Sign Up Weekly World News

[Shy]

[indent][center][img]http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/4152/ww9fh3.jpg[/img][/center]
[size=1]For those of you unaware, [u][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekly_World_News]Weekly World News[/url][/u], “Earth’s most important news source” will be ceasing publication at the end of this month. To honor the memory of this once-proud beacon of journalism I have decided to launch a new RPG on OtakuBoards!

In preparation for Weekly World News I have created several banners. Each one contains a headline to a story you would probably find in the publication.[/indent][center][img]http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/1162/ww1pk5.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/8886/ww5nh8.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/2546/ww6wv7.jpg[/img][/center][indent]
[b]The Story[/b]

As you can see this tabloid is home a variety of strange and bizarre stories, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. [b]In this RPG you will be playing as reporters and photographers for Weekly World News.[/b] You will be investigating Bigfoot sightings, government conspiracies, alien abductions, and any number of strange things that might be of interest to your readership.

Unlike our world, the publication in the RPG is immensely popular. One more thing: [I]Everything printed in Weekly World News is absolute fact[/I]. This is the story of people who report on the strange and bizarre, how it effects their lives, and vice versa.

[b]Sign-Ups[/b]

Rather than a traditional sign-up I’d like to ask for something different from the community: [b]Come up with three original headlines for faux news stories.[/b] These can be about anything, and the only limit is your imagination. No experience with journalism is required (in fact, it’s probably preferable) so just come up with the wackiest headline that you can.

[b]Those who come up with something interesting and unique will be accepted in the RPG and then asked to create a character[/b]. Those who do not... well, at least you only had to come up with a single sentence, right?

Even if you’ve never even heard of WWN I think this project is something that can appeal to all kinds of players. Please post your questions, headlines and/or comments here. [b]Sign-ups will end in about two weeks.[/b]

-Shy[/size][/indent]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]Teenage Alien Pervert Apprehended; Parents Mortified.

Moron 'Grip Reaper in Training' Slashed by own Scythe, Bleeds to Death!

Jimmy Hoffa Found In Six States![/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]"[b]Optimus Prime arrested by NYPD for DWI!![/b]"

"[B]Jesus sues Dan Brown for slander!![/b]"

"[b]Devil in paternity row with Oprah Winfrey!![/b]"[/SIZE]

[Blayze]

[B][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]"Scientists Discover Dr Pepper Is Elixir Of Life!"

"Godzilla Re-Locates To Lebanon After Japanese Government Sues For Damages!"

"Saddam Hussein and Elvis: Separated At Birth?"
[/FONT][/B]

[Sandy]

I [I]so[/I] have to give this a try!

[quote][CENTER][B]Identical Twins Born On The Opposite Sides Of The Planet[/B]
[img]http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/02/twinsGR210206_450x300.jpg[/img][/CENTER][/quote]

[quote][CENTER][B]Insight Interview:
[size=3]Day In The Life Of The Loch Ness Monster[/size][/B]
[img]http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-06/01/xin_010604010641277377715.jpg[/img][/CENTER][/quote]

[quote][CENTER][B][size=5]Black Sheep:[/size]
"There Were Bits Of Wolf Flesh And Fur Everywhere!"[/B]
[img]http://www.contemplayshuns.com/Assets/images/black_sheep.jpg[/img][/CENTER][/quote]

[Warmside]

[COLOR="SlateGray"][B][SIZE="2"][I]Eight Gallons of Semen Found in Stomach of Rod Stewart; 'lol,' says world.[/I]

[I]Ghost of Giant Pterodactyl Spotted Near Grand Canyon; Old Man Jenkins Suspected.[/I]

[I]Eight Thousand Crushed to Death by Overweight Gamers Swarming to Toys R' Us to Get Advance Copy of 'BioShock'; 'No big deal, it was mostly women and children and nerds,' says Irrational Games Spokesperson[/I][/SIZE][/B]

Well, there it is...[/COLOR]

[Aberinkula]

[I][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Ressurected King Tut Arrested on Pyrimid Scheme Charges

Spider-man Cought in Web of Lies! Gilrfriend has Affair With Sandman;[B] 'I didn't mean to cheat on him,'[/B] says Mary Jane

