There he is, accepted! The other half of the duo is here! I'm even more curious at seeing the unfolding of their journey and coming to understand the two halves of their entwined story. I'm also curious as to how the contrast of one character who wears her heart on her sleeve and another who buries his true emotions, and what they'll draw out of each other when they meet. Go ahead and drop him in the character tab!
Okay I think he is acceptable enough to post just need some DM input for my NPC's bounty
Character Description
A series of fortunate events.
Maxwell Ander’s life can be summed up to a series of mostly fortunate accidents, starting with the boy accidentally consuming a devil fruit in his younger years. Fortunate being he managed to get himself into some decently powerful positions, at the cost of his anonymity and the constant need to make sure his moral compass doesn’t become compromised.
The title of Rat King has a double meaning. The first being that Maxwell has a rather close relationship with the island’s rodents, as well as a strange love of cheese, a side effect of the fruit? Who knows. Rats and mice are generally his biggest source of information as well as his source of wealth. The second meaning refers more to his informant position on the island. The “Rat” refers to his tendency to turn people in.
As a child who grew up on Pol Strictid he saw nothing wrong with how the island was run. It was normal to him. Then, when the boy accidentally ended up within the ranks of a Pirate crew shortly after consuming his Devil Fruit he saw how the rest of the world worked. He saw the kindness of other people and realized things were different. However, when a series of events ended with his crew and by extension him ended up getting quite a hefty bounty on their heads Maxwell found himself unable to leave Pol Strictid, being forced to remain on the Island as the crew didn’t want to risk him getting captured.
Character Goals
Within any corrupt or outright lawless organization or civilization there are always people who are just trying to make it. There are those who maintain a solid moral compass while working under not so moral circumstances. Maxwell is one of these people. He is simply trying to get by while not compromising his own morals.
Having a “good” character who more or less got themselves accidentally mixed in with some less than savory situations hopefully provide a new lens to view said situations from. As well as the hijinks of Rats bringing him random things that may or may not get him into some rather sticky situations.
I want to explore how a goofy, accidentally lucky guy rides the line of keeping his morals straight while also maintaining the, admittedly comfy, lifestyle he got for himself. The moral dilemmas one might face in a relatively lawless, anti-government society, while being fully aware that the system he is used to is flawed and corrupt.
Character Notes:
Organization: The Saw-Tooth Pirates (Operates off of Pol Strictid) Position: Informant Starting Sea: South Blue Devil Fruit: Whisper-Whisper Fruit This fruit allows the user the ability to “speak” telepathically to animals. Though it does not allow him control over them he gets by just fine by bribing them to do tasks for him with food.
Relations and character related NPCs
Captain of the Saw-Tooth Pirates and Maxwell’s current boss. A brutal fishman with no regard for anything other than his own power and wealth. His crew are tools for his goals, acceptable sacrifices, and fodder with the exception of Maxwell, whom Brutos still views as a tool but one that is too valuable to lose. He and his crew are prominent in the human trafficking scene as Brutos feels it's the most lucrative "trade". Bounty: 67 million beri
Sample Post
Maxwell could not fathom how he had mistaken a devil fruit for a wheel of cheese but it seemed somehow, he had. Where had the thing even come from? He honestly had no clue. Things just seemed to happen to him. The amount of times strange things, or good fortune happened to fall into his lap was staggering. He had yet to determine if this was strange, good fortune or both. All he knew is he was now staring at a rat who had told him not to step on it while he was walking through the cargo hold of his crew's ship.
"Did you just… talk to me?" He questioned leaning closer to the seemingly cornered rodent. Its little body heaving from its heavy breathing.
"You understand me?" The high pitch voice squeaked back in the brunette's head. Both creatures blinked, though the rat did so at a faster rate than Max did.
"I...I think so..." Maxwell sat down, forgetting the reason he had come down here in the first place. The rat remained in its place though seemed less apprehensive now that the human was seated. Both seemed to stare at each other for a long time before the rodent broke the silence.
"Well...I...I go now." It said before scurrying off to somewhere Maxwell could no longer see it. The male sat there for several more minutes processing this information before eventually remembering he had come down here to grab some vegetables for the ship's cook.
Some weeks later
Maxwell spent the following weeks after his discovery communicating with the ship's rodent residents. He hadn't noticed how many were aboard the ship until he could start talking to them. The number would have been alarming if he hadn't been distracted with the fact that he could now talk to them. Which had become less of an odd fact to him as the weeks passed. Each rat had their own personality and even had their own self given names. It had taken a while for him to build trust with the rodents, but by now he could get them to do small tasks for him if he simply promised food. Most of these tasks needed to be done at night when the crew was sleeping to avoid detection.
