Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have this wish I wish tonight.
A dream is a wish your heart makes…
Magic… it shimmers all around us, and is found in the most innocent of things. The blooming flowers, the rising sun, the stars that twinkle in the velvety dark sky. Everywhere there is beauty in the world that is taken for granted by the busy mortal world. The love of nature and the wonder of magic has been lost to the world, only to be replaced by technology, bringing mankind farther away from their imagination. The world of fantasy is in danger of dying, one by one the stories that have been told over decades are being forgotten, leaving those iconic characters to grown dimmer in the minds and in the hearts of the innocent.
However, in a small town in middle america a librarian who seems impossibly old has opened the doors of the town's library, offering a magical time for children known as “Story Time”. Busy mothers and fathers flocked to the ancient building, thrilled to be given the chance of free babysitting. The children were charmed by the stories told, igniting their imaginations and sparking something magical in the air, an opening the mystical realm that combines the world of fantasy with the reality of the mortal realm.
The culprit is a book called the Libris Fabula, which slowly drains the life of the people, young or old, hearing its stories,giving that life force to the one reading the book. Mrs. Winthrop, a harmless looking older lady with a sweet smile and a twinkle in her eye. It is important to understand, while the book feeds from the the young, it does not drain them fully, therefore allowing the magical chain to continue.
For years the impossibly old librarian known lovingly to the children as “the Story Time lady” filled her life force from the innocents of children, sparking their imagination that had been previously dulled by todays technology. All was well… or so she thought. What Mrs. Winthrop did not know was that there was another side effect to the use of the magical book, one that even she could not have imagined…
With each imagination sparked came the innocent wishes for the stories that had become treasured to become true. With enough heartfelt magic sent into the universe a mystical door opened, allowing the characters of popular fairy tales and children’s stories to come true. The magic grew each year until it became a living force that carved out its own place in the reality of man. And soon a town was formed by the name of Faircastle, with a population that keeps growing with every magical portal revealed.
Life for these beloved characters was much different to the one they knew before. No longer trapped within the written pages of their life, some characters have discovered that they enjoyed the freedom of choice. The stories were turned upside down, with glass slippers not being left behind, young maidens choosing not to enter magical castles, and those trapped in high towers finding their own way out. Prince Charmings were not guaranteed a happy ending, and sometimes the naughty found they enjoyed being good.
However, there were some that did not relish the changes they saw and set out to return the world of fantasy back to the magical world within the pages of the books. Like the other side of the coin, they found themselves working to find the source of magic that brought down their perfect worlds to right the wrongs done to them.
Two goals were set…. one side wishing to return the world of fantasy to what once was, while the other side would fight against the movement to return to what had once been nothing short of a jail sentence.
What side will your character choose? Will the freedom of choice win out, or will the roles that were once written remain the chains that keep Fantasy and Reality separate?
Questions and Answers… what’s this all about?What is the basic concept of the game?A fantasy game that takes a spin on popular fairy tales. Basically characters from these stories will find their “ground hog day” life interrupted, suddenly finding themselves in a small town located in the very center of an enchanted forest. Your characters will go from having their life written out for them and played exactly the same way for centuries, to suddenly having the freedom of free will. But such a freedom comes with a price. As the game evolves it will be up to your character to decide if the price of their freedom comes at a cost too high for them to live with. Will it be back to “Happily Ever After” or was that life not all that it was cracked up to be?
Where will this game be found?Non-consensual Human Group section. Third person past tense writing please.
Who's it open to?Anyone and everyone is welcome to join with characters of any gender or sexual orientation. New players will always be welcome, the nature of the overall plot allows for new characters to arrive in Faircastle throughout the games lifetime.
Who's the GM?Swashbuckler and Loves will be your friendly neighbourhood GMs for this game so please don't hesitate to share questions/comments/concerns, we don’t bite.
What kind of characters will be involved?A list of optional characters will be offered, however if you wish to add to that list, a PM to the GMs requesting such is all it will take to get the ball rolling. However, it will be important to have your character fit in with the overall plot and make sense. No video game characters will be admitted unless you can convince the GMs otherwise. We ask that you get permission for a character not listed prior to working on a character sheet.
Game pacing and tone?While it is understandable that people's posting speeds vary, it is also reasonable to request that communication between players take place. While there will not be a post requirement, we ask that you try and stay in contact with your fellow writers and keep scenes from fading out. If we have not seen a post in three weeks you can expect a friendly PM in your message box checking to see if all is okay. If there is no reply after a week, the second PM will be notice will give a weeks notice that your place in the game is in question. After that week a GM will take control of the absent character to help see the scene through. After which the character will be listed as inactive and open for another player to submit a character sheet.
