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It's Time For a Love Story!

Started by Florence, April 17, 2013, 05:31:09 AM

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Florence

First and Foremost, a note: I want this rp to open to all orientations and genders of characters. Ideally, I'd love to have a little of everything, and tons of variety. People are varied and different, and I'd love it if this rp could reflect that.

So I've been watching sappy romantic anime and Asian dramas, and it struck me with the intense need to do a sappy romantic rp. I figured this would be the best spot since, ya know, sex is a part of romance, and I'd like to be able to explore whatever happens. That said, this is definitely not going to be an rp where sex is the focus. So I've been thinking on the best way to put this rp together, and have it be something more entertaining than just "lets see a bunch of characters make out." I think the general appeal in great love stories is often in seeing how they not only explore relationships, but the nature of love, and sometimes even being human, and just how important love is to the human condition, and the power it wields.

SO. With that said, here's the idea. The setting of this drama is the near future! If you look around you right now, most things in this setting are largely the same. However, new discoveries in smaller, faster computer electronics has given rise to a host of new technology. People who don't mind a bit of surgery can have an implant that allows them to wirelessly access the internet with their mind, imposing a UI over ones normal vision. The implant contains a hard-drive to download and install data, as well as a small access port, easily concealed by hair, to upload data to other machines through a local connection, though wireless transmission is also possible. Robotic prosthetics have also advanced to the point where they're on par with natural limbs in virtually every manner. Prosthetics superior to natural limbs do exist, but are expensive and new, and largely only in use by the military. Humanoid machines, called "Dolls" are now also available, essentially serving a variety of functions, including acting as personal computers. These dolls were initially created by a Japanese robotics company by the name of Eien Heavy Industries, but are now commercially available under a number of different brands, including all the leading computer electronic companies. Mini-Dolls, small, pocket sized models, are also available, largely sold by companies that previously specialized in mobile phones.

Now, despite what all of that may sound like, I do NOT intend for this to be a cyber-punk rp. It has the cyber, but not so much the punk. Perhaps, I would say there are cyber-punk elements, but again, I wish the focus to be on the drama and the romance, the connections between the various characters. Cyberpunk has been a great genre for exploring what it means to be humanity, and I would like to use elements of that in this rp. But I do not intend for this to be an rp about cybercrime and cyborg ninjas and prosthetically enhanced super commandos. Instead, this rp will be about normal people. Regular, every day people, living in this world of advanced technology, with dreams and hopes, and flaws and regrets and problems and heartaches and desires and urges, like other normal people. These people will have flaws, some serious, perhaps others not so much, and through this rp, perhaps we can explore just how much love can erase, or perhaps if someone who is broken can be loved at all. Perhaps the question asked will be 'what makes humans special'? What is the measure of a human being? Perhaps we'll simply ask just what this illusive thing known as love really is?

The exact questions asked, and the answers provided, I leave up to you, the players, but I want the stories told in this rp, and I hope there will be many, to hold to one or more of the following themes: 'flaws in a world of mechanical perfection', 'the nature of humanity in a world that blurs the line between man and machine' and 'the nature and power of love'. I don't want everyone making the same general archetypes either, so feel free to think outside the box, ask yourself how your character will fit into this world, and these themes. I want different characters to have their own love stories, and ideally, the stories will all criss-cross and mix and match as characters not only find love, but friendship and hatred and rivalry and all the many other relationships that make our lives what they are. Also. Given the setting I feel I should request that everyone try to avoid making their character a superhacker for the sake of it. I don't mink hacker characters as long as it works its way into the themes, but I'd prefer if not everyone in the cast is just some epic super awesome hackers for the sake of it.

So on to the rp! The exact setting will be New York City, the focal point being a fictional bar called Home, a clever name, chosen largely to allow its regulars to use the line, 'Looks like its time to go Home.' The crowd varies pretty heavily, and its located in a pretty diverse area. That's not to say all, or even more of the rp will take place at the bar, but its the one location every character will have in common, though obviously other characters may have other locations in common.

