon:

    Vocab words!

    Each week I'll provide a short list of random words for optional use. You may incorporate one or more of these words into your stories.

    This week's list (definitions from Dictionary.com):

    Dredge - » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «Manumit - » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

    Picket - » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «



    Have fun!
  16. Lazzy the Spazzy
    Story Fit Season 1 Finale

    As the first Season of Story Fit draws to a close, we've seen our writers perform amazing feats. Some club members amazed us through the eloquence of their prose, or their vivid imagery, or poetic talent. Some inspired awe through sheer prolificness, churning out work after work, week after week. Some were just plain crazy in terms of imagination and creativity.

    And now it's time to look at the results of our first session of exercise in the Writing Gym, and the incredible athletes who earned awards.

    Most Prolific
    We all know who this one goes to: Akai Hana no Tenshi! This guy's the fittest of us all (just look at those abs! ), with nine, count them, NINE stories under his belt! He even did two stories per week, twice!

    Most Diverse
    This award goes to the writer who kept up best with the different and varied themes: Grant-Sud! Despite the randomness of some of the themes, Grant-Sud still managed to write a story that not only was solid in its own right but also matched the theme excellently!

    Most Creative
    This award goes to the writer who put the coolest spin on things or employed an imaginative take to his or her stories. This season's Most Creative award goes to: Rising Moon! Some of his stories literally sent chills down my spine...great job RM!

    Tutor's Award
    This award goes to the SFer who gave the most helpful reviews. This one goes to Yukiko, whose reviews were consistently concise (lol alliteration).

    Most Improved
    Believe me, this award was a tough one. All of you writers who participated were all so good already! But I felt in terms of adapting to the schedule, the writer who deserved this award most was: Toa Velox! For somebody who was busy for almost two months but churned out two amazing works of writing in the span of a few weeks, you adjusted really quickly to the change of pace!

    Most Valuable Writer
    The final one. This was the easiest award to give, and the award goes to: Akai Hana no Tenshi! There were points where the Story Fit became less active, but Akai's devotion to this project kept the fire alive. I owe my deepest gratitude to Akai for saving the Story Fit from dying out!

    Now, give a final round of applause to our writers who got awards!

    The first exercise of Story Fit Season Two will come in around an hour. Stay tuned! =]
  17. Lazzy the Spazzy
    Since my first post in the RPG is already too big, I have no room for the profiles for characters. Keeping them in a Word Document and showing them to the members when necessary has worked well so far, but I think putting the profiles in an easily accessible page would be easier, so in the next few days I'll be putting profiles by team in my blog, starting with Team 7 and their substitute teammate.
     
    TEAM 7:
     
    Brief history of team:
    The team got along very well, the three Genin of the team becoming close. However, Inuzuka Mimi, Takeshi's girlfriend, recently disappeared from the village, leaving an empty spot on the Team. Shortly after, Urbaen Zahimaru, another member of the team, moved to Amegakure for diplomatic reasons. This has left the remaining original member of the team, Ishimaru Takeshi, and the team's leader, Nagare Seita, emotionally devastated. A Genin from Ame, Reigan Aster, moved to Konoha to take Zahimaru's place, and another Konoha Genin named Hyuuga Hiryuu has recently filled in for Inuzuka Mimi temporarily, but it will take a while for Team 7 to recover from this loss.
     
    SENSEI:
     
    Name: Nagare Seita
    Member (s): All mods
    Age: 24
    Rank: Jounin
    Missions completed: Unknown
    Village: Konohagakure
    Appearance: Seita is 5 feet 10 inches, and has excellent muscle tone. He is in peak physical condition, which shows.
    Seita wears the standard Chuunin/Jounin flak jacket, with a black full-body jumpsuit beneath. The tight fitting jumpsuit extends up Seita’s neck, and down to his wrists and ankles, over which he wears standard ninja gloves and sandals. Seita has a shinobi belt complete with a belt-pouch, and wears his kunai holster on the upper right leg. Seita wears his Konoha headband loosely around his neck.
    Seita has a high forehead, and lets his silver-blond hair fall down to his shoulders. His eyes are brown.
    Background: Seita had a fairly normal life, becoming Jounin only a year before taking on his first Genin team. He has witnessed sad events with his Genin team, however; his student, Mimi, and her ninken Fang, disappeared two weeks before current time. He lost his other student, Zahimaru, a short time later when he left for Amegakure to train.
    Personality: Seita has become gloomy and depressed with the loss of two of his students, but has promised to himself that he will treat Takeshi, his remaining student, like all three of his students and train him even more vigorously. This may be a way of dealing with his loss.
    A small part of Seita feels like Aster is intruding on Team 7, but he wants to do his best to make Aster feel welcome here, and thus tries to forge a friendship between Aster and Takeshi.
    Seita does not allow his feelings to affect his fighting…most of the time. He is fiercer and more emotional now in battle, possibly to drown his sadness in battle.
    Abilities: Seita is a mid-range fighter orienting himself with water ninjutsu, mainly using straightforward techniques in quick succession to eventually catch his opponent off-guard. Seita often used this to set the field up for his students’ finishing moves, providing a deadly one-two combination.
    However, after the loss of two of his students Seita became more of a close-range “blitz” fighter, using water clones to attack his opponent alongside him and deal as much damage as possible. Because of this less strategic fighting style, Seita leaves many openings for his opponent, which could be fatal in certain situations.
    In terms of weapons, Seita is passable with a katana, wielding it with two hands in a pseudo-kendo style. In the past he never used it much, however, relying on his group-oriented fighting style. Seita uses his katana more often now since the loss of his students.
    Seita has ten tanks of water sealed in the scrolls he carries. The tanks are as tall as Seita himself and the water inside is infused with Seita’s chakra. Seita uses these tanks of water when there is no nearby source of water for his jutsu. However, some of the more powerful techniques that require more water, such as the Daibakufu jutsu, cannot be fully utilized even with Seita’s tanks of water.
    List of jutsu: This list is incomplete, as Seita has many more jutsu that he does not often use, but this list is of the jutsu that Seita commonly employs in fights:
    1) Daibakufu/Great Waterfall
    2) Hahonryuu/Destruction Torrent
    3) Konbi Henge/Combination Tranformation
    4) Mizu Bunshin/Water Clones
    5) Mikazuki no Mai/Dance of the Crescent Moon (note: Seita uses this technique with Water Clones instead of Shadow Clones)
    6) Mizuame Nabara/Starch Syrup Capture Field (Seita used this jutsu particularly often to set his enemies up for a more direct attack from his students; has been using this jutsu less and less)
    7) Mizu no Tatsumaki/Tornado of Water
    8) Mizukuri no Yaiba/Sword of Draining
    9) Mizurappa/Violent Water Wave
    10) Shunshin/Body Flicker
    11) Suigadan/Water Fang Projectile
    12) Suijinheki/Water Encampment Wall
    13) Takitsubo no Jutsu/Waterfall Basin
     
