MyCatGinger — Roleplayer Guild

Shou Matsuoka

Name: Shou Matsuoka (Dr./Prof. Matsuoka to his students, or often just "Professor" but he really doesn't mind Shou, or if you happened to call him Mr.)

Age: 29

Appearance:

(Credits to the original artist)
"I promise, I had just as rebellious a childhood as you kids, heh."

Has a piercing on his left ear on which he swaps between tiny spike or silver ring earrings. Dark circles aren't unfamiliar to his otherwise pale features, and his eyes are a clear, light, chocolate-brown colour which contrasts heavily with his (dyed) silver hair. In his youth, he used to have a select number of streaks in the mess of his locks that he dyed different colours once every two months. Though you can see a cigarette sticking out of his mouth when he isn't at school, it's replaced for a lollipop when he's on the job. Though oddly enough, it's difficult to tell from far away what it might really be...

Height: 6'2" / 188cm

Weight: 177lbs / 80.5kg

Likes: Fresh fruit, discussion and debate, his students, thought-provoking material, philosophy, the sounds of the steelpan, the saxophone and the violin (and even the harmonica on occasion!), (soft spot for) Drum and Bass, oddballs, big dogs, breathtaking natural green scenery, lighting candles, aromatherapy, the colour blue, dressing classy, reading and writing fine literature, art, PC-gaming, white and milk chocolate, lollipops and gummy-bears, herbal teas and black coffees, blue orchids.

Dislikes: Liquorice, dark chocolate, small spaces, papaya, grading papers, his age and authority questioned, late students, the cold, spicy food, beetles, when people try to get him to dance, when things stop working.

Party Trick: Can, pitch-perfect and usually very loudly, whistle any requested song (that he knows).

Profession: Professor at the Shine City Academy (Department of Biology; Genetics specialist).

Bio/Personality:
Shou grew up in classy Shine City itself as the younger of two sons, so it's hard to find a place or trick or turn within it that the young gentleman doesn't know. Though, admittedly, he only came to learn of more of the city in his later years, having been homeschooled as a child and so finishing his education a couple of years early (due to missing out so many much-coveted summers). He landed his professor job through a mixture of sheer luck, his personal smarts and three rather interesting published works on the behavioural study of animals in captivity. This has led to him being a bit of an eccentric man, though he enjoys his fair share of parties as well, accompanied by a new experimental mixed-drink each time if not for a classic favourite of his: A glass of burgundy wine, for his more mature palette.

He spends his days teaching at the Shine City academy, hoping to inspire his students (though he has to admit again, most of them don't seem quite as much as interested in his lectures) to greatness someday. His personal interests are in the areas of Genetics and Zoology.
His young age is often a cause for playful kidding around by the older members of staff, though also gets him a lot of belittling remarks and unsatisfied glances from time to time. He claims he's just as much a student as anyone else, learning from his seniors whenever he can on their respective areas of expertise, and from his juniors on areas such as 'socialisation in the younger-crowds'.
He owns two dogs, a young Jack Russell Terrier called Jinxie and a larger Border Collie/German Shepherd mix called Romeo. Seeing as he lives by himself in a rather comfortable little house just far enough from the bustling city center to have an open yard, the two dogs get on well and don't get bored or lonely too often (special thanks to the dogs of the lovely old woman who lives next door!)

Shou himself is slightly introverted, preferring to be approached rather than approaching someone, though he has no problem doing the latter. He hardly ever is mentioned to say "he's bored", being a strong believer in finding entertainment in whatever one does. He is compassionate towards animals and, oddly enough, plants as well, having a well-tended garden set up in his backyard. He also possesses intensive knowledge on herbal remedies his mother taught both boys, Shou and Yuusha, when they were young. Being described as 'eccentric' due to his often chuckling at the most inappropriate moments, or his somewhat morbid love for setting things alight, or even his irritability on Thursday evenings when the weekend is so close, yet so far, he garners the positive attentions and affections of many others, particularly the schoolgirls at the academy impressed with just how young he is.
Or maybe they're just taken by his looks and undeniable quiet, mature grace.

As for his personal skills, outside of teaching and aromatherapy, Shou can also play the violin himself, whereas his brother picked up the saxophone when they were children. Though, to make up for it, he thoroughly neglected cooking in his youth and survives on the most basic meals, usually burnt or improper in some way, shape or form, but laden with spices each and every time.