There had been a lot of trial and error so Maxwell ended up with many of the other crew member's personal belongings. Something he kept to himself as explaining how he ended up with them was not something he wanted to do. They would likely throw him overboard for being some sort of loon. So now the crew was convinced the ship was haunted, the missing belongings on top of the mysterious shuffling and scratching at night had many of them spooked. So much so that when they docked a day ago everyone left the ship, leaving Maxwell and his rats alone. The fact that none had come back yet was concerning to say the least.
Maxwell had requested that many of the ship's resident rats leave the ship in search of his crew, concerned they might have been captured by marines. However, all the rats he sent out came back with no news on his shipmates. It was as if they had vanished.
"You don't think they were so scared that they just abandoned the ship do you?" He questioned one of the rats that had stayed behind. He simply received an unsure squeak back.
"If they did leave, that means the ship belongs to you now." Replied another, seeming relieved that it didn't have to sneak around, at least for now.
Maxwell waited a few more days, sending rats out periodically to check around before finally deciding that his former crew had quite literally abandoned the ship. He hadn't meant to spook them but such was the way of Maxwell's luck. Strange, and or extreamly lucky things always seemed to simply fall into his lap.
Accepted! The core concept was already interesting enough, and though this version might be a little less fun in regards to potentials for humor (though perhaps I'll be shown to be wrong), I also think Maxwell is in a great position to explore this kind of pirate crew! I've been a little worried about dealing with the possibility of PC villain pirate crews, but having it from this perspective is a great way to handle it! Plus, it'll be exciting to delve into Pol Stictid through the lens of a connected player character. Put Maxwell in the character tab!
Accepted! The core concept was already interesting enough, and though this version might be a little less fun in regards to potentials for humor (though perhaps I'll be shown to be wrong), I also think Maxwell is in a great position to explore this kind of pirate crew! I've been a little worried about dealing with the possibility of PC villain pirate crews, but having it from this perspective is a great way to handle it! Plus, it'll be exciting to delve into Pol Stictid through the lens of a connected player character. Put Maxwell in the character tab!
The boy has been moved. I think I will start out his story while he is still actively with the crew and the plan is to slowly phase him out of them, we have talked out where he can go in discord and since he is in an area you created we will be in contact quite a bit. :P Also I do plan to still have humor with him though it might be in smaller doses especially in the beginning.
The new characters are rolling in! Pretty sweet, and I’m looking forward to seeing how their adventures begin. As far as posts go, @Restalaan has already mentioned that there’ll be a little wait, so no problems there. Hopefully @pkken can get Valery’s first post up around tomorrow. That’s also the date for @LostDestiny’s next post for Annabelle (though that one might need some collab with Hillan, so a wait would be understandable). She should also hopefully get Maxwell’s first post up around the 28th, which is also the expected date for my next Rico post. @Daxam has his posts for both Luna and Sol expected around the 24th, which is also when I hope to get Coriander’s next post up (if not earlier). @Yankee should hopefully get the next Suiten post up around the 26th, and @Hillan on the 27th for Morgan.
Also, we’re getting some arcs finished up, so when we have Suiten, Haku, and Luna’s first arcs done I’ll probably be doing my first Newspaper Post. These will be meant to evoke the ‘in between arc worldbuilding’ we see in the actual story of One Piece, connecting the concurrent stories of the RP through news articles and giving the other charatcers (who pay attention to that sort of thing) a window to what else has been going on in the world. I’ll intend to use those posts to build to GM arcs (kind of like how the first post introduces all of the major Blue sea antagonists), and otherwise show scenes from around the world, so look forward to that!
So, for the weekly OOC topic, let’s get a little more general. Do you remember your first original characters period? Fanfiction, RP, your own headspace: how far back to you remember?
I think my first OCs would have all been Yu-gi-oh related. The first I recall was ‘me but interested into the story of Yu-gi-oh’, and that evolved into a fanfic where that ‘me’ character using a deck modeled after mine was an antagonist in a fanfic I did that only lasted one chapter. For RP it starts to get a bit more concrete. The most memorable ones from my early days were a Red Magikoopa I used in a Paper Mario arena RP, and Dakr Blade, another Yu-gi-oh inspired thing in a Smash Bros multiverse thing. His name was taken from one card and his appearance was taken from the English edit of another that swapped the guns for swords. I also remember he had colored stones he attached to his sword to get power, which I definitely took from the tiny bit of Rave Master I saw once. Another player took that gimmick and the GM got mad and had a character swoop in to destroy the stones he found because he thought it was stupid. And then my brain remembered that this would have happened around 20 years ago and I withered away to hot white ashes.
