True Blood: New York [Closed] [EX] [LGBT+ Friendly]

[Jag]

Background: It's 2005 and The Vampire Authority, having formed the American Vampire League, have announced final discussions to announce vampire existence to the world. To show the world the truth of what they are and become part of mainstream society. The discussion has been going on for over a decade, a meaningless amount of time for most vampires, but it has created a large divide in their community. Some Kings and Queens worldwide reject this step, but ultimately they have been over ruled. The Authority has final say over anything that happens within their society.

While vampires worldwide know of this impending 'coming out', there are others who remain unaware. In smaller, more rural areas, other supernatural communities are left in the dark on the shitstorm coming their way. The Authority has given each vampire kingdom one year to get what they need in order before the press release. Other supernatural communities have not been given the same grace.

However, in places like New York City, the communities are more intermingled and word spreads fast. The main communities are the Vampires, the Weres, the Shifters, the Mediums, and the Witches. A long time ago, New York was divided among these communities for the sake of peace. Manhattan to the Vampires. The Bronx to the Weres. Brooklyn to the Mediums. Queens to the Witches. Staten Island to the Shifters. Despite this divide, over the years many are comfortable traveling, living, and working between the regions so long as they respect the ruling community.

Game Play: It is very much sandbox, almost slice of life style, with events players can choose to join in on. The general idea is that public announcement of vampires is coming soon and everyone wants to know what this means for the supernatural community as a whole. Vampires preparing themselves for how they were be perceived, pack leaders wondering what this means for their ways of life, covens worried that humans will start looking at them wondering if the herbs and such they sell are real, mediums scared about the possible up rising in killings that might happen and how hard it already is to deal with speaking to the dead, and shifters wondering how they might be able to market their skills should they become public. A general air of discord and new found comfort in each other by sticking together.

There will be a "storyline", but involvement in said storyline is 100% optional and primarily played out through events. This game is a playground for you to play out however you want with the characters you create.

Board: This game will go into the Extreme category. Blood, gore, violence, and sex should be expected. However it will not be tolerated going against someone's wishes in a scene. All posts containing any explicit material will be required to have tags. Non-Con scenes and sexual scenes will have their own threads to be posted in and such things should not be in the general play threads. Any intimacy and violence should be discussed between the players and review of O*O's should be a given.

Posting Rate: While I do not mind people posting quickly, it is not expected. I, myself, am a slow poster. Sometimes only once a week or once every other week. There is no expectation of a player to post more than they can handle. E is for games and games are for fun. Posting should never give anyone stress in any way. For the sake of movement though, I ask that everyone be alright with the knowledge that if there is radio silence for two weeks, that the other players in your scene can carry on without you until you return. I am not going to require anyone to give notification or heads up about being absent. We're adults. We can handle just knowing that sometimes people have to be away and we're not owed a reasoning for it. Poking, in OOC or PM, should not occur. If it's been two weeks, simply move on. A notice of absence is a courtesy, not a requirement.

Character Limit: However many you feel you can handle.

But Jag?: There are a lot of characters in this game already. Some post more than others. Some post faster than others. It can be very overwhelming since a big part of a lot of roleplays is connecting to other characters. It can be hard to figure out where to start. The thing is, New York City is a big place. It's impossible for any one person to know every single person who lives in a big city. This is not a game where every character knows every character. Even the Vampire King, Athan, does not know the name of every vampire in the city. It's physically impossible. You do not have to make a connection with every character. Need a place to start? Plop your character down in Central Park, walk into one of the supernatural owed businesses, request to start your own mini-event, or put up a Scene Wanted Ad. Reach out to other players via OOC, Discord, or PM. Some characters will have a much larger connection pool than others, that doesn't mean their characters are any more important than someone else's character.

Links: Check Out Our Board!

• Approved Characters: Clicky Clicky to see what we got.
• Approved Species: We will mostly be following True Blood and Midnight Texas for approved species, but I have come up with a few homebrew options.
• Unique Abilities Restrictions/Information: Certain abilities or situations will need player approval and this should be reviewed by everyone.
• Information Station: Worldbuilding type information. Includes a table of contents in the first post. The structure of vampire society, the history between vampires and witches, information about the origins of Heaven and Hell, story about the magic behind werebeings, and more.
• Faceclaims: Check out who is already taken/reserved. Cannon faceclaims are allowed, but not cannon characters. If you want to use Anna Paquin, cool, but you can't play Sookie...that sort of deal.