In addition, it's been about four years since his long-term girlfriend and later much-beloved fiancée Alessandra (lovingly 'Alex') has passed now, the victim of a horrendous accident. Shou has mostly come to terms with it, though it isn't something one can recover from easily and he still thinks of her time and again, though still gets easily flustered around pretty women due to not being exposed to quite as much contact since her passing. It undeniably leaves him a little lonelier and 'emptier' than he'd like, and he often is solemn when he admits to that.

Romeo

German Shepherd x Border Collie
Adopted from the local shelter as a tiny pup, Romeo is now nine years old and an aging boy, but holds himself with a pride and loyalty to his master like no other. He makes an excellent companion on long walks, and in addition, an even more wonderful pillow to cuddle with when lonely.

Jinxie

Jack Russell
Jinxie is hyperactive and playful despite her six years of age, possesses a love for life itself any everything it brings. She's forever curious and could be called the polar opposite of Romeo, if not for the friendliness they both possess. She used to belong to Alessandra, but Shou has taken responsibility for her ever since Alex passed.

Theme(s)

And, an honorary mention...:)

Side Characters

Tsubasa Yukimori

"Let's make the most of what we have, before it's too late, hmm?"

Name: Tsubasa Yukimori

Age: 23

Appearance: Long, chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes like leaves in approaching autumn, with golden-brown rings around the pupils. In stature, she is fairly weak, and can be prone to passing out time and time again, and her skin is fairly pale, and she appears tired, when not covering up with makeup, too.

Height: 167cm (5'6")

Weight: 52kg (115lbs)

Likes: Observing people, sketching, children and happy families, fountains and the beach, greenery, rivers, koi-fish, youth, optimism, making memories, miracles, hope, flowers (especially white roses), animals of all kinds.

Dislikes: Hospital beds, despair, giving up, people believing themselves to be less than they are, animal cruelty, sunburns, being alone (especially at night), uncertainty.

Party Trick: Surprisingly, a good mixologist! Can mix up lots of drinks!

Profession: Discharged from her duties as a nurse, but still refuses to quit work.

Bio/Personality: Tsubasa was always a sweet child, and an only child as well, growing up in a nearby community and moving later to Shine City with her parents. She had a cat from in her teenage years that is getting older now, and she is approaching the end of her life as well, named Cocoa. She is modest to a fault, and optimistic in nature, despite her more than pessimist-inducing circumstances. She is warm and kind and hopeful, and though she was considered a quiet child, is more of a social butterfly now than in her past as a child and teenager, seeing the world as a much more beautiful place than she thought before.

Approximately three months ago, Tsubasa was diagnosed with a terminal illness that was, sadly, genetic. It was not unheard of in her family, but still, her parents never expected it to happen to their only daughter. Of course, they were devastated, and because of their bad experiences with the treatments in the case of Tsubasa's grandfather and generally eastern-mindsets and disbelief in emerging western medicine, they opted not to put their child through chemotherapy, despite the fact that it may have increased her life expectancy or not (which explains her long hair, that is now weak and brittle and not as thick and lively as it once was, but still easily reaches her knees.) She is twenty-three years old but the sickness has evident tolls on her which she covers up with make-up, including premature wrinkles and skin that looks deader by the day.

She decided that she would not spend the last of the month(/s?) the doctors had presumed she would live sans treatment indoors and moping, and so, after plenty of therapy from the up-and-coming psychologist, going by Dr. Bridge Templeton, she has come to terms with her illness, and now looks to enjoy life in Shine City for what she never could before. She also hopes to find love in the brief time she has left in the world, and will never, out of stubbornness, open up to just anybody about her illness. As far as she is concerned, she is just a feather from a wing floating in the air current that life has in store for her, and her objective is to touch and influence as many lives as she can along the way, and make as many others happy as she possibly can before she has to go.
She hopes that will be enough to get her into heaven, having been raised in a fairly religious family with strong beliefs about the afterlife and karma, and one's good deeds.

Theme Song:

Alessandra Goretti

Name: Alessandra Vittoria Goretti

Age: Deceased (Would have been 28)

Appearance:

Straight brown hair and radiant, warm hazel eyes.

Height: 5'6" / 168cm

Weight: 118lbs / 54kg

Likes: Living life, children, smiling, all music (especially orchestral), green tea, Mahjong, physics+physicists, mysteries, lab research, panna cotta, strawberries, tiramisu, pets, romance, astrology, red roses, stargazer lilies, blue orchids, sweater weather, the colour purple and most bright colours, the renaissance, home (Italy) and home food, her fiancé.

Dislikes: Animal testing, teasing, bitter things, lazing around, small handbags (there's never enough space!), gaudy decoration, arguments, racism, crowded places, narcissists, wannabes, unresolved matters.

