Also viewable in creative corner but I thought it'd paste a copy to my blog as well. Gather round ye newbies and listen...
Back in 2014 when I first joined the most popular forum games in Downtown were the likes of Guys vs Girls, Members vs Staff, Playing Matchmaker and Rate the Signature all of which are still going strong today, there was also Rate the Avatar which is now defunct. I can't remember exactly when I started posting forum games myself but an early hit was Invent a Title for the Person Above You and another was Battle of the Avatars. Initially Siks didn't seem to be around much but toward the end of the year he was definately the most prolific poster on that section. Meanwhile the popular chat threads of that time were The Rep Machine, Random Facts About Yourself and the Random Thoughts thread. (Personally the first of those three is something I've always disliked both then and now but I'll leave that debate to another time.) Regulars in Thoughts and Facts included the likes of Zulera, Nachthexe, Lestari, MisstheMarx, Serah (queen of cookies and sparkles), P.K. and Kaptain Johnson with the list for Rep Machine being quite similar.
2015 - Year of the family.
The year 2015 saw an influx of new Downtowners such as Meg, Griffin, Gelid Phantom (gone but not forgotten) and Liono as well as a reappearance from Miss Devil who had been on hiatus for the past year or so. Combined to existing members like Siks, P.K. etc. the new arrivals made the game section in that year pretty hot and active. It will probably come over a bit narcissist but games I remember most in this time tend to be ones of my own like King of the Hill and Hurt or Heal: Superhero Edition. Another popular new game however was G's Roll High which is still going today.
In the chat sections things were changing too. It all started when GoldenMyth posted the first ever RPA Family thread. What started out with the question "who are your family on rpa?" soon morphed itself into a form of roleplaying leading to all sorts of random madness. In the early days of the thread there were so many active members that really it's impossible to try and remember or list them all though early names included the likes of Kicks, DC, DR, Van, Meg, Siks, Koti, Minerva (back then known as Hatter or Masque), P.K. and Wolfy. Probably the person who took the roleplaying angle to the furthest extent was a member called DracoDecathalon who was always teleporting off on world-saving quests or trying to draw other family members into his anime-related missions. Over the year the thread ended up getting deleted a couple of times meaning the current thread at the time I write this is actually the third one it's had. Also over time the in-character element steadily died off to the point it became more like a normal chat thread which is how it is now. One knock-on effect when the Family thread started was that some of the previous most popular threads like Random Thoughts and Random Facts went pretty dead.
2015 also saw a revival of the Join A Club section led by Miss Devil with her Ladies Lounge and Devil's Canyon. The Ladies Lounge was a curious entity in the regard it was also open to men and in fact after the first 10 or so pages it felt like there were more men in there than women though I must say I didn't post a lot in there myself. Another well used club-thread was Checkmate run by Hayabusa, Sinderella, Karma, Juicesir and Kiki. I never actually posted in there myself but from the outside it looked like it was the close friends of Haya, Sin et al who most often frequented it.
Early 2016 was when Miss Devil decided to give the game section a renaissance and I think in that time she must have posted about 50 new game threads. Meanwhile her Ladies Lounge got revamped as The Lounge. Early 2016 also saw the Water Wars: Snowball Edition, an epic multiplayer game that ran 24/7. As of right now the Family thread has dropped a long way from it's heyday of activity but as of now it and The Lounge are both still going along. What will the rest of 2016 and future years bring to Downtown? Who knows... but hopefully I shall be around to see it.
Here we are again, caught up in the business of RPA April, but not too busy to miss out on these great folk! Check out our lovely Member Interviews for the month of April!
First off on our interviews for this month, we have the recent MoTM,
Gumbo!
1. What's your favorite book?
I would say...The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I've always loved that book.
2. If you could be any character from a movie, who would you be and why?
Hm....I have no idea.
Maybe Rey from Star Wars the Force Awakens.
3. Shark diving, bungee jumping, or sky diving?
Sky diving probably. I'd hate bungee jumping, and I don't like the ocean.
4. How did you meet your best friend?
I don't remember. I think we met in our scout troop, but I'm not sure. They may have been a friend of a friend.
5. If you were going to the movies alone, what movie would you go see?
Hm...right now? If it's for movies out now I'd go see Hardcore Henry. That movie looks awesome.
6. What is something you've always wanted to try, but have been too scared to?
Act. Being in theater would be cool, but I'm shy and I don't think I'd be very good.
7. What is your favorite season?
The summer is great. You can have ice cream and go into pools without people looking at you oddly.
8. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
A big dog would be cool. But like, a big fluffy dog that thinks it's a lap dog.
9. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
Veronica would be cool. I don't know why.
10. What movie makes you cry every single time you watch it, without fail?
I don't think I've ever cried at a movie, but Avengers Age of Ultron makes me cry tears of disappointment and rage, so I guess that counts.
I hate that movie
Our next member is a newbie, but quickly making their name around RPA-
Holden!
