A Garden of Insidious Thought (RP Ideas/Requests)

[Insidious Word]

Welcome [you]!  Thank you for looking at my RP ideas thread.  If anything should catch your attention, please PM, rather than post here for the sake of keeping this little garden clean.  It should be noted that I am rarely a 'first come first served' person (unless I'm irrationally eager to start an RP), and in the instances when I get a whole load of PMs (as I've discovered with 'A Tale of Assassins and Courtesans') I'll shift through to find the most ideal players.  It would help immensely if your PMs contained as much detail as you can spare, so that I won't have to send too many PMs around and thus slow the game from starting.

Hopefully you'll find something that catches you interest here... or perhaps in the future as it all grows and blossoms - my interests can be bewilderingly varied (when the mood so strikes me), so I'm bound to plant all sorts of ideas here, from mundane to exotic.  Of course don't be discouraged if a story you like is taken - drop me a PM and I'll keep you in mind if I'd like to open another!

Argh! What does all that stuff down there mean?

Title:  Apart from the obvious, anything in (parenthesis) are the major themes I'm personally hoping to extract/emphasise in this RP.

Plot vs. Erotica: The ratio of story/character development versus gratuitous sexual exchange (high story/low erotica might mean sex is little more than a titillation and scene-setter, where in the opposite a little bit of background is developed to give some context to the sex!)

Last Review: The last time I bothered to look over this idea, and my current level of interest in it.  A big red TAKEN is fairly obvious, but if there is a number next to it, it means I'm interested in playing it in more ways that I currently am, in those rare times that it strikes me (e.g. 1/3 would mean I already have a session running, but I'm still interested in doing 2 more separate sessions for it.)

Malleability: How much of the idea I'm willing to rework from what I've already detailed. (Low - I have my reservations, Moderate - I'm willing change a number of things, High - Let's hear it! I'm open to all suggestions!).

Genre: The sort of atmosphere/concepts/overtones I'd like to cultivate for this story.

Development: How long I'd like this story to go on for.  An ideal post length I'd like to see.

Summary: Next!  :P

Options, Players & Info: Players, female or male, required for this story.  Other story-related information, such as characters.  Summary didn't quite fit what you were hoping from this story?  Well here are some more underdeveloped ideas and options you can play with.  Oh, the agony of choice!   ^-^

Of course, just because the idea has been detailed doesn't mean I don't want to hear other opinions, so if you have ideas of your own let me know!  (You are to be the significant other in the story after all!)  So, without further delay, here's what's currently on offer with updates to come in the future:




A Tale of Assassins and Courtesans
(Assassins, Conflict, Mythic Japan, Romance, Samurai, Supernatural, Tragedy)
Plot vs. Erotica: About 60:40 to 70:30
Last Review: July 2011.  TAKEN



Malleability: MODERATE to HIGH
Genre: Not looking for historical accuracy (though some knowledge makes my secret geek happy), but more of the classic anime/serious manga feel.  For those who have seen them, Sword for Truth and Jubei Ninpucho/Ninja Scrolls are good examples, if a little antiquated.  Probably best for those with a love for the culture and period, as I'm hoping to immerse my brain a bit!
Development: Moderate - Epic.  Ideally 1-2 paragraphs per post, at about 3+ times a week.
Summary:
Japan 1513: The Age of the Country at War.  The country is in turmoil as the various clans fight to seize the ever illusive title of Shogun.  Yet life goes on, and in a small and moderately successful brothel, two women try to eke out an existence.  The local beauty (centre picture: deadly geisha) thrives on her success, but secretly loathes this lifestyle and longs to be free.  The other (left-side picture: exotic geisha), though exotic of appearance, has less success as she is greatly feared for her unusual appearance and is largely suspected to be the daughter of some demon or other by the superstitious and ignorant; she only occasionally receives the patronage of brutal sadistic clients and is considered the 'last' girl in the house, which is a fairly miserable position, and longs for but a glimmer of happiness.
        Into their lives comes a patron, Uesugi Gentatsu, the son of a rival clan to the local daimyo and a guest of honour, though it is the worst kept secret that he is only a political hostage for his family's good behaviour, albeit a well treated one.  Buying out the brothel for his personal use for one night, he ends up purchasing the contracts of the two women the next day, making them part of his retinue.  This simple move, turns into the spark that ignites a vicious power struggle revealing a dark and terrible existence beneath the bloody conflicts of normal men.