The game will be a sandbox format, with players welcome to bring their own plots into the mix. However, there will also be GM driven storylines throughout the game life, of which player participation is optional. We will start just by opening up the first week for general posting and trust players to look after their characters timeline. Depending on the posting speed of the game, we will move forward every month or so, but this can alter depending on the wishes of the players.
How Many Threads Will there be?We will start off with five main threads. One for the town itself (Faircastle), one for the residents homes, one for the surrounding enchanted forest, one for the beach and oceanfront area, and finally one private thread for any smexiness that these characters get up to. Once the story evolves there will be one more thread opened which will hold scenes that are outside of Faircastle and beyond the enchanted forest.
Rules of Play:- The characters in this game will be drawn from popular children's fairy tales. A list of acceptable characters to choose from will be listed, with those taken indicated. If you are interested in playing a character not on the current list, please PM both GMs (Loves and Swashbuckler) with the information on the story and the character you have chosen. NOT THE FINISHED CHARACTER SHEET as permission for the addition to the list must first be granted. Please note, in order for the character to transfer from fantasy to reality the story must be told to the children by the “storytime lady”. If the story is too gruesome or scary I doubt very much that it will be chosen, unless she wishes to cause nightmares. (Which is a possibility so it never hurts to ask).
- This Game is not a sex focused game but it is not prohibited. Sex scenes will be kept in a separate thread, but we ask that you link the current scene leading up to the switch to the private thread. If you need help in doing so, simply ask one of the GMs (Loves and Swashbuckler) and we will be happy to assist you.
- Your character's knowledge of the “real world” will be limited at first. They will have full knowledge of the story that the were featured in, and the expectations of its outcome. Think of it as a “Groundhog Day” scenario. In the fantasy world they lived the same story over and over again, on a constant loop.
- You will decide where in the story your character was interrupted before being transferred to the new world. For example: If you have chosen to write as the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, and it was before his transformation into the beast, then he would be written as an arrogant prince, not the caring man who he ended up becoming, nor the grumpy beast he was in the middle. Please note, if another writer has a character(s) from the same book, they do not have to have transferred worlds at the same point.
- All characters may decide which side they are on, meaning either they enjoy the freedom of this new world, and wish to remain. Or, change makes them uncomfortable and want nothing more than to return to what they know. The third option is that of the undecided.
- Powerful Characters: There will be certain characters that will remain in GM control (shown as taken by GM on the character list). This is for obvious reasons.
- Character Face Claims: you must try to choose a character as close to the image of your chosen fairy tale character as possible. Meaning, if you decide to play a villain that is not young and sexy, then the picture should not be of a playboy bunny.
- BackSeat Moderation is NOT allowed, if you read or feel something is in violation of the game rules or setting, please PM a GM (Loves or Swashbuckler).
Posting Etiquette and Expectation- Every post should have a header with tag information. Tag information code can be copied from the IC or the first page of the character sheet thread.
- Tag images are to be portrait style (as opposed to horizontal style no larger than 250 in height. If you need an avatar created, please PM the image link to Loves with the subject line: A Heart’s Wish - Avatar Request.
- Posts are expected to consist of actual content that provides material for partners to respond to other than dialogue alone. 'One-liners' will not be not acceptable.
- Posting is not required to be at any specific rate. Though we ask that when planning a scene, that you consider mentioning how fast or slow paced it is expected to be.
- If you know you will be away, please let your partners know so they understand there will be a delay.
- Writers that have not posted (unless previously warned of an absence) after three weeks will be considered inactive. The GMs may have to write that character out of a scene if they are holding up the other writers. This will not happen if the writer as previously notified those in the scene of his or her absence.
- Inactive characters will remain listed as such for an additional two weeks before the writer is considered no longer writing in the game. Up to two PMs will be sent prior to the character becoming free for another writer.
- NPC will be the “normal” people living in nearby towns and unless used as background fluff, they will remain in GM control. A request to create a NPC can be sent to both GMs (Loves and Swashbuckler)
- Godmodding, MetaGaming and PowerGaming is not tolerated.
- Killing characters (PC or NPC) is not allowed without GM approval and full player consent.
- Use common sense in regard to posting order. Let everyone in the scene reply before you post again unless something else has been agreed upon.
A Heart’s Wish - Thread Listing