    Less commonly used jutsu:
    1) Bunshin no Jutsu/Illusion Clone technique
    2) Kawarimi/Substitution
    3) Henge/Transformation
    4) Meisai Gakure no Jutsu/Camouflage Concealment
    5) Mizu no Muchi/Whip of Water
    6) Teppoudama/Bullet
     
    GENIN:
     
    Name: Reigan Aster
    Member: Kakumei
    Age: 14
    Rank: Genin
    Missions completed:
    D: 2
    C: 0
    B: 1
    A: 0
    Personality: Aster is a calm person, he is polite and a gentleman. It is unusual for him to be angry or upset. However, when provoked, Aster will typically grind his teeth or bite his lip. He was raised to be quite, and will always do so.
    Unlike his older brother, Aster is an optimist, always looking on the bright side, often saying things like "It could be worse" or "Think of it like this..."
    Appearance: Aster has mid-length black hair and pale skin. He is an average height of about five feet.
    Aster's appearance changed frequently as he arrived at Konoha until he found a 'look' that suited him and the environment he was in. He now wears a high collared black shirt, which hangs below the waist, two sashes with two weapons pouches strapped to them.
    He wears standard black Ninja bottoms and sandals. White tape is wrapped around his ankles and wrists.
    He now also wears his head band on his forehead, as opposed to around his neck.
    Aster's hair has also been cut since he arrived at Konoha, it is much shorter, but still spiked at the back, much like a younger Madara.
    Aster’s original appearance
    Aster's current look (from behind); A (poorly) edited image of young Madara
    Fighting style/skills:Aster is a mid-range fighter, using tricks and traps. In some cases, he will use his monster of a sword Youkou.
    Weapons: Average Ninja weapons [Kunai, Shuriken, Sickles etc]
    Aster carries a scroll on his back which contains both his weapons, his Sword and currently unknown weapon.
    Large sword—the sword's hilt is wrapped in a crimson tape. The guard is silver. It is also thick and heavy. The blade is black.
    Team: 7
    Relationships within team: He is on good terms with his new team mates.
    List of jutsu:
    1) Onikaze No Jutsu - Art of Demon Wind—Allows the user to move at a much larger speed. Gravity around user also lessens, making heavier objects lighter.
    more to be revealed
    2) Senukiyome No Jujutsu - Magic of Thousand Lives Eye
    3) Kawarimi No Jutsu - Substitution
    4) Bunshin No Jutsu - Art of Clones
    Clan: The Reigan Clan's orgins are in Amegakure. Each Generation of the clan chooses his or her own fighting style, this is what makes them so unique. Most are born with Fire Element Chakra however.
    The Reigan Clan's history is long, However, it's Kekkei Genkai is only a century old. It is unknown where exactly it came fro, but Mitcheru, heir of the clan, believes that when on a mission, a few of the women met Uchiha Madara. His newly formed Mangekyou Sharingan was passed down to the next generation, if somewhat weaker. It evolved over time into what it is known as today. The Senukiyome. It is rare to have this ability, only 5 people in the entire clan's history ever have fully awakened it. Mitcheru is one of them.
     