South Dakota Women Gives Birth To Anti-Christ; [B]'The labor was hell!' [/B]says Mother[/COLOR][/FONT][/I]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"][B]Chuck Norris dies of flu - internet explodes![/B] [I][SIZE="1"]see /b/ pg. 4[/SIZE][/I]

[B]5 Easy ways to make all our base belong to you![/B] [I][SIZE="1"]see Health pg. 14[/SIZE][/I]

[B]Bill Gates revealed to be orange in man costume. Steve Job responds, "This Explains a lot."[/B] [SIZE="1"][I]see Technology pg. 976[/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Shy]

[size=1]Great work guys. I'm glad to see some interest in this project so far, since I have a lot of fun ideas for where to take the stories.

So um... yeah. Keep 'em coming. I'm finding these really entertaining.

-Shy[/size]

[Kei]

[size=1][color=darkblue][b]Batboy Finally Finds Love — With Dolphin![/b]

[b]Holy Burrito! — Jesus Appears in Mircowave[/b]

[b]Man Implants Cell Phone in Brain, Dies in Elevator From Lack of Reception![/b][/size][/color]

[Yoshi]

power pop trio champions extraterrestrial rights

hedge fund death cult harvests entrails to read market futures

wormsignin gobi desert

[Shy]

[size=1]Okay. The following players have been accepted into the RPG! I'm feeling generous![indent]Nuevoxraiha
Premonition
Gavin
Yoshi
Blayze
Kei
Sandy

Sadly Warmside was not accepted due to his sign-up not really following my thread rating. Let that be a warning to everyone else, I suppose. This is a [PG] RPG and it will stay [PG].[/indent]

Now that you've been accepted [b]I'd like to ask that each player create a brief character description for the RPG in this thread[/b]. Each one must contain the following:[list][*]Name
[*]Age
[*]Profession ([i]Reporter, Editor, Photographer, etc.[/i])
[*]Area(s) of Expertise ([i]Cryptozoology, UFOs, Elvis, Religious Prophecies, Conspiracy Theories, etc.[/i])
[*]Physical Description ([i]No pictures, please![/i])
[*]Brief History and Personality Description[/list]

[b]Name:[/b] Liam Schuster
[b]Age:[/b] 23
[b]Profession:[/b] Junior Reporter
[b]Area(s) of Expertise:[/b] Science.

[b]Physical Description:[/b] Liam is of average height with short dark hair and a slender build. One of his eyes is green, while the other is blue. Most people don’t even notice, but this is something Liam is extremely self-conscious about. More often than not he will dress casually when on the job, going for jeans and a t-shirt unless the situation absolutely demands it. Liam isn’t necessarily unattractive, but his pale complexion and average size make it difficult for him to capture the attention of the fairer sex.

[b]Brief History and Personality Description:[/b] Liam Schuster is the only child of a renown Boston publishing family. Sadly Liam did not inherit his parents’ gift for language, and he found at an early age that his true calling was science. This greatly disappointed both his mother and father, but they were generally too occupied with their careers to try and persuade their son to do otherwise. With few friends Liam spent most of his free time following his passion, and he developed a keen analytical mind. Matters dealing with the supernatural have never been of interest to Liam, nor does he believe in anything that can’t be explained by science.

Liam was accepted into several prominent universities after high school, but his father refused to pay for the tuition unless he become a Journalism major. He refused, and instead tried to support himself by working odd jobs through his education. Sadly, this added stress of working was too much to balance with his studies, and Liam was dropped from his university in the middle of his third semester.

With few alternatives Liam has decided to apply for a job with the Weekly World News, hoping that his father’s name will get him in the door. Liam has never read the publication before, but he feels that earning a regular paycheck will be better than going back to his parents for help.

Liam is a intelligent, headstrong and extremely naive. He believes he knows how the world works, but in almost every situation he is proven wrong. Few have any trouble getting along with Liam due to his friendly demeanor, but more often than not his so-called “friends” take advantage of him at every turn.

- - - - - -

Sign-Ups are now closed. [b]The Weekly World News Underground[/b] will be created shortly, so look forward to that for more information about the RPG. I hope to have it launched by Friday.

Thanks again!

