Hello there, one and all. I don't wish to bore you, so let me cut right to the chase.
1. If interested in chatting, please PM me only. Don't reply directly on this thread. Thank you. :)
2. All characters must be played 18+ years old (and aged up appropriately if younger in canon).
3. I'm
only looking to RP via E-mail, though I'll plot/chat OOC over private messaging. Let's keep the discussion of any mature content/romance (which I'm more than open to) strictly to PMs, please. :)
OOC Info
I would rank myself as Advanced and work best with Advanced-level partners: I write 1-3 paragraphs--sometimes more, rarely less unless it's all dialogue/a fast-paced scene--in the past tense 3rd-person POV. (If you need a writing sample, let me know and I can provide one.) Please be on point with spelling, honed sentence/language mechanics, good detail and description. I ask that partners be able and willing to reply at least once--ideally twice or thrice--a week. If real life is getting heavy, just let me know and we can work something out; RL always trumps RP. If eight days go by without any reply, even if just to say you're swamped right now and will get back to me when time allows, I'll drop the RP.
I prefer M/F pairings and playing males opposite females. By and large, I don't put primary thematic stress on a character's failings, traumas, vices and fuckups; happy characters without a tragic/traumatic past for the sake of drama can be interesting and compelling also. That said, they also aren't boringly invincible/infallible power fantasies; they all have fairly in-depth and plausible (a relative term depending on the setting, admittedly) histories and backstories.
By and large, I'm craving largely upbeat and optimistic stories with action, humor/levity, comedy, adventure and, yes, a good deal of romance and (eventually) some mature content. There’s meaningful conflict and drama (not melodrama), slice-of-life moments amidst the chaos, great clashes/triumphs and—above all—hope. Bad things may happen and the story might end on a bittersweet note, but to quote author A. Lee Martinez, "the characters can make it to the other side without being broken and—if not completely satisfied—become better people for the experience". Everything doesn't have to be sunshine and rainbows 24/7 (I like any darkness to be reserved, subtle and used only when needed), but I'm not interested in utterly bleak settings where the most painful/cynical/tragic outcome always happens, no one's ever happy and life's an endless downpour of shit. With original settings, offer a shamelessly high fantasy/"swords and sorcery"-esque setting a la
Final Fantasy 9/10,
Order of the Stick and
Skies of Arcadia—or a modern-day superhero world (with a dash of Silver Age for flavor) that sincerely enjoys the concept of superheroing—and you’ve got my immediate attention.
When it comes to romance, let's have the relationship be authentic and grow on its own accord. Give me happy couples with meaningful relationships that grow with, stand by and protect each other as more exciting/compelling/dramatic stuff happens. (To quote GH Chesterson,
“The wise old fairy tales never were so silly as to say that the prince and the princess lived peacefully ever afterwards. The fairy tales said that the prince and princess lived happily ever afterwards; and so they did. They lived happily, although it is very likely that from time to time they threw the furniture at each other.”) Purposefully/intensely toxic pairings aren't really my thing (done 'em too many times), relationships existing just as a source of easy conflict and artificial drama is a personal pet peeve, and having a story revolve around the
"Will they or won't they?" dance just gets tedious.
RP Pet Peeves/Things I'll Pass On
- Edgemaster character archetypes. Obnoxiously unsympathetic types with a default emotional state of "pissed-off, miserable hyper-cynic". Douchebag anti-heroes that think having a dead loved one or being mugged gives them a blank check for consequence-free sociopathic dickishness, perpetual emotional retardation/callousness, and a steadfast refusal to ever open up or change. Overly "dark and edgy" brooders that form their entire identities around hanging onto some past pain or trauma (which they never attempt to heal from/come to terms with and usually has no narrative purpose beyond providing angst fodder).
- Overly "dark and gritty" settings. Settings where "morally gray ambiguity" and "unambiguous moral bankruptcy" are the only options available (there are no genuinely altruistic or moral people around), that derive a perverse joy from its own brooding self-importance and obsessive depravity/brutal mercilessness, and care far more about the characters endlessly suffering than seeing them plausibly overcome said suffering.
