written by ru

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New October Event!

Sinderview: Damian Review: Fate/Zero

UIntroducing our first annual event: This is Halloween! Every October we will be hosting a series

of contests and events galore with the theme of — you guessed it — HALLOWEEN! While each year won’t be exactly the same it will always occur during the entire month of October. But what will this lovely event entail, you ask? That’s a great question!

Our primary focus will be on our forum wide event known as, “Murder Mystery: Sinful Supper.” The cast — DSA’s very own staff — all represent the sinful suspects who were invited to a dinner party gone wrong. They all have their reasons to have a murder spree, but which one is the one who committed the deed? Or was it a group effort? It is your job as the handy dandy detective to deduce it through our clues! These can be found throughout the forum during the entirety of October and every day the clues locations will change.

First place winner will get a downloadable Sinful Supper poster drawn and signed by Ru! They will also receive the Sherlock Award plastered onto their profile to show all they were indeed the

first to find all of the clues and figure out the killer. However, don’t get discouraged if you don’t get first! All members who figure out the killer will receive a Sinful Supper poster, but only first place will get the Sherlock Award. After finding a few clues you will also be rewarded the Watson Award for all members who manage to find enough to be eligible.

Murder Mystery: Sinful Supper is not the only bit of This is Halloween occurring! The EVERYTHING Competition will commence as normal with a special theme for the month (yet to be announced). Our first Recruiting Contest where you have a chance to win prizes, such as an Amazon gift card! The details for that contest will be announced once October comes rolling along. Murder Mystery, TEC, Recruiting Contest, Costume Contest, and more! October is definitely the month to be active on DSA.

Don’t miss out on our awesome events! It’s sure to be a scream.

Yes, I really did just go there with that pun.

Good morning ladies and gents! On this cold and early morning, Sin gets to sit down with none other than Damian Itami! During this session of the Sinderview, we’ll be delving into the mind that is he. Alright! Let’s get started, shall we?!

First off, I want to thank you for taking the time out to be harassed by me! The staff, and members, all appreciate it! Without further ado, let’s get this thing rollin’!

So, one of the questions on my mind since the MotM came out, as well as I’m sure other members’ too, is who exactly is ‘Damian Itami’?

“Damian Itami is a soldier in the United States Army, a roleplaying character, and a crazy guy that has spent the past 20 years religiously watching anime.”

Ooh, a man in uniform! Have to admit, the thought is riveting. Speaking of the United States Army, what caused you to join? What is your title and/or field?

“Honestly, what got me to join was how mad I got over 9/11 and the videos of terrorist beheading American journalists because they refused to convert to Islam and were “Infidels”. That was back when I was in high school and had plenty of time to hear everyone saying “we should do this” or “we should do that”; and

halloween preview event image by ru.

Okay, so before we begin, this series is a prequel to Fate/Stay Night. So, if you care about spoiling some character’s identities, you should probably go away.

This time, we’re going into Fate/Zero. Based on the light novel of the same name, Fate/Zero takes place in the 1990’s, ten years before the

events of Fate/Stay Night. This series pits seven people known as mages against each other in a war to earn The Holy Grail. Accompanying the mages are their Servants: heroes of history and legend — real and fictional — summoned to fight in their stead. They fall under one of seven potential classes: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Assassin, Caster, Rider, and Berserker. The main goal is to eliminate both the Masters and the Servants while protecting your own; using knowledge that you gain throughout the battles to learn the identities of enemy servants and exploit their weaknesses by doing so.

This thing is filled with politics and backstabbing; as well as choreographed fight scenes; and epic

orchestrated pieces that can make anything sound like a great battle to be remembered throughout the ages. Solving the mystery of which servants are what heroes from history and legends is half the fun of the show, although some names are more hidden than others while some are given away outright.