I'm not quite certain which section to put this in, though, as honestly, I don't want to limit anything, but I do feel like, all in all, it'll probably lean towards the vanilla. That said, I can see how non-consensual stuff could lend to the drama and thus further the story and themes. Also, as for character sheets, I'll post one of my own, but I won't require everyone to utilize the same sheet. I also encourage people to leave off details from their sheet if it would better serve the plot by leaving them as surprises. Though I do ask if any details even seem like they might possibly be a bit questionable (either making the character seem too 'super special awesome' or 'beautiful unique snowflakey' or whether or not it would fit with the themes, setting or story), that the player PMs me with said details now, instead of waiting until its too late to see if its acceptable. My character will be added when its finished!
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Yukina

I'd be interested in joining. I like the chobit-esque elements iun this rp.


Florence

Quote from: Yugishogun on April 17, 2013, 06:04:06 AM
I'd be interested in joining. I like the chobit-esque elements iun this rp.

Haha, Chobits is largely what gave me the idea for it, though I wanted to avoid /completely/ ripping off Chobits with it xD
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Carlissa

I'm always interested in a romance RP that focuses more on relationships and drama than sex, but I'm not 100% sold on the futuristic/technological aspect of the RP. I'll keep an eye on this and see how it unfolds before I commit to it.
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Florence

Well, I hope to focus more on the romance and drama than the futuristic technology stuff. I imagine that as more of just a means to an end. The inclusion of the robot dolls and a world where the line blurs more each day between man and machine have, in my opinion, a way of amplifying the truly human aspects of a story.

O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Carlissa

Are all the characters required to be related to some sort of technology?
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Florence

Quote from: Carlissa on April 17, 2013, 01:29:13 PM
Are all the characters required to be related to some sort of technology?

Well, in the vague sense that they live in this world where its common, but I'd like the characters mostly to be ordinary people. So they'd be related to the technology in the same sense you're related to your computer and tv in real life. They probably utilize at least some of it, but by and large, they're just ordinary people going about their daily lives.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Carlissa

The reason why I asked is because the new technologies you mentioned (brain chips, prosthetic limbs, and dolls) all seem very expensive investments that many people in the lower classes of society might not be able to afford. I'm not trying to make this into a complaint or an argument against a futuristic setting or anything like that, but I'm just wondering about the accessibility of these things to the general public.

This might be something trivial to ask, but every detail counts when fleshing out a character.
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Belisuavious

I'd also like to express some tentative interest.

Florence

Quote from: Carlissa on April 17, 2013, 02:35:20 PM
The reason why I asked is because the new technologies you mentioned (brain chips, prosthetic limbs, and dolls) all seem very expensive investments that many people in the lower classes of society might not be able to afford. I'm not trying to make this into a complaint or an argument against a futuristic setting or anything like that, but I'm just wondering about the accessibility of these things to the general public.

This might be something trivial to ask, but every detail counts when fleshing out a character.

No, no, its fine, questions help xD

Well, I imagine this taking place right around the time that these technologies are becoming more common place. I mean, people in the lower class might not be able to really justify buying some of these, especially when there are still cheaper alternatives such as cell phones and traditional computers. In the middle class, it comes more down to personal taste. Some people perhaps are wary of surgery and so don't get the chips installed (though the process is quite safe, its natural for people to be reluctant to get a surgery like that), or perhaps they just don't want to go through the hassle when they can just get a headset instead, providing much of the same functionality without the surgery and whatnot (though the downsides to that are that it would require an external control, such as a keypad to operate, where as the chips can be controlled via thought.) Also, the general appeal of Dolls is that they have simulated personalities and thus are pleasant to talk to and interact with, providing not only utility but company. That said, some people, quite understandable, might still prefer an old fashioned computer when they're... well... doing private things.

As far as cost, I imagine the Mini-Dolls at least being not TOO much more expensive than smartphones are today, and provide much of the same functionality as one, plus the same social appeal as full sized Dolls (though perhaps less-so, given, well, they're tiny, and much more obviously NOT human from first glance, they can still function as cute and amusing pets of a sort.) So, its not unheard of for a lower class household to be able to afford a Mini-Doll, though obviously, some chose to save their money for things like food and clothes and gas and just being able to have a little wiggle-room.