It's been getting annoyingly warm in my corner of the world, but the game seems to have cooled down a bit, perhaps! @LostDestiny, @Daxam, @Yankee, and @Hillan are all past their date, so don't forget to keep in touch OOC~ I also will probably overdue on Coriander since I'm not sure if I can get a post up today, but we'll see. Destiny still has Max to post for on the 30th as well. I have a Rico post in mind for the 2nd. @pkken has given us our first post for Valery and hopefully we'll see the next one around the 4th. @Restalaan is set for his next Haku post on the 5th.
No OOC topic this week, because I can't think of anything I like, but I will prepare for the one coming up with the newspaper post that hopefully isn't too far off.
This entire month is rough, between getting a new position, guiding new guys, and getting my ass kicked by my boss, I really am just not in the mood to write until Monday or so.
Thanks to @Restalaan, @Hillan, and @Yankee for keeping me up to date on their delays (and good luck with that work related stuff Restalaan, sounds like a giant drag). @pkken is a day or so late but hopefully that will change soon! I have a Coriander post due tomorrow and a Rico one on the 10th. @LostDestiny has an Annabelle post due on the 8th and a Maxwell post for the 12th. @Daxam is waiting a bit on Sol and should hopefully have the next Luna post up around the 9th.
No OOC topic, because I'm going to give Coriander's impressions/possible interactions with the other characters!
Coriander may be good with dealing with kids but in Rico's case I feel as though she might have her match met, his attitude would invite an immediate scolding and at the end of the day she wouldn't have the energy to deal with him.
Morgan however, is the closest thing the RP cast has to an actual ass adult, and I feel like he'd entertain her curiosity about the kingdom and outside world in general if they had a nice chat. Coriander would not vibe with Sunstrider though, she's not big on violence so there'd be some culture shock.
As for Annabelle, she's either a somewhat awkward lady with a cute pet raven, or an assassin, and as Coriander is just a normal teen girl she wouldn't have much reason to fear her more or less than anyone with a firearm. She's also not one to judge, so if Anna ever needed a confessional than Cori would be there.
Coriander would be FULL of questions for Suiten, having just learned about Fishman Island and all, and she would love the hell out of her inventions. They'd be a fun pair!
With Luna being a criminal now, Coriander would probably give her a bit of a berth, not that she'd do anything to incur her bestial side. But if they met without that context, Cori would probably like her toughness and boldness, plus Luna's not bad with kids.
Coriander has inherent respect for the Marines, and she'd be particularly curious about Haku being so young and respectful, which would be very refreshing. I can't help but wonder if the relaxed nature of Melody would be good for the rather uptight Haku, but who knows?
I feel like Valery and Coriander's mutual interest and curiosity in the world would help them click. They're both rather blank slates but that's a reason as to why it's hard to imagine exactly what their interactions would look like.
Outwardly, Sol appears to be Coriander's exact image of a Marine, and as mentioned she respects that! But I haven't seen enough of him in action to get an idea of how they'd be together beyond that.
Cori and Maxwell come from vastly different walks of life, and his rough background would earn a lot of sympathy. Without the context of him being a pirate, she'd appreciate his kindness, but since she's used to rats as pests she'd need some time to get used to his little friends.
Guess it’s been a pretty tough week, huh? Thankfully everyone’s been keeping in contact in some form but excluding me, basically everyone’s behind. If you guys (@Yankee@Hillan@pkken@Restalaan@LostDestiny@Daxam) can’t find the time to post, I understand, but at least be sure to pop a message in the discord every so often~ Or something like that) I really don’t want to have to kick anyone, but if the whole game is on a down tilt in activity I probably won’t even feel the need, I suppose. I personally will probably putting off some of my next posts: I don’t really like double posting as it is (I mostly did it this time because I really wanted to post the climax of Rico’s current arc) so no way I’m triple posting lol. If you guys do find the time to post, that’s great! I know I love to see them. Hope you guys have a good week!