Character Sheets: Post Here for Approval

Introduction

Character Name:
Gender:
Orientation:
Age: (anything over 500 must be preapproved via PM)
Height:
Weight:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Species: (most species are cannon from the approved species list, however there are some OC species I created. Reach out to me for more info if you need it)

Personal

Personality: Ideally, a paragraph for here or a list of at least five traits.

Hobbies: As many as you like.

History: At least 2-3 paragraphs, If you need more information about a species, just reach out to me.

Specialties

Every species has their own abilities and some are stronger due to age. A baby vamp, for example, cannot fly. Please refer to the True Blood Species Wiki and the Midnight Texas Species Wiki for more information or just reach out to me. If your character specializes in something specific, please note that here.

Outside Jobs: (own a business? Side jobs for cash? Etc...Please include what borough your business is located in and a brief description of said business if they are a business owner)

Misc

Faceclaim: (no animated/drawn images, only real life images)

Images: (optional)

Extra Tidbits: (any non-magical talents, traits, quirks, etc...)

Connections with Other Characters: (optional to fill out as you go)

[RedPhoenix]

Very interested in the setting and concept. =)

Very into the idea of getting to write a certain New England vampire I've had in mind forever and never really gotten off the ground before. She could absolutely be a sheriff but doesn't need to be for me to write her.

Very tentative in my ability to take on another group game! =(

[Jag]

I get that, Red. I do intend for this to be a slow play game. One of the reasons I've kept away from group games in recent years is I don't feel I can keep up with them. That's why I want to keep it a small group with the knowledge going into it that posting will be slow paced. This is not a quick play idea.

[AmbrosiaPudding]

I love the show and would be very open to this. 

[Elandra]

It has been a hot minute since I’ve seen the show but I would be interested in writing either a vampire or werecreature firefighter/medic.

[Kuroneko]

Sorely tempted. I love your games, Jag.

[Nowherewoman]

Def interest. Will keep an eye on.

[virtualblue]

I'm only familiar with the television series, not the books, but I'm interested in the idea.

[Jag]

Thank you all for the interest, even if it is just tentative. ^^

I am going to be working on getting some character sheet stuff together and 'plot' laid out. I am considering allowing more than my original 3-5 players since this will be more sandbox rather than following a strict storyline. 

Unlike the Southern states that we see in the original show, I plan on New York being more open. Instead of supernaturals keeping to themselves and being at odds with each other, they idea of mingling shifters, vamps, weres, and such will be a more accepted thing in a city like New York. Less anger between the different species. I am even open to the idea of non-canon mentioned supernaturals, but they would have to be approved first.

Charlaine Harris wrote another book called Midnight Texas that was adapted into a shorter lived series that introduced different types of weres, demons, angels, vampires, and witches. I would be open to people exploring those types of species as well. 

[Nowherewoman]

In that case, I'm maybe considering a cambion thug 😁

[Jag]

In that case, I'm maybe considering a cambion thug 😁

That could work. Demons exist in different ways between True Blood and Midnight Texas, which seem to take place in the same universe, just at different times. A half-breed between them an a human is entirely possible. ^^

[Jag]

Thread updated to Recruiting. Have at it. ^^ Ask any questions. 

[Jag]

Oh dear...I broke my coding. >.<

EDIT: I have to fix the character sheet. It's not posting right for some reason.

EDIT 2: Might have to put the CS in a different post here. Cause I am not code savvy and it is fighting me hardcore. This should not be this difficult. >.<

[Jag]

It's not as pretty, but it's fixed. I'll take functional over pretty. 

[Nowherewoman]

Want us to post here or DM to you, Jag?

[Jag]

Post here is fine. 

[Nowherewoman]

Duurrr, another

Do you prefer RL face claims, or would you rather have art for this one?

NM, I see it is on the CS, missed it. Sowwy!

[Kuroneko]

Working on a werecrow. Because werecrows.

[Nowherewoman]

'ware those who scare werecrows!