- Rape/sexual abuse as plot device. If one party can't consent (younger than 18, too drunk/drugged up to resist, extremely impaired mental awareness/judgment, etc.) or does not consent, it ain’t happening. And I'll pass on seeing rape used as a tool for cheap angst/sympathy (Rape as Backstory), a catalyst for turning an unremarkable schlubette into a badass, to punish a woman for being too "uppity/sexual/antagonistic" (Rape Portrayed as Redemption), or just to highlight how villainous and "hardcore evil" someone is (Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil). (Rape for shock value or its own sake is obviously a no-go.)
Craving 1: Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra
I’m looking for someone willing to roleplay Toph, Korra, Kuvira, Azula or Ty Lee opposite an original character of mine, an "awakened" Airbender and reporter/detective. (I can provide a bio sheet if needed, though I also have a Waterbending healer/pro-Bending "fight doctor" I'd like to try out.) I'm especially interested in finding a Korra, whether within the canon setting of Republic City would be awesome in itself, or her being played within Aang's era (maybe not the Avatar, but still a Master Waterbender and martial artist in terms of offense and defense), or perhaps injecting her into a Dungeons and Dragons esque setting (perhaps Korra being a wandering monk?) or modern-day superhero setting (perhaps the Avatar being a superheroic legacy of which Korra is part of, which isn't too different from canon).
Craving 2: Pokemon
I’m looking to roleplay within the Pokémon anime universe, it holding a special place in my heart. (There’s just something charming about its lighthearted and fairly innocent nature.) It would be a delight to find anyone able and willing to play as one of the following canon females opposite an OC of mine: Jessie, Misty, Georgia, Anime!Bianca, Burgundy, Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy or Candice. That said, I'd also love to find anyone willing to transplant Mai Valentine or Isis Ishtar (
Yugioh), Hermione or Ginny (
Harry Potter), Daisy (
Mario), Azula (
Avatar the Last Airbender), Korra or Kuvira (
Legend of Korra) into this setting too.
I have a number of plots and such, but here are some general ideas we can use as a foundation; I'm always open to hearing other ideas as well.
1. Various self-contained one-shots centered around the classic Pokémon journey and the typical adventures within.
2. Slice-of-life tales detailing the lives of Gym Leaders, Frontier Brains, Team [blank] members, Elite Four members and the like.
3. Various "snapshots" of the characters' interactions, creating a "chronicle" highlighting their evolution from acquaintances/rivals/antagonists/strangers, to friends, to lovers and such.
4. Episodic roleplays: Each "scene" is like an episode in a series (a short-term/one-shot RP with a resolution of sorts), then later doing another scene in the same general storyline with the same characters, but a different set of circumstances. Basically, each RP scene is self-contained, but the characters remain the same and some elements carry over from scene to scene.
There are three things I require there be in a Pokemon RP:
✔ Semi-descriptive (at least) battles. I'm not demanding that every single nuance in a Pokemon battle receive a paragraph's worth of detail, but surely we can do better than just writing
"[Pokémon] used [name of attack]". Let's get creative and descriptive with the moves a la the anime. Paint a picture with words.
✔ Familiarity up to at least the Sinnoh or Unova generations of Pokemon. This is only because I don't want to have ourselves be restricted to a specific generation. (Perhaps with thousands of trainers exploring different regions capturing and releasing Pokemon, it'd be plausible that some acclimate to new environments. As long as we aren't tripping over starters or somesuch.)
✔ Willingness to toss aside the four-move limit.And there are certain things I
don't wish to involve in the RP:
✖ Go Dog Go-esque battle descriptions. "Charmander used Scratch on Rattata. Rattata used Hyper Fang on Charmander. Charmander used Flamethrower on Rattata. Rattata was knocked out. Charmander wins." Bo-ring. We can kick it up a notch. :P
✖ The Four Moves of Doom. I heard somewhere that it was purely game memory issues that restricted a Pokemon to knowing only four moves. In the anime, Pokemon are shown using far more than just a quartet of techniques (some have wielded as many as 15), and it'd seem much more plausible.
