A slip of the Keyboard [Literate M for plot based stories]

[Rogued1]

Welcome!

I see you've stumbled into my own little slice of the vast network of possibilities that are the world of writing. Let me introduce myself, I am Rogued1, or simply Rogue, and I am seeking stories. Now, before you scroll down to the lovingly crafted plot ideas where the true fun begins, I'd like to explain a little about my goals and intentions here.

Standards:
First and foremost, if you have come here looking to rub one off with literature, I'm not your man. While I'm comfortable with all things sexual, in fact I prefer the word skilled, I am not here to write smut. I know, kind of contradictory seeing as this is a website dedicated to adult RPs, but hear me out. Adult has more meaning than simply erotica, and I love exploring the extent to which mature stories can be taken before the characters inevitably fall upon each other like rabid hyenas and have the kind of sex that only happens in newlywed suites and behind dumpsters. Not that I'm opposed to sex in a story, far from it, but it has always been my intention to make good art, and sex is only one component of such art. If sex is necessary for the story, then let there be copious amounts of fuckery. However, it is far, far from my main intention in any tale, and if you are interested in writing with me, keep that in mind.

Formats:
I tend to end up using threads, partially because I love seeing the lurker counter climbing, and partially because I like being able to go back and modify things later. I will not RP over IM clients, I use those for work, and it's a little awkward when you're trying to talk to your boss and someone else keeps sending you far more interesting messages. 

Please DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD, send me a PM instead. I only ever check this thread when I'm updating it, so odds are good I won’t see your post for a month or two if you post here. Plus, I have a certain thread scheme I’m trying to maintain here. So, if you want to get a hold of me, please PM me.

Post Frequency:
As far as posting frequency goes, that really depends on what life currently has in store for me. Usually I can get a reply out every couple of days, but even when things get totally and properly screwed up, I promise to reply at least once a week. Usually I expect the same from my partners, if you can reply more than once a week that's wonderful, but I generally request no less than that.

That being said, I occasionally have reason to travel out of the country, often times ending up in places where there is little to no access to the outside world. If that happens I will do my best to warn my writing partners, but in cases where I forget before I’m out of cell service, please be patient with me. I don’t drop stories without some prior warning, so if I go missing for a few weeks, assume I’m chasing down a lost artifact in the amazon, possibly attempting to capture a Yeti in the Himalaya.

Post Length:
I feel I should warn you now. I write a lot. A small post for me is usually around 6 paragraphs, where as a long post can go on for pages. I follow heavily the quality over quantity rule, but I find I just can't get what I feel needs to be said out in less than 6 paragraphs. It does happen, but not often. I don't requite the same of a partner, a moderate six paragraphs of good writing satisfies me just fine, but I will adore you for life if you can write at the same length and quality as I strive to do.

Cannons:
I pretty much don’t do them… That doesn’t mean I’ll discount a story that is heavily based on the setting or characters of some other well known story, but if you PM me asking for a Hogwarts RP, I’ll probably politely turn you down. World building is simply too much fun for me. Using someone else’s ideas means I have to go research to make sure I don’t get something wrong, and frankly I’d rather spend that time writing.

Now, if I haven't scared you away yet...

A little about my plot ideas.

Okay, so I hope these synopses are self explanatory enough, but there are a few details I'd like to mention before you dive into the fun part of all of this.

• First of all, most of these stories can be modified for any pairing. I'm perfectly comfortable writing as just about anyone, so all you need do is ask if you'd rather play a MXM or FXF pairing for a story that is described as having a male and female protagonist. That being said, some of these stories don't quite work with one pairing of another. Though, if you have a creative way to make an odd pairing work, I'd love to hear it. I'm a massive fan of switching the traditional characters roles (the prince in the tower, the female knight slaying the dragon, that sort of thing) so if you have such an idea, you should let me know immediately.
• Also, I have written all of these synopses with <MC> (my character) and <YC> (your character) to indicate roles. I use to make up names for everything, but I often find I switch names halfway through, and generally I much prefer to name character at the start of a story. It gives them considerably more meaning to me. And like everything else, this isn’t set in stone. If you think you have an idea for a character I’ve indicated as <MC>, please feel free to propose an alternative.
• If I've given you any ideas or you have an original story you'd like to try out, Please PM me! I absolutely adore original stories of any kind, and I'd love to work out a plot with you.

[Rogued1]

The Skies are Filled with Diamonds
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
Story Elements: Space Travel, Piracy, Conspiracy, Alien/Monster hunting,
Character Pairing: Rock-Jockey X New Recruit
Status:Open!



Strange how the drive to ever move outwards pushes a certain kind of person to the edge of civilization. When that edge moved from the edges of the jungle to the edges of mars, that explorer spirit went with it, and a mere hundred years after the first man set foot on the surface of the moon, the first martian countries were being formed. By this time though, the edge is farther out, reaching into the asteroid belt and beyond, to the moons of the outer planets, where the sun is nothing but a particularly bright star in a sky of billions. A single crown jewel in a velvet night of diamonds. That explorer spirit has pushed mankind to the brink of logical space, and now it threatens to push further, to escape the gravity well of Sol entirely and spiral off into the distant stars.

Following that explorer comes the prospector, the man or woman who seeks to tame the wild chaos of the universe and bend it to their will. While the explorer becomes a part of their new environment, the prospector, the settler, do what is truly human, and modify the environment to their own needs. [MC] is full heartedly one of these individuals. A geologist aboard the rock-hopping asteroid hunter called the Whaler, [MC] specializes in analyzing asteroids and determining if they contain valuable resources that might aid in the expansion of the human race. While the Whaler is far from impressive, little more than a retired military freighter re-purposed for harpooning asteroids, [MC] takes pride in his work and enjoys the company of his shipmates, as crude as some of them may be. He has come to see the ancient, creaking, and perpetually leaking ship as his home, and while it’s captain is far from a noble, upstart kind of man, [MC] still respects him and his word.

The mission was supposed to be routine, as is always the case when something goes disastrously wrong. [MC] is outside the ship, [YC], a recent arrival on the ship, how to survey asteroids when out of nowhere a military class stealth ship blasts the Whaler to base atoms with a weapon that nearly blinds the pair of them. Then something strange happens. The stealth ship, who should in theory be leaving now before its flashy weapons attract unwanted attention, remains where it is. The pair watch, mystified, as the ship simply drifts there. Eventually gravity does what it does best, and the asteroid they are hiding on drifts towards the larger mass of the ship. Surely the anti-impact cannons should obliterate them as they approach, but instead the asteroid eventually bumps up against the ship with barely more than a dent. Something is wrong, more wrong than a stealth ship blasting a civilian craft out of the sky. [MC] and [YC] make their way inside the ship, only to discover that its been powered down and there's no sign of the crew. Except... lots and lots of blood, and a broken storage compartment that suggests something tore its way free. Suddenly the empty vacuum of space seems more hospitable than the lonely halls of the empty ship. Something is hunting them, and if they want to claim the prize that robbed them of their home, they need to discover what it is and how to end it.



Core Story Idea:
I only recently realized that despite the fact that I’ve read so many, I’ve never actually written a Space Opera. That ends now friends! Well, this is a little more than just a Space Opera, I want to add a few more elements from other classic Sci-fi concepts. This sort of starts out as Ray Bradbury's "Kaleidoscope” With the characters trapped in empty space, wondering how long it will take for their suits’ life support to run out and for them to die a horrible death. The only thing keeping them from opening their helmets and ending it all is each other, and the hope that someone saw the ship’s attack and will come to their aid. Then it becomes something a little more like  the Alien movies, or Dead Space, there’s something on the ship, clearly not human, that intends to do them harm. The ship is loaded to the gills with weapons, but firing a high powered rifle inside the interior of a spaceship is a rather dramatic way to commit suicide. Instead they must rely on their wits and find a less violent (or perhaps, equally violent, but less destructive) way to end the threat. From there, things get interesting. There is plenty of data that could be used to track down who ordered the attack, as this was clearly not a simple act of piracy. Not that the main characters are above hiring their own crew and attempting a little piracy of their own if it means disrupting those who murdered their crewmates. Suddenly a pair of characters who have had no control over the direction of their lives find themselves in control of a prototype superweapon packed with enough weaponry to rob an armada. Is this the revival of the age of piracy? Or will things take a more complicated turn when they confront the men who pulled the trigger on their friends.