1. What's your favorite book?
My favorite book is probably RANT, by Chuck Palahniuk. Same guy who wrote Fight Club, all of his work is golden.
It's really a gift. Plot synopsis is boy with rabies learns how to use wrecking cars to time travel. That was a lotta spoilers. Because none of the book hints to any of that until the last three chapters. Also written entirely in the style of an oral interview? Absolute anomaly, I rate it 20/10.
2. If you could be any character from a movie, who would you be and why?
If I could be any movie character, I think that I would be Henry Hill, from Goodfellas. Movie about a bunch'a mobsters. Very sketch. Really, it's not because he's especially intelligent or talented. Truly, he has absolutely nothing going for him.
But for as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.
3. Shark diving, bungee jumping, or sky diving?
Oh my good golly, shark diving. Always shark diving. Because a) the ocean is my absolute favorite thing in the history of ever and b) sharks are probably just really cuddly lovebugs who need more understanding. Do I have any evidence on that statement? No. Am I willing to go find out? Awwww yisssss
4. How did you meet your best friend?
Well, public interview format, this is something of a personal factoid. I'm not entirely sure how we became best friends, it was all very strange and convoluted. In essence, we had both heard of one another through my sister. And in light of her insistence that we get acquainted, we both decided to never, ever meet each other, ever.
Eventually, she pulled the old bait-n'-switch, and took him to my place of employment while I was at work. We were mutually devastated. We then didn't speak to each other for at least a year, whereafter we both started ending up in all the same places and watching movies and generally attempting to one-up one another, and now he's introduced me to this very website. Small world, isn't it?
5. If you were going to the movies alone, what movie would you go see?
Probably something embarrassingly boring, to be honest with you. When I'm alone I watch Blue Planet and no one makes fun of me and I learn about coral reefs and everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.
6. What is something you've always wanted to try, but have been too scared to?
I have always wanted to get into a fistfight. I have no idea why, I really am a pacifist. Like, I wouldn't even fight back??? I think no one ever needs to hurt anyone else, because everyone is doing their best.
But, in that same vein, I really wanna get suckerpunched. One good time, to say I did it.
7. What is your favorite season?
Springtime is my very favorite season. Winter is so long and cold and sad and it gets me sick and snows me into places. Very sad. And then spring arrives!!! And things turn colors and birds come out and life is lovely once again! Bonus: spring thunderstorms. Glorious.
8. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
I would have a sloth. Sloths are cute. Sloths are precious. In the wild, sloths occasionally mistake their own arms for tree branches and end up falling to their tiny sloth deaths. That's a horrible factoid. They require love and protection, and I will provide it.
9. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I've always kind of felt like I'd make a nice "Jay Gatsby," or perhaps "Holden McGroin." Never could choose between the two, though.
10. What movie makes you cry every single time you watch it, without fail?
Man, oh man, don't you dare make me watch What's Eating Gilbert Grape? I will cry. I do not cry prettily. I will sob incessantly. I will cry you an actual river. It's too much for me.
Now to hear from a beloved member who's been around the site for a couple years. Don't let the name fool you, it's
TheBarbarian
1. What's your favorite book?
This is a complex question. My go to answer is usually "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss however I don't know if that is necessarily true. I guess it depends on what you mean by favorite if it's a single piece of near perfect art (to me) it would be "The Name of the Wind". However if it's something that has the most effect on me as a person it would probably be the Harry Potter series as those books definitely affected my early moral development on a deep personal level. Yet if were talking about something I return to read again and again when I'm feeling down then it would probably be "The Lies of Locke Lamora" or any of the books in the Dresden Files as those are always reads that make me happy. So yea those are my answers I guess.
2. If you could be any character from a movie, who would you be and why?
Probably one of the nameless student extras from Harry Potter. I would never want to be any of the golden trio or even an important side character but being one of the students from Hogwarts I could still do magic and live in the magical world without constantly having to fear for my life or having the whole world rely on me which would be too much pressure. Though if I still had to have all of my memories about the real world then I might choose some film whose world is set in the real world 70s or something and have myself buy some stock in Apple and Microsoft before they're big .
3. Shark diving, bungee jumping, or sky diving?
All three would be cool to do someday. But in the near future sky diving might be in the cards for me anyway so that I guess.
4. How did you meet your best friend?
My mom knew his mom and brought me along to their house one day. I brought along my favorite animal toys and shared them with him. Thus a 15 (and counting) year friendship was born.
5. If you were going to the movies alone, what movie would you go see?
I mostly go to see movies alone. Infact I very rarely go see movies with friends. I've always loved the opportunity to think about and develop opinions about the movie on my own before sharing those with anyone. Anyway a movie I super enjoyed seeing by myself was "The Witch" went to see it twice and the second time I took notes I was so ennured by it.