But if you want a series filled with battles, deceit, and grandeur, this one’s for you.

fate/zero; dsa does not own this.continued on page 3

written by sin

SEPTEMBER 2014 NEWSLETTER

written by mr. scarlet

«««««««««¸

halloween event preview image by ru.

damian’s avatar

The EVERYTHING Competition“The smell of roses floated into his nose as he sat there staring at a

picture of him and his beloved. Her bright red hair, and those glorious bright green eyes haunted his dreams. She was the love of his life and she had left without him. To a place that he wasn’t ready for yet. Though as he felt the spectral arms fall onto his shoulders and embrace him he made his choice. “I’m coming my love, I’m coming.” He said as he opened the drawer and pulled out a pistol. “We’ll be together again.” What followed next was a loud bang as blood splattered onto the picture blotting out the man’s face.”

—enaz

The winning entry for The EVERYTHING Competition #2 with the theme of LOVE! Congrats, enaz. Make sure to hit up Ru with what you would like her to draw for you, since you also won the super, duper secret BONUS RU REWARD! Lucky you, right?

Winning in a landslide with 75% of the votes! That is definitely something to be boasting about.

We hope you, and all of our other lovely members, will join in on The EVERYTHING Competition #3 with the theme of... DEATH! That’s right, everyone. Time to flip the scales completely from a positive theme to a very sad one.

Keep in mind, this is however YOU interpret the word! Death of a loved one? Losing in a video game? End of a friendship? You decide! Submit all of your entries to the ever so lovely Mozaic who eagerly awaits to receive them all.

Same rules and restrictions apply to this one just like all that came before it. You can find all of these guidelines within the topic itself located in our Competitions section.

Not only that, but we have a BRAND NEW CONTEST! That’s right, kiddies. This month Mozaic is introducing our latest Flash Fiction contest. All you have to do is write a story using the prompt below in 250 words or less:

“On a rainy night a woman walks into a bar. She is drenched from head to toe. Where ever she has come from it appears she was in a hurry to leave. With her last bit of change she orders a drink….”

Just like The EVERYTHING Competition, all submissions are to be PMed to Mozaic!

The deadline for the Flash Fiction contest is October 4, 2014 and the deadline for The EVERYTHING Competition #3 is September 30, 2014! So get to submitting your entries before it’s too late.

Next month you will be seeing a plethora of new contests and events thrown your way, so stayed tune!

http://thonosject.host.sk/138.html

Featured: Kishi

Not everything is what it seems. In the land of myth, and legend this is something to be extra cautious about. Be very wary of pretty things.

In Angolan myth there is the Kishi, a creature with two faces. On one side of its head there is the face of beauteous man, but be warned, on the other half, hidden beneath ebony locks is the face of a monstrous hyena with razor sharp teeth.

In its human form it is able to use sway words and its attractive appearance to lure women into its clutches. In one legend I found, in Carol and Dinah Mack’s A Field Guide to Demons, three sisters fall victim to these master seducers.

Deciding one day to push their luck, three sisters wandered into the hills beyond the river. Going past the village’s end was dangerous, they knew, but curiosity got the best of them. They were unaware of what truly awaited them.

Up in the hills they discovered a house. As they drew near the Kishis watched from within, waiting for them to arrive. Dressed up in fine wear, hair combed to hide their beastly faces, they welcomed the girls inside. They treated the sisters to a meal, but the youngest, and perhaps the wisest chose not to eat. She sensed there was something not quite right about their hosts.

After dinner the Kishis played music for the girls, and when all the festivities had ended they were shown to the rooms they would sleep in.

Then as they were left alone, and the house became still the youngest

written by mozaic

continued on page 3

Elements Updates

Z

AKELEAThe barbecue still commences! Not much has occurred in the relatively quiet Akelea otherwise. Anastasia and Lamonte continue to discuss heroism.

Maybe we shall have a masked duo in the making! Or... two people crazy enough to stand up for justice against big, muscular men. Foolish? Brave? You bet the judge.