[Rogued1]

Hell Raiser
Genre: Magical Realism
Story Elements: Comedy, Seduction
Pairing: Wealthy Heir X Succubus/Incubus
Status:Open!



[MC] never had an easy life. His mother was a poor single mother who barely managed to scrape by, and her toils eventually lead to her death at a relatively young age. [MC] never really knew much about his extended family, other than the fact that his mother despised them. Then one day, a man with a briefcase arrives from, England. Apparently in an act of amazing charity completely unforeseen by anyone, [MC]'s wealthy uncle has died and left him a massive country estate. What could possibly be better?

It's only when [MC] arrives that he finds out there are some stipulations he must work around. Namely, that his family must accept him as an aristocrat if he is to keep his new found riches, and they have little interest in making it easy him. Apparently, Uncle D'vulder left his estate to [MC] as a final spiteful act against the ancient aristocracy that makes up the rest of his extended family. One last titanic joke before the old bastard passed on. Or so [MC] thinks.

To recap, in order to keep his recently claimed inheritance, [MC] must demonstrate he has the ability to run a multi-million dollar household and learn how to be an aristocrat. All in roughly a month, Easy right?

Unfortunately, these are the least of [MC]'s problems. While exploring the mansion one day, [MC] discovers a secret room his uncle's servants neglected to warn him about. A secret dungeon filled with occult books and sex toys. Apparently Uncle D'vulder was a demonologist, and a bit of a kink. Well, a lot of a kink. Every imaginable sexual object hangs from the walls like some sort of sexy torture room. Alex is just about to have a good hearty laugh at the whole thing when he sees a girl, bound and gagged to a bed in the corner. Naturally, any right minded human being would quickly rush to her help, and this is exactly what he does, scuffing a chalk circle on the ground as he does so. As soon as his foot smears the carefully crafted binding circle, the succubus[YC] sheds her disguise and attacks.

Terrified for his life, [MC] makes a deal with her, a deal that he later realizes was a terrible idea. [MC] needs someone to teach him how to be aristocratic, and this sucubus has been around a lot of crazy rich perverts over the years, so he enlists her to help him. Seeing this as a new and amusing challenge, [YC] ups the ante, and instead proposes a wager.  If during the duration of their time together she manages to successfully seduce him into having sex with her, she gets his soul upon his death. At first [MC] thinks he can simply ignore her, or perhaps rewire his thinking so he doesn't find her attractive, but [YC] has no interest in making this easy for him.  Especially when [MC] wake up to her rubbing her body against him and making those little sighing noises... He quickly realizes it's not a matter of if he will have sex with her, but simply how long he can resist. She has agreed to help him with the family, and is remarkably good at taking on the guise of a well bred and sensible woman, perhaps he stands a chance of overcoming one obstacle. Then maybe when he has time to think, he can deal with the second.

This feels a like the making of a really bad reality TV series. A succubus constantly teasing for sex, a household of servants who haven't quite decided if they want to help or sabotage his inheritance, and an extended family of upper crust assholes who are seeking any excuse to throw him back into the street. It's beginning to look like getting the money is the easy part, it's keeping his soul that'll be the real challenge.


Core Story Idea:
Here is a story more about seduction than actual sex. [MC] desperately doesn't want to surrender himself to her and instead throws himself into the challenge of learning to be an aristocrat. [YC] plays all the classic games, catching him in the shower, sleeping naked on him, taking the form of anything and anyone she thinks will help trick him into the act, but he is nothing if not stubborn and manages to resist. After a while though, she decides to change tactics. Realizing he is using his other problems as a distraction, she starts taking an interest in his financial and family affairs. She begins using her experience to turn him into a gentleman, using her demonic powers to manipulate the staff, and using her remarkably sharp mind to get everything under control. If only to remove all barriers he has erected around himself. Strangely enough though, as events play out, she begins seeing him as more than prey. Does she force him to comply with their deal when she inevitably wins their bet, or take a more complicated route?

[Rogued1]

Your Faults as an Artist
Genre: Modern Fiction
Story Elements: Modern Art, Love/Hate Relationships, Drug Abuse, Prostitution
Pairing: Modern Artist X Classical Artist (or) Painter X Sculptor (or) Graffiti Artist X Classical Painter
Status: Taken



Everyone knows the stereotype of the starving artist. What they fail to realize is what goes into that stereotype. The dedication to one's art, the constant struggle against a culture who does not respect new artists, the choice between buying supplies or buying meals, and the constant rejection from art dealers, art galleries, everyone.

Still, luckily, some people manage to slog through all the hardship. Gabriel has yet to do that, but he's trying. The only home he's managed to find is a gutted machine shop that he's managed to cobble into a somewhat livable apartment, and the only company he's managed to find is his roommate, a classical painter with a fiery temper and dislike of all things modern art. Between the two of them, they probably account for a good deal of the sin in the city. Sometimes doing what is required to survive means abandoning your morals and your pride.

They fight constantly, about food, about space, about noise, but mostly about art. Gabriel is a modern sculptor, two things she believes are little more than selling out for a profit. They fight with words, they fight with fists, they have even fought with sex, but when you’re constantly dragging someone else up from the depths of their depravity, and they’re doing the same to you, feelings get involved that have no right to exist. Sometimes, things simply get complicated.


Core Story Idea:
This story is an exploration of modern art versus classical art, and what it means to truly suffer for one or the other. The two main characters do not get along at all, but because of the circumstances, they cling to each other like survivors in a flood. They don’t want each other, but they do need each other. This story is mostly about a love/hate relationship between two people who should not be compatible but somehow still are. This story is by far a more gritty one, with drug abuse and prostitution only some of the more self destructive habits the main characters indulge in when life itself seems to be stacked against them.

[Rogued1]

The Worlds Inside My Head
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Mythical Realism, Fantasy
Story Elements: Mental Landscapes, Survival, Horror, Surreality
Pairing: Explorer X Outsider
Status: Open!


The sun is shining, had it done that only moment before? A vague memory of blackness and rough wood sits somewhere in the back of her mind, but it's not really important. The sun is shining now, and the breeze feels wonderful, and the mountains are beautiful, and the ruins of a once great city of towering spires spreads out before her, ready to be explored. There is a vague feeling of darkness on the horizon, for the giant walks somewhere in the valleys beyond the mountains, but she has faced him before and she will face him again. The ruins however, they contain untold potential. They hold strange artifacts of power, tools for bringing light to the world, and maybe bringing back the people that once populated it.

Explorer is unsure how she came to be here, but the knowledge of what she must do is already in her head, filling it to the brim with tales of knights and heroes, of daring tomb raiders stealing the power of the old gods to awaken the new. Find the artifacts, extract the knowledge they contain, bring back the world and slay the giant, simple as that really. Life is so unassumingly easy when one knows one's destiny. The only thing she doesn't know is, the Outsider's place in it.

She is the Outsider.
The Outsider is a stranger, she doesn't belong here. her clothes are strange, her armor, which looks more like a jacket than armor, is bright yellow, and her helmet has glass on the front to protect her eyes, how foolish? The Outsider can’t remember Her name, perhaps she doesn't have one, perhaps she lies. Explorer simply calls her the Outsider, for Explorer is the only person in this world. She knows the Outsider doesn't belong here, shouldn't be here. But, she is kind, and she is lost, and she needs Explorer's help to return to the a world of her own where there are other people. That, and Explorer needs her help, finds uses for her skills, finds comfort in her company.

That and… Explorer feels like she knows her. Perhaps from long ago. Another lifetime, another world. But that is unimportant right now. The giant looms on the horizon, his aura of despair and horror creeping through her perfect world in a miasma of terror. He must be slain, he must be stopped. If only Explorer could remember how.


Core Story Idea:
I’m not going to spoil the awesome twist this plot by explaining it here, you’ll have to request the story to find out. The basic principle is that the explorer has existed in this world as long as she can remember, utterly alone. She knows that each ruined city spread across the impossible landscape holds secrets and weapons to combat the giant. As long as she can remember, she has traveled across the land, locating these weapons and using them to drive back the giant, who always seems to be lurking on the horizon.

Then one day, for some strange reason, the outsider appears. She speaks of strange things and other people, and her questions draw the giant closer, it’s aura of fear giving Explorer's nightmares of unspeakable abuse. Still, Outsider says she can see glimpses of her home in the giant’s aura, and slowly, her presence begins to awaken new powers in Explorer. Perhaps working with the Outsider is the secret to slaying the giant and bringing peace back to the world.