Party Trick: For a woman of physics, she is quite good at guessing horoscopes and giving people a personality briefing using that information.

Profession: Professor at Shine City Academy (Department of Physics; Nuclear Physics specialist)

Bio/Personality:
Alessandra was a woman full of life, and her personality remains mirrored in her dog, Jinxie. She was a cheerful and passionate woman, and though she wasn't very loud, she radiated health and vitality, and glowed with an undeniable charisma. She was motherly and caring, compassionate to all living things, and curious to a fault. Easygoing and laid back, it was difficult to engage her in arguments. Her personality could be compared to a fawn's.

Alex was always curious about the ways the world worked, and from a young age, it was apparent to her parents that she would use that curiosity to achieve great things. And she did.
Moving to Shine City from Italy soon after finishing her highschool education to study nuclear physics from the very best, she ended up as a Physics lecturer for Shine City Academy, and though the position did not require her own research, she chose to pursue it anyway, balancing out her 'career' with her personal interests quite well. She worked hard towards the position of professor, and since she was comfortable where she was, she had her life planned around remaining in Shine City and settling down with a family there.

During her time at the academy, she met a certain biology professor, Shou Matsuoka, who at the time was still learning all there was to learn, and the two, despite their generally contrasting personalities, hit it off right away. They dated for the better part of three years before he popped the question, and Alex could not have asked for anything more. She moved in with him officially when he proposed to her, and they even bought a small, comfortable little house on the outskirts of the city, courtesy of their combined salaries. 

Unfortunately, things did not go quite as planned. During their engagement, and her working as part of a long-term project to get to the very bottom of an elusive concept in the field of nuclear physics, something very particular happened to one very unsuspecting physicist. She did not know how, or why, or even who, but was caught in the middle of a brutal murder and mauling. Of course, the authorities tried to track the man down but until a very fateful date, little headway had been made. Her fiancé was told, simply, that she was caught in an accident, and spiralling into a depression that left him reeling, he still doubted the truth, until...

On New Year's Eve, The Weatherman became clumsy. This serial killer, responsible for taking the lives of many, particularly young women, was apprehended, and Shou was told the truth about his wife-to-be. It was reconciliation that he wished for, and he had hoped that the knowledge would help him get over her, but he cannot deny that he still finds himself smiling at fond memories of Alex, and he can't shake the sight of her face, wherever he goes, most of the time.
Theme(?)

@Jig This guy, and @corneredbliss this beauty, and @Kirah and @TheMaster99 these two taught me lots and lots about GMing that I never even knew went into it. :D !

If you have the time, I strongly recommend checking out some RPs run by these wonderful people, including the former Woll Manor (which I cannot find the link to just this second asdf), the spiritual sequel Wolf Manor and the resurrection because we loved it so much, the spunky and très français Chateau de LaLune.

In my opinion, these were some of the best RPs I've ever, ever been in, courtesy of the GM/s and also their cast of lovely players!

So, as to the real gist of this post... but I worry whatever I wanted to say has already been said! Oh well! :)

What made these brilliant were how the GM responded to the challenge that is the theme of the RPs. I feel like the same person running two games, one fantasy and one sci fi, can't just expect both to be run the same way. We ran mysteries, and so the style of GMing was a lot different to say, something a lot more open world that I was in, like Shine City (run by @Dynamo Frokane, but I'll talk about why I like his style in a minute too)

So, the GM should be passionate about their work, and that's a big one. I know it oftentimes needs the players, too, but the GM should be the one encouraging and including everyone, some way or another. Also, depending on the type of rp, the GM needs to figure out how to work with small vs large groups of people. There's an optimum number and it lies between 5-9 players in my opinion, any more and it's too much of a scramble, and any less and it's more of a private affair. 

Regardless. A GM should be willing and ready to heavily commit to plot. They are usually the ones driving the story forward, after all. And whereas an idea is in mind, one shouldn't aim to smother their players either. I know in the Manor series, all GMs had to make complete 180s because players didn't do thing A or thing B, and instead did thing Q, which was completely plausible but about the last thing the GM ever thought of happening.

There was lots more I wanted to say but I totally forgot because I got swamped with neighbours, but I'm sure just giving those RPs a look would do you lots of good, friend! :D I lovelovelove works of art in the ooc too, as character sheets and what have you.

@lovely complex is responsible for being the one to show me just how colourful and beautiful formatted posts ic and ooc can be, too! That definitely makes them so much better on the eyes to read...

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