    Name: Ishimaru Takeshi
    Member: Allen Walker: Soldier of Life
    Age: 17
    Rank: Genin
    Missions completed:
    D: 2
    C: 5
    B: 1
    A: 0
    Personality: Intelligent, and brave. He likes to kick back when nothing important goes on, but he enjoys a good sparring match.... at least, that was before Megumi Inuzuka, his girlfriend, and her sister, along with Mimi's Ninken, Fang, had disappeared. Now he's extremely emotional on the subject, and tends to snap when thinking about them. He is more isolated now, often keeping to himself for days at a time.
    Appearance: ht-6'2"
    wt-183 lbs
    skin color- light tan (I would say....Sakura's skin color)
    texture- da *BEEP* sorry.....
    ...I would say smooth...
    hair color- jet black
    hair style- it's combed back, so it looks like the Sandaime's hairstyle
    eye color- dark brown, almost black.
    accessories;
    left ear- an earring with the symbol of the Rock Village (three rock piled together)
    right ear- Konoha symbol earring
    face- he sometimes wears glasses (SUN glasses XD )
    hitai-ate loc- Left ankle (Rock village, not Konoha; thanks to my old profile
    pouches- none; his pockets are big enough to act as the pouches, and are locate on the sides of his shins. shuriken/kunai on his right leg, scrolls on his left.
    clothes;
    chest/upper torso- long-sleeve shirt, black. Ishimaru clan symbol on the back (I have to get that on my Maj, don't I ^^; )
    legs- light grey jeans, reaching his ankles
    feet-standard Ninja sandals
    hands- fingerless black gloves
    no belt
    Fighting style/skills:
    specialty- Dojutsu (earth ninjutsu)
    uses Earth Chakra; currently trying to learn to control Lightning chakra in order to cancel out his weakness
    uses all ranges, but is predominantly a short-range fighter.
    because of the limits to the human body, his strongest techniques are in short-range
    he has no disabilities, allowing him to try out a lot of things, but his affinity for earth has kept him from branching out too far.
    normally uses Taijutsu, and progresses to ninjutsu when the situation demands it.
    weaknesses; his body can only go for so long, like everyone else.
    wind jutsu are his weakness when it comes to fighting. and... he likes the women. He'll try to be chivalrous, more courteous and such.
    special skills; information gathering; thanks to his Kekkei genkai (explained later.)
    Weapons: He has Seki Mugendai, an heirloom in his clan. It is a staff with a weight on each end, stylized to make the entire staff look like a goblin. H normally uses it for mid- to- long range attacks.
    Team: 7
    Megumi Inuzuka (former; location unknown): Mimi and Takeshi were lovers, but she and her siblings mysteriously disappeared from the village, and he has lost all contact.
    Zahimaru Urbaen (former/ training in another village for an unknown amount of time)- they were like brothers, and at the same time, rivals. Takeshi knew he was going to leave, but it struck him deep all the same.
    Sensei - Seita
    Relationships within team: *points) please read the above!
    List of jutsu:
    1) Kawarimi/Substitution jutsu
    2) Henge/Transformation Jutsu
    3) Bunshin/Illusion Clone Jutsu
    4) Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Goblins
    5) Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu/Earth Clones
    6) Doton: Restudo Tensho/Revolving Earth Split Palm
    7) Kuchiyose: Bakemono Meiro! –This jutsu creates a stone wall around the user.
    8) Buin no Enma--This jutsu can transform Takeshi's Seki Mugendai in various ways, including size, length, and shape (Note: Takeshi has not mastered this to its full extent)
    9) Bakemono Seme- Buntai--This jutsu is a variation of the summoning technique; instead of summoning only one goblin, Takeshi summons five smaller goblins that can in turn perform a jutsu of their own (below)
    9a)Obake-Taijutsu: Mini-Tama Danmaku-This jutsu is performed by Takeshi’s goblins. The goblins roll into spheres and roll around, slamming into enemies.
    Clan: Ishimaru Clan- this clan has been around for a long time, and is one of Iwagakure's oldest clans; no one here has heard about it much because they tend to be secretive, and are one of the lesser known clans. Nonetheless, they are a strong, healthy clan, sticking to the clan house. (Takeshi had to take care of his younger siblings and cousins much of the time ^^;; ) their specialties lie in keeping hidden, but also their clan-specific Taijutsu, Yontensuryu (Four points style), which utilizes a firm footing in order to make one's self well defended. Their Kekkei Genkai is the Eichi-Me (Eye of Wisdom). when activated, the user's iris changes to a diamond/ four-pointed star shape, while their eye color most frequently becomes gold/yellow.The Tomoe take the form of Kite-like rhombus shapes, in between two main points of the Iris.
    This doujutsu allows the sense of sight to be enhanced allowing the user to focus on things in their field of vision better. This Doujutsu has four levels. The user's current level of power is indicated by the number of Tomoe. Each power goes on to the next level (EX. lv 4 has all the powers, but each has to be activated separately):
    lv. 1) grants more focus to your field of vision.
    lv. 2) can see farther distances than the normal human eye can see
    lv. 3) allows the user to memorize any document that he/she looks at with these eyes.
    lv. 4) nothing noticeable for about a month after it's achieved level four, but the user eventually gains access to an even stronger version of Eichi-Me, called Go-Tensu Me (Five pointed Eye), which gives the user the ability to see Chakra... it's kind of like the Sharingan, but not nearly as strong... I would say that it focuses the user vision enough to see the particles that make up one's chakra, allowing them to see the flow of chakra outside their opponent, making them appear to have an aura around them. The major downside to this level five is it immensely eats away at chakra, and when is canceled, the user could possibly fall unconscious from exhaustion.
     
