Another one bites the dust!

Happy new year!

And to our friends celebrating
birthdays recently--namely
Prince & Xeno--hope it was great!

Look back with understanding...
look forward with hope.

love,
Chyna

REPLAY: Winter Solstice Parade

This holiday season has been reminding me a lot of our game-winter & our awesome Winter Solstice celebration. Every player & character participated in the weeks-long event. It was really great. So I went back & pulled out some of the most creative stuff written during that time. This segment was inspired by Prince, who did a good chunk of the writing. Solstice Parade was meant to represent a lot of the "shadow tribes" around our city, bringing them together in a colorful riot. See if you agree!

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The Winter Solstice Parade

The announcer takes her seat at a building's high window looking down on the street. Stacy speaks into a microphone that booms her voice up and down the street.

Welcome to the first Winter Solstice Parade, brought to you by Tom-F Enterprises. Tom-F himself is the Grand Marshal of the parade today! Let's give a big hand for the man responsible for this great Solstice Celebration! I'll be your announcer for this occasion--so let the show begin!

And here they come, guys! The parade's starting!

There's Tom-F, but hey he's walking. What happened to the carriage? And my list says that should be Hawk "the heroine of the AK War" with him--who is it? Oh, ok. Guys, that's Tom-F and the blonde with him is Jade, the girl who worked like crazy to pull all your Solstice entertainment together! Let's hear it for Tom-F and Jade!

Ok, behind Tom-F we have the Fort River Marching Band. Dressed in sparkling red and blue uniforms. Hey, they look great! Listen as the band of 30 plays 20 different types of instruments!

Next is the float for Tom-F's Casino. Look at the show-girls dance! And that amazing golden cannon--blasting goodies outto the crowd! What is that, candy? Damn, wish I was down there! Anyway, be sure to stop by all of Tom F's fine establishments including the clubs and casinos. They're open 24/7 during Solstice!

Next we have...hmm. Ok, here's a little something for the guys--Madam Mona & her girls! Aren't those costumes great? Well, colorful anyway. Maybe a bit cold for some of those--is that girl at the back turning blue? Anyway, look for them in Tom-F's Casino!

Hey, look--it's Blood & his boys! The rebels with motorcycles. Word is they'll connect with the band Tribal Thunder for a song 'n stunt show later this afternoon. You'll definitely want to check that out!

Look in sky! It's a tribute to those amazing Birds that kept us safe when they helped us out in recent rough times. Wherever you are, Birds, you inspired these giant kites! Everybody give us a special hand for The Birds of Prey—We thank you!

Stacy pauses, making some hasty notes for the next Fort River News. The kids on the street below cheer the floats and scramble for the candy and other goodies being tossed into the crowd. Stacy puts her hand over the mic and shakes her head at the guy sitting beside her. "This is great & we're not even half done. Who in the world came up with this stuff?"

They flip! They bend! They stretch--and can you say "ouch"? Does that hurt? Wow, Guys, they're absolutely amazing! Yes it's the Fort River Acrobats! Flexibility is no factor for this bunch. Watch as they perform tricks, tumbles and twists that we can only dream of doing.

And here comes the outstanding Flag Team! Holding those poles and flags high, representing the symbols of our most well-known and loved tribes from across the city, as well as our allies in the recent battles. Hey, be respectful, guys! Some of those tribes were...well, were wiped out in all the fighting. They gave their all for Fort River. May we continue to stay united and strong!

A hush falls over the crowd as Stacy's words sink in. The kids don't necessarily want to be reminded, but they remember the Vixens, Manglers, Lost Boys and other tribes who were literally erased when the smoke cleared. The last flag through is a small Brotherhood banner. No one boos...

Ok, enough sadness already. Is it just me? Do I hear more than one time of music mixed? Yeah, I thought so! It's the Folk Dancers with an arrangement of choreographed worldly dances. Lots of fancy footwork, tradition, and fun! They'll be performing later near the river promenade. Hey, this is our heritage, guys! If we don't learn it and remember it, it all just disappears!

You've seen them earlier--on the beach, on Merchant Street, and wherever there was a crowd gathered. They continue to put smiles on our faces--The Clowns Tribe! Hey, the Clowns always know how to get a laugh from kids of all ages with their jokes and silly antics! Give them a big hand--better yet, a big laugh!

Now here's one you definitely don't see every day, Guys. Straight out of the wild life! It's "Kingdom Kid Critters," otherwise known as the Zoo Tribe. Led by King Safy & Queen Katara, they remind all of us to love animals and take care them! This is truly one of the most exotic floats in the parade today. Look closely, and you'll see the most largest snake of all being carried by three tribe mates!