Among the upper class, its important to keep up with appearances, so most of the wealthy utilize this recent technology for the fashion of it as much as the practical applications, with exceptions, as there are to any rule.

I hope that helps, if not, feel free to ask me for clarification on anything. :o
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Carlissa

#10
I see. So people who dont have these benefits arn't too worse off than those with them.

This may be a little early to ask this, but can you explain more what you had in mind with the bar? Like how much time we are going to spend in the bar, what the general target audience is (Like is it a high class bar that only rich people go to, or is it a small, old fashioned establishment that aims toward the older, working class drinkers?), and anything else that may matter to the story (in regards to the bar)?
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Florence

Quote from: Carlissa on April 17, 2013, 03:29:34 PM
I see. So people who dont have these benefits arn't too worse off than those with them.

This may be a little early to ask this, but can you explain more what you had in mind with the bar? Like how much time we are going to spend in the bar, what the general target audience is (Like is it a high class bar that only rich people go to, or is it a small, old fashioned establishment that aims toward the older, working class drinkers?), and anything else that may matter to the story (in regards to the bar)?

I'm honestly not sure how much time will be spent in the bar, I imagine that depends largely on the characters. If the characters are the sort that spend a lot of their time at the bar, then the bar will be wind up being more of a focus, on the other hand, it might just be a place seen from time to time where certain characters might meet up, either accidentally or through plan.

As for the bar itself, I imagine its sort of just a middle-class place, the costumers it get can vary, and its in a pretty diverse neighborhood. Its been around in the area for a while now, and its gotten a pretty good local reputation for having a nice atmosphere and good service. All in all, the costumers likely lean more towards working stiffs than rich fancy pants, but that doesn't mean the occasional wealthier costumer doesn't drop in, for one reason or another. Most of the locals though are regulars and range from middle to lower class. The owner's a fairly friendly and professional man by the name of Liam, who I'll likely play as a second character. Other players are welcome to play as other staff in the bar if they'd like. On that note, I'm not completely certain on a limit of how many characters one can play, though I do not want anyone playing more characters than they can handle. Ideally, I'm thinking a 2-3 character max, and again, only if one can properly handle multiple characters. I, myself, might play 2... and probably some random NPCs here and there as needed.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Yukina

Quote from: Finn MacKenna on April 17, 2013, 10:54:28 AM
Haha, Chobits is largely what gave me the idea for it, though I wanted to avoid /completely/ ripping off Chobits with it xD

That's fine, I loved that anime. I'll probly make a doll.


Florence

Quote from: Yugishogun on April 17, 2013, 08:31:26 PM
That's fine, I loved that anime. I'll probly make a doll.

Okay! Just keep in mind that Dolls are property owned by someone else. If you want to make one, I recommend you make one owned by the bar to explain why they're there so much. Otherwise, you could perhaps say they're owned by another customer, either another player character or an NPC.

Also, keep in mind, I want any development with Dolls to be done very subtly and naturally, and I'm going to hold them to pretty high standards. I want to make sure they are played properly, as machines. That isn't to say they can't have development, as that is something I want to carry over from Chobits, the idea that machines, built to replicate humans to such a high degree, can blur the line. However, I don't want them suddenly start thinking for themselves right out the box and whatnot. They wouldn't be built if they didn't do what was programmed, or if they started running off and falling in love all over the place.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Yukina

I'll probly have her be owned the bar unless someone else wants her. I am fully aware of the programming and will make sure to keep in character.


Carlissa

I have another question: is this RP going to take place in an anime setting or a more realistic setting?
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Florence

Quote from: Carlissa on April 17, 2013, 09:34:26 PM
I have another question: is this RP going to take place in an anime setting or a more realistic setting?