    Name: Hyuuga Hiryuu
    Member: .’~Advent Child~’.
    Age: 17
    Rank: Genin
    List of missions completed:
    D: 2
    C: 2
    B: 2
    A: 2
    Personality: Hiryuu can best be described as a daydreamer, content to, for the most part, remain aloof and far away from most of society, being allowed to silently observe what goes on around him. This leads to some people mistakenly calling him lazy, but Hiryuu is anything but. His level of commitment to his friends is nigh indestructible, his loyalty unshakable. He's somewhat well like for being one of the few Hyuuga who has a large amount of disgust for those with a cold or high and mighty attitude, but the usual Hyuuga arrogance tneds to take hold of Hiryuu from time to time, especially in the presence of most Uchiha. His arrogance skyrockets in the presence of his rival/friend, Uchiha Shawn.
    Appearance: Hiryuu stands garbed in a white kimono, left untied to freely flow open, over a black fishnet shirt, and black hakama tucked into white bandages up to the top of his shins. His arms are entirely covered in black bandages for the most part unseeable due to the sleeves of his kimono. The bandages cover ceremonial tattoos, placed on him as a rite of passage when he became old enough to be inducted into a set of young Hyuuga being trained in an ancient style of Hyuuga martial arts, the Mugenken (Infinte Fist) in order to better protect the family bloodline. His almost-black, indigo hair hangs to his feet, and is usually braided in order to keep it out of his way. Black sandals sit on his feet, and a kunai holster sits on his right thigh. His headband hangs comfortably around his neck.
    Fighting style/skills: Hiryuu mainly fights using a combination of the Jyuuken (the Hyuuga stle taijutsu), and the more common martial art, Wing Chun, combining the Jyuuken's precision with Wing Chun's hard hits and great speed. Hiryuu as a whole specializes at short to mid-range, as he prefers to keep his enemy away with powerful jutsu, and tire tem out long enough to rush in, and beat the opponent into submission. He's currently beginning to learn Iaido (The art of the quick draw), to better wield a blade he recently aquired, Amatsuryuu no Tsurugi. He has two chakra types, Water as a primary, and Wind as a secondary, and truly aspires to be an elemental jutsu master, as it's common knowledge that just because a person will do better with jutsus of their chakra type, doesn't mean that they can't use other elements. Hiryuu's especially dangerous using the Jyuuken, as he's double jointed in many places, mostly the joints in his arms (his elbows, shoulders, and index, middle, and pinky fingers are all double jointed.), as well as him having hyper-extending shoulders. Hiryuu's physical attributes are mostly notable for his speed and durability, though his strength is somewhat lacking when not using chakra. His biggest weakness is genjutsu, as despite his Byakugan being able to see through most genjutsu, without it, he has no genjutsu defense whatsoever. He also doesn't have very large chakra stores, forcing him to use devastating jutsu sparingly, or otherwise suffer from fatigue caused by loss of chakra. Finally, he doesn't have many skills beyond taijutsu and ninjutsu, and he's pretty much a sitting duck once his arms are incapacitated. He's moderate at tracking, thanks to his Byakugan, which has far above average optical range, but he hasn't trained himself in tracking beyond the basics, and thus is better suited to lookout or rear guard.
    Weapons: Hiryuu, on rare occasions due to recent training, utilizes a blade called Amatsuryuu no Tsurugi. It is a blade containing an ancient dragon spirit, and will only be wielded by those it deems worthy. It sat in a unused room in the Hyuuga complex until Hiryuu stumbled upon it. It's not particularly spectacular looking at first, seeming like a regular handguard-less nodachi with an ivory sheath, the blade of which is inscribed with "Amatsuryuu no Tsurugi" in appropriate kanji. When unsealed by the wielder, the blade changes, the back edge shifting and expanding to look like fire, and the blade changing from bright silver to deep royal blue. chakra constantly flows visibly around the blade, and the chakra influences the user, causing his eyes to glow a bright blue, and his pupils to become slitted. This, strangely enough, is not visible in Hiryuu, as his Byakugan eyes somehow negates that effect. This doesn't mean he isn't effected, as anyone who can see chakra can see the effect the blade has on Hiryuu's natural chakra. The blade has a final form that Hiryuu has yet to figure out how to unlock.
    Team: Team 9 (temporarily filling in for empty spot on Team 7)
    Relationships within team: Hiryuu only has a passing relationship with Thanan, as Thanan tends to keep to himself. He's more familiar with Slota, and sees him as a friend, though since he's also more often than not off by himself, Hiryuu doesn't see him as a best friend, but more a very good comrade.
    List of jutsu:
    1) Henge no Jūtsū
    2) Būnshin no Jūtsū
    3) Kawarimi no Jūtsū
    4) Hakkeshō Kaiten
    5) Hakkeshō Dai Kaiten
    6) Hakke: Rokūjūyon Shō
    7) Hakke: Hyakū Nijūhachi Shō
    8) Hakke: Sanbyakū Rokujūichi Shiki (Semi-Mastered)
    9) Mūgenken no Jūtsū
    10) Mūgenken Oūgi: Tenryūsho
    11) Kūchiyose no Jūtsū
    12) Bakuhatsu Fuin: Kai
    Custom jutsu:
    Mūgenken no Jūtsū
    A technique that, at first glance, creates a film of translucent chakra with wisps of aura rising off of it over the arms of the user through continuous chakra expulsion. The continuous emitting and focusing of chakra from every tenketsu in the user's arms creates controllable "chakra afterimages" That for the most part follow the user's arm's every move (the after images number from 7 to 10 afterimages on each arm). The afterimages are fully capable of striking and harming an opponent, and the user's arms, as well as the chakra arms are stronger than usual due to the chakra enhancing the strength of the user. Once activated, the technique is usually used in combination with the Jyuuken to achieve maximum effect, and thus has many techniques in addition to this one. The technique has two further stages of strength, as of yet unrevealed. The biggest weakness to this technique is that it's entirely reliant on the user's chakra to remain active, and constantly drains from the user's stores to stay cohesive enough to cause damage, thus, this technique is recommended to be used by someone with either elite jounin level chakra stores, or a secondary/chakra enhancing source. (This technique was used by Hiryuu during his fight with Shawn in the Chunin Exams.)
    -------------------------------
    Mūgenken Oūgi: Tenryūsho
    The full extent of the first form of the Mūgenken, the user channels large amounts of chakra through the multiple hitting hands, using them as "gateways" to expel chakra, then guides it into one palm, creating a massive focused ball of compressed energy, which is then further focused into dragon shape. The dragon shape is used due to the dragon shapes ability to mangle upon first contact, then, as it tears through the opponent's chakra pathways, shred with it's scales, claws, and spines. The user then strikes with the palm at high speed, and releases the focused dragon into the opponent, making no outward injury aside from the bruise from the palm strike, but causing massive damage to an opponant's insides and chakra pathways. The multi hitting ability of the Mūgenken further strengthen's the attack, as it causes each spine, scale, claw, and fang to hit twice. The major downside to this is once again, the lack of chakra, as well as the fact that the attack diminishes in power from the time it's fully formed and solidified to the tim it dissapates. It also bears the weakness of range, as despite the fact that it indeed can be fired off towards an opponent, with no direct connection to the user, it's forced self sustained chakra source dwindles at an insane rate, causing the attack to fizzle out before it can go very far.
    Clan: Hyuuga
  18. Lazzy the Spazzy
    3/12/10 Story Fit Special

    For an explanation of what the Story Fit is, please go here.

    Each week I'll post an exercise. This is the entry for the exercise of the "week" of March 12 - March 23.

    The Task

    Story Fit has now hit the two-month (plus two days) mark, and what with the promise of more active SFers and a minor addition to the system, this is the perfect time to go back and redo any of the exercises you missed!

    That's right, that's all there is to this exercise. You have eleven days (not counting today) plus a week after that to go back and catch up on the exercises you wanted to do. To make this easier on you I have listed the seven previous exercises below. You may click on the links for a more thorough description of the exercises.

    Week 1: Write a story inspired by the word "Transformation".
    Week 2: Incorporate a conflict into your story.
    Week 3: Incorporate a monologue into your story but make it interesting.
    Week 4: Think of the activity you do to dispel Writer's Block then incorporate that activity into your story.
    Week 5: Include a celebration into your story.
    Week 6: Six six-centric tasks to choose from.
    Week 7: Write a story with the protagonist as a person/type of person you hate most.

    ---

    Once you write your story, post here with a link to it. Extra points will also be awarded to those members who review other Story Fit members' stories. This will not only give you practice with writing but also reviewing, as well as promote an exchange of ideas and styles within the BZP Writers Community. Happy writing!