-Shy[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Name: Loren Fignon

Age: 36

Profession: Editor At Large

Area(s) of Expertise: Cryptozoology, Conspiracy Theories

Physical Description: While her profession on her business cards is listed as 'Editor At Large,' the Weekly World News' top editor is actually quite diminutive. Of mixed European and Asian descent, Loren has some of the better features of both races. Creamy olive colored skin, black almond eyes, dark brown hair, and slender build. An ectomorph as a result of genetics, Loren is annoyed by the fact that while she is only 5'2", she has huge hips. Perhaps she'll eventually spring for that hip reducing surgery she was told about by a colleague last week.

Brief History and Personality Description: Not a journalism major, Loren started out her career as an intern that was often made to edit her boss's paper's which eventually began to garner attention when actual results were achieved. From there it was a relatively simple process of playing the gender card as well as using her actual talents to claw her way to the top of the proverbial ladder as it were. And now that she's there, some of her bigger character flaws have been revealed.

Loren's ego is rather big, perhaps as an overcompensation for her short stature. She also has an unfortunate habit of talking down to people beneath her that have the slightest inclinations towards attitude. Be that as it may, Loren hasn't succumbed to the usual 'female in charge' tendency to spend her time destroying other women in the work place and she does do nice things for people every now and then... ...she just won't take the credit for it and does it generally in secret.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Aberinkula]

[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"][B]Name:[/B] Jonathan (Jon) Griffon
[B]Age:[/B] 28
[B]Proffesion:[/B] Reporter
[B]Area(s) of Expertise: [/B]Conspiracy Theories, Celebrity Mishaps

[B]Physicle Discription:[/B] Jonathan is a somewhat-tall man, with a light build. Jon is part Irish and part Japanese, a combination which is somewhat rare in his place of work. His hair is light orange and long. Jon wears shorts a lot, and usually he wears an 'insult T-shirt.' Like the stereotypical Irishmen, Jonathan likes to drink til he's drunk, so he wears beer hats quite often. His favorite Budweiser hat is autographed by a rock band near his home town. he has grayish blue eyes, and pale skin.

[B]Brief History and Personality Description:[/B] Jon's career started when he worked as a normal reporter for a loval news program. His claim to fame: his mom was in the paper for aledgidly stealing lingerie from a Victoria's Secret store. Sadly, he was the one who had to do the reporting for the whole case. But a local paper decided he would be good enough for tehir magazine. weekly World news hired him to work for them. Now he spends his time wtih his beautiful girlfriend, whilst climing the promotional ladder at his workplace.

Jonathan is a bit eccentric at forst, but once you get to know him, your stuck with him until you die. Jon is a joker, but he is also a great friend who will help his buddies in time of need. A good friend bails you out of jail, but a best friend is in jail with you. And that friend is Jonathan. However he can be clueless at times, luckily he will catch up.[/COLOR]

[Yoshi]

[b]Name:[/b] jack jones
[b]Age:[/b] 18
[b]Profession:[/b] Year Round Summer Intern
[b]Area(s) of Expertise:[/b] divine interventions (miracles and their counterparts). cowboys

[b]Physical Description:[/b] jack is prematurely graying (not balding). he is of average height with a rather non-descript build (mostly because he wears his shirts one-size too large giving him a ridiculous farmer's tan should he ever remove is shirt). if he ever did wear tailored anythings, people'd notice that he really has... well a non-descript build somewhat toned from walking and biking everywhere freshman year, but also on the verge of a beer-bellied freshman 10. being the intern, jack always dresses casually when on the job except when 'borrowing' other people's clothes when occasion calls. jack really doesn't remember if he's attractive and tends to err on the side of safety and assume he isn't. and he's usually wearing his prized possessions- spurs, lasso, and shiny star.