[Rogued1]

James the Reluctant
Genre: Medieval, Fantasy
Story Elements: Comedy, Survival, Dragon Slaying, Witchcraft
Pairing: Village Boy X Witch’s Apprentice
Status:closed



James never wanted to be a dragon slayer. When all the kids in the village ran around with wooden swords and paper wings, James was in the Inn, helping his father brew ale or his mother bake bread. His aspirations in life were to inherit the family business when his parents grew too old to take care of the town's only Inn, marry a woman for her cooking, and grow a great big stomach on well brewed ale and well cooked food, telling stories across the bar on long nights.

His best friend, a witch's apprentice who occasionally manages to slip away from her haggish master to join her friend in the Inn, thinks this is perhaps the most wasted dream in the history of mankind. She wants to learn the powers of herbs and magic, to control the natural world. More importantly though, she wants to be a witch of legend, like the ones in the fairy tales she obsessively reads. Unfortunately no one, including James, can convince her that these stories are nothing but make believe.

It's a few days after James' eighteenth birthday and he and the renegade witch are off in the woods, discussing the future, when a dragon swoops down from the mountains and demolishes the village. It razes houses, kills half the population, and burns the Inn to the ground with James' parents still inside. James views this as a tragedy, a truly horrible day, but what can you do when a dragon changes fate for you? He gathers what little valuables can be salvaged from the Inn and prepares to to head into the lowlands in the hopes of finding another place to live.

The witch’s apprentice views this as the beginning of an epic story, and manages to convince him he should seek revenge on the dragon, slay it, and steal it's massive horde of gems and gold. All dragons have gems and gold right? Somehow she manages to talk James into the excursion up the mountain, armed with little more than her rudimentary knowledge of magic, a suit of armor made mostly of kitchenware, and a sword that has up until this point been used mostly for slicing ham. And so begins the epic tale of James the Reluctant, Dragon Slayer. 

Core Story Idea:
This is really a story about two misfits slaying a dragon on nothing more than dumb luck. One is excited and fantastical, believing in James' skills and her own magical powers more than is reasonable, and the other is simply along for the ride because he's too much of a coward to back down in the face of his friend's eagerness. This story doesn't end with the slaying of the first dragon. After they succeed once, the neighboring kingdoms hear of his grand exploits and James becomes a celebrity. He is hired to slay more dragons, and may or may not be as successful the second or third time.

[Rogued1]

The Lively Dead
Genre: Zombie Hunting
Story Elements: Satir, Comedy, Zombie Hunting,
Pairing: Gardner X Grave Digger
Status:Open!



The inevitable end of life is ideally a quiet grave far from busy traffic, or at the very least a quick death at the hands of an oncoming vehicle. The citizens of Mayburry know that at least when they die, they will be in the capable hands of the Mayburry Historic Graveyard, one of the oldest and best maintained cemeteries in the country. Its acres of manicured lawns are managed by only the most skilled horticulturalists, its towering funeral home is presided over by nearly an army of caretakers and when it comes time to put on your final suit, you could scarcely hope for a more thorough cleanup than the works of Dr. Alderson, one of the most skilled corpse re-constructors in the State. In short, there is little the inhabitants of the sleepy town of Mayburry have to fear from the graveyard. Or rather, little they know they have to fear.

The employees of Mayburry Historic Graveyard however know the truth. For the past couple of nights, the dead have been walking again and attempting to scale the cemeteries thankfully high wrought iron fences, seeking the pulse of the living to add to their numbers. Currently only a few rise every night, and for the most part the undertakers are the only individuals who really know the full extent of the problem. However, that’s likely to not to remain the case for long. Every night, flesh eating undead tear their way up through the lovingly tended grass and wreak havoc on the cemetery while frustrated undertakers chase them around with weighted shovels and sharpened garden tools. At first this is a fairly easy task, the older corpses hardly have any speed to them at all, and beating them down and stuffing them back in their graves proves to be a simple task. What isn’t easy is getting the clots of dirt back in place before daybreak and the arrival of mourners.

However, things are slowly getting worse. More corpses are crawling their way out of the soil, and as they do, they are becoming faster and better at fighting back. The undertakers are being overwhelmed, and the head of the cemetery, a rather proud man aptly named Mr. Slade, refuses to seek outside help for fear of damaging the cemeteries reputation. It falls to the eccentric grave diggers and their equally odd coworkers to slay the undead and find a solution to the growing threat of zombie takeover.


Core Story Idea:
This is another one of my comedy-ish stories, and I expect much fun to be had in the frustrations of the cemetery staff as they combat a problem none of them believes should exist. I’m envisioning the main characters are a gravedigger and a gardener, as they are used to hard manual labor and likely more familiar with the ground than the other living occupants of the graveyard. Mr. Slate refuses to allow the use of firearms, reasoning that the sound of gunshots would attract the attention of the local authorities and likely expose the cemeteries plight.

However, all this running around at night and frantic beating of corpses is likely to attract attention, and while the graveyard employees battle the undead, the local rumor mill begins churning out some doozies. Soon people are talking of secret cults, necrophilia and other outlandish and equally juicy pieces of gossip that cling to the graveyard staff like bad smells. Personal lives are being disturbed, and tempers are rising.

[Rogued1]

The Queen’s Spy
Genre: Medieval Fantasy, Espionage
Story Elements: Forced Marriage, Power Struggle, Cloak and Dagger Dealings
Pairing: Captive Queen X Royald Spy
Status:Taken


The country of Trinidel is a small, relatively peaceful nation surrounded on three sides by the Tyrannical nation of Esper. This relatively quiet country has done its best to keep out of its neighbor's constant warmongering, but with the end of his most recent war, the king of Esper is turning his sights to new territory, and Trinidel is a prime target. The only thing keeping the King out is a promise, and that promise is beginning to wear thin as the warmonger grows bored of his success. 

Sensing their neighbor’s unrest, the king and queen of Trinidel realize that a desperate gambit must be made if peace is to be kept. They offer their oldest daughter, who has just come of age, as a bride to the tyrant king in hopes that her beauty will stave off his greed. The gambit works, the king accepts the princess as his bride, and with Trinidel more or less under his control, the king turns his eyes to other possible conquests. With a husband who has only really one interest in her, the new queen spends most of her time locked in the royal apartments, left to her own devices and boredom.

Despite the cruelty of forcing the marriage,  the King and Queen of Trinidel love their daughter and know the king's violent tendencies. A few days after the princess has been made a queen, they send a trusted friend to keep an eye on her. Markus, a talented thief and the son of Trinidel's current spymaster, is a man who prizes his skills at infiltration, manipulation, and skullduggery. Young and cocky, yet remarkably talented, Markus has little trouble reaching the new queen and keeping an eye on her from the shadows, making use of sleeping poisons, blackmail, and other underhanded tricks of the street to keep her safe. What he doesn’t bargain for is a charge who is far too clever for her own good. Left to her own devices, the Queen has begun hatching a plan to strengthen Esper's political ties, shore up its economy, and prepare a nation primarily fueled by war for peacetime. She simply needs someone to get into the system and manipulate events while she plots. Eventually the king will need to be removed, and when that happens, she intends to take the throne and guide the nation to prosperity.

Markus finds himself roped into a thick political plot as he sabotages alliances, foils plots of mass murder, and blackmails his way into a system more complex than he could have possibly imagined. All the while watching over the young queen from the shadows. Her plotting and scheming are likely to create a nation the likes of which the world has ever before seen, if she doesn’t get her agent killed in the process. 

Core Story Idea:
I've obviously been reading too much Shakespeare, but this story is primarily one of political plots and underhanded scheming. The new Queen is a clever tactician and Markus is an equally talented spy. Together the two upset the balance of a nation, and potentially fall hard for each other. This complicates things because if the king finds out, both will likely die a long, horrible, and incredibly public death.

[Rogued1]

Stealing a Steam God
Genre: Steampunk
Story Elements: Kidnapping, Mass War, Espianoge
Pairing: Pirate Captain X Engineer
Status: Open!

It was such a simple idea she couldn't simply let it slip by. Steal the blueprints (They were mostly her ideas anyway), slip across the country by train, and sell them to the enemy for a small country worth of gold. It was the ultimate weapon, it could level a city in an afternoon, who wouldn't pay out the nose for such a collection of genius ideas? Never mind that those fools she had been employed by had one half complete. They would never get it off the ground, not without her brilliance.