Very glad to continue hearing from @Restalaan and @Yankee in absence of their posts. @pkken I haven't heard from in a little over a week though. @Hillan will have a post up today hopefully. @Daxam should be starting Luna's next arc on the 24th, which is around when @LostDestiny should have the next Annabelle post, I hope (she's a bit overdue with Max, but it is what it is). I'll be writing a Coriander post this weekend to throw up once someone else has made a post, and if all goes well I'm due for Rico's next post on the 25th!
I'm super thankful for you guys for sticking to it. I've never had a group RP go this long without dropping a single player, and I would love for that to continue. Just be sure to keep in touch!
I've got a three day weekend so I hope y'all have a good one too!
Loving the activity. @Hillan, @LostDestiny, and I are all on Sunstrider with Annabelle and Rico so posts are going to need to be coordinated, meaning we won't need to focus on due dates and stuff (provided everyone posts as they need to). @Yankee we're still waiting on but it is what it is. Tomorrow there's posts due for @pkken, @Daxam, and me with Coriander (though there's also some collab stuff going so if someone's waiting on someone else, be sure to pass me the message!). @Restalaan is due for the 29th, then me and Destiny with Max are due the 30th.
Anyway, as for the topic, I've said I've been enjoying the posts, so I'll put my money where my mouth is. Over the last week or so I've been rereading the IC character by character, and I'd like to share some of my thoughts.
@Yankee: It’s in major part because Suiten has the fewest posts of any PC (that old to the game, at least), but Suiten is for sure the character I want to see more of. The current adventure out in the deep sea is pretty unique relative to the RP, which is so focused on towns or developed cities (in that we’ve yet to have any adventures on untamed islands like Little Garden or Skypiea’s Upper Yard). And Suiten herself is an utter delight. She’s a character with so many conflicting ‘halves’: genuinely knowledgeable about sciences and engineering (piezoluminescence didn’t even sound real to me until I looked it up lol) but also kind of a freakin’ dummy. Cute and alluring in her nobility, but also a fucking dope when it come to social aspects and yes she will just flop around the beach like a grounded fish to move around in her fancy clothes. And of course, half human half fish (physically). What you have is super fun and I’d love to see more.
@Daxam: I’m really digging the way the Luna’s past has been handled. Not just in the relative vagueness of details and gradual drip of information that adds to intrigue, but in how it’s been affecting her character. She has her ghosts and burdens in trauma, it drives her in her goal to find Sol, and in the completed arc it also works to help her heal as Marcus guides her briefly, offering lessons as a figure from her past to help her in her future. I’m also interested in how she has her dichotomy in battle: the part of her that enjoys fighting, and the part of her that doesn’t. Brawler and assassin, a day and night of sorts. The prologue did a great job at establishing Luna and building up the Nychthemeron Empire, and I’m looking forward to the continuing story, plus the much anticipated inclusion of Sol.
@LostDestiny: Maybe it’s because of your familiarity with One Piece primarily being on the early portions, maybe it's just your personal writing style, or even a bit of both, but Annabelle honestly feels quite different from the cast, in very good ways. Where the rest of the RP has a large amount of action and drama (even on the rather peaceful Melody Island with Coriander), when you string up the events in Annabelle’s story thus far, not much has ‘happened’: it’s been rather toned down and methodical in a way that only works in its benefit. Annabelle comes across to me as a character who’s stuck dealing with her pain and trauma on her own, her posts very much focused on her state of mind and feelings. I really like and appreciate what Annabelle brings to the table for the RP! Maxwell is also a cool concept, and we’ve already worked together with him behind the scenes of Pol Stictid, but I’ll give some more meaningful comments on him when we have a bit more time with him.
@Hillan: One thing you’ve absolutely nailed with Sunstrider is atmosphere. While Morgan and the large cast is interesting in itself, the general gritty, rough and tumble feel of the island is honestly great. I’m not sure if I’d call it a noir vibe, but all the crime, justice, and politics definitely make it really stand out. And yet, it’s not alien to One Piece as you keep that seriousness in check with the utter ridiculousness of how the physically legal debates work, something right at home in an RP based on a series where ideals are matters of life and death, and as an interesting point of contrast against the seat of justice (Enies Lobby) in canon where law was a formality in a kangaroo court upheld by those with power to give the illusion of law and order. Apparently I needed more Sunstrider enough that I went to take it with my own hands with Rico. I expect every character in the West will likely visit, since it’s such a varied and interesting locale!