[b]Brief History and Personality Description:[/b] jack goes to prominent university founded long ago by religious figures to teach preachers.

he's crafty and a rabid fan of cowboys, he plays a mean harmonica and somehow has the knack for the lasso. he has also mastered the art of college cramming. he just accidently absorbed the wrong book in the old abandoned college church...

as a result, jack doesn't quite remember his family history, all he knows is his hair is going white now and that the lawsuit pays his tuition (maybe it was a scholarship of god). despite his possibly holy stipend, he found himself in dire need of emergency expenses for books and shiny things... ...he also found himself in the middle of a dark cult masquerading as an innocent hippie commune, intent on sacrificing students to cthuulic entities deep in the bowels of the earth.

luckily, wisened world wide news reporters managed to get that headline, rescue him, and get a new summer intern: jack.

jack doesn't really understand what he's gotten into, but its better than dark gods and earth bowels. besides, now he gets a chance to people watch... the irony of the greatest miracles being the most prevalent and disappointing always tickles him as do the irony of 'the paper' and its truths.

he's a dry, peppy kid at heart: a huge fan of stories, irony, puns, and pretty things. he's a curious packrat who teeters between talking too much and being too quiet. as a veteran intern he hopes he'll get the intern glock and that he'll get valuable experience, give him college credit, and let him see more of the sacred and profane all while adding to his growing collection.

and he hasn't decided his major...

[Blayze]

[B][SIZE=1]Name: [/SIZE][/B][SIZE=1]Alexander "Alex" Mason
[B]Age: [/B]27
[B]Profession: [/B]Head Photographer
[B]Area(s) of Expertise: [/B]Cryptozoology, UFOs
[B]Physical Description: [/B]Alex is an often scruffy-looking character, usually unshaven (he shaves every couple of days, but it just seems to grow back at an alarming rate), with light brown hair messed into short, tousled spikes. His eyes are very light blue, but his pupils are often somewhat larger than normal, perhaps due to a lack of sleep. He dresses in a smart-casual style, usually opting for wearing a t-shirt and jeans with a suit jacket (his dark-grey pinstriped one is his favourite), and his preferred shoes are a battered pair of black-and-white Converse All-Stars (easy for running after potential shots).

[B]Brief History and Personality Description: [/B]His whole life, Alex has been interested in the existence of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and all those other so-called "mythical" animals. He used to study information about them on the internet for hours, becoming convinced that they did truly exist.

His other passion was photography, and the two seemed to collide rather happily (if a little coincidentally) when the Editor of the Weekly World News saw an article where all photography had been done by him in his college newspaper. The Editor was impressed, and hired him immediately - he has now become a well-known face around the office, having been part of the team for almost ten years now. He is also one of the top Photographers on the team, able to get a shot of anything from anywhere.

Alex is a relaxed, laid-back character, but when the opportunity for one great picture comes around, he will do anything to get it, and that means [I]anything. [/I]However, aside from his occasional outbursts, he is usually good-tempered and well-liked by the rest of his team.
[/SIZE]

[Sandy]

It's finally up, yay for that! Here's what I have to offer:

[CENTER][B]*Name*[/B]
Eowyn "Moongold" Rivendell
[B]*Age*[/B]
59 years
[B]*Profession*[/B]
Photographer
[B]*Areas of Expertise*[/B]
Strange Weather Phenomenons, Ghosts, Occultism
[B]*Physical Description*[/B]
She still dresses up like she did in her youth as a devoted hippie: her long grey hair is suspended by a headband, her skirts and blouses come in all imaginable colors, and she always wears round purple sunglasses. Her face is wrinkled, but she says it's from all the laughter she has done in her life. She's still quite tall, lean and agile for a woman of her age.
[B]*Brief History and Personality Description*[/B]
She was born as Allyson Johnston to a middle-class family in the small town of Beauville after WWII. At young age she got interested in fantasy literature and supernatural phenomena. Her parents didn't approve, so when she was fifteen she left home on a van filled with carefree hippies, starting a life filled with adventures.

She changed her name into Eowyn Rivendale after her favorite book series, fell in love with three fellow hippies and had seven beautiful children. Later in life she found the art of photography and started capturing strange events into film. She gathered a whole collection of pictures of ghosts, wanting to prove that they do exist. She didn't meet either of her parents until her father's funeral, where she appeared in a ceremonial procession with her three lovers, seven children and other friends. Needless to say, their attendance didn't last long, and the only thing her elderly mother said to her was: "How dare you?"

Years passed, and Eowyn suddenly found herself left all alone for the first time. Her lovers had either deceased or disappeared, her children had left home and gotten proper jobs, and all her hippie friends had settled down and gotten married. She needed to do something to sustain herself, so she marched to the Chief Editor of the World Weekly News with her photos of ghosts, and got hired in an instant.

