Mark's Story Ideas [M for F] [Story Focused] [Tentatively Open]

[Question Mark]

Current Status:   [TENTATIVELY AVAILABLE]

I have a few games going at the moment and two on the back burner.  I also have quite a few demands IRL, so my capacity for taking on more responsibilities is minimal.  Still, I'd be willing to try and start another game if the proposer makes a really good impression. Unfortunately, this also means I reserve the right to say no.

Introduction

After a good fifteen minutes of sitting here trying to think of some attention grabbing witticism, I've decided to abandon that gimmick and cut straight to the chase.

My name's Mark, and I occasionally write on forums.  I prefer what are generally considered the more escapist genres: fantasy, science fiction, the supernatural, and other topics that defy our understanding of reality.  I also prefer a heavy focus on crafting a deep story, in depth characters, and a complex organic setting for it all to exist in.  Although the act of writing a post may only take an hour or two, there is a entire internal prelude to the act where I flesh out and analyze the scene.  This is rarely intentional: many times I will find myself turning the scene over in my head while in the shower, on a bike, or lying in bed searching for sleep.

I usually prefer to have one or more partners to write with.  As with most things in life, crafting a story becomes more fun, more enriching, and more fulfilling when done with likeminded individuals.  That's where you come in.  I don't ask much from my partners: a fluent grasp of English, the ability to internalize and mold the story, and the all important dedication needed to stick with a game through thick and thin.

Addendum: Mainly because it was asked, I am also open to doing female-female pairings.  I have no problem writing from a female perspective (and nearly half my characters are female).  This is entirely up to my partner.

Addendum: On a similar note, I prefer a female writer.

What I Look For

SKILL: I want someone who can write well.  This is more than just making pretty sentences and using esoteric vocabulary.  A skilled writer can make a scene come alive and make a character feel real.  They can immerse the reader in another universe.  Fortunately, the majority of Elliquians are skilled writers!

COMMUNICATION: Communication is simply the most important aspect of any game.  I want to write with someone who won't hesitate to bring an issue to the front, whether it's my posting rate, a RL delay, or some issue with the game itself.  Sometimes a game's taking off, you're really into it, and then the other person just... stops posting.  Nothing.  We've all been there, and it sucks.  If possible, I'd like to avoid this going forward.  This doesn't mean I want to force someone to keep up with a game they've lost interest in; I'd just prefer it if they told me first.

DEDICATION: Long term games are awesome.  Literally.  Rereading a monolithic story that you crafted with someone else can be truly epic and awe inspiring.  I hope you agree.

STORY: Oddly enough, I don't much enjoy smut.  It's just not my thing.  Instead, I prefer a "story over smut" approach.  This doesn't mean sexual elements are excluded; I just don't want them to be the focus.  THAT SAID, I am a big softie for a well developed vanilla romance.

MATURITY: This is three-fold.  First, OOC maturity, in the sense that my writing partner has the maturity to refrain from OOC drama.  Second, IC maturity, in the sense that we can explore mature topics through our writing.  Ideas like love, hate, death, struggle, hope, horror, elation, fear, human frailty, nirvana, etc.  Third, in my mind, adult roleplay encompasses any roleplay not suitable for children.  This is usually taken to mean sexual RP on E, but other mature content like violence, adult themes, complex topics, and so on also fall under the notation of "adult roleplay".

The Story Ideas

Over the years, I've collected a number of story ideas.  Some were motivated by images I found, while others simply appeared, their genesis long since forgotten.  I will often just sit down at a computer and attempt to will myself to come up with something: sometimes it even works (this is how ARCTICA came to be).

Pretty much everything about these are subject to change.  I love to worldbuild, so I tend to put a lot of detail in these plot hooks, even when its not necessarily needed.  Don't take anything here as written in stone.  I am more than open to any of your ideas.

The Derelict -- Hard Science Fiction, Modern Day, Survival

[AVAILABLE]

It is the year 2016.  The International Space Station is in a stable orbit 400 kilometers above the surface of the earth and, thanks to recent contracted expansions by private space companies, is occupied by a half-dozen astronauts, engineers, and scientists.

Fifty six days into the mission, an unidentified object collides with the ISS, compromising the majority of the station, killing all but three of the astronauts, destabilizing its orbit, and depleting its atmospheric reserves.  The survivors quickly realize that the object that collided with them was no space debris or celestial object, but an abandoned, skeletal spacecraft of extraterrestrial origin.  With only hours left until they reenter Earth's atmosphere, the survivors must race to unlock the secrets of the Derelict.

Yor -- Low Fantasy, Original World, Freeform

[AVAILABLE]

It is the eve of the Grand Tricentennial of Yor's founding.  Half a million people now live beneath the Monolith's shadow, and a dozen races speaking twice as many tongues crowd its streets.  Yor is a true free city, led by a coalition of guilds representing the various trades and beliefs practiced by its people.  It is said that any person from any walk of life can find employ and success beneath the Monolith, and the boast is not far from the truth.  While the city's influence comes from its trade, Yor is also renowned for its patronage of explorers, its amazing advancements in technology, and the mystical allure of the inexplicable artifacts that dot the vast, unexplored interior of the continent.  Like any city, it has a seedy underbelly.  Thieves regularly raid the manse's of the wealthy and arrogant, and a public guild openly accepts assassination contracts.  The port is open to any ship, from humble diplomatic floats to extravagant pirate sculls.  The streets are policed by the people, and the only military to be found exists to defend the hinterlands.  Anyone can become wealthy in Yor, but only if they have the grit and determination to survive beneath the Monolith's shadow.

Our story begins as our characters are enjoying the Tricentennials festivities.