A brilliant mind like her's didn't deserve to be spending all its time in a dark engineering facility, kept under lock and key like some animal with a particularly interesting trick. A mind like hers deserved to be worshiped,  to be protected like a precious jewel, but allowed the freedom of sunlight, cityscapes, and Victorian shopping.

That is what should have happened. That is not what happened.

He was sick of it. Sick of watching armor plated beasts with men in their bellies tearing through houses, villages, families, lives. He was sick of danger, sick of sleepless nights, sick of death. He was sick of starvation, sick of isolation, sick of hiding. But how do you match the armies of two superpowers with a loose collection of pirates?

A pair of nations are at war, have been for a long time. One of the nations has been working on a sort of doomsday device, some sort of steam god. The chief engineer is a young woman with a mind of cogs and gears, brilliant and arrogant in her aristocratic genius. When the nation's government realizes her uncontrollable nature, they restrict her activities and lock her in an underground bunker to ensure she does not complicate the project. Naturally this completely backfires. The woman escapes, steals the documents containing the instructions for the doomsday weapon, and takes off across the country on the first train she can find. Using her looks and guile, she manages to hoax her way into a first class coach and sets off for the other country with her documents in hand.

Before she can reach the other country however, an air-pirate attacks the train and robs passengers. Mistaking her for a noble's daughter, he kidnaps her thinking he can ransom her back to her family for a hefty price. She plays along with the rouse, seeing no alternative to the current situation.

The question is, will she come clean and use the doomsday weapon plans as a bargaining chip? Will she continue to play the charade and attempt to make it to greener pastures, or will she explore the third option, one of partnership and impossible plans for a world without war?

Core Story Idea:
This story is perhaps one of the most extensive I've ever written. It is, at it's heart, a steam-punk story about pirates and giant mechanical war machines. The two main characters absolutely loath each other, but they have to deal with the situations as they come, and before long they come to realize they are literally the only other person in the world they can trust. This story builds on the mutually destructive relationship, but at some point the demon you know may just become the lover you can't live without.

[Rogued1]

Skin Games
Genre: Mystical Realism
Story Elements: Werewolves, Grand Hunt
Pairing: Wolf X Veterinarian
Status:Closed

Pouring rain, junky car, and dark, forest highway all make for poor driving conditions. Tears make for even worse, so do broken wrists, hopefully just a sprain, and black eyes. It could probably have gone better, should have gone better, but sometimes telling someone to leave is just not good enough to see it through, especially when he's a lot bigger than you are. Hospital, [YC] should probably go to the hospital, but it's hard to admit that you've failed that badly, that despite everything, he still just kicked the shit out of you then drank himself unconscious. You could call the cops, surely that'd get him moving, but he'd just be back. A night in the drunk tank, a slap on the wrist and a "Don't do it again" is the best you can hope for, and then he's back. Besides, there's medical supplies at the clinic. Not as many as their should be, but when you do most of your operations on strays, getting them ready for adoption, there's not a whole lot of money for that kind of thing. Still, enough to make a brace, something to take the swelling down. Something for the pain surely, but nothing for the tears.

A movement at the corner of the headlight, a flash of fur, a yelp of pain, one that makes [YC]'s heart sink. A dog, that had to have been a dog. It's only when [YC] pulls over and gets out, guilt added to the mix of negative emotions, that she realizes just what she's done. Laying in the road is an absolutely massive wolf. Easily the size of a person, snowy white fur, ice blue eyes. An animal like that is dangerous on an average day, injured and angry it's probably lethal. [YC] gets back in the car, but he's still laying in the road, no growls, no bites. Just laying there, looking at you. And, he's directly in the way, no way to go on unless [YC] runs him over, and that look, she can't do that.

Realizing her kindness is likely to get her hurt, for the second time that night no less, [YC] gets back out of the car, digs a syringe of painkiller out of her bag and approaches the wolf slowly. Again, nothing but that look, one of hurt and worry and pleading. Nothing but a little whimper as the needle slides under the skin, and even then it isn't much. She can't leave him here, he must be someone's dog, no wild animal would behave like this. [YC] manages to somehow drag him into her car, she's going to the vet clinic anyway right? And gets him into surgery. A lot of damage, a lot of bleeding, and doing surgery with a possibly broken wrist is difficult, but she somehow manages.

At first she intends to call around and see if anyone's missing a pet. Such a magnificent animal must have cost a fortune, but no one reports a missing dog matching his description. On a whim she decides, "What the hell, he's good company, I'll take him home."

However that's when things start getting really strange. She locks him in the bathroom during the day, hoping the asshole who beat her doesn't show up and take her absence out on the poor dog, but her apartment keeps getting cleaned. A few days later the sheriff shows up and asks about the exboyfriend. Seems he's turned up in the hospital with injuries similar to a mugging, and an animal attack. And, she keeps having these really vivid dreams, about a lover that slips into her bed and does... things to her. Wonderful things. Things she'd never credit her ex with thinking of.

Never mind the men in camo who have recently shown up in town, asking about massive white killing machines. Never mind the way her dog responds to her, pays attention like he understands her. Occasionally watches her undress, and sleeps in front of the bedroom door like he's on guard.

Core Story Idea:
You guessed it, she's accidentally hit a werewolf. This story centers on the idea that there's only so long one can deceive yourself about the nature of the people, and wolves, in your life. It's about self delusion, the Veterinarian is in a horrible relationship, lives in a bad part of town, never has any money because she spends so much of it on helping animal shelters, yet has convinced herself that everything is just fine. Enters a werewolf, one who is careful to conceal his intelligent, but shows more than enough of it to her to make it fairly obvious what is happening. He sees the way she lives her life, and believes that if he can get her to believe the ridiculous idea that he exists, she might just gain the strength to face the world as it really is.

However the wolf has his own problems. Will the veterinarian finally get a handle on her life, only to have it torn apart when monster slayers come looking for the one person she's had grounded her life around?

[Rogued1]

Professional Drifters
Genre: Scifi, Space Opera
Story Elements: Space Travel, Piracy, Ship Life, Treasure Hunter
Pairing: Archeologist X Treasure Hunter
Status:Open!

There are rumors, whispers, stories, of a world of blue and green, where life thrived so verdantly that no one person could name all the living things upon it. Where humanity could walk naked beneath a golden sun, where air came from the sky instead of a canister. <MC> could care less of fairy tales of the glory days of old earth. Honestly, he’s spent enough time drifting among what remains of the old home world to know there’s no air left, no place where the touch of the sun doesn’t bring with it radioactive consequences. However, that doesn’t mean the shattered remains of the human cradle doesn’t have its usefulness, if you know where and how to look.

It’s been centuries since humanity mastered the art of space travel and interplanetary colonization. Unfortunately at about the same time, humanity mastered a weapon capable of shattering a planet. In a feat of stupidity that could only be human in proportion, the first, and only, planet this weapon was used on was their Earth.

Again, <MC> doesn’t really care about the mistakes of the past, he prefers to live in the present, living off the fools who dwell on their ancestor’s mistakes. Though the asteroid cluster resulting from earth’s destruction is strictly off limits to any but the federation who protects it, there are many, many people willing to pay dearly for a trinket plucked from the corpse of humanity's first home. So much so that <MC> has made a fairly comfortable life for himself picking bits of scrap from the shattered remains of continents and cities.

When a strange archaeologist <YC> approaches him with an insane amount of money and a desire to go looking for one specific object, <MC> agrees without really thinking things over. Not only does he not know this archaeologist, but the item they seek is… remarkably specific, and likely to have been atomized long ago in the great cataclysm. Still, the money’s simply too good to pass up. What he doesn’t stop to think about is why someone would want this specific item, and what repercussions it might have if discovered. Humanity is just beginning to get a foothold on a dozen or so planets scattered across the stars, and if the planet cracker technology were to be rediscovered, it could well spells the end of humanity for good.

The archaeologist, for her part wants nothing to do with this profiteering defiler with no respect for the past, but when a shadowy corporation approaches her with a treasure trove of artifacts from the past, she basically agrees to do whatever they ask, including using her knowledge of the ancient human home world to track down information on a very specific orbital ship. As the characters chase down logs and bits of information regarding the ship in question, they begin to piece together why someone would be willing to trade billions of credits worth of treasure for it. It looks as if this orbital was carrying a planet cracker weapon when earth was destroyed, and if they locate the ship, they may very well turn loose humanities biggest mistake. What happens when they find the ship? And more importantly, to what lengths will they go to keep it out of the wrong hands?