[ArtemisHighmore]

Plants tentative flag for further reading. 

Oh, I love weres and I love crows! Werecrow sounds awesome! All the shiny things! 

[RedPhoenix]

How many crows would a werecrow wear if a werecrow could wear crows?

[Kuroneko]

I see what you all did there

[AmbrosiaPudding]

Here's the character I've come up with. Just your run of the mill vampire really.

Character Name: Charlotte Devereaux
 Gender: Female
 Orientation: Pansexual
 Age: Physically, 24 actually 239
 Height: 5 foot 6 inches
 Weight: 140lbs but don’t you dare ask that
 Hair Color: Blonde
 Eye Color: Blue
 Species: Vampire
 Personality: Charlotte is open, friendly, and overall, quite personable. As a business lady she had charm though some might suggest it’s glamour more than charm. Charlotte does have a calculating edge to her that can seem intimidating to some given her stature.
 
 Hobbies: Parties, Sewing, dress design.
 
 History: Charlotte Devereaux born in 1785 in Savannah, Georgia; the third daughter of six to her father Herald and mother Ruth. Her brother Jed was born seventh taking the life of her mother Ruth. Charlotte was ten at the time of her mother’s death and already expected to help keep the house. They had a small farm, small for the time at least, and Herald worked all of his daughters to the bone until they reached the age of fourteen in which they were put on the marriage market. Herald’s daughters were, without any other word, beautiful, all of them looking exactly like their mother in different hair colors and complexions. 
 
Charlotte was wed by her fifteenth birthday to a nearby farmer, Peter Devereaux, who wanted nothing more from her than to bear him as many sons as possible. His first wife had died leaving him alone with two boys to raise on his own. Charlotte took over all her womanly duties as she was meant to, after all, that’s what she had been raised to do. Keep house. Make babies. After her ninth year of marriage to Peter and Charlotte born him no children, Peter took Charlotte to what he called a ‘healer’ not a doctor.
 
This healer took three drops of Charlotte’s blood, drank them with tea, and declared the woman would never bear children not without her help. The healer sent Peter and Charlotte back home with a bottle of wine, instructing Peter not to drink any and to have Charlotte drink all of it over the next three days. Unknown to Charlotte and Peter the bottle was half wine, half the blood of the healer’s maker. After finishing the wine on the third day Charlotte wandered out of her house that night, right up to the vampire’s porch.
 
A Spanish native, Luis Armand had coveted Charlotte’s older sister Lucy. Unable to get to Lucy, as she had died in childbirth as well, Luis settled for Charlotte. It was that night that Luis turned Charlotte into a vampire, sleeping in the dirt with her in the Savannah heat. Charlotte stayed by Luis’ side for almost a century before he found another girl he coveted, one he found to be more beautiful than Charlotte. An opera singer named Sophie. In a jealous rage Charlotte murdered Sophie, leaving her head in Luis’ bed before breaking the bond between the two of them and leaving Luis to wander on her own.
 
Charlotte, now a penniless immortal 20-year-old who had only ever been taught to be a wife and a lover, had no choice but to make a home where she was. After all, she would not be a common whore. In the heart of New York, she began working for a local seamstress, Yolie, who raved about the quickness and perfect nature of Charlotte’s work. As the seamstress aged, each year unable to do more of the work, Charlotte took on more of the work. Eventually Yolie noticed that Charlotte never aged, and she pleaded with Charlotte to share her secret of youth with the promise that she would give Charlotte her boutique.
 
Charlotte took pity on Yolie she had come to love a as mother and did tell her, her secret. Charlotte kept the woman free of pain, though did not change her, at the Yolie’s behest. Yolie did not want to live forever. When Yolie passed in 1921 Charlotte did take over her business and began making clothes so elegant and lovely she made a name for herself among the supernatural community, as they began to come to her for their fashion needs as has been taking care of her elite clientele for the last century expanding her business into hand bags, wallets, shoes, lotions, soaps, shampoos, anything of luxury. Devereaux Cosmetics, Devereaux Jewelry, Devereaux Boutiques, you name it.
 
 Specialties: Charlotte seems to have a natural gift for glamour, though no other abilities to speak of.
 
 Outside Jobs: Owns Devereaux Collections, a trio of business’ in downtown.
 