Backstory

For as long as men could speak, they had called Tem home.  It was a diverse land, crafted by the First Men to provide their mortal progeny with endless opportunity.  Before they fled across the Waking Sea, the First Men had sculpted its mountains, laid down the endless plains, and sprinkled life wherever they stepped.  In the bosom of their creation, their weak and frail children blossomed upon Tem.  They built great cities, and claimed land to form nations.  They constructed immense temples to the First Men, and waged wars in their name.  Scholars and philosophers chronicled the exploits of their species and studied nature with insatiable curiosity.  With time, they began to discover her secrets, and the inexorable march of technological progress began.

Mankind flourished upon Tem, but always there were whispers of the land beyond the setting sun.  Purnaya, the Realm of the Immortals, home of the First Men.  Conquerors thirsted for its riches and scholars for its secrets, but the Keepers warned of endless wrath and retribution to any foolish enough to taint its sacred soil with their mortal feet.

It was nearly three thousand years after the birth of mankind when Ysel the Matriarch, the Lady of the Straits, lost herself upon the Waking Sea.  The winds died, leaving her ship motionless upon an ocean of smooth glass.  Overheard, the suns and the moon listed drunkenly across the sky, never following the same path twice, and the stars would not come out at night.  Beneath them, dark shapes of immense size shifted restlessly in the deeps, changing the color of the ocean with their colossal passing.

In time, Ysel crossed the Doldrums.  The stars returned, the celestials fell back into their proper paths, and the waters beneath her ships were once again undisturbed.  Across the Doldrums, she discovered a new land, a foreign shore uncharted and unexplored.  Upon a bluff in the mouth of a great harbor, she looked upon a black column of immense size and deepest black.  It towered thrice as high as the greatest structures built by mankind, and its surface was unmarked by steel or weather.  She named the land upon which the Monolith rested Yor -- Olden for "Sanctuary".

It was not long before word of her discovery returned to Tem and triggered a wave of colonials to explore this new land.  Beneath the Monolith and Ysel's leadership, they converted the bluff into a thriving city.  Commanding this land's virgin resources, adhering to a strict code of freedom and strength, and unburdened by borders and petty political disputes, Yor quickly grew into an independent city-state, a focal point for mankind's exploration of this unknown land.

The Heist -- Dark Fantasy, Sword'n'Sorcery, Original World

[AVAILABLE]

Welcome to Xo, a sprawling, ancient metropolis caught in the grip of a mysterious winter.

For the past three hundred years, the city has gradually become colder.  Once a lush tropical port, the winters have gradually become longer and colder, the day's shorter and weaker.  Now, day time lasts a bare four hours, and summer is a brief period of two months where the snows melt.  Temperatures are almost always below freezing, and the cityfolk have become a tough and solemn people.

The city is ruled by a group of theocratic noble houses who support a religion claiming that the descent into darkness is part of a six hundred year cycle.  Any year now, the summers will lengthen, the days will grow longer and warmer, and the city will return to a tropical paradise, the jewel of the world.  Since these noble houses control the import of food into the city, their influence is powerful and pervades virtually all aspects of life.  Participation in the religion is mandatory, and is their primary way of maintaining control.   Disturbances and disobedience are cracked down upon brutally, and the theocracy solidifies their dominance with their monopoly on magic.

Despite their power, a thriving criminal aboveground exists in the city, dealing in black market contraband, drugs, thievery, assassinations, and magic (banned amongst the common folk).  In addition, rumors of a food shortage have begun to spread, allowing a secretive society planning rebellion to gain traction in the criminal aboveground.  As the city falls deeper into winter, both the noble loyalists and the rebels continue to gather their strength.

Our story begins when our characters are contracted to carry out a heist on one of the noble houses.  The mark is a minor magical artifact, something that could fetch a decent price on the aboveground market.

The Omen -- High Fantasy, Epic, Freeform

[AVAILABLE]

I just thought of this one when I found this picture earlier today, so I haven't really done any worldbuilding.  The core idea is that your character, otherwise a fairly normal person in this setting, dreams of the moon (or one of the moons) falling to the planet and laying waste to all that is known.  This is no normal dream, however; it is charged with the power of prophecy.  What your character does with this information is solely up to her, although it should probably involve my character as well!

P.S. This is a similar picture.

Freight -- Science Fiction, Day-in-the-Life, Adventure, Freeform

[TAKEN]

This is very open ended.  The basic concept is that our characters are freighters on an interplanetary cargo vessel.  This could be anything from a "Day-in-the-Life" (e.g. one of our characters is new on the ship) to some kind of high rolling adventure (e.g. some high-value cargo was smuggled aboard their freighter, embroiling them in something much bigger).  I just love writing these kind of things; I'd like to hear your ideas for plots.

Halo -- Halo Universe, Science Fiction, Adventure, Horror

[AVAILABLE]

I love Halo.  I'm open to any games in this verse.

Warcraft -- Warcraft Universe, Fantasy, Adventure

[AVAILABLE]

I love Warcraft.  I'm open to any games in this verse.

Dragon Age -- Dragon Age Universe, Mature Fantasy, Adventure

[available]

I love Dragon Age.  I'm open to any games in this verse, but especially those dealing with themes, events, and other items from Dragon Age: Inquisition, which I just recently completed.

Other and Miscellaneous -- Other concepts I'd enjoy exploring...

-- Fandoms (Dragon Age, Starcraft, Elder Scrolls, A Song of Ice and Fire, Wheel of Time)
-- Modern Supernatural (werewolves and vampires, hidden occult, magic, etc.)
-- Post-apocalyptic

Random Concept Images (to get you thinking!)

[Question Mark]

Yor is taken.

[Question Mark]

The Heist is taken.

[Question Mark]

Added and removed a few concept pictures.

[Question Mark]

Freight is taken.

Yor is taken.

The Heist is available.