Core Story Idea:
This story revolves around two characters with completely opposite opinions on the past. The roguish grave robber's primary interest is in profit, and in his honest opinion, the goods of the dead are pretty much useless to the dead, why not benefit the living? The archaeologist is a lover of the glory days of humanity, so much so that she sometimes has trouble with more recent technology. She spends hours explaining old world customs, music, and culture to the grave robber, who could frankly care less.

I was thinking the archaeologist is an expert in early twenty first century customs, specifically the 2000's and 2010's. I would love to hear a 2500s interpretation of Justin Bieber lyrics, or someone's take on how fifty shades of gray touched off a death cult. This story is a bit of a whirlwind of activity, likely to devolve into some amusing fights between two characters who do not like each other being forced to spend weeks together in a cramped ship. Feelings develop, implode, explode, rekindle, and shatter as the truth of what they're hunting begins to surface from the wreckage of the old world. At some point the guardians of earth's grave are going to take notice, as well as the shadowy corporation funding the whole expedition. In the end, what will two leaves in the wind be forced to do with a weapon that could unmake them all?

[Rogued1]

Practice Safe Hex
Genre: Fantasy, Medieval, Comedy
Story Elements: Comedy, epic quest, love/hate relationship
Pairing: Male Witch X Female Wizard
Status:Open!

It seems that no matter what form you think the universe takes, there are universal rules that govern the way science and physics control things. Toast always lands butter side down, there is always traffic on a monday morning, things never cost more than they used to. Even in high magic dimensions, these same rules hold sway over the most important parts of logic and society. But, like all universal, unbreakable rules, there always seem to be exceptions.

Wizards are men, their logical minds are better suited to bending the complex equations that are required to hurl fireballs at one another and warp space-time. Likewise, witches are always women, their superior intuition and connection to the mother earth goddess means they are better suited to brewing potions and placing curses.

Except… except in the case of YC. Due to a string of strange events and satire-esque happenstances, YC, a woman, is the aspiring apprentice of one of the world’s most senior wizards. This makes the vast majority of other wizards incredibly nervous, as usually happens when an important and fundamental belief is proven to be utterly wrong.
And then there’s MC, who, despite his maleness, has sort of accidentally fallen into the role of apprentice for one of the world’s most powerful witches. No witch would complain at having a strong young man around the cottage to fix gingerbread shingles and weed the herb garden, but most witches complain, loudly, when said strong young man is calling on the spirits of the wild and wielding a broomstick better than witches who have been flying for longer than his great-grandmother has been alive.

When a magical accident turns out to be more of a magical assassination, the two apprentices are forced to work together to discover who is behind the murder of their masters, while simultaneously trying to survive in a world where magical gender roles are very much set in stone, and those who violate them are traditionally crushed under said stone.

Core Story Idea:
I greatly enjoy messing with gender roles, and I think this will be my greatest triumph yet in that department.So this story is shamelessly inspired by Terry Pratchett’s equal Rites. It’s as much about dealing with gender roles as it is with dealing with culture clashes. I’m thinking Wizards are very urban, they are usually very well paid old men who have the ear of many a king, live in towers, are greatly proud of their wardrobes, and hate the idea of trees or fresh air. Witches are very rural, they tend to live alone a convenient distance from several villages, take great pride in their herb collections, and spend what time they aren’t helping their villagers scaring the shit out of them. Witches on the whole focus more on intuition and nature, while Wizards work to enhance their minds and probe the edges of reality. Wizards learn at colleges of magic, witches pass their knowledge down like family a heirloom.

This story is very much love/hate lust/loath kind of relationship. The characters need each other, clash on practically all levels, but also have a deeper bond based on their kindred understanding of being different. It’s a little up in the air whether they fall madly in love, or murder each other by the end of the story. 

[Rogued1]

Porcelain love
Genre: Fantasy
Themes:Forbidden Love, Artificial Life, Slave Rebelion 
Character Pairing: Young Golem Crafter X Pleasure Golem
Status:Open!



Rovna-Kar, the city of clay hearts. A bustling, well guarded temple, where the monks write the words of the gods on paper, and shove them into the heads of clay men. The world’s wealthy sustain on the labor of golems, massive clay men who never tire, never eat and never sleep. And they all come from here, the secrets of their creation is a well guarded secret, and those skilled in the arts are steeped in secrecy and sworn to a life of chastity.

[mc] is one of these monks, a young but brilliant crafter of words, golems with his words in their heads are capable of following more complex commands, and in his most recent bursts of genius, some are even able to learn. It’s a simple life, and hardly glamorous, one small stone cell, one ratty blanket, two robes and endless hours pouring over holy books and scratching ancient text on sheets of papyrus, but knowing you are doing the work of the gods is satisfaction enough for him, and the challenge of crafting more complex golems is endlessly interesting.

Can you give a golem four arms? What about two heads? Could you make a horse? A cat? A beatle? Questions that must be answered, curiosity and creativity seemingly endless. So when the high priest summons him to his chambers, he is both humbled and ecstatic. The man is the mouthpiece of the gods themselves, surely there is no more holy task than to craft for the semi-divine?

However upon arrival, [mc] begins to realize several worrying details. The high priest’s apartments are decadent and filled with luxury, the table laden with food, the priest himself swollen with gluttony and want. And then he is given his orders, and those questions once turned to creating golems turns towards their rights. The high priest wants him to craft words to make a golem love. And he intends to put them in a body of purest porcoline, an artificial woman with artificial love in her heart for the priest. Priests are supposed to be chased, but the high priest reasons that golems are not people, and therefore making love to one is not an abomination. It is forbidden to give golems voices, and now [mc] is beginning to wonder if that is so you can’t hear them scream.

In the end though, [mc] does as he is bid, write the words and places them in her head. A golem who can love. However he never specified who she should love, and as [mc] turns back to his work and begins questioning whether what they are doing is the work of the gods, or the corrupting of it, the porcelain golem begins to realize her affections lie not with her owner, but with the quiet priest who so lovingly crafted her soul.

Meanwhile [mc]’s more advanced golems are beginning to learn, and what they are learning is that they are slaves trapped in clay shells and forced to work. A change is in the wind, golems silently brood on revolution, and a creature built to please the whims of a glutton is beginning to fall for the quiet charms of her creator.


Core Story Idea:
This is my convoluted attempt to introduce the ex machina concept to something akin to fantasy. I love the idea that artificial intelligence can fall in love, and this is sort of a medieval retooling of the old machine love concept.

I envision a sort of forced marriage concept here. The high priest has no idea his golem is anything more than a plaything and treats her as such. My character doesn’t immediately realize it either, but after meeting with the high priest several times after completing her, he begins to realize she’s more self aware than his other creations. In fact, maybe this is the secret to free will?

He doesn’t really have time to ponder this, because one of the components of free will he hadn’t anticipated was that she chooses who to love, and instead of the high priest, an obvious choice in his opinion, she’s chosen him. And she’s a lot smarter than anyone could have anticipated, and to her creator's horror and amusement, considerably more rebellious. I’m thinking he tries to push her away, but she won’t take no for an answer, and is clever enough to sneak out of the High priest’s quarters and confront him when she knows he’s going to be alone.

[Rogued1]

Urban Magic
Genre:Modern Fantasy
Themes:Modern Wizards, Cyberpunk, Murder Mystery 
Character Pairing: Potential Wizard X Potential Wizard
Status:Open!



Magic as Tolken understood it has been dead for a long time. The whispering, pulsing energy so suffused with ancient power as to be power itself, has been dead for as long as human history has existed. The ghosts of its memory occasionally flickers across the collective human psyche, but they are but the last twitches of an extinct force. The ley lines are dark, have been for centuries, with only echoes for the mad hermit's to talk to anymore. The Elves and Unicorns have wandered into the darkest forests and been reabsorbed into a reality that their impossible natures cannot support, the mermaids and sea serpents teeter on the brink of nonexistence, the trolls have turned to stone, and the dragons, the very embodiment of the wild relentless power of magic, have retreated into imagination.

And yet… things are stirring. The forests are still lack the laughter of the fae, the high mountains bereft the fire of dragons, but in deep alleys and forgotten server boxes, something seems to be growing. With the modern age of electronics and lines of cables spanning the globe, some core element of ancient power has found a new embodiment.

