"Hyakkao Private Academy. A school renowned for the wealth of accomplishment that its alumni have to their name. Admittance doesn't come cheap, but with results like these, that is to be expected. However, you'll quickly find that things work a little differently around these parts, and once you've successfully been enrolled, there's no backing out at the first hurdle.
It doesn't matter how swift you are afoot, or how much you know from an academic standpoint. Only two things matter around these parts; the wealth of funds you have access to, and how well you can hold onto them. Gambling is Hyakkao Private Academy's lifeline. Its legacy, so to speak. And while you're here, not only are you expected to partake in the festivities, but actively encouraged at every turn! Within reason, of course. We'd hate to think you'd lose everything and fall into an insurmountable debt to our school, and I'm sure none of you want to live as a House Pets for a great portion of your admittance, right? Well, should you ever fall victim to such a misfortune, I can draft a life plan that will get you out in due time. But only if you follow it to the letter; I'm afraid I can't guarantee the slightest deviation will aid you any better.
...
You first years are the lucky ones. You'll undoubtedly have the easiest time with our end-of-month donations, and you even all day yesterday to start accumulating some more money for yourselves. I must admit, I'm green with envy, albeit not the only one. Don't be surprised if the second-years go after your blood. They tend to do that around greenhorns in particular. If you ever find yourself gambling against a fellow student, and are in need of a loan at any point during a game or in between games, don't be afraid to notify a proctor or even our dedicated Student Treasury Club members; you can identify them by the gold shark badges they wear on their uniform jackets.
In any case, welcome to our utopia. I wish you all the best of luck."
- Nagatsuka Nagisa, Student Spokeswoman of Hyakkao Private Academy
Some Ground Rules While You're Here
1. All rules for generic roleplaying etiquette apply. That is to say... no godmodding, no powerplaying, no metagaming, and nothing else a veteran roleplayer would wag his or her finger to you about. Especially not short-posting (writing anything less than exactly 100 words in an IC post); this is under Casual Roleplays and not Free Roleplays for a reason. 2. I have final say at all times. I'll try to be lenient here, but I'm not afraid to put my foot down if I have to. 3. Keep any beef you might have with another RPer to yourself. If you happen to disapprove of something that someone's done, then fine; take it to PM or something. But I don't want it spilling over to where I'd catch wind of it, K? K. 4. Violence, language, sexual content etc. is not to exceed a PG-16 rating. The occasional swear-word or two would be fine, but don't go ham with them. Same thing goes with gore; saying that someone's nails were ripped away (which does happen in the anime itself, mind you) would be a perfectly acceptable action to write down on its own, but there's no need go into detail about how blood spilled everywhere. 5. We'll be posting in rounds; and you're not permitted to post more than twice per round under any circumstance. It doesn't matter how you'd want to space your second post for the round from your first; I've only put this rule in place so everyone gets a chance to post and no-one gets left behind. A new round will begin after I've posted a major plot advancement in the story. Of course, I'll want to follow this rule myself so that I have the chance to properly interact with you guys as well, so if any post I make looks to be shorter than normal, please assume that that post is a continuation of the current round of posting and not the beginning of a new round. 6. Dedication to this RP is integral. I expect to see a post from each RPer by the end of each fortnight at the very latest, if not the end of each week. If something crops up that'd prevent you from posting, I'd be happy to let it slide if you can tell me about it fast enough. But don't be surprised if I strike you for a prolonged absence that isn't (adequately) explained. Speaking of which... 7. Get three strikes, and you're gone from the RP. I'll be keeping tabs on everyone, and I'll hand out strikes for every major misdemeanor that happens. The easiest way around this is to just not be a dick to anyone, especially not to me. 8. More rules will be added as I see fit. Aside from that, have some well regulated fun; the best kind :]
Things You May Need to Know
In the past, all the teachers and staff members were respectable adult humans, such as was the case with all the other high schools. Some of these had caught wind of the happenings that occurred behind the scenes in recent years, and have made formal complaints towards the school. Whether those complaints were even heard is unknown, but what is known is that a movement has been made silence these critics and protect Hyakkao Private Academy's legacy. All the adult humans were relieved of their duties, and a gargantuan assortment of massive, bulky robots were made to enforce the rules of Hyakkao Private Academy in their stead.
While these robotic "proctors" are not in class teaching the students what they may need to know, the vast majority can be found in the main gambling den. Some serve as dealers for some of the games that are played there, and others as bouncers who handle disputes that students may have with each other. All the proctors answer directly to Nagatsuka Nagisa, the Student Spokeswoman of Hyakkao Private Academy, and they serve as her eyes and ears while she in turn directs the actions that they ultimately take.
Nagatsuka Nagisa. Beautiful. Intelligent. Prideful. Respectable. And quite the silver tongue. It's little wonder that Nagisa was chosen to be this year's Student Spokeswoman for Hyakkao Private Academy. This may sound like more of a supportive title, but in reality, it is Nagisa that "runs the show" so to speak. There's a lot she has to manage and assume responsibility for; a few of her tasks include deciding who to write letters of recommendation for out of all the third-year students set to graduate by the end of the year, herself included, determining her successor as the next Student Spokesman or Spokeswoman once she does graduate, and tallying all the funds each student has access to and all the debts they've incurred on themselves so that she can write up life plans for House Pets as necessary.