    Writer of the Week

    Each week we vote for the Writer of the Week, based on the popularity of the stories submitted during that week. Whoever gets the most votes wins the award. Without further ado, I present this week's Writer of the Week:

    Grant-Sud, for his six-centric story Sight!

    Each week we vote for the Writer of the Week, based on the popularity of the stories submitted during that week.
    Below is a list of stories that have been submitted within the past week. Look over them, read through them if you want, then vote for your favorite story (send a PM with your vote to me). At the end of this week, I will count up the votes and give the Writer of the Week award [of 3/3/10 - 3/12/10] to the writer who gets the most votes.

    Last Week's Stories

    1) Crimson Crown by Akai Hana no Tenshi
    2) Ignoble Hero by MechaFizz

    Vote away!

    Announcements

    Now for the changes:

    - There is now a two week deadline. You have two weeks to complete a task, or one week after the next task starts (for example, 18 days for this task, 14 days for normal tasks). Full-time SFers are required to complete the exercises.
    - What if you don't have time? Don't worry, sign yourself up as a Part-Time SFer or SFer On Leave: I will be giving further instructions in the PM I am sending out shortly.
    - Take a look at the Story Fit Point Tracking Box...I've added some decorations.



  20. Lazzy the Spazzy
    TEAM 16:
    TEAM HISTORY:
    Team 16 is a new team, having been only formed for a day. However, the team's members got along extremely well with each other, and exhibited great chemistry, completing a mission successfully on their first day together. Team 16 shows the most promise out of the three new Genin teams so far, and has been advancing quickly.
     
    SENSEI:
     
    Name: Yuuhi Tasare
    Member: All mods
    Age: 21
    Rank: Jounin (Genin team sensei)
    Village: Konohagakure
    Personality: Tasare has inherited the laid-back personality of his godfather (and father figure), Nara Shikamaru, though not to the extreme degree of apathetic aloofness. He loves puzzles and other games that challenge the mind, especially Shogi, and holds intellect and sharp wit to be key to shinobi battles.
    Tasare deeply admires his role models, especially Shikamaru, but unfortunately, has picked up negative traits of Shikamaru as well, such as the habit of smoking. Tasare gets along well with his teammates and comrades, and is often the mediator in arguments between friends. He is looking forward to mentoring his own Genin team, but harbors slight doubts about being able to manage as a teacher.
    Appearance: Tasare wears the standard Jounin outfit, complete with green jacket and black clothes. His shinobi sandles go up past his ankles, and his kunai holster is on his upper right leg. He carries a belt-pouch as well, which holds basic ninja necessities as well as a cigarette pack and a small ash tray. His face bears striking resemblance to Asuma's, but his hair is long and shaggy like his mother's, reaching almost to his shoulders. He wears his headband on his forehead.
    Fighting style/skills: Tasare has had Shikamaru’s trait of anticipating enemy moves ingrained into him, and thus his fighting style focuses on reading an opponent’s move and quickly devising a counterstrike against it. Tasare’s mental skills are nowhere near the level of Shikamaru’s, though he has been lauded as sharp for his age.
    Tasare focuses mainly on Taijutsu in battle, although he has a natural aptitude for Genjutsu as well, being able to “sense” when a Genjutsu is being performed on him before it takes effect. Tasare can also throw off enemy Genjutsu with considerably less effort than average ninja, but this does not hold true for higher level Genjutsu.
    Tasare is able to wield Genjutsu expertly himself, capable in all five fields of Genjutsu. He uses Genjutsu often in missions that require them, such as interrogation or infiltration.
    In battle, Tasare often starts with close-range taijutsu, fighting long enough for him to note his enemy’s habits or fighting style, then devising a counterstrategy to render the style ineffective. Tasare hardly ever uses Genjutsu in battles.
    Weapons: Trench knives are crucial to Tasare’s battle style. He learned how to use them from his godfather (who in turn learned them from Asuma).
    List of jutsu: Incomplete list: Jubaku Satsu; Unnamed Interrogation Jutsu; Kokohi no Jutsu; Kokuangyou no Jutsu; Kori Shinchuu no Jutsu; Flower Petal Escape; Flower Petal Dissolve; Magen Narakumi no Jutsu; Nehan Shouja no Jutsu; Katon: Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu; Katon: Haisei Kishou; Hien; Konoha Senpuu; Konoha Dai Senpuu; Konoha Gouriki Senpuu; Konoha Raiken; Konoha Kage Buyou; Konoha Shoufuu
    Clan: Yuuhi; Tasare is considered the same clan as that of his mother, according to tradition, though he holds traits from his paternal clan, such as a natural fire affinity.
    Trivia: Tasare was born on the same day that Uzumaki Naruto became the youngest Hokage in history. His mother was Yuuhi Kurenai, and his deceased father Sarutobi Asuma.
    Tasare’s overprotective mother, Kurenai, was the one who requested that Tasare substitute in as the Academy teacher while Shikamaru was organizing border patrols for the Fire Country. Kurenai hoped that Tasare would get some practice teaching, however Tasare did not, as Shikamaru returned to the Academy earlier than expected.
    Tasare’s Jounin mentor was Rock Lee; it was from him that Tasare picked up his taijutsu skills.
    Tasare has chosen training ground 56 for Team 16.
     
    GENIN:
     