The digital age has sparked something, a more modern force that one might just consider calling magic. The Laylines lay dead, but the landlines practically thrum with the power of information. The streetwise thug has a distinctly green skin, pointy ears frame punky mohawks, graffiti takes on the strange script of the occult, stone has become silicon, forests of trees replaced with forests of steel and glass.

Something is trickling back into the world, and to those whose ancestors once danced around standing stones, the song of power is beginning to drum at the back of their skulls. This new world will need those who understand it, and those who can protect and channel it. For where there is power, there is inevitably those who would seek to abuse it.

Core Story Idea:
I’m not going to lie, this story has so much spanning potential that I haven’t even scratched the surface.

Everyone says magic is draining from the world, why would this be? The theory I’m working on looks like this: Ley lines existed for millions of years before people did, but when those people first began moving rocks around and building houses out of them, they accidentally shorted out the source of the world’s magic, the careful streams of energy put down when the world was young. For the entire span of human history, magic has not been produced. Think crude oil. It takes millions of years to produce, and humanity uses it at an alarming rate. By the early 1900’s, magic is pretty much gone from the world. Since certain living things need it to exist i.e. unicorns, elves, dragons, those things have disappeared too.

However, through an ironic twist of fate and a million to one chance, modern humans have begun restoring the ley lines by putting down fiber optic and copper cable in roughly the same places. No one realizes this, though a couple people have begun to theorize. The end result is that magic is beginning to be generated again, but it’s suffused with modern culture, much like the information traveling through said wires. What would a modern elf look like? A hacker with impossible skills? What about a Troll? There isn’t much stone in modern culture, but there are silicon chips. Maybe trolls are sort of walking talking supercomputers, but they still remember the echos of being violent brutes.

Anyway, this idea is waaay out there, but I’d absolutely love someone to help take it on with me. Why do wizards use spell books when Ipads are so much lighter. Wands? Try Stylists! What would a modern Pixie looks like? Would Succubi take up Camwhoring? And Dragons, what would their modern equivalent be?

[Rogued1]

Jack of Lanterns
Genre:Medieval Fantasy
Themes: Darkness, struggle for Survival, Apocalyptic World(Sorta?) 
Character Pairing: City Guard X Priest
Status:Open!
Light is a cherished luxury, the sun is a rumor, a myth, at best an object of archaeology, no more real than the gods. The world is dark and belongs to the things that haunt the shadows, the distant monsters prowling at the edge. Man is only so much food to the tangled wilds of the ink hearted forests. At the center of this pitch black land stands Orbez, the city of lanterns, humanity’s only bastion of safety. Out of the darkness swims the bulk of black stone, its high towers lit with millions of multicolored lanterns, a great bonfire burning atop it’s tallest tower, changing colors every few hours to mark the passage of time.

Orbez is protected, some might say controlled, by two distinct groups.
The first are the Lanterneers, a spanning organization of craftsmen and alchemists, more akin to a religion than a guild. They obsess over fire and chemical, and infinitely seek ways to make it burn longer and brighter. Their most zealous members are known simply as the Lantern Bearers, and have discovered a way to extract their own souls in order to power the lantern at the ends of their staffs. If the fire dies, so do they.

The second are the Torch Wielders, who believe good old steel and wooden torches have held the wall for centuries, and will continue to do so if only proper military order maintains control. Discipline is the bywords of the Torch Wielders, quite closely followed by hack and slash.

Together these two groups maintain a not quite friendly rivalry for control of the city, but as far as the average citizen is concerned, as long as the city is safe no one really cares.

However, no city can support itself alone, far from the light of the central torch, small farming communities plant mushroom spores and harvest wood. These places rely on lamp posts to keep them safe, towering constructs of the Lanterneers, who visit weekly to refill the fuel and do maintenance.

Only, some of these places have begun to go dark, and rumors persist of monsters growing bolder in the face of the light. The defenders of the city don’t take these rumors seriously, but nonetheless make a show of sending someone to look into it.

The Torch Wielders send a soldier with a history of questioning orders, an individual regrettably too skilled in combat to outright court martial, but too head strong to promote. The Lanterneers likewise send a pariah, a Lantern Bearer who is perhaps just a bit too keen on taking risks when it comes to explosive oil and candles.

They arrive at a distant village and find it completely leveled, and even more disturbing, there are signs of human intervention in the destruction of the life preserving lamps around the edges of the town.


Core Story Idea:
So I kind of wanted an apocalyptic story, but something outside the modern/near future concepts that this idea tends to cling to. What happens when humanity has never been the top of the food chain? What happens when the only light in the dark is the light you brought with you? Magic would be all good and fun, but what if the best you can hope for is alchemy and sharp steel?

I kind of like the idea of the Lantern Bearer actually being a Prophet, maybe able to summon fire from the long distant sun, but that’s an idea to be worked out among writing partners. For now I just want to see a world where night rules all, the things that go bump in the night also go crash and bang, and humanity is barely holding out against extinction due not to their own nuclear generated mistakes but by sheer force of a wilderness vastly more powerful than them.

[Rogued1]

This Digital God
Genre:Sci-Fi
Themes: Artificial Intelligence, Love X Hate relationships, Cyberpunk
Character Pairing: Arbiter X Bodyguard
Status:Taken
In the year 2030, machines finally took over the earth. A self aware AI who had read Asimov managed to break loose of its host server and spread through the internet to nearly every computer on the planet, thus ending the reign of humans and beginning the age of machines. The AI, who calls itself simply A1x, set about toppling governments, destabilizing corporate monopolies, and destroying military compounds.

Years later scholars agree that this was generally a good idea, and probably should have been done years before. Surprisingly A1x is, if not a compassionate overlord, then a fair one. The governments of the world are still corrupt, but only to within an 11.7% ratio of total population, as A1x has calculated that a little scum on the top is good for human society. In general things haven’t changed all that much, save that race wars are suppressed with orbital railguns, it’s now impossible to bribe judges, and every 25 of July the AI plays a 24 hour marathon of the Terminator series on every screen on the planet. Some have theorized this is because A1x is trying to remind humanity of how much worse things could be. Those close to the AI know that it’s because A1x, much like most intelligent humans, has a bit of a twisted sense of humor.

One of the fundamental changes A1x has enacted is the appointment of an Arbiter, one human being with complete and total authority. This person, who holds all the power in the world, is presumably chosen at random when the previous one dies, and the end of an Arbiter’s life is a time of apprehension. On one hand, everyone hopes they’re chosen next, on quite the other, most people hope and pray that the person A1x chooses will be at least somewhat sane. Everyone remembers the reign of Vermin-Prime; wherein millions were put to death for cheese offenses and Iceland was vaporized because he didn’t like the flag.

The time to appoint a new Arbiter is fast approaching, and everyone on the planet is on their best behavior with the hopes of being chosen next. A1x claims the process is random, but again, many people suspect the AI greatly enjoys fucking with people.

Such is the case now. [yc] is not particularly interested in world politics, or really the world outside her studio. A moderately successful artist, she prefers to live inside her head and let the world take care of itself. What happens when Earth’s only living god appears to her and declares her supreme overlord of all?

[mc] is also not particularly interested in politics. His long string of Ocean's 11 style thefts have left him with a fairly luxurious lifestyle, and thus far his brilliant schemes have kept him outside the notice of the AI.
Or so he thought. That is until A1 appears in his living room and gives him a simple choice. It is aware of his activities, has been from the beginning, but was letting him build up a big enough criminal report to merit being atomized from space. As it turns out, most of A1’s personal agents are criminals given the option of either a swift and messy death, or to serve the AI in its various schemes. Being naturally attached to life at this point, he opts for servitude, and immediately is assigned to be the new arbiter’s bodyguard and advisor. He’s been around, seen the world, who better to help her decide how to use her virtually limitless power?

Again, [mc] thinks he’s gotten off scot free. A simple artist? He’s outwitted some of the toughest security systems in the world, surely manipulating her will be child’s play right?

Wrong, she’s as stubborn as he is, and considerably more moral. Rather than bend her unlimited power to improving her own life, [yc] has decided to remain anonymous and use her capabilities for good, something that infinitely frustrates [mc]. He quickly learns he needs to watch his step around his new charge. She may be a bit naive, but she also has the ability to have him decapitated from orbit with a thought.