On the other side of the picnic tables sits Sertheon, Ben, and Nate as they talk amongst each other. Okay, so it’s mostly Sertheon and Nate talking while Ben tries to pretend to sleep; or whatever he does. Idle chit chat is exchanged in the group as Sertheon attempts to denote whether or not Nate is worthy to be in their ranks. However, before much more of a discussion could be had Ben interjects, inquiring if Sertheon and himself should find lodging for the night. Time sure flies when you sit at a bunch munching burgers.

CALOREIn Calore the group still awaits the for the goddess’s reply. What will she have them do? Will they agree? The suspense thickens!

ESTERMALLOWAfter Myrica gathered some herbs with her companion they pay a visit to the circus to see if any of the crew needs medical attention. On her way in she

spies the men arriving from the silver pods. She asks one of the circus members to show her to Parasca to which he reluctantly accepts.

INIMAThe battle continues in Inima as Ludvic, his sons, and Borzafnik try to subdue the creature that has invaded the village. Borzafnik is able to injure it while

also learning there is intelligence within. Ludvic pulls him away as acid pours out of it, but the creature will not go down so easily. In order to keep it from moving he puts his trust in Borzafnik who uses his psychic ability to delve into the creature’s mind, hoping to care it into a standstill.

In the meantime Talia, Okas, and Pasha watch from above.

LILIAOddsiu the Lamia joins the Save the Children cause led by Adira as they attempt to thwart the Grand Laboratories fiendish schemes. For ease, Cronos

teleported the group back to Lilia, however his calculations were off thanks to Mortimer constantly hissing in his ear. Instead of landing by the labs they landed

�

Z

continued on page 3

Elements Update Continued

Sinderview: Damian Con.I got sick of watching the world fall apart on CNN... [I] decided I was going to stand up and try to make a difference on my own. I am the kind of person that finds it much more satisfying to bear the scars I receive standing for what I believe is right than to stand idly by as evil men do their work.

For the past seven years I have been an Information Technology Specialist in the United States Army in the rank of Specialist. I build, maintain, plan, engineer, and secure military and government networks. All for a measly $23,000 a year, but I’m not in it for the money. I’m here for everything else: the experience, the travel and the comradery.”

Well, I must say that on behalf of myself, my family, and DSA; thank you for everything that you do to defend this country and our lives. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate you and everything that you do and stand for. You say you travel in the Army, where all have you been?

“I’ve been here and there. New York, Georgia, Virginia, Alaska, Iraq, Kuwait, Ireland,

and Germany.”

You mentioned that for the past twenty years you have religiously watched anime. I’m sure that you have come across one or a few that you have adored; what happens to be your favorite?

“A favorite is very, very hard to determine. There definitely seems to be some that stand out more than others in every season, but some have stories that stay with the heart for quite some time afterwards. If I really had to be made to choose a favorite it would have to be Samurai X. It’s an old one, but a good one. In only 4 episodes they managed to tell a deep a story of love, death and betrayal I have never been able to find in any other anime after it.”

Let’s get into the nitty gritty of the forum now. How do you feel about being awarded September’s Member of the Month? Were you shocked when you logged on to find out it had been you?

“Actually, I was pretty shocked. This is one of those things I never really expected to ever win simply because I’m not all that great of person. I tend to be kind of sarcastic a lot and mean sometimes. I have been trying to change that about me recently though. Maybe it’s working and I haven’t noticed, but it makes me feel happy to win. I don’t win things very often. I mean every time I go to a casino my wife has to go behind me and win back everything I lost.”

Aw, well, if it matters I think that you’re a decent human being! I’m glad that you were awarded MotM! I notice that you post a lot in the Casual Lounge games, what happens to be your favorite one?

“Either Casual Lounge or Serious Discussion are my favorite places to post. I’d like to engage with the members more and get to know everyone better and try to get back to the social person I used to be like 10 years ago.”

Have you joined any past competitions? What about the new EVERYTHING competition and flash fiction contest? If you haven’t already, do you plan to submit anything for them?