    Name: Sunawara Shizake
    Member: Hydraxon of the Pit
    Age: 14
    Rank: Genin
    Missions completed:
    D: 1
    C: 0
    B: 0
    A: 0
    Personality: Shizake is a laid-back quiet teenage boy that enjoys reading. He has a cool temper and doesn’t let a taunt aimed at him affect his external mood. He doesn’t hold grudges, and is loyal to his friends at the Academy. However, some other students see him as a social misfit. He is respectful to his teachers and enjoys learning from his teachers. He can be rather closed to those he views as annoying. Shizake also tries to treat girls with healthy respect. He doesn’t like fighting girls, preferring to run from a potential conflict with a female. However, when his friends are insulted, he is quick to speak up for them. However, his actions can be rather awkward around girls and makes comments which unintentionally offend them. On the inside, he is calm and collected, this aspect of his personality is also amplified to the outside, which can result in him ignoring people and focusing on details. He enjoys schoolwork, thinking tacticallyzs and plays games like Shougi, and Xiangqi. Some other hobbies of his include rock collecting, drawing (one day he hopes to train under a certain Konoha Anbu that uses his artwork in battle), and building small marionettes to entertain his younger siblings. He would like to join the ANBU in the future. His primary aim is to one day lead his clan and increase its reputation, size and overall degree of influence in Konoha.
    Appearance: Shizake has dark brown, almost black hair.His hair has a small, but noticeable spike in the middle, the hair is gelled upward creating a “dramatic” effect. Shizake keeps it at medium length. He is 5’9”, thin, and agile. His eyes are a golden brown, and he keeps his nose and mouth covered by a black mask. His skin is pale and smooth. The mask is connected to his long sleeved shirt, which is black with a small red spiral on his left sleeve. He wears a dark blue vest with a large neckband and his clan’s symbol adorning the back. Two cream-colored bands criss-cross across his chest. He keeps his chokuto strapped to his back angled towards his right hand. He wears long dark blue pants with a kunai holder on his right leg. Dark metal arm guards cover his forearms. He also has small earrings in both ears. Since his stricter taijutsu training, he has also begun covering his hands with bandages to protect them. Shizake’s shuriken and scroll pouch is attached to his belt, a finely multi-linked silver chain. He wears the standard shinobi sandals. Around Shizake’s neck is a small pendant, which is the Kanji for water, a gift from his parents symbolizing his clan’s affinity to water jutsu. He also wears black weight holders on both his legs (to make him train to increase his speed and let his Body Flicker technique get faster).
    Fighting style/skills: Shizake has above average chakra control and potentially high chakra levels. He specializes in genjutsu and ninjutsu. He has received clan training that assists him in stealth and how to assassinate an opponent with minimum noise. He is also at the beginning stages of his clan’s genjutsu training, as such, he can only dispel E to C level genjutsu. He often starts out a sparring match or battle by using the Hidden Mist Technique before using the Body Flicker Technique to approach an opponent swiftly, to cut short the time spent in hand-to-hand combat. His taijutsu is average, as such; he is working on improving his hand-to-hand combat skill. He lack of stamina; the cause for his taijutsu training, is one of his major weaknesses, as he tires easily during a prolonged taijutsu battle. He possesses his clan’s affinity for water jutsu, and also has an affinity for wind-based jutsu. However, he has received little training in his wind-based jutsu. Another weakness is that he is afraid of letting down his friends or clan, and is afraid of being surpassed by his peers. His cautiousness can also be a disadvantage in a fight that can give an opponent time to gain the upper hand. Shizake has learnt tracking, as well as outdoor survival skills from his clan. He also has photographic memory and is semi-ambidextrous. Although Shizake possesses an eye kekkei genkai, he has not yet awakened it. His has high mental strength, but at this point, he lacks large reserves of physical strength.
    Weapons: Shizake carries a chokuto, a straight single-edged sword (like a katana), made of the same chakra-friendly material as that of Sarutobi Asuma’s trench knives. He has been training with it for the past 4 years. However, he has not yet mastered how to infuse it with his natural chakra and is still only proficient with it in hand-to-hand combat. He uses it for short to mid-range attacks.
    List of jutsu:
    1. Illusion Clone Jutsu
    2. Substitution Jutsu
    3. Body Flicker Jutsu
    4. Hidden Mist Jutsu
    5. Henge/Transformation
    6. Suiton: Teppoudama
    Clan: Sunawara clan. This clan is relatively new and quite small, only having come to Konoha in the past 18 years. It is related to and led by, Ranmaru. Members of the clan possess a kekkei genkai that can create incredibly convincing illusions. However, it does not appear automatically, and must be awoken by a dangerous situation, before it can be used. It is similar to the Byakugan, and allows users to see through solid objects, have night vision, perceive someone’s “life force”, create illusions with chakra circulatory systems, and partially predict upcoming attacks. It can interfere with the workings of the Byakugan and can affect the ordinary vision of others. When activated the eyes glow red. This clan specializes in the art of swift and silent assassinations as well as the study of kekkei genkai based – genjutsu, water ninjutsu, and tracking. Most members of the clan are not taijutsu specialists. Their preffered fighting styles are genjutsus used to immobilize and confuse opponents before using close-range lethal ninjutsus to finish off the trapped opponent.
     
    Name: Mercuto Robert
    Member: Robo
    Age: 11
    Rank: Genin
    Missions completed:
    D: 1
    C: 0
    B: 0
    A: 0
    Personality: Typically mild mannered and lazy, Robert prefers to do as little as possible. Was forced into the academy by
    his father who failed to be a shinobi. His mother and older brother (who were shinobi) died while trying to bring honor to the family, and that is the only reason Robert doesn't just quit. Will normally ignore bullying unless someone is picking on his short size, then he goes berzerk and often attacks the person making fun of him.
    Appearance: Appearance: green hair in a crewcut. Green eyes. One foot shorter than most kids his size. Favorite outfit is a black muscle shirt under a red t-shirt with baggy red pants. Wears black sandels with moss sown to the soles so its harder for him to leave footprints. Has pale skin that makes him look perpetually ill. wears a ring on his right index finger that has the symbol of his clan (A snowflake with a kunai in it) imprinted in it. Wears thin-framed glasses to correct his nearsightedness.
    Fighting style/skills: Specialized in ninjutsu, no aptitude for taijutsu, and stopped bothering to try genjutsu. Particular talents within bloodline are water jutsu. Fights at close and mid range, but cannot fight longrange due to nearsightedness. Small stature gives him excellent agility and maneuverabilty and speed. But, because of small stature, direct hits cause more damage. Robert heals slowly. Has a nerve disorder in right elbow that enhances sensations (pain) in that area to near cripling levels. Able to reduce breathing and heart rate to make himself completely silent. Combine that with his smallness, and he's great at sneak attacks and spying.
    Weapons: A single dagger that has been passed down through the generations of the clan. Whenever a clan member dies in battle with the dagger, a bit of his life essence is imbedded into the blade, making it harder and harder to destroy or dull.The handle is made with a sacred wood that helps focus (focus, not enhance or change) chakra.
    List of jutsu:
    1) Substitution jutsu
    2) illusion clone jutsu
    3) body flicker technique,
    4) [unnamed] Mizugakure
    5) Kasumi Juusha no Jutsu/Mist Servant
    6) Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Penguin
    Clan: Mercuto clan. The clan is small but thriving, but the bloodline is fading with every generation with the exception of the occasional person born with 'whole blood', or, born with all of the traits of the bloodline, like green eyes. No specialized style of fighting, but have a natural tendency to use water justus and have a great aptitude for them. They have an heirloom as well, a dagger that is passed down through the generations.
    The Mercuto Clan originated in Amegakure, in the Land of Rain. It was a very prominent Clan of the village, but was divided during the Civil War that ravaged the Land. The 'pure blooded' half of the Clan remained with Amegakure while the non-pure blooded half fled. It was the kindness of the Second Hokage that saved them, by allowing them to come and live in Konoha. Because of the 'blood-loss', the part of the Mercuto Clan in Konoha hasn't had much skill surface, leaving them in anonymity. In fact, there have been no successful missions completed above C-rank by the clan.
    Trivia: Rob’s birthday is August 21st. Rob’s father is named Mercuto Richard.
     