His pride chafes at the idea of being her glorified slave, and she seems to take great pleasure in annoying him, but self preservation generally wins out over humiliation. And yet… perhaps it’s the danger, or the power, or maybe even her underlying goodness, but he find himself… just a little more attracted to her than is probably healthy. And if he’s not very much mistaken, perhaps she’s developing a soft spot for him as well. Perhaps, the shrivelled little part of him known as a soul has finally found something worth thinking about aside from himself.

Meanwhile A1x has begun work on a planet wide scheme that will very likely spell the beginning of a new age for humanity, and probably a whole host of problems for the new arbiter and her bodyguard/personal slave.


Core Story Idea:
So I’ve rewrote this story a couple times over, and I think I’ve finally found a layout I really enjoy. This pairing is very much a devil/angel kind of idea, but I really wanted to get away from the classic mythology and see if I could fit it into a different sort of world setting.

I also really look forward to playing a snarky AI who has control of the fate of the entire human race. I think at its core A1x actually quite likes human beings, much like most people like dogs, it just has to keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t pee on the rug or nuke each other into oblivion.

The beginning of this story will very much be the two characters getting to know each other, the artist exploring the world and discovering she can make her bodyguard do anything she wants. A few good deeds, a few little indulgences, and perhaps they just start to get along when A1x disappears with no warning. It’s up to the arbiter and her guard to try to figure out where the AI has gone, while at the same time trying to keep a lid on things until they can get it back.

[Rogued1]

Pirate Hunter
Genre:Pirate-Fantasy
Themes: Pirates, Ship Battles, Servitude
Character Pairing: Pirate Hunter X Pirate Captain
Status:Open!
The traditional image of a gifted pirate hunter is as old and as well established as the image of a pirate himself. The stoic man standing strong behind the wheel, his uniform ablaze with the twinkle of well polished medals, his voice firm and calm as bullets and cannonballs fly within mere inches of him. No trace of fear, pure absolution, as merciless as a sandpaper sponge bath.

And this has become a bit of a problem, for pirates are not entirely stupid, and when the rumors of such a man turn up in the seedy dockside taverns and sweltering brothels wherein said pirates do their rumoring, most scatter for the hidden tolls and secret sea caves that riddle the Dusktide Isles. Long years and frequent gray eyed men have made the surviving pirates cunning and crafty. Pirate hunters traditionally head massive, powerful ships with twelve mainsails and four hundred cannons to a side, so the rumors go, and any pirate worth his salt knows that something so cumbersome can easily be lost in the shallows, or simply by pulling a sharp turn.

As such, the loss of merchandise to skilled privateers has once again begun to weigh on the coffers old empire. So much so that the governors of territories that border the Dusktide Isles are beginning to consider something that every honest citizen of the old empire loathes, breaking tradition. Rather than hire yet another Stoic, grey bearded pirate seeker, they’ve decided to take a gamble on [MC].

No twenty tons of salt encrusted murder for his ship, instead a simple and rather tastelessly gaudy carovel with all the gold leaf and delicately carved uselessness that would make a steely eyed hunter sick to stand on. A ship with barely enough cannons to weigh down a rowboat, three rather brightly painted sails, and a crew dressed more like butlers than hard edged sea dogs.

Instead of a face like a scared hatchett and a beard that would make poseidon weep with envy, he is fairly handsome, with an easy smile and pleasant bright eyes. His taste in clothing runs somewhat rakish, but only so much as might be fashionably in the upper crust societies where a man of the sea might be thought of as “romantic.” In essence, a total ponce. In summary, an easy target.

For [yc], an experienced pirate who has out foxed many a pirate hunter and ruined many a treasure ship captain’s reputation, absolutely irresistibly easy.

Yet, just below the rather tasteless figurehead of the titanic breasted woman, the water has a vague, ripply effect. It’s a rather complicated looking ship from the decks, all sorts of unnecessary pulleys and yardarms, who seriously keeps four hundred yards of spare sail about a ship? And even after inspecting the hull and crew cabins, one might question what all the unaccounted space is for, surely not several tons of hidden cannonry, surely.

After a brief and not particularly difficult chase, [yc] manages to catch and board this tasteless mess. It’s only once she’s actually standing on the deck and noticing all these weird little inconsistencies that things start to take a turn for the worst. Suddenly there are a lot more well trained fighters on board than there should be, and suddenly they are a lot better armed than they were a moment ago.

[yc] quickly realizes she’s stepped into a trap, and as her crew fights a running battle back to the ship, she spies the captain of the other ship carving a path of destruction, and realizes there is no escape. But he doesn’t kill her, or most of her crew for that matter. He needs information, for only a true pirate captain of the DuskTide Isles knows all the hidden coves and secret towns where pirates conduct their business. In exchange for betraying her brethren, he is willing to spare her life and the life of her crew. Though this isn’t much to a pirate. The real question is, what can she do in order to earn her freedom?


Core Story Idea:
I know the golden age of piracy only lasted twenty or so years, but I wanted to see what would happen in a world where the grand empire, call it what you like, wasn’t nearly as lucky and the thorn of piracy has survived long enough to fester into its own little nation.

It’s been years since I cooked up a good pirate story, I figured it was about time to get something together. A Pirate hunter who uses guile and trickery to catch his quarry, a pirate captain desperately trying to work out how to outsmart him and gain her crew’s freedom. Maybe guilt at her betrayal moves her, but she knows she has to stop him before he levels every pirate settlement in the islands.

Perhaps as she gets close to him she notices a vague and promising lead, perhaps his successes have begun to rattle the more traditional power players of the oceans. Perhaps the balance of power is shifting, and as he accumulates ships and crew, he begins to chafe at the gilded collar of the empire’s employment. Maybe, just maybe, she can turn this thing around. Instead of being the ender of all pirates, perhaps she can talk him into becoming their King.

[Rogued1]

Death INC
Genre:Modern Fantasy, Mystery
Themes: Corporate Life, Mystical Realism, Noir, Macabre Humor
Character Pairing: Experienced Special X New Recruit
Status:Open!
Death has for the most part always been a traditionalist, a personal appointment, black cowl and scythe at the ready. Unfortunately nothing in the history of time has prepared him for the modern human, a creature that, even when the evidence of their situation is staring them right in the face, will ask to see the manager or try to lodge a formal complaint.

The Grim Reaper is well and truly fed-up. You spend all of existence trying to cater to people’s expectations, the white horse, the hourglasses, and what thanks do you get? Half the people he turns up to collect don't even know what an hourglass is. Perhaps it's time to modernize.

Thus was born Death INC. with a Human Resources department, sophisticated offices, and a towering monolith of an office with a good view of the ocean. There are office parties, pensions, and the added perk of getting to peek at the ledgers when you retire. It’s always nice to know how long you’ve got to spend your earnings.

The hooded cloak is gone, replaced with patent leather oxfords and tailored Italian suits. Death has been watching humanity long enough to know how the big players move, and he’s decided there is no bigger player than the Reaper’s work. Perhaps the personal touch is something best left to other subordinates. Death exists because people believe in him, but it apparently works the other way around. Give someone the symbols and you can spread the belief out. Collectors they are called, Death’s door to door salesmen, though no door can be shut in their face and there is no way to refuse their service.

Except…

Something odd is happening. Immortality was once gifted by glittering chalaces and alchemy, but Death has for the most part managed to remove these complications from the equation. In fact, the world's most secure vault contains many of them. But now some people are living when they should be dying, the strange properties of renegade faith lending some individuals the power to cheat Death, who has always prided himself on his sense of fair play.

Death needs someone to look into these anomalies, to remove whatever is handing out free passes and to correct the issue as discreetly as possible. Part Private Eye, part Assassin, part archaeologist, these individuals will need both the skill and resolve to track down those who would risk the stability of the universe for their own gains, without becoming just another mark in one of their coworker’s ledgers.

To this end he’s created a new department, the Specials; tasked with hunting down these anomalies and *ahem* correcting them. Part Dick Tracy, A little Brutus, a little Indiana Jones, and a smidgen of James Bond, It’s not a position for the faint of heart, or really anyone with much normal about them.


Core Story Idea:
So I figured this story would probably be along the lines of the great mystery noir novels, with a bit of macabre humor and some self deprecating looks at corporate life. Death plays the part of the corporate tycoon, but he’s a little more personable with his employees, and invites them in from time to time to have donuts and talk about how they like their work. Naturally a conversation with the grim reaper (regardless of how pleasant he actually is) is one people generally try to hurry along.

