Ahh, Nimrod City. Along the Southernmost coast of the French Mediterranean, this fairly limitless metropolis of art, culture and performance has seen the likes of legends walk through their alleyways, present their pieces in state of the art galleries and take the stages of concert halls in droves. Two decades of development has left it with enrichment and personality. Twinned with a certain Cystra City, across the Eastern Seaboards of South-Eastern Asia, the urban wonderland had hosted plenty of worldwide talents, preparing them for lives beyond the spotlight. However, there's been several notable issues in the last five or six years. Stagnation has begun to hit setlists of concerts, and breeds of new talents has found itself searching elsewhere, taking away the city's identity and focus. A once thriving industry has left itself in the dark, allowing the neon lights to instead praise all other medias.
And so, how does one remove such stagnation and return to its roots, as a home for the art of sound? Introduce a single man: Tang Enfu. Previously a great figure in Nimrod's sister cityscape, Enfu brings a previously successful institution to the shores of European lands. For the last three years, construction of an elusive building on the outskirts of the city has been relatively difficult, with all things sociopolitical getting in the way, until finally the unveiling of the Rosalie District, a centralised estate designed only for the musically-invested minds from around the world, named after the residential singer who helped fund the project. Rolling out a plan was rather fanatic, as it banked mainly on some fantasy based luck, but Mr Enfu seemed adamant to deliver the birthplace of "A thousand new headliners." The catch: there was no way to apply for it. The next year was spent throwing A&R scouts across the globe to investigate any interesting candidates. Sceptics looked to Mr Enfu's criteria with strange gazes. He wasn't looking for recognisable names and identities, only the underbellies of the public eye. Local talent shows, online performances, interviews and small-time radio broadcasts opened up a plethora of choices for him to ultimately narrow down. Not a single genre was restricted from the pool. And thus, the invitations finally went out.
Two thousand individuals were sent emails, letters and personally met with on their doorsteps. What had been an excruciating position of decision-making had finally listed international figures awaiting for their time to break even with both their talent and popularity. Those who sought comfort, stardom or simply stability in performing as a profession soon had their tickets booked, rooms cleared out and eyes set to the illustrious Nimrod City, where the Rosalie District's emerald gates lay waiting for their arrival. Under the guise of a comfortable living space, Mr Enfu's institution opened the doors to creative freedom, with plenty of small clubs, stadiums, concert halls, outdoor arenas and cafes to satisfy the growth of the artists. Sponsored events, collaboration opportunities and compensation for their journey onward was all but a ticket to hardships. Who these artists were, how they meshed with one another and how they handled their position was yet to be understood, but that was all part of the District's estranged experimentation.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Rosalie District, part of the notorious international hub for entertainment - Nimrod. As aforementioned, the city stands on the southern side of France, with part of it overlooking the great Mediterranean sea. Set up as part of a twin-city programme, in which its industry was focused on the creativity of aspiring minds, the urban paradise has garnered a great deal of fame from its class acts, prime status, even as much to claim that its the top-tier goal of life; the European Hollywood, except more neon! As art can only be produced as long as the artist is alive, the city undergoes cycles of shifts in the creative bloom. Stagnation has hit the music industry as many of its greatest artists begin to wither out, either in popularity or by age, and the demand to reinvigorate the studios, concert halls and small gig venues. And nothing is never as good as something that's homegrown.
Mr Enfu's policy isn't quite as homemade, however the Rosalie District - under his guidance - instead opens opportunities for small and insignificant artists to grow their platform in the supposed best place for it. This roleplay will be focusing on the new occupants of the newly formed modern estate, primarily those chanced with ideals of great musical success across a multitude of genres, techniques, instruments, performances and composition. As an early disclaimer, no you don't have to be musically qualified for the roleplay, it's just a bit of fun. And, whilst it helps to make a character, you can freely join this as a slice-of-life experience anyway.
Of course, over the time I've spent planning this, knowing full well that there's a sandbox element to it, I don't always intend for everything to be sunshine and rainbows. Opportunities for shady business, competition between industries and the general obstructions any person chasing fame may suffer from are likely to be present. I'm planning to not use a strict railroading for this scenario, though I'll be putting in events from time to time that players can populate or ignore, depending on what stories your characters are going through. On the topic of characters, this roleplay will be heavily focused on the narratives and developments characters go through in their pursuit for a great career or fame. Whether they find themselves trapped in a rush for the top medal or caught in a complicated relationship with another character, the spotlight should mainly lay upon them. To maximise the potential, regular interactions between characters might be necessary, though there's workarounds with NPCs and all that jazz. Performances will only be as common as you make them, but that in turn will reflect on your overall experience and opportunities presented by characters such as Mr Enfu.
Suggestions throughout the roleplay are recommended, as we work together to create more writing opportunities, interactions and other things between ourselves. I'm not expecting a consistent daily post rate, so don't worry too much about that. As long as you're willing to stick around and keep this going, I'll be happy to have you as part of the cast!
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For character sheets, there's no concrete way in which you should present things. As long as you have the key information in there, going about and using whatever design is fine. Feel free to pretty it up if you wish, but it won't affect whether or not I accept it or not. At the end of the day, the content is what matters. If you wish to abstain any very specific aspects from the character's biography, do let me know so I can just confirm that it's not too far fetched or over-the-top.
When it comes to rules for the roleplay, it's more just the ones based on common sense. Whilst there are mature themes throughout, don't go completely over the top. Slice of life, not protagonist-based world ending situation, amirite? I don't really have a limit to players, considering the genre, so if you're interested in joining let us know and drop a character sheet down in the OOC for us to look over! I look forward and hope we can kick something off here with this new scenario. Thanks for reading through and, if you're interested, I can't wait to see what characters and situations we get out of this!
