Premise
“Time to clock in.”
The words inhabit your mind as you prepare yourself for another day of the grind, taking a deep breath before the storm. You didn’t have time for a proper breakfast this morning, except just a bagel and a cup of the many multi-billion dollar corporate brews of coffee available with just a click on your phone. It’s good enough, at least it has to be - how else are you going to get through the day? The same cup of coffee, the same time of day, the same as everyone else. It’s a Wednesday and you only need to survive the other half of the week before you get two days where you have the energy to do what you really want; at least that’s what you tell yourself in your caffeinated stupor. Never truly awake. Never truly asleep. After your shift ends it finally hits you.
“How did it get like this?”
You never aspired to be another cog in the machine, working grueling hours for stagnant paychecks while the boss of your boss spends his weekend at an exclusive country club while slamming back martinis. You tricked yourself into thinking that this was temporary, and that soon you’d set aside enough to start your life for real. Unfortunately, this is where a lifetime of going with the flow got you. You look to the other faces in the crowd as you go your everyday commute. They’re all just like you, dreaming for a change but resigned to their lot in life.
“No more.”
It’s time you got angry. You’ve always told yourself you were different and now it’s time to prove it. You had dreams and ambitions once, and someone needs to wake up the masses and make them realize the same. As of now you’re waging a war against the machine, and your weapons are art, attitude, and audience. The big suits have been sitting pretty for too long off your blood, sweat, and tears, and now it’s time to put the heat on them. There’s only two ways for you to go now, will you be the voice of a generation or fade into obscurity?
A Brief History
The Taygete Project started as a collaborative work between some of the wealthiest corporations in the world, developing a fully modernized harbor city integrated by its self-sufficient online network and governed by a board of the companies themselves. Everyone around the world is free to apply to become a resident of Taygete after extensive screening and paperwork, after which those accepted are assigned a unique ID in which they are required to have at all times for any legitimate transaction. Much importance and encouragement is placed upon participation in Taygete’s online social media and network service, with the city promoting popular residents via algorithm and moderation while silencing those that express thoughts deemed distasteful. “A city run for the people, by the people” is the motto in Taygete, followed by “and while you’re here, enjoy a nice cup of Average Joe™.”
In current times, the corporations will boast that the Taygete Project is a phenomenal success while in truth the wealthiest in the city have played the system by their own rules to remain on top. The less fortunate have been shunted aside by gentrification and impetuous policies. “The Suits,” as referred to by the lower classes have become so out of touch that they do not even have to look at the poor, and laws are but mere suggestions for those who have money. Every day is a battle to stay relevant, with people finding very quickly how hard it is to make a name for oneself when they are but a drop in the ocean. Those that believe life to be easier when complicit join the thousands of expendable applicants for the same job for a chance to earn bread crumbs, while others lash out in the form of crime and vice.
To make things stranger, word has spread throughout the city of supernatural and occult happenings. Considering how blurred the line has become between fact and rumor in the high-speed feed of information, nothing can truly be confirmed in the wave. Perhaps some are testing the waters to see what they can make stick, or perhaps they’re looking for something greater to believe in...
Your Character
Maybe you’re an aspiring influencer trying to gain a following. Maybe you’re a desk jockey working the third double-shift in a row this week. Perhaps you’re a grunt for a private military company or an associate for a family in the criminal underground. Hell, you might even be a millionaire finding out that all your assets have been frozen as a casualty of corporate warfare, and now you’ve got to climb back up to the top. One thing’s for sure, someone richer and more powerful than you is pulling the strings and it ends now. Feel free to get creative with your origin, but keep things within the realm of reason.
After you’ve decided where you come from, determine your “X-factor.” There’s something about you that breaks the mold and makes you truly unique - something that gives you an edge over everyone else. This can be anything from a marketable talent to a literal superhuman ability. Note that this will be up to my deliberation and discretion for approval, so again, keep things reasonable. Though superpowers exist, I’d rather it not be the primary focus of the story.
Chart A Course
Everyone has their own reason for coming to Taygete. Many are just looking for a new life and new opportunities, while others might be chasing after a ghost from their past. Arriving to the city was the easy part; finding a path forward is going to be a different beast. Life for the majority isn't all what people hoped it would be, with many falling to poverty while others who stay afloat in the Arche District by working uninspired dead-end jobs. These sedated souls have been conditioned to desire only comfort and live lives free of risk, but also devoid of passion and ambition - at the very least they only dream of something better.
Those that the city turned its back on will likely find themselves in the Herse District: a place of dilapidated neighborhoods, gang wars, and desperation filling the air. The wealthy yet dubiously opportunistic sometimes also find their way here, seeking to make business they'd rather keep under the radar. For the ones simply living here, every day is another fight just to see the sun tomorrow. At the end of the day, there are those in Herse who still walk the streets with a glint in their eye - they carry with them a hope that they will some day make it out of Herse alive, or that the district will some day return to its former glory.
At the top of Taygete's social hierarchy are the obscenely rich and powerful who make their homes in Chaldene. "Indulgence incarnate" would be the best way to describe their extravagant lifestyles, with many competing with their peers just to maintain their lavish condos and state-of-the-art highrises. Some even drag others down in the proverbial crab bucket out of petty spite. In no other parts of the city have narcissism and corporate postmodernism met their match.
Here's where you, the players, come in. Your characters are a citizen of Taygete living in Arche, Herse, or Chaldene depending on what you've decided for their background. If your character works an industrial job or is part of a gang, you'll likely want to pick Herse. Jobs such as retail workers, food service employees, and office cubicle workers settle mostly in Arche. If your character is a corporate leader, has a large inheritance, or is a successful entrepreneur, then they might make their home in Chaldene. Those employed as a private military mercenary can be in any district depending on their work.
No matter the case, your characters are people who have grown weary of the current lives that they live, and seek a change either for themselves or the city as a whole. How your characters will go about that change and how they interact with the city will be entirely up to all of you. This will be a roleplay that explores the importance of connections, art, and the human condition.
Rules
1. Host’s Word Is Law. As the one setting up the stage for the story, I will make the final ruling should discrepancies and disputes arise.
2. 18+ Only. Due to the nature of possible sensitive content matter, applicants must be 18 years of age or older. That being said, ERP is still strictly forbidden and such interactions will be instead left implied.
3. Be Timely. Schedules can get busy for everyone, so this isn’t a strict rule. I will at least ask that you inform me if you will not be posting for a notable period of time. I would much rather you tell me in the case that you’ve lost interest in the roleplay or no longer have time for it, than ghost or make constant excuses in an attempt to save face. I will understand and will not bear any ill will towards you for it.
4. Maintain Proper Roleplay Etiquette. It is considered to be in poor form to have your character use outside knowledge that they would otherwise have no way of knowing. Controlling or directly affecting another player’s character without their explicit consent is also disallowed.
5. The Right To Refuse. For whatever reason, be it constant misconduct, your character not fitting with the setting, or otherwise, you may be ejected from the roleplay or your application may not be accepted. In this case, I will ask that you no longer post in any of the related threads for this roleplay. Refer to Rule #1.
Hi, I'm looking for a small group of around 3-4 players with a possibility of squeezing in a fifth. Feel free to ask me any questions regarding the roleplay. If this garners enough interest I can set up a Discord server and a character sheet template. For those more curious about the roleplay, check out the Notion page I've made regarding some of the world here or by clicking the banner which I will be updating and filling in as the story progresses.
4x Like