My list says the next float is courtesy of Shadow and The Way! They certainly look like they're having a lot of fun up there! And hey--more candy! Do we have any dentists left in this city? Haha! Anyway, be sure to stop by The Way booth on Merchant Street or over on the beach. Find out what all the excitement is about.

The Puppet Master is here! Now this is really cool, Guys. How in the world does he control those three very large giant puppets at once? It's freakishly amazing! They look like actual humans...you sure they're not? Scary! See you later, Puppet Master!

Last but certainly not least--They're the most colorful bunch you're gonna see during the whole Solstice. Give a big round of applause for The Painted People! Some painted up as leafs and flowers, and others as the sky and constellations! Truly a sight to see! Is it body paint? Tattoos? Do we care? We just love their beautiful body art and silent dramatic poses. Each and every body tells a story!

That's it, Guys! The Winter Solstice Parade! Thanks to every one who participated! We love you!

I've been asked to remind you all that Blood's Bike Show starts in an hour on the beach near the bandstand. And for all you lucky VIPs, the private lunch at Tom-F's club will start in 30 minutes. There's music at the bandstand, great food and drinks at the booths, and game of chance under the Blue Cabana. Still a lot of Solstice left to celebrate, so don't go home just yet! Happy Solstice!

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-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Merry Tribal Christmas

I always thought it was a shame "The Tribe" never dealt with Old World holidays. There was a definite lack of environmental details, even though a good chunk of filming was done outside in all kinds of weather. We might have seen a bit of rain here and there, but I don't remember ever seeing snow. And ok, I understand that. By not allowing us to focus on the weather or the seasons, they kept our attention squarely on the characters and the plot.

That's where I think our game takes "The Tribe" a step farther in a really good way.

The game began in the fall season. We've had falling leaves and crisp nights that slowly changed to winter and snowstorms.

We shyed away from Christmas, but that had more to do with our group of players being so diverse, we weren't sure how--or if--we wanted to deal with present-day religious themes. Instead we celebrated Winter Solstice. It was a great party!

I was re-reading the Winter Solstice posts today and thinking how far we've come, with our game & our friendships. I value both a great deal, but the friendships most of all.

All of which is just a build-up to say "Merry Christmas" to my Tribe-family. If I tried to list you all, I'd be sure to miss someone ... besides, you know who you are.

I will send a special holiday thanks to my fellow owners/moderators -- Prince & Manmod & Rio & Xeno.

To Sid and Ransom ... gone but not forgotten ... Merry Christmas.

To all our players and members and readers and visitors, happy holidays.

God bless us, every one.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe," from the Tribeworld archives

I'm not a doctor, but I play one on tv!

I'm chuckling as I write this. It seems funny to me, to have to say what I'm about to say. But it appears there's a real need to remind people!

Here's the thing:

Don't confuse the Player with his/her Character!

It's amazing how peoples' attitudes are shaped by what they read. Honest, guys -- if a guy character is a scumbag in the game, that really doesn't mean the player is a scumbag! Same with a girl character who's got loose morals. Or the character who's mostly a bad guy, or even a good guy.

Hehe... makes me wonder if the actors who portrayed all our favorite characters in "The Tribe" had the same problem. Did people think Meryl was really the bitchy "Ebony"? Or that Caleb was a drunken womanizer like Lex was in Season-2? Hmm...

Anyway, this is just my reminder to our players: Don't judge another player by the character he or she creates for the game. Because if you expect the real-life me to be mirror "Villa" or even "Jade," I guess you'd be disappointed!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

CHAOS 'n lovin' it!

Our "Keep the Dream Alive" rpg has run into some interesting situations the last couple of months. Hehe...mostly because there are so many of us now!

Those of us who've been with the game since its 1st year, we're used to a small number of active players, which equals a handful of characters who were close & collaborative. We kinda had to be "close and collaborative" if we wanted any story development at all.

But now?

Ahh, my friends. KTDARPG has more players -- and more characters -- than we've seen in 4 years of playing!

It's total madness & I for one am lovin' it!

It does present some challenges though, so here's a bit of advice for my rpg playmates:

1) Watch for your tags! If you let the action get away from you, you might never get it back!

2) Keep your eye on the quiet ones. I've been finding out that still waters really do run deep, and it's been the quiet players lately who've most surprised me with their creativity & spark of madness.

3) Read as many of the posts/threads as you can. That's the only way you'll keep up with the subtleties & get clues to what's coming up next.

4) Read each week's game summary. If you can't read all the posts, it's a good way to at least keep the broader story straight.

And lastly...

5) Have fun! Try new ideas, new characters, new plots. If you're worried something might be out of bounds, ask a Mod. There's usually one around somewhere.

There's a river of creativity running through our players these days. A good many of them are "Tribe" fans & that makes it even more fun.

Come check us out!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe" and used on our game home page from time to time