Well... honestly, I sort of fail to see a distinction via text, honestly, I think people can sort of imagine it however they want. I suppose I imagine it being a realistic setting, in terms of... ya know, physics and genetics and all that. No one's going to be jumping up onto rooftops, if someone has a strange hair color, and they're NOT a Doll, it'll be dyed. So, I guess, to sum it up, from any way I can imagine it really making a difference, it's realistic. But...  I mean, if anyone wants to imagine it anime style, or use anime style character images, that's more than fine by me. (In fact, I prefer using anime images myself, on the simple grounds that I just kind of feel weird using images of real people. Just a weird quirk of mine xD)
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Carlissa

Yeah, I feel pretty wierd using real people images as well.

I just wanted to know because I don't want to use a real person image if everyone is doing anime or vise versa. It's a pet peeve of mine when there are a mixture of real and anime images for profile pics.
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Florence

Quote from: Carlissa on April 17, 2013, 09:57:50 PM
Yeah, I feel pretty wierd using real people images as well.

I just wanted to know because I don't want to use a real person image if everyone is doing anime or vise versa. It's a pet peeve of mine when there are a mixture of real and anime images for profile pics.

Well, I'll be using anime style pics myself, I'll leave it up to others what they'd like to use :o
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Carlissa

Okey dokey. That's all I wanted to know.
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Carlissa

#20
...I guess no one has time for a love story. :/
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Oldknight

I would give the idea ago seems like it could be fun

Florence

Alright! I've been hammering away at my characters on this to post them up here to give anyone interested ideas. Looks like we might just have enough people interested for me to start work on an OOC thread as well, I can get to work on that once I have the characters up here.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.

Yukina



Florence

Here, they're not much, but hopefully it'll help. I might poke at them and add more the bio sections as I work on other things, but these should at least give you a decent idea of the characters and maybe help you get ideas for your own. Again, you don't have to follow this exact character sheet, as long as you can display you have a solid idea for your character and understand their psychology enough to make them enjoyable to roleplay with.

Name: Cho Dae-Hyun
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Orientation: Homosexual

Dae-Hyun

Bio: Dae-Hyun could be described as quiet. She is a regular patron at Home, but rarely speaks to anyone, not even verbally ordering her drinks as much as pointing to bottles or pictures of what she wants. She then proceeds to find the quietest corner she can to sit and scribble in a notebook she carries with her almost constantly. She makes little effort to open up to others. To any who have bothered to look at the notebook she scribbles away in, however, she appears to be a fairly talented artist, drawing various things from people in the bar, to abstract designs and whatever seems to strike her fancy at the time. She seems to watch the people who come and go in the bar, but never approaches anyone to speak to them. Given her withdrawn nature, few people know what Dae-Hyun's story is. The staff at Home only even knows her name because it's on her ID. She started coming to the bar about a year ago, and hasn't spoken to anyone in that time. She just walks in, orders something to drink, and retreats to her lonely corner of the bar to scribble away in her notebook.

She has become something of a regular fixture of the bar in that time. The time and even days she comes in vary, but she always takes up that same corner seat. On the off-chance its taken, she usually sits at the bar and keeps to herself, drawing in her book until its open. Her taste in drinks vary as much as her times at the bar, but her most common order tends to be Kahlua with milk.



Name: Liam MacKenna
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Orientation: Bisexual

Liam

Bio: Liam's known as a kind man, always ready with a smile and a drink. He doesn't prefer to talk about himself, instead listening to the problems other may wish to talk about, as they sometimes do to a bartender. Still, he's opened up from time to time, if his own history happens to be relevant to the story he's being told. He's not at all unsociable or unfriendly, however, he simply doesn't seem to like opening up about himself that much. In fact, his welcoming attitude is likely a good part of the reason that the bar has done as well as it has, though he'd probably attribute that more to the beer just being really, really tasty.

Apparently, Liam came from a fairly well-off family, and so from nearly the moment Dolls hit the market he was made familiar with them. After he got his bar tending license, he moved to New York City to try and open his own bar. He's been reluctant to get a Doll for the bar, though the competitive business world has pressured him into seriously considering it. When asked why he even wanted to open a bar like Home in an area like he did, his answer is generally that it's just what he wanted to do, he loves his job and loves the atmosphere his bar has as it is.
O/O: I was going to make a barebones F-list as a rough summary, but then it logged me out and I lost my progress, so I made a VERY barebones F-list instead: Here.