The House Pet system has been around since Momobami Kirari, who was the president of the Student Council back when it was still around, had devised the idea and put it into action 8 years ago. It was supposedly designed to push the students of Hyakkao Private Academy into striving for excellence... if only by punishing those that fail to procure it. Once a student falls under the House Pet status, the first proctor to approach them will give them a name tag that they are expected to wear around their necks. There are two names that a House Pet's name tag will display; Fido for male House Pets and Mittens for female House Pets. House Pets cannot take off of discard their name tags without expecting them to be replaced, and they must keep a hold of them until they've successfully paid off what they owe to the school.
House Pets have always had to endure a lot from their classmates and former friends, but there are options that can utilize to try and get themselves out. First and foremost is what is known as an Official Match, where a House Pet can challenge any standard student for any bet, albeit only once. The declaration of an Official Match cannot normally be refused, but will automatically be denied if the stakes are decidedly unreasonable, if not by the student who is challenged, then by the proctor responsible for judging the scenario at hand. The other method is by working in the job(s) listed in the life plans that will be issued. House Pets will usually receive life plans after they'd used up their Official Match and failed to get out of their debt, but may be issued earlier if the debt they incurred to get there is large enough. House Pets don't get paid directly for their efforts; instead, their wages are subtracted from their debt until it is paid off.
At the end of each month, a certain portion of each student's funds will be extracted from them and given back to the school so it can grow. These extractions of funds are supposed to be referred to as donations, although considering they've become mandatory for all students, it's unsurprising that many believe otherwise. Some students were able to get away with not having to gamble at all in order to make the donation deadlines unscathed in the past, so they've been modified to prevent such a scenario from ever happening again. If a student's funds fall into the negatives after their donation is paid for, they become House Pets. They'll also become House Pets if they're unlikely to be capable of paying for the next month's donation given their performance. If they're already House Pets, their "donations" will instead be compounded onto the debt they have which, depending on the job they've decided to take on, may make it harder for them to pay it off. The donations for each student are as follows, based on the length of time they've been in Hyakkao Private Academy:
First Years: ¥90000 Second Years: ¥225000 Third Years: ¥420000
Hyakkao Private Academy has two separate gambling dens in which students can gamble; one in the center hall that has all the trimmings that can be found in your typical casino, and one off to the side that is typically reserved for the examinations that take place twice annually and put all the students to the test, as well as the occasional Debt Settlement Game. Both of these dens have their own arrays of slot machines, as well as blackjack, poker, roulette and craps tables, among others. The larger of the two also has cafes, bars and even its very own restaurant.
Students can freely gamble in either one of these gambling dens if they make it to the school early enough in the morning before classes start, as well as during lunchtime and after school hours. Third years can also gamble during their free periods, although they may need to have their student ID's on them in case one of the proctors stationed there comes over to them. Any school assemblies that may need to be held will take place in the restaurant adjoined to the main gambling den, since it's more than large enough to accommodate everyone.
Once every year, Hyakkao Private Academy will host what is called a "Debt Settlement Game", where all the House Pets are drawn towards the secondary gambling den with the promise that their debts will be monumentally easier to manage, if not removed in their entirety. What happens in truth is that most of the debts are shuffled around to other House Pets; more specifically, they are split into groups of four to play a game, and the loser takes on the largest debt out of the four, and the winner gets the smallest. If the winner is the House Pet with the smallest debt, that debt is eliminated and they can carry on gambling as normal. Depending on the game that is being played, House Pets can have the opportunity partner up with anyone in their group in some cases, but are all left to fight for themselves in others.
The Debt Settlement Game is meant to be played specifically by the House Pets, but some standard students have cheated their way into participation in the past, by giving a large portion of their own funds for an ally to hold on to until the games are over. One student in particular had even exploited a massive loophole and made off with a gargantuan haul ¥260000000 as a result. The proctors have a new protocol in place that aims to prevent any smart-ass students from profiting anywhere near that greatly ever again, but it isn't foolproof.
A somewhat recent addition to Hyakkao Private Academy's repertoire, examinations were built in place in order to determine what each of its students is truly capable of. They will be held twice per year; once in the middle half of the year and once right at the end of the year. During examination day, one student will be pitted against one proctor, and they will be playing the same game over and over again until exactly one hour has passed. After one round of examinations, the proctors will call over the next batch of students. Students are given ¥15000000 in chips for the purposes of this exam, and if they manage to hold any more by the end, then they get to keep 25% of the surplus to add to their funds.
It should be noted that this is the only time students will get to gamble against the proctors, as they are neither allowed to accept challenges made by students nor challenge the students themselves. There's a good reason for this, as the proctors can read the emotions portrayed by their opponents like an open book, and are extremely difficult to mislead. Most students tend to barely make it through the hour with a small amount of the money left over, and some will have even exhausted that supply before the hour is up.