✖ Pokémorphs. Not really looking to do anything with Pokemon-human hybrids.
Craving 3: Modern-day superheroics
I love modern-day superheroics with a bit of Silver Age for flavor. (In terms of mood, think
Batman: The Brave and the Bold or
The Venture Brothers, not
Man of Steel or the Nolanverse!Dark Knight trilogy.) Hero/hero, villain/villain and hero/villain relationships are all nice, and I list a few potential plots below. I admit there are specific heroine-esque canons I'd love for a partner to play as; PM me for details.
Untitled Craving 2: A largely harmonious and working relationship between a superhero(ine) and supervillain(ness) in which each is aware of the other's secret identity, yet still have a largely harmonious (if very odd) and working relationship. Bonus points if they are each other's personal arch-rivals, or if they were introduced to each other by their own personal nemeses.
The Kidnapping: When one dates a superhero(ine), getting some quality time together can be challenging between day jobs, professional obligations and whatever super-villain comes knocking at the door. More than one romantic dinner, date or planned night of room-quaking passion has been put on hold or blocked due to the Superhero(ine) Call of Duty. It gets to the point that you see your beau on TV or in print more than you see her in person. Moreover, the workload is getting so large that (s)he's become short-tempered and even a bit sloppy. Considering his/her responsibilities, being sloppy can have serious or even tragic consequences at the wrong time. So for all of these reasons and more, taking a page from the super-villain manual, you decide to go old-school and attempt a good ol' fashioned 'kidnapping'...for her own good, of course.
Single Superhero Seeks Good Archenemy: Not every villain is a proper nemesis for every hero. All of the great rivalries have enemies that are on equal fields somehow, or are complete opposites (Batman vs. Joker, Lex Luthor vs. Superman, Thor vs. Loki, etc.). But just like some people go on multiple blind dates to find that special someone, so too do capes and villains alike seek out services to find that perfect archenemy, someone who pushes them to their full potential while not so surpassing them that it's impossible to maintain. Sometimes, one just outgrows the other, needing a new challenge and a more compatible opponent. Be you a good-guy, a bad guy, a vigilante or in supporting role, there are various establishments meant to test compatibility in terms of philosophies, backstories, powers/abilities and even work schedules.
Tribulations of Heroism and Villainy: Like all couples, this one has their occasional problems: He complains that her minions keep raiding their fridge and that she can't get mad he's late for a date due to shutting down a missile she had launched, and she's deeply annoyed that some mudslide in Bolivia has gotten in the way of their dinner--again--and promising to put a professional hit out on that new superheroine who keeps scoping out his behind. Even as they play on opposite ends of the hero/villain coin, they manage to have a strong relationship out of the costumes, leading to some very interesting conversations, as well as trying to deal with mook unions, would-be rivals and snooping reporters desperate to unmask one or both of them.
It's All About The Game (And How You Play It): Not all protagonist-antagonist relationships are based on loathing, disdain or hatred. The relationship between these two is one of them, a mutual game that's been played for many years now. One is a hero devoted to protecting their city, standing up for truth, righteousness and the good...you know, the classic oaths heroes of all stripes swear themselves to. The other, while not an out-and-out evil person, simply loves to do their own thing and go after their own pursuits, as well as causing trouble for the hero. Whether pulling a tremendous heist, engaging in a plan that risks dealing with more ruthless and callous foes or whatever else, the hero waits for the moment to strike. They fight, taunt, snark and tease each other, but the villain always manages to give the hero the slip. Yet, when circumstances force them to work together, they have an almost instinctual understanding of each other's tactics and moves that long-married couples share that enable them to defeat truly mighty odds...though even then, the villain manages to get away, blowing a (slightly?) taunting kiss at the hero.
A Happy Birthday: These two, once childhood friends, became professional enemies each on the opposite side of the hero/villain coin. But one night, after one particularly heated battle, one invites the other to a momentary detente (one of them's sick/it's their birthday/whatever). For one evening, both agree to leave their animosity--or really, the animosity of their villain/hero identities--at the door in a mutual ground, to revisit the old days and maybe, just maybe, see if they could turn back the clock.