@Restalaan: It’s pretty interesting what even different formatting can achieve. Rather than larger paragraphs like the rest of the RP, the posts with Haku are all in shorter lines with maybe one or two sentences each, which is an interesting fit to the methodical and systematic no nonsense ways of the men of the Kirin. The focus on stealth and investigation is also an interesting choice for the first arc, and quite unique! It does leave me hungry for more Haku/Cadog interaction, but even the ones they got have enough details for me to understand how they are now and see angles that might be touched on in the future.
@pkken: Only a couple posts thus far, but they’re solid! Fun descriptions, friendly familial banter between those of the dojo, and an attention grabbing story connection to another PC right off the bat! Sorry I don’t have a lot to say, but Valery’s journey is only beginning, and it’s one I’ll be having my eye on!
All in all I’m really digging the game. I threw around the word ‘unique’, but I really do mean it. The cast is highly varied and I certainly think everyone’s individual strengths as writers are being realized. I think typical RPs, which focus on reactive posting, also force writing styles that tend to be reactive, so believe the perceived uniqueness is definitely in part a result of this style of RP (standing out to me more here because I’m so focused on the other players, where in the games that inspired this one, there were way too many characters for me to follow >_> ). Thank you guys for taking part, and here’s to more adventures! I also invite you guys to comment on the other’s posts if you’ve been reading along~ Even just a quick comment can mean a lot, I think.
Hope you guys are doing well! Haven’t heard from @yankee or @pkken in a minute, hope they’re good! As mentioned there’s some collaboration going on with the Sunstrider crew, and I know @Hillan will be going on summer break soon so hopefully we’ll get moving there soon! @LostDestiny is a shade overdue for Maxwell, as is @Restalaan for Haku. I would love to post for Coriander this weekend, provided it isn’t a double post. Lastly I’m looking forward to the start of Luna’s next arc from @Daxam on the 6th!
Two announcements: firstly, there is some planned website updates, so I took the advice of another player to backup the RP. I’ve created some links on webarchive/waybackmachine and left them in a message on discord. I hope that we will never need them, but if the worst happens, all the players are already on discord so we can keep in touch there.
Secondly, also at player suggestion, I’ve opened up a non-canon IC chat channel on the discord, in hopes that players can use it to interact with their characters who otherwise won’t be able to meet IC for a long time. I hope to see some fun interactions (just don’t get so caught up in it you forget to post IC :p ).
Rico/Anna/Morgan and Valery/Sol are still trapped in collaboration. @Daxam did start Luna's current arc and will hopefully post again around the 12th. I'd love to post for Coriander around the 13th but we'll just have to see what happens. @LostDestiny and @Yankee have kept in touch about posting with Maxwell and Suiten. @Restalaan is probably being bullied by work, so I haven't heard from him in a minute. I'm on the edge of my seat for more posts, so keep going at your own pace all!
Rico/Anna/Morgan and Valery/Sol are still trapped in collaboration. @Daxam did start Luna's current arc and will hopefully post again around the 12th. I'd love to post for Coriander around the 13th but we'll just have to see what happens. @LostDestiny and @Yankee have kept in touch about posting with Maxwell and Suiten. @Restalaan is probably being bullied by work, so I haven't heard from him in a minute. I'm on the edge of my seat for more posts, so keep going at your own pace all!
Yea, sorry about that. As you guessed, works just kicking my ass atm.
Aside from the collabs (me/@Hillan/@LostDestiny and @pkken/@Daxam), Coriander's going to be going on pause after her next post as I wait for @Restalaan to finish his arc so we can start our collaboration for their next one. That will also mark the first newspaper post, which I'm looking forward to. We did not get a Luna post so hopefully @Daxam can knock it out this week. @Yankee has still been in touch (maybe this weekend will be the one? :D ). We did get a Max post from Destiny so the expected next post date there would be today, hopefully!
Hey! Sorry I missed last week’s update, but I wasn’t feeling up to it. I was also anticipating the first newspaper post, which you can check out now! It summarizes some IC events as seen from the perspective of the World Government (embellished or dramatized as needed), and suggests at some other potentially important happenings on the seas, plus a little scene with some potential implications for later on in the story! I’ll be aiming to do more as everyone's stories continue~
So, as far as updates: we got a cool Maxwell post so hopefully @LostDestiny can keep it up with another one on the 3rd (especially after the latest development). @Daxam is a shade behind with Luna. I haven’t heard from @Yankee in a minute, unfortunately. And all the other characters (including but not limited to @Hillan, @Restalaan, and @pkken) are dealing with collab stuff, though I’m aware of who is expected to contribute/post next. Keep up the good work everyone!