While in the grounds of Hyakkao Private Academy, students can approach or call over any proctor that is free and ask for a loan from the school. They can also do the same with members of the Student Treasury Club, who can be distinguished from other students by the gold shark badges that they have pinned to their uniform jackets. These students are dubbed "loan sharks" by the other students since, although their main job is to ensure the school's coffers are stable, their ability to grant loans is their most prominent service for the rest of the student body. There's a limit to how much students can borrow at once, and that depends on their current year.
There are rules regarding the use of a loan. First and foremost, a student cannot be granted a loan if he or she already has one that has yet to be paid off. Each time a student wins a game, he or she can decide how much of the winnings to add to his or her funds and how much will go towards paying off the loan. The same goes for all the end-of-month donations, except the one right at the end of the year, in which case all remaining funds that are payable to the loan will automatically be extracted on top of the donation. Finally, if a student ever loses a game while there is still an account payable from their loan, they'll become a House Pet right then and there, regardless of how close it is to the end of the month when donations are due, and their loan will be treated as a debt to the school.
The parents of students enrolling into Hyakkao Private Academy will be expected to pay at least ¥750000 up front, as what they are told to be the tuition fee for the school. However what the parents won't know is that this so-called "tuition fee" is handed back to the students right on their first day of school. This will be their starting funds, which they are free to spend. School starts one day earlier for the first-year students than it does for the others, since there's a lot that the first-years must understand, and ascertain that they feel comfortable with, primarily, before they continue with their learning. That first day will be dedicated to explain the goings-on in Hyakkao Private Academy.
On the plus side, the students that decide to show up that day will get a good chance to build up their funds from the starting amount before the second- and third-years come in and potentially ruin their fun. Any student who has transferred to Hyakkao Private Academy from another school will have this opportunity as well. However, the fact that fewer students will be around will mean less people to gamble against. As such, the most popular and recommended gambling option for that day would be the slot machines, and thankfully there's enough to go around...
Character Sheet Template
Face claim goes here. Optional A quote from your character in whatever color you'd want for their dialogue. Optional
Basic Information
Name:
(Surname first. You should primarily stick to Japanese for obvious reason, but I'd be OK with the odd foreigner.)
Gender:
(Male or female. Traps & reverse traps may be accepted, but please don't all jump in on them at once.)
Sexual Orientation:
(Are they straight? Gay? Willing to swing in either direction?)
Birthday:
(You'll all be playing as first years, so age is irrelevant.)
Appearance:
(You won't have to do much for this section unless you've opted against using a face-claim, but I'd appreciate height and weight figures. You can use this site here if you're not sure what would be a healthy weight for a first-year student, but don't weasel your way out of it by saying "it's rude to ask a lady her weight" or something equally dumb.)
Personal Information
Personality:
(I usually do 2 or 3 paragraphs for these fields since I like my characters to have great depth to them. However, I'll only ask for one full one from you guys, which would be roughly 100 words at the very least.)
Familial Background:
(Who your character normally lives with and what they do (well, the adults, anyway). Roughly 100 words here too, if you don't mind :])
Likes:
(Self-explanatory. One bullet point for each.)
Dislikes:
(Self-explanatory. One bullet point for each.)
Miscellaneous Information
(Everything that doesn't relate to the above goes here. Theme songs, the names of ideal voice actors and actresses, some notes on the character's creation or tidbits of trivia... it's all fair game.)
CS Format 1 [img]Face Claim[/img] [color]Quote[/color](hr)[h3][b][u]Basic Information[/u][/b][/h3](hr)[color][sub][b]Name:[/b][/sub][/color][indent]Name[/indent][color][sub][b]Gender:[/b][/sub][/color][indent]Gender[/indent][color][sub][b]Sexual Orientation:[/b][/sub][/color][indent]Orientation[/indent][color][sub][b]Birthday:[/b][/sub][/color][indent]Date[/indent][color][sub][b]Appearance:[/b][/sub][/color][indent]Para[/indent](hr)[h3][b][u]Personal Information[/u][/b][/h3](hr)[color][sub][b]Personality:[/b][/sub][/color][indent]Para[/indent][color][sub][b]Familial Background:[/b][/sub][/color][indent]Para[/indent][color][sub][b]Likes:[/b][/sub][/color][list][*] Like [/list][color][sub][b]Dislikes:[/b][/sub][/color][list][*] Dislike [/list](hr)[h3][b][u]Miscellaneous Information[/u][/b][/h3](hr)
This is how the coding for your CS would have to look in order to follow the main template exactly, assuming you remember to replace the parenthesis () around each hr with square brackets []. It looks like a complete mess, I know, but it helps keep the resulting sheet compact. If you're having trouble following along with it, you can use this coding below to start off with at the very least, again remembering to replace the parenthesis () around each hr with square brackets [].
As you can see, this coding makes it much easier to determine what exactly to place in each field. Either one of these two formats, I'll accept, but try not to deviate from the original formatting too much.