I have some further details for this idea, and am looking for another(s) to help me weave a potentially beautiful tale of intrigue, lust, devotion, and violence.  As the title postulates, there is non-sexual violence (how bloody it is can be worked out) since it is somewhat intrinsic to a tale of this era and style.  Whilst an idea like this is likely to end up in the Light:Human sections, I see no reason why (with some creativity) it could not include NC, Bondage (Shibari!  :P), D/s, and S&M, as long as all players are amendable.

Options, Players & Info

1 Player or 2?

Ideally, I'm looking for one Female writer to take the roles of both geisha in the story, though I am open to having two separate Female writers for each of them.  For a single writer, my initial thought is to have the two girls only occasionally in same scenes, one of them often becoming a background character for a while (possibly giving you the chance to try something different whenever you choose), unless you're comfortable multi-playing two very different personalities.

As two players, I'd prefer to shift the story focus to the two women (not necessarily F/F unless you wish it to be so) and their interaction to resolving their differences and using their combined skills into getting their patron that much closer to being Shogun, or perhaps their rivalry deepens using their patron as a pathway to their own ambitions.

Male players?

Whilst ladies get priority for the roles, as another option, I'm open to having male writers to take the lead as the geisha (see 1 Player or 2 above).  As a personal quirk, I'd like one of the geisha to be a feminine cross-dresser, whilst the other is all woman.

If the game gets going with one Female and one Male writer, I'd really like for the male writer to default to the cross-dressing option, unless the female writer isn't comfortable with M/M, in which case the geisha will be played as female.

RP Systems?

Whilst I default to none and would do this on the basis of pure story telling alone, if an rp system is suggested and doesn't get in the way of the story (with everyone's consent), I figure that I'm amendable, though story-telling always takes precedence over the system and its rules.

Info: The Deadly Geisha <Centre Picture>

(None of the following is in stone and is just my initial brainstorm)
My initial idea for this character is that she is the daughter of the noble/samurai caste, who fell from grace when her family ran up debts and was sold into prostitution to cover it.  She is highly intelligence, resourceful, pragmatic, and quite devoted to her patron for removing her from bondage and giving her a chance to once again return to the samurai caste if she attains marriage.  Her seductive appeal lies in her practiced and experienced approach to it.  She is also quite proficient with the sword, having learned it from her father, who wanted a male heir, though none were forthcoming.  In her heart, she is a samurai, one of the last true ones, where obligation and duty takes all precedence.

If she has flaws, it is her lack of empathy towards others, being almost coldly business-like and matter of fact in her dealings, only showing her passionate side (sometimes) to her benefactor.  She is also a year or two older than her patron, and whilst calm about it, it is a very shaky pillar for her (perhaps obsessively so) and the source of much private consternation and frustration in a world and culture where younger is better, especially since her rival is younger.

Inspiration: Primarily from Saeko Busujima of High School of the Dead.

Info: The Exotic Geisha <Left-side Picture>

(None of the following is in stone and is just my initial brainstorm)
My initial idea for this character is one of a deeply romantic dreamer.  Her optimism helps her persevere in circumstances were other women would break or give in.  Whilst she might be considered exotically beautiful by our modern day standards, feudal Japan is not so understanding and has been quite cruel in its treatment.  Despite the fact that she is teased for being the daughter of a devil, nobody knows that this fallacy is actually true (to a certain degree).  The geisha herself is not aware of it, until that potential later awakens.

Her biggest flaw manifests ironically because she gained the thing she wanted most: a prince to take her away from all her sadness and torment.  And it manifests terribly in schizophrenia.  Wanting to put aside those tortured days behind her to live a happy life with her patron, this repressed side of her's gains its own persona - on the one side she is sweet, selfless, and affectionate; on the other, sadistic, sociopathic, intensely devoted (in a scarily obsessive manner) to her lover and in this state has certain unnatural/supernatural abilities.

Inspiration: Primarily from Lucy of Elfen Lied.

Info: The Assassin (Uesugi Gentatsu) <Right-side Picture>

The role I'll be playing as.  The 11th child of his family, he comes from a long line of schemers and his presence amongst his captors isn't as helpless as most would like to think.  The two women he took as his consorts were meant to be his targets (story spoiler ahead...) though he changed his mind for reasons not yet revealed (... NOT!  :P).  Coldly logical and brutally ambitious, he intends to claim the title of Shogun for his own whatever the cost might be... even that of his humanity if need be.