Ether

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

I'm goddamn bored.

What Is The Avatar Above Thinking?

"This is a biologically advanced eyepatch. It's 100% organic."

Testing

Character Development Thread #1

Character Park
Join Status: Always Open

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Q&A

What is this?

Character Development Threads are a series of roleplays that mainly serve as a writing exercise for all sorts of writers of fiction. Originating from NaNoWriMo and thrived in TVTropes, these roleplays invite writers to pitch in characters from works they author, and have them interact with characters of other fellow writers.

Do I have to be a professional writer?

No, not at all! The threads are open for any type of character from any type of literary fiction. Whether you're just starting out or have ten published books makes no difference. However, for the mutual comfort of all participants, you are required to adhere a set of rules and standards. Don't worry, those aren't particularly hard to follow. Common Sense and Decency 2015™ should mostly cover your bases, but give them a read anyway.

Can I bring in fandom characters? Star Wars? Harry Potter?

No. Sorry about that. Only characters from an original work (as in, a thing you legit wrote) can participate. And no, you didn't write Harry Potter.

Okay, what are the rules?

If you have the time, the rules listed in the link above cover all your concerns already. However, to summarize:

• Write properly. Punctuation, grammar, syntax, nail them down. Nobody's perfect, but this roleplay is a writing exercise first and foremost, and you should seek to improve yourself as much as you can.
• Fancy formatting is a no go. You don't see those in a novel and you should think of yourself as writing for one as you post in this roleplay. You know what I mean: fancy colors, big post headers. Let your character's actions speak for themselves.
• Unless it's something you draw yourself, no images of your characters. A good writer doesn't take a fancy-looking image from the internet and say 'This is how my character looks'.
• Length of an IC post is a non-issue, but you folks with common sense should know how rude it is to reply to a thoughtful multi-paragraph post with a (often hard to reply to) one-liner. And this being a writing exercise becomes a moot point if you're not doing at least some writing.
• There are no limitations on what kind of character you can bring, but keep in mind:
  
  • Keep everything non-smut. Any NSFW interactions should be glossed over with a fade-to-black.
  • Do not bring in more characters than you, and your oh-so-busy real life, can handle writing for.
  • You are free to bring in a demigod a from high-fantasy work or a doctor from a medical drama novel, but the former should respect the latter's wish should he want his character to remain unharmed. We're not trying to prove whose character is the strongest. There are many other roleplays that can host your power-wanking fantasies.
  • Have some sort of plan for your characters. This is called Character Development threads for a reason.
  • When your character(s) doubles as a walking distraction (bearing some sort of unignorable characteristic), err on the side of caution and prepare to reply a lot. Do not disturb large parts of the thread. Do not alter the nature of the thread without majority consent.
  • No fourth-wall-breaking shenanigans (addressing the 'audience' or 'readers'). Characters normally capable of making the stunt will mysteriously have this characteristic vanish.
• No autohitting, no controlling other player's characters, no assuming how another character's power works. Keep OOC a civil place, and we're cool.
• In a situation where your character is involved with two or more other writers, give both time to reply. Don't leave out someone just because they're not online at the time.
• Any qualms, reasonable complaints, suggestions and deliberations are very much welcome in the OOC. A bit of discussion can go a long way.

What is your role as GM?

Advancing the time of day, the weather and the like. Also participating and weeding out jerks. Beyond that, nothing. This RP is a sandbox for you and me both to develop our characters, terminated only by inactivity or majority vote. Feel free to add new locations, plot hooks and the like as long as they didn't disturb the big picture.

Any other things to note?

It really helps if you include a location tag (where your character is at the time of the post) on the top of your posts, and (optionally) followed by the list of characters they're currently interacting with. Also, for extra bugging, mention the poster of the characters you're interacting with at the bottom of your post.

Example

[Park Entrance] (Alice, Bob, Charlie)

*Body of your post goes here*

@Ether

How do I join?

Feel free to post your characters in the character tab. A paragraph-long description will suffice, although more doesn't hurt. Your character shines in the IC, not in the character tab. Give the OOC a hello, then you're welcome to join in.

Map & Locations

Note: The upper-right corner is West, and the bottom-left corner is East. Forgot to add in a compass rose.

While I'll write short descriptions for each area, it will be barebones, and more specificity is up to you, the writer, to fill in as needed for the purpose of developing your characters. Maybe they encounter a plant unique to their world, maybe some cute critters.

Welcome to the first installment of Character Development Threads, the Character Park. Located in the hub between dimensions, this park was opened by a man full of mysteries to visitors from all sort of worlds. One side facing the ocean, and the other facing a suspiciously tall mountain range, many unusual and mostly harmless flora could be found contributing to the vivid greenery of this Asian-style park. At night, some animals with vicious eyes can be spotted, but worry not, they have never been reported attacking visitors. Those uncomfortable with the glares can enjoy a luxurious stay in a hotel with a splendid view of the ocean sunset.

Admission is free, as is sightseeing. But there are strict rules against littering or damaging the park's meticulously-groomed plants. After all, taking care of such an unusual park costs a lot. That said, enjoy your visit!

Special Rule:
You're allowed to take control of the NPCs in form of park cleaners, food stand patrons, and other insignificant figures to help move things along. Don't let them overshadow your characters.

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Nobody posts in IC until the first post is up.

Aphorism: Skyline Institute

What's stopping people from writing super-broad words like object, structure, weapon, or energy?

Men vs. Women Race to 1000

-195

Human experimentation.

The sad truth is that the process of passing new medicine is really just needlessly complicated, on purpose. See, businesses like stability, and introducing new, potentially revolutionary drugs into the market disrupts that stability. By making the process needlessly long, they can anticipate the effects a drug can have on the market, minimizing the potential disruption. Pharmaceutical companies are always on the watch for new drugs. Not to mention cheap, accessible and effective drugs means less profit margin. Imposing excessive bureaucracy on human experimentation is just a byproduct of that profit-centric mindset. In a similar way, petroleum companies are trying their darnest to halt the development of alternative energy. The status quo is profitable, why change it? That's how the big heads think, unfortunately.

Men vs. Women Race to 1000

-157

Nechronica: The Long, Long Sequel

Just noticed the Romance tag on the thread. Recalling that the entire cast will be female (excepting the monsters and the necromancer), I'm wary of the plot being driven by romance. So why did you put that tag and how would you handle it later?

Nechronica: The Long, Long Sequel

Yes, pretty much. I'll be looking forward to it.

Nechronica: The Long, Long Sequel

I'm interested, greatly. Are we going to conform into what's allowed at the character creation section of the game, or are we less restricted? Either way is fine with me, just want to confirm.