    Name: Uchiha Ukuru
    Member: Shard Esquire
    Age: 13
    Rank: Genin
    Missions completed:
    D: 1
    C: 0
    B: 0
    A: 0
    Personality: A "punk" of sorts, very disobedient and rude at times, but only on the outside. However, Ukuru is helpful and considerate when need be, and has a strong conscience. However, Ukuru is very gentle and kind with animals, especially the robin who lives on the tree outside his window. Ukuru cannot bring himself to kill, no matter what the circumstances. During a battle, Ukuru is in total focus, to the point of ignoring just about everything arond him. Ukuru is also a very light sleeper. Ukuru is very interested in smithing, and would go into it for a career, if he was not a ninja. He can also
    Appearance: Ukuru is about 5'7". He wears baggy shorts with a belt, and chain down the side, with a black tshirt. Ukuru's left arm and leg are bandaged, like Neji's were, as he had a large tattoo on both arm and leg. The tattoos are 6 black lines intertwining multiple times, with a black rose in the foreground. Ukuru's eyes are the normal Uchiha black. He also has a tan, but it isnt too deep. His skin is smooth, and is tattooed with a thorn band across his upper right arm. His hair is grown straight down, and is very shaggy, going to his shoulders. His hair is also highlighted with dark red, and has is spiked down in the back and bangs. His ninja sandals are like normal, except have the Uchiha Fan imprinted on them. He has fingerless gloves, think Kakashi's, and wears his kunai on his right leg. Ukuru has an extra pouch for his bomb tags, also on his right leg, because he uses them a lot. He wears a greyish jacket on occasion. (Picture coming soon.)
    Weapons/Fighting Style: Ukuru has no fighting style, per se, but fights at midrange. The chain on his shorts functions as a close range whip, and is much longer than it looks. He has Fire Element chakra, and uses bomb tags with special skill. His fighting style is a "Float like the Butterfly, Sting like the Bee" one, and his battles always start with a Bunshin or two for reconnaissance. After the Bunshin, he uses many shuriken and bomb and smoke tags as a distraction. His weaknesses are skilled Taijutsu users and Genjutsu in general. Ukuru has almost no defences against Genjutsu, so he is currently training extra hard. Ukuru can also hold his own in Taijutsu, but is quickly overcome by the likes of Lee. (At the start of Naruto 1, like when he beat Sasuke before the first exam.)
    Jutsu:
    1) Kawarimi
    2) Kage Shuriken
    3) Illusion Clone
    4) Kanashibiri (Temporary Paralysis)
    5) Henge no Jutsu
    6) Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu
    Clan: Uchiha. His father was away on a mission during the massacre, and was spared. However, his father's wife was killed in the massacre. He later remarried and Ukuru was born. Itachi later discovered this and came back for Ukuru, but his parents were killed instead, which is why Ukuru won't kill.
  21. Lazzy the Spazzy
    2/17/10 Story Fit Exercise

    For an explanation of what the Story Fit is, please go here.

    Each week I'll post an exercise. This is the entry for the exercise of the week of February 17 - February 16.

    ---

    We're into our second month now! Yay! And to celebrate, this week's exercise is to include a celebration in your story. This can be the focus of your story or a prop/background, or just a device to propel your plot. Write away!

    Note: Yes, I know it's just been Valentine's Day, but I figure it would be redundant what with people already writing romance-themed stories and Tifosi 92 already hosting a romance-themed story event. If you're up to writing a second story this week, feel free to mosey on over to his blog entry and pay some respects to him for his permanent leave from BZPower while you're at it. =[

    ---

    There is no word limit or any other constraints -- the only requirement is that the story contain this theme.

    Once you write your story, post here with a link to it. Extra points will also be awarded to those members who review other Story Fit members' stories. This will not only give you practice with writing but also reviewing, as well as promote an exchange of ideas and styles within the BZP Writers Community. Happy writing!


    Note: As of now, there is no deadline by which you must turn in your story. This is an issue that is currently being discussed: see bottommost section and respond with your opinion.


    ---

    Each week we vote for the Writer of the Week, based on the popularity of the stories submitted during that week. Whoever gets the most votes wins the award. Without further ado, I present this week's Writer of the Week:

    Rising Moon, for his Monologue Short Story, Soulsnare!

    Below is a list of stories that have been submitted within the past week. Look over them, read through them if you want, then vote for your favorite story (send a PM with your vote to me). At the end of this week, I will count up the votes and give the Writer of the Week award [of 2/10/10 - 2/16/10] to the writer who gets the most votes.

    This week is a special one. Since Akai is the only one who submitted an entry this week, I've also thrown in ~Monday~'s slightly tardy entry, the conflict-themed Fate.


    Last Week's Stories

    1) Vaii Daha by Akai Hana no Tenshi
    2) Fate by ~Monday~

    Vote away!