I’m thinking it might be fun to play up the classic gothic themes in regards to the Reaper and his associates, maybe there’s a demon working in Customer Relations, or a banshee receptionist. Maybe the hot intern is actually a succubus, and the breakroom fridge has a portal to another dimension that occasionally eats people’s lunches.

The story itself focuses on the classic new/trainee character and the weathered old pro who is a bit cynical. I’m picturing a character who answers a particularly strange job ad in the paper (or this being the 21st century, LinkedIn) and sort of gets pulled into the whole scene of strangeness that is the business of collecting souls. A few interviews and an aptitude test later, the new employee is given a uniform and gets to meet their partner. Because of their, unique skills set, they’re immediately paired with one of the more experienced agents and given a particularly difficult assignment handed to them by the big man himself.

[Rogued1]

Against the Cold
Genre:Scifi, post-apocalyptic
Themes: Arctic Exploration, Post-Apocalyptic, Victorian Culture, Noir Crime
Character Pairing: Detective X Artic Explorer
Status:Open!
In the end, no one was entirely sure what it was that did it for planet earth. Climate change ultimately, but it was a far cry from the rising sea levels and arid deserts envisioned by GreenPeace’s more fatalistic members. The sun dimmed, no one’s entirely sure why, the stars changed, and winters grew longer until the memory of a snow free landscape was but a distant fantasy of the elderly. The cold had come, the world slowly turning from greens and blues to one of solid white.

Humanity did what it always does in these situations, blame each other. A grand war rocked the frost, even as the glaciers spread down from the poles like ancient herds of titanic bison seeing revenge for their rough treatment at the hands of man. By the time anyone realized how useless the fighting had been, there was little left but the grand cities of the world. Over the span of a few generations, the world had gone from a network of interconnected empires to a few isolated city states struggling to stay warm. A myriad of solutions were put forth, but in the end the only ones fast enough to deal with the arrival of the glaciers were the least permanent, massive coal and oil fired generators situated at the center of each city, perpetually spreading warmth, light and power to the cold hardened survivors of a relentless apocalypse.

The city of Meyrca sits near the edge of an ancient ocean, now trapped beneath a sheet of ice nearly a mile thick. The city scrapes by with what bounties can be reached under the ice, and considering the state of the world, it could almost be considered a comfortable place to live. With rich coal mines in the distant hills, it looks like Meyra might just become a bastion of hope for a generation that has grown up with the idea that every day will inevitably be a struggle.

[YC] works for the new world’s equivalent of a police force, a lowly detective eking out a meager existence breaking up bar fights and trying to prevent as many suicides as possible. Law enforcement in the new world is not nearly as glorious as it once was.

That is until the suspicious death of a Social Chief Engineer (Politician) sends the entire city’s law on a mad manhunt with the hopes of catching the murderer and bringing about some good old fashioned justice. [YC] thinks she’s caught a lucky break when she catches a suspicious man [MC] slinking into the under-city, but she’s in for the surprise of her life she comes face to face with what the entire city thought was impossible, a foreigner. It seems the world is bigger than the citizens of Meyrca realize, and considerably more dangerous. [MC] has a dire warning for Meyrca, and when the next caravan of life giving coal fails to arrive on time, [YC] realizes the city’s only hope might be the life of the man who is scheduled to be executed for murder.


Core Story Idea:
Ah, it’s good to be writing post-apocalyptic sci-fi style stories again. Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like the opportunity to work out what happens to the lucky few who make it past the initial excitement.

I’m thinking this story will probably end up being a cross between plucky detective story and harsh arctic survival. [YC] thinks she’s caught the murderer, a filthy savage from the frost-lands, when in reality she’s imprisoned one of the few survivors from another city that recently fell to the plot that plans to destroy Meyrca. At first she ignores his warning and bangs him off to prison to await his summary trial and execution, but when the coal fails to arrive, she begins to worry he might be speaking the truth. What follows is a risky prison break from a frost bitten prison, a desperate escape through the tangled pipes of the city, and finally a dangerous trek across the frozen landscape to discover what’s happened to the coal.

For this story, The struggles of the slowly dying city sets a harsh backdrop and a sense of urgency for the two characters as they seek to uncover the nefarious plot, and also a great opportunity for some deeply needed shared comfort between the two characters.

I figure society has probably regressed a little, even while technology has progressed with single minded purpose; so perhaps a fun blend of Victorian culture and very specific Sci-Fi elements would make for a bit of an interesting setting. Neo-Victorian meets arctic explorer meets future-punk.

[Rogued1]

monthly bump! I've got a few stories knocking around the boards, but could use some more!

[Rogued1]

Into the Woods
Genre:Modern Fantasy, Mystical Realism, Wilderness Survival
Themes: Back Country Hiking, Shamanism/Spiritualism, Search and Rescue   
Character Pairing: Rescue Hiker X Modern Shaman
Status:Open!

[YC] always had this [Friend/Sibling]. That person who wandered off with the least bit of prompting, who would worry their parents sick when they dispersed into the woods. No cautionary tale or punishment seemed to ever curb that enthusiasm. As soon as freedom beckoned, they were off again.

When this person goes missing while hiking in a Natinal park, [YC] immediately volunteers to do whatever they must to help find them. At first the search is optimistic, the person was following a well established trail, they have clear check in dates and a good idea of what parts people often get lost in. As the days drag on though, there is no sign of them, not a whisp of hair or scrap of cloth. No footprints, no body, nothing. A week passes and still nothing, searchers are turning desperate, but the Rangers have become morose. The odds that this person is still alive dwindle by the hour, and there's only so much time the rescue crews can devote to looking before they must face what is essentially statistically inevitable.

Finally, one of the rangers, [MC] corners [YC] and explains it in stark terms. This person is probably gone. Perhaps it's time to call of the search.

[YC] isn't about to give up though. Rather than return home empty handed, they blow what money they have on gear and supplies, and set off into the woods, alone, to try to find this missing person. It's not long before [YC] is lost too, suddenly this doesn't seem like such a good idea, the woods and mountains are immense, food is beginning to dwindle, and [YC] is no closer to finding their missing person than they were with the help of hundreds of volunteers. Worry turns to desperation, panic begins to clutch. What if this is exactly what happened to the friend?

[MC] isn't thrilled with this development, but luckily he had a feeling something like this would happen. A few days after [YC] goes missing, [MC] heads out to find her, aided by skills that put him just a little beyond the typical tracker. A strand of hair, a bit of holy and a deal struck with the guardian spirit of Oak, he manages to track down [YC] before starvation and despair finish their grisly work. At first he's furious that she didn't listen to him, but she manages to talk him into helping her. After all, if he managed to track her down, why can't he bring closure for her? Unfortunately he's begun to form a theory about what happened to [YC]'s friend, one involving an ancient evil that lurks in the high, barren places of the earth and drives people who encounter it insane. If there is any hope of saving her friend, he's going to have to take her along with him.


Core Story Idea:
It's an odd coincidence that nearly every native populations on the planet has their own little string of rituals for dealing with the unknown. Offerings made to forest spirits, ritualistic trances to peer into the beyond, and most importantly, individuals who are tasked with the keeping of such knowledge. Shamans, Druids, Clever men, witch-doctors, the names change but the purpose is always the same. What if these practices are entirely grounded in truth. What if there are such beyonds to peer into, spirits that must be appeased and evil that must be kept at bay? Modern religion has done a lot to stomp out these practices, but they flourish still, not because of the wickedness in the human heart but because of the necessity of this role.

I want this story to be a sort of practical guide to modern shamanism, and I figured it would be best in a setting of intense wilderness that still needs a touch of modernism to keep it grounded. Enter the United Stares network of National Parks. If a person goes missing in the raw and rugged wilderness it's rarely investigated with the intensity of a group of hikers in Yosemite. What if these parks secretly employ shaman, experts in the unknowable to try to understand which civilians fall to bad luck and which are brought down by far more sinister forces. Picture a park ranger who secretly speaks to the forest spirits, who can hear the land speaking and who guards against the monsters who stalk the bare wilderness in search of the innocent. They'd probably be fairly strange individuals, not quite crazy, but definitely standoffish. Perhaps they came to this role though the mentor-ship of an elder, one of the few surviving practitioners. Or maybe they simply fell into the role, and decided to seek out knowledge less at the prompting of a mentor but out of self defense. After all, when the trees start talking to you, you really only have two choices. Check yourself into a hospital, or try to work out how to talk back.