6. What is something you've always wanted to try, but have been too scared to?
I really don't have anything like this. I mean there are things I have not done yet but nothing I want to do someday am I necessarily afraid of. There are things that I don't want to do that I am afraid of like, I don't know touching snakes or something, but everything I really want to do I do. Fear is the mind killer after all.
7. What is your favorite season?
Autumn for the colors and whether. Summer for the memories. Winter for the art I make. Spring for the art I publish.
8. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
Ferret. I've always wanted one since I was small. Their super cool animals and so dam cute looking.
9. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I would never change my name. I was named both for my great grandfather and the Viking explorer Erik the Red which I think is pretty cool already. However if I had to change my name to anything it would probably be something more palatable to English speaking audiences as that might help sell the books I hope to publish someday better. Even then I doubt I would ever do it.
10. What movie makes you cry every single time you watch it, without fail?
Nothing. I mean there are movies that make me sad but I have a hard time crying during them. Plus for me everytime I see a movie it loses some of it's emotional impact so that sort of consistency would be very rare for me. Still "Return of the Kings" ending makes me sad mostly every time as does the ending to the movie "Her". There is a scene in "Inside Out" that's pretty sad that I remember that I wanted to cry at but physically couldn't even though I tried.
Wait, what?! Another new member?! That's right, here is the up and coming,
Nephele!
1. What's your favorite book?
I could never choose a single book. :-) I like Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, historical novels, and some fantasy novels (such as Eragon).
2. If you could be any character from a movie, who would you be and why?
If I could be any movie character, I would be The Little Mermaid, Ariel. I admire her amazing singing voice and determination to fulfill her dreams.
3. Shark diving, bungee jumping, or sky diving?
Sky diving, because the total freedom of just hurtling through the sky would be incredible. The view would be pretty spectacular as well.
4. How did you meet your best friend?
I met my best friend online, through a popular reading and writing site. We hit it off immediately and have been close friends ever since.
5. If you were going to the movies alone, what movie would you go see?
I would go see Captain America: Civil War, because I am a huge Captain America fan. I would go see that movie even with others.
6. What is something you've always wanted to try, but have been too scared to?
Falling completely in love with someone, without reservations.
7. What is your favorite season?
Autumn, because that is when my birthday is and I love all the leaves as they change color. In addition, I enjoy the cooler temperatures.
8. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
I would be boring and still say a dog. I have a toy poodle and she is the sweetest and most adorable thing ever. I wouldn't trade her for the world.
9. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I would change my name to Nephele.
10. What movie makes you cry every single time you watch it, without fail?
This one is tricky. I'm not a crying person in general, except when I'm beyond upset about usually something personal. Fiction does not always affect me that strongly.
Time to visit an older member here at RPA, our favorite Cyber Knight-
Holeypaladin!
1. What's your favorite book?
For a stand alone book, "Ready Player One" is good. As far as series go, "Dresden Files" is absolutely amazing. If you, the reader, haven't read Dresden Files yet... do it! Now!
2. If you could be any character from a movie, who would you be and why?
I guess I'm gonna go with Thor, because he's awesome and because he doesn't have trouble getting dates.
3. Shark diving, bungee jumping, or sky diving?
Haven't done any... but jumping out of an airplane sounds really fun. I'm not a good enough swimmer to swim with sharks, and bungee is basically sky diving lite.
4. How did you meet your best friend?
What best friend? When I meet one, I'll let you know
5. If you were going to the movies alone, what movie would you go see?
Probably the batman vs superman movie or something equally awesome.
6. What is something you've always wanted to try, but have been too scared to?
Asking a girl out on a date count?
7. What is your favorite season?
We don't have seasons where I live. So I guess Winter, since we don't have winter here and snow is cool except it doesn't snow here.
8. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
I want a caracal. Or a fennec. Or maybe a savannah cat. Google them if you're unfamiliar.
9. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I'd leave it blank. That way I can go around saying "Hi, my name is ...." and be telling the truth.
10. What movie makes you cry every single time you watch it, without fail?
I don't remember the last time I cried at a movie. This question is hard. Real men aren't supposed to cry... right?
And last, but most certainly not least. The amazing, awesome, glorious...
Price! 1. What's your favorite book?
Hmmm....I have so many! Hmmm...The Giver, followed closely by Swiss Family Robinson.
2. If you could be any character from a movie, who would you be and why?
Easy! Mace Windu! I get to be Samuel L Jackson AND have a purple lightsaber!
3. Shark diving, bungee jumping, or sky diving?
Bungee jumping! Preferably over a canyon.
4. How did you meet your best friend?
We met online through RPA!
5. If you were going to the movies alone, what movie would you go see?
If Deadpool is still playing, I would go see that. If not, Jungle Book or Zootopia.
6. What is something you've always wanted to try, but have been too scared to?
Bungee jumping!
7. What is your favorite season?
Baseball season!
8. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
A wolf!
9. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
Michael
10. What movie makes you cry every single time you watch it, without fail?
Bridge to Terabithia
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