 Faceclaim: Scarlett Johansson
 

 Extra Tidbits: Charlotte does know how to clean jewelry professionally as well.
 
 Connections with Other Characters: (Open to connections)

[Nowherewoman]

OK, done now, I think.


Character Name: Mickee Cord
Gender: F
Orientation: Aggressively whatever
Age: 28
Height: 5'7”
Weight: 132#
Hair Color: Varies. Actually dark, but usually dyed blonde, white, or bright blue.
Eye Color: Blue-gray
Species: ½ demon



Personal


Personality:
If she were a normal human, Mickee would likely have her own page in the DSM-5-TR manual. Smiling, flirtatious, quick with a joke or a light of your smoke, she is also more than a bit of a sadist, reveling in the destruction she causes, snickering and punning while tormenting those her employers turn her loose on.


Sexually aggressive, with a thing for seriously bad fantasy novels, she can be fun to be around: the quintessential sex, drugs and rock 'n roll party girl. Her very few real friends (all...three? of them) know she's the sort you can confidently call at three AM to help hide a body or bitch to about your ex- in fact, she'd be upset if you didn't. Everyone else can take their chances.

Oh, and her temper? Hellish. Literally.


Hobbies:
A fair to middlin' sketch artist, she designs a bunch of the tats she applies in her shop. She's also a budding amateur knife maker and jeweler, making punch blades and ear and nipple studs.



History:
Mickee's conception was no act of love, or even simple lust. It was pure violence: demon see, demon take. Her mother, a truck stop waitress from western PA, never really recovered either from that experience or from the harrowing birth of her daughter. To her credit, she tried to be a mother, but between the nightmares and the weakness, she wasn't very good at it.

This meant that by the time 'Mick', as she prefers to be called, was in her teens, she was basically feral and on her own. Public school had taught her about bullying and violence, and the streets taught her about everything else. And she discovered she liked it all.

From purse snatchings, shoplifting and busting into cars, she worked her way up the food chain into loan collection and protection for local small-time gangs, and, like most dark things, human or otherwise, eventually found her way to the Big Apple. Her metamorphosis into something more than human as she grew into adulthood only enhanced her mystique and her market value.

Mick now earns a decent if precarious living as an independent enforcer for underworld elements in the Boroughs. Human gangsters hire her at a premium when they want a serious message sent (and then are meticulous about paying her), while she works for members of the nightmare crowd in exchange for favors, and simple tolerance. While she's a reliable enough thug, she's not a safe sort of person to have on the payroll, and it's possible that only the fact that she's hard to kill and inventively vicious in her own defense has kept her from being removed from the board by one side or the other.


Specialties
-Enhanced strength and resilience
-Demonic transformation
-Seduction: as the offspring of an incubus, Mick is able to easily attract humans and sometimes even supernaturals to her bed, regardless of their basic orientation. In fact, she adores messing with straight women and gay men that way.
-Touch of Hellfire: erratic and unreliable, this power allows her to inflict severe burns with her touch. The more angry she is, the more likely it is to happen, whether she wants it to or not, and the chances skyrocket when she's in demon form.


Outside Jobs:
Mick runs a tattoo and piercing parlor as a cover for her real gig as an enforcer. It fits her aesthetic, and it lets her hurt people a little without really hurting them.


Misc


Faceclaim: Dana Sokolova


Images:

Extra Tidbits: (any non-magical talents, traits, quirks, etc...)
-Martial Arts and weapons skills: while not any sort of wuxia Grandmaster, her infernal heritage and overall 'fukkit' attitude make her brutal in any sort of scrap. She favors bare fists and blunt weapons for the visceral impact.

-MANY tattoos. She tells people the one running up her neck is her 'true' name (it's not). A fair number of piercings as well.

-She usually adopts either a leather or male-presenting style, the first when she's 'in the office', the second when she's just cruising or making trouble for fun .




Connections with Other Characters: (optional to fill out as you go)

[Jag]

Excited to see some sheets. I will be reviewing them tomorrow. ^^ Werecrows are not canon, but I thought it was a neat idea for a werecreature.  I did add some information for them to the first post. Feel free to message me if you want extra details about them without having to go to the wikis for were information.