    ---

    So, it's pretty much been decided that we'll have one task a week, but there's still one issue to discuss: whether or not to have a deadline, and if so, whether to have it one week, two weeks, or other.

    So far we have one vote for a two week deadline.


  22. Lazzy the Spazzy
    You've all heard of the term "___ wins the internetz". I'm usually against using such cliches because overusing these memes tends to downplay the awesomeness of real accomplishments. However, in this case I believe our resident Compulsive Name Changer, Rabid (or My name is a sentence. now) has indeed won the internetz. Congratulations.
     
    Link to post:
    Quoted post below (spoiler'd to save space):

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
  23. Lazzy the Spazzy

    My Grandfather

    By Lazzy the Spazzy,

    It was bound to happen. My grandfather’s health was deteriorating already, mostly due to his constant smoking during most of his life.
     
    Still, it came as a shock when my mom stumbled up the stairs, crying and saying that she had just received a phone call from the hospital/senior center my grandfather was at. His heart had failed during the night.
     
    I didn’t really know my grandfather. He lived in Taiwan the later part of his life; my parents had immigrated to the US, so much of my extended family was still in Taiwan. I had met my grandfather a few times when we visited him or vice versa; on one of his visits to the US, he beat my siblings and I in a soccer game single-handedly.
     
    His soccer skills were amazing. My mom said that during his prime, he had been considered for the National team in China. But during that time World War II started, and my grandfather turned down the offer to become a soldier.
     
    That’s another thing I know my grandfather for. He was a war veteran. He never talked about his experiences in the war (but then again, you can’t really talk about these things, can you?). He must have had very traumatizing experiences in that war and the war after that (the Kuomintang-Communist War), because after the war he fell into habits of smoking, drinking, and gambling. His life went downhill from there.
     
    My grandfather grew up in the midst of war. There was one incident that occurred during my father’s mid-teens. My grandfather’s father was sick and Japan was attempting to invade China. My grandfather had to take his younger siblings with him (he was the oldest) and abandon his dying father in hopes that he and his siblings could escape. From what my mom tells me, one of his siblings was captured by the Japanese. He never heard from him again.
     
    My grandfather’s gambling habits kept my mom in poverty during her early life. He was almost never home at night; playing mahjong and other gambling games and throwing away his money. My grandmother was forced to take a job of her own, and even that couldn’t hold up the slack; some of the debts on my mom’s family still haven’t been paid back today.
     
    My grandmother. She was stubborn, and strong-willed; there were many arguments between grandpa and her. My mom remembers them all too well.
    My grandmother landed in the hospital shortly before my grandfather did; a blood vessel near her brain burst out of stress. That happened about 5 years ago. My grandmother got amnesia, and her health’s been in steady decline since.
     
    For all their fights, my grandfather still cared about her, staying with her long hours in the hospital, and when they moved her, the senior center. He became a permanent resident there several months later; his addiction to smoking had finally caught up to him.
     
    We visited them the winter of 2005; that was the last time I saw him. He looked fine, better than my grandma at least; I was more worried about her life than his.
     
    A year after we came back, surgery was performed on my grandfather. They gouged out a hole in his throat and inserted a pipe into it for respiration. He couldn’t talk after that. I remember thinking how regrettable it was that I could never ask about his war experiences. Now he’s dead. Same difference, if I think about it that way. But I try not to.
     
    He died two days ago; the senior center he was in dumped his body in a mortuary. He doesn’t even have the money for a proper funeral ceremony. My mom doesn’t know what to do. She’s going over there in two days.
     
    My grandfather was a failure at most of his things in life. He smoked, drank, gambled…was never around to take care of his children. He was the cause of money problems for my mom’s family, the reason why my grandmother had to struggle so. Still, he’s my grandfather.
  25. Lazzy the Spazzy
    Now that my entry for the IDBM Contest #3, the Everflight, has made it all the way to the final poll (to be honest I'm really surprised; I thought I might make it past the first round if I was lucky), I'd like to share the ideas behind my entry.
     
    When I found the topic in the S&T forum (it wasn't that hard since it was pinned), I thought "why not, I'll try it out". I've participated in a few contests here at BZP but the only ones I've ever stood a chance in were the story writing ones. But I had experience making profiles in the RPG forum so I thought I'd see just how far these RPG skills would take me.
     
    I brainstormed a bit and looked at the picture provided for the contest. There wasn't much info to go on, so a lot of it was up to our own interpretation, for which I was glad.
     
    A few points I noticed about the picture:
    1) The bird had wings for blades. That was the most prominent aspect of the picture, however, so I figured lots of participants would write about that. Sure enough, a quick check through previous entries yielded lots of results when I entered 'blade' into the Ctrl+F function. So I decided not to write about its wing-blades.
    2) The bird's color scheme, red and yellow. A bit bright for a bird living in the desert, so I thought it might have originated from somewhere else (Bota Magna perhaps?). In the end, hoping to keep my entry simple, I left out that detail.
    3) The bird had no claws. This was strange, but the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea of basing my entry around that. A bird that doesn't have claws, can't land on the ground, so has to keep flying in the air..."Everflight". I knew of some species of sharks that swam while sleeping, so I took that aspect and borrowed for my concept.
     
    The process:
    Making the profile was fun. I enjoyed every aspect of it, though in retrospect I should have let the idea sit for a while and then return to it. That might have led to improvements.
     
    The polls:
    As I mentioned earlier, I didn't expect to make it so far. The first round was close so I figured I'd be creamed in the semifinals round. I was pleasantly surprised to win the second round (thanks for all the votes!), but I'm struggling in the final round, which is to be expected.
     
    In retrospect:
    I should have made use of the word limit, filling out the entire profile and cramming in as much info as possible. The Everflight had only the "uniqueness" factor going for it IMO, so against a particularly well-thought out entry like Hot Pants's, it lost its appeal.
     
    Thoughts:
    There's still chance for a comeback, so I'm hoping for the best. If I lose though, I won't mind: the Cave Shrike was a really cool entry which I voted for twice, and I'd be content with it being the canon bio for the bird.
     
    Conclusion:
    If you haven't voted yet, go vote! However, please vote for the entry you genuinely believe is the better of the two.
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