“I have entered past competitions and have tried entering others. Coming up with stuff isn’t as easy for me now as it used to be. My creativity died long ago and I’ve been doing what I can to get it going again. I want to enter the current [EVERYTHING Competition], but the words for my entry aren’t coming together how I want to so, even as we speak, I am referencing some material to try and inspire me. I usually use music to do that but sometimes I come across books or anime that give me that spark I need to create.”

Now, we just have a few more questions and then I promise I’ll leave you to your games! Speaking of games, what got you started with streaming your gaming online?

“To be a dick. I stream my World of Warcraft raid group’s raids every Sunday and Monday night; providing all my viewers with our vent chat and stupid talk. Some our raid members even have fans and are really confused why they get random whispers in game from random people about our raids. I streamed our raids for about 4 months before I told them I was doing it. They all got a good laugh out of it and the random whispers started making sense. Sadly I had to stop a few weeks ago because our internet changed and we have less bandwidth, so I get too much lag in the raid to stream.

continued from page 3

Kishi Continuedsister told her elder two she had seen the Kishis other faces. “They will surely eat us,” she warned, “we need to go.”

So in a haste the sisters climbed out the window, and made their escape just in time. Behind them the Kishis had set the house ablaze hoping to roast their meal.

When all had become ash the Kishi searched to no avail for the bodies of the three sisters. Realizing they escaped they immediately began to pursue them, hoping to catch them before they made their way back into the village.

While all this happened the sisters had arrived at the river only to find it had risen far too high for them to cross. Seeing this they climbed up into a tree. The Kishis, now enraged, spotted them, and warned them they would never escape. With their hyena faces no longer hidden they pushed, and shoved at the tree causing its branches to shake.

The three sisters, frightened, knew they would soon fall. Above them the youngest sister saw an eagle flying in the air. She offered it chickens if it would save them. The eagle agreed. It picked up the youngest sister first, and dropped her onto the other side of the river. When he came for another sister, she was too heavy, and she fell into the river’s current. As for the last sister, the eagle arrived too late. The tree gave way, and she fell into the arms one of the Kishi. And, as such legends go, she was never heard from again.

continued from page 3

in Shadows’ Lair and on top of an innocent fire Elemental no doubt. Not much apologies are exchanged before the group is off to their next venture with Odd sticking close to Adira, the only other reptilian. Trados urges them to quit discussing and move forward, everyone steadily making their way to their original destination. Will the group make it inside in time to save the children?

continued from page 2

I still stream other things like when I play Hearthstone, Minecraft, Battlefield, Pokémon, Dead Space or really any other game I play on my computer.”

If you could change one thing about DSA for the better, what would it be?

“Change about DSA? I guess it would be the fact I have noticed this huge lack of a web comic I was promised some time ago. Or, you know, maybe somewhere that an update on that might appear. Is the web comic still happening?”

The web comic is currently on hiatus due to the current situation with Ru’s computer. She’s supposedly getting a new one soonish, so hopefully with that; she’ll be able to start it up! As we come to an end with this Sinderview, is there anything that you would like to say to the readers?

“POST MORE! I feel lonely sometimes when waiting for other people to post things. You don’t have to [in] the places that I post, but post more. Post everywhere. Post until the post button stops working and the internet breaks. Also it would be nice to see more than 3 entries in the contests. ENTER CONTESTS! I plan on doing it too. I will peer pressure you into submission if I must! ENTER CONTESTS! POST THINGS!”

Posting things is always good! And I agree with the submissions to the contests, ENTER THE COMPETITIONS, PEOPLE. RIGHT MEOW.

Well that’s all for today, guys! Always remember, if a question isn’t asked during a session that you wish to know, feel free to PM Sin with them and she will incorporate them in the future! I’ll be seeing you all next month and I anxiously wait to learn who my next victim is! Oh, did I type that aloud? Oops!

photo of damian itami