In ten years she has grown to be the grandmother figure of the whole newsroom. And despite her age, she doesn't even dream of retiring.[/CENTER]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"][b]Name:[/b] Spencer ?Spence? Fulbrook

[b]Age:[/b] 23

[b]Profession:[/b] Freelancer currently affiliated with World Weekly News.

[b]Area(s) of Expertise:[/b] UFOs/ETA [Extra-Terrestrial Activity] , TDA [Trans-Dimensional Activity] and other paranormal events.

[b]Physical Description:[/b] One of the most recognised images accompanying photos of extra-terrestrials is the G-Man, the government agents who?s sole purpose is to cover up the presence of aliens on Earth. Apparently aliens appear more than happy to comply with these individuals, so as such Spence has worked out that the best to contact his subject matter is to emulate the dress of the G-Man.

To those not of the ?biz? Spence looks like an undertaker, black suit, white shirt, black tie, dark sunglasses and accompanying hat, all worn together, at all times. In terms of physique, Spence stands just over 6?1? with an average build and unusually pale skin. His dark brown hair is cut to expected government service standards as to complete his disguise. His eye colour is unknown to all except himself and his family, as he will under no circumstances remove his sunglasses.

[b]Brief History and Personality Description:[/b] Spence was always attuned to the true nature of the world, one of the lucky ones who realise there?s far more going on around them than the government wants them to know about. By age thirteen he had successfully accumulated thirty seven separate photographs of G-Man activity in the locale of his hometown after a supposed ?rogue comet? crashed in the desert approximately a mile outside the town. It is a widely held belief in the town that the site of the crash is actually a landing site for alien refugees.

Moving out of the town at seventeen, Spence pursued work as a freelance journalist in areas known to have high ETAs, DTAs or other paranormal activities, while much of his work was seen to be of the normal standard supplied by thousands of other journalists across the world, in fact Spence was attempting to score the big hit, actual proof of Extra-Terrestrials here on Earth. Unfortunately he was stymied at every turn by government intervention, much of which was too indirect enough to offer him definitive evidence that would allow him to prove the government was attempting to stop him.

Six years later, Spence is currently free-lancing for the World Weekly News service, seeing their goal to provide the unabashed truth as being worthy of his investigative skills.[/SIZE]

[Kei]

[color=darkblue][size=1][b]Name:[/b] Naomi Jergunson
[b]Age:[/b] 22
[b]Profession:[/b] Reporter
[b]Area of Expertise:[/b] Paranormal activities

[b]Physical Description:[/b] Standing about 5'10", Naomi has a sturdy build. She keeps her course brown hair pulled back from her face with a headband, either a chocolate brown band or a black, lace, scarf-like tie. Her eyes appear to be black when first spotted, but upon closer inspection, one is able to tell that they're actually a deep brown. Overall, she seems very plain compared to most women her age.

She will always wear some form of flared leg jeans, though her choice of tops range from black printed T-shirts to pale yellow V-necks; the colour depends on her mood in the mornings. She also always wears a sliver pendant around her neck that doubles as a watch.

[b]Brief History and Personality Description:[/b] Naomi is the oldest child in her family, having a younger brother and a half-sister. Originally from Louisiana, she moved to South Carolina when she was four years old after her mother married her step-father.

Lazing her way through a fairly below-average school system, Naomi found herself more and more interested in trivia shows and the local news. Combined with her mother's vocally-expressed interest in the paranormal, it wasn't long before she began flipping her way through the Weekly World News when she was old enough to help her mother shop at the grocery on the weekends.

Fascinated by the amount of odd things there were to see in the world, Naomi became a devout reader, making it her goal to one day discover paranormal activity on her own and inform others just as she had been when she was younger. The world needs more people to tell them what's going on when they're not looking.

Naomi is relatively quiet by nature, not wanting to talk unless something has caught her interest. As she always focuses severely on her work (or whatever she happens to be doing at the moment), she is quite easily startled. Combined with the fact that she is relatively timid, she comes off as a meek soul, but can produce a surprising amount of force when she wants something (i.e. an interview, a story idea OKed).[/color][/size]