Ogo

Final Fantasy: The Dark Crystal

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Thanks for stopping on by, peeps! Ogo here, and I'll be your GM for this ride. I've been on the guild for a couple years now, and while I have served as Co-GM a few times, this will actually be my first solo project. That being said, I'm sure we'll all get along nicely.

Obviously this is a Final Fantasy RP, so if you're not familiar with the franchise, you may be a little lost. That's fine, though, as prior knowledge is not required. Anything relevant to the RP can be found in this here OOC. And while I'm doing my best to keep this nice, updated, and relevant, I'm sure I may miss something here or there. So if you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to ask! Just throw it in the OOC thread if ya like, or if it's something you'd like to discuss privately, just shoot me a PM. There are no stupid questions.

If you ARE familiar with the franchise, then enjoy this little love letter to the older installments in the series. While the plot itself is an original work (and ever changing thanks to you lot!), a number of themes and elements may draw heavy inspiration from the series.

The actual start of the roleplay will begin in hours leading up to the assassination of the king, in the city of Thorne during the extravagant festival.

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I. Follow standard roleplaying etiquette please. So no godmoding, autohitting, and do not take control of another's character. Unless you've gotten permission from all other involved parties to do so then...I dunno. Knock yourself out?

II. Have fun. It should go without saying, but we're all here because we love to write. There is no winning. There is no losing. There's not going to be some phat piece of loot waiting at the end. And you're not going to see some game over screen. So just enjoy the journey.

III. Have a little respect. For each other. For yourselves. I'm not saying you've gotta be best friends, people, but try to remain civil. If an argument happens to break out, either drop it or take it to PMs. No need to air your dirty laundry in public. If a disagreement needs to be settled regarding in-character interactions, such as during fights or about the affects of spells and whatnot, I reserve the right to make the final decision in the case that a solution cannot be reached between the involved parties.

IV. Don't drag IC conflicts to OOC or vice versa. A little bit of IC drama is great. Adds flavor to character relationships. I can dig it. What I can't dig is when a little bit of IC spice erupts into a full blown argument in OOC. We're roleplaying here! Don't take anything personally.

V. No one-liners, please. Two+ detailed paragraphs per post if possible. This is just so that the others you're interacting with can have something with which to work. Reactions and actions make the wheel turn, ya'll.

VI. Post frequency. People have lives. School, work, family, friends, so on and so forth. Try to post at least once a week. If something comes up and you can't, just let me know either via OOC or PM.

VII. Absence/Dropping. Again, life happens. Sometimes you have to be away for a while, or perhaps you've lost interest and need a break/want to drop. That's fine! It happens to all of us. No hard feelings, whatsoever. All I ask is that you let me know prior so that I know whether to wait for you or to move on. PMs will work if you don't want to drop it in OOC. If after two weeks there's been no word, I'll proceed as if you've dropped.

VIII. Regarding Romance: While this is not a romance focused thread, it may happen. That's perfectly fine, just keep things PG-13 in the thread proper. If things get steamy, either fade to black or take it to PMs. Please. Please. please. _{no goldshire.}

IX. Ask Questions! Don't assume and don't be embarrassed. If you've got a question, ask it.

X. Don't put pineapple on your pizza. It's barbaric.

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Prologue
Our heroes gather in Thorne for the week-long festival celebrating the defeat of the Mage-King, unaware of the tragedy about to occur.

Final Fantasy: The Dark Crystal

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^{art by: TYPK}

"We were wrong all those years ago. All we sacrificed, all we suffered - all of it in vain. We were so very wrong. Watch now, heroes, as your precious crystal falls to the Darkness. And with it, so shall this world be cast from the Light. Perhaps then may our gravest mistake be corrected."

Mage-King Otreux the XXII of Sunuveur, following the assassination of King Roderick I of Thorne

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-Introduction-

-Preface | Rules | Story Synopsis-

-Locations | Races-

-Jobs-

-Magic-

-Character Creation Guidelines-

-Cast-

-Other Persons of Interest-

-Bestiary-

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Fifty years ago, the world found itself brought to the brink of ruin by an Eldian Mage-King who had been seduced by the Darkness. Wielding the incredibly destructive magicks granted to him, the Mage-King put together a powerful army of monsters and men then began enslaving or slaughtering all who would dare stand in his way. Certainly he would have succeeded, were it not for the Great Crystal having summoned its champions, the Warriors of Light, to oppose him.

The Warriors and their allies fought back against the Mage-King's army, claiming victory time and time again. They defeated his Great Generals and prevented the summoning of some unspeakable monstrosity from the Void. When they finally confronted the Mage-King himself, they mortally wounded him - though not before he had a chance to cast his potentially most devastating spell.

In a final act of bravery, one of the Warriors sacrificed himself in order to prevent the loss of countless lives. He imprisoned both the Mage-King and the spell within what should have been an impenetrable shell, though he would be trapped as well. And as heroic as it may have been, ultimately it wouldn't be enough.

The Warrior's sacrifice only managed to delay the spell, not avert it completely. The remaining Warriors learned this and had to scramble. They gathered as many as they could and fled to the mountains and high ground. And when they gathered all they could, the Warriors used the Crystal's powerful magick to lift the very land they stood on to the skies. The brutal waves summoned forth by the Mage-King hit shortly after. Within hours, the surface world was flooded beneath dark waves. Had it not been for the Warrior delaying the spell, all would have drowned.

The survivors of the flood adapted to their new lives among the clouds quite well. Since the end of all life was averted, the people were feeling pretty chummy. Peace reigned throughout the land and a technological boom occurred. The Great Crystal emitted an extreme amount of energy, and the people were able to harness and exploit it. By far, the greatest invention to come out of this time would be the mighty airship. It enabled the people to easily traverse the numerous floating islands. This meant that people could spread out once more and, by extension, grow again. Trade flourished. Culture flourished. Everything was great.

For a while.

But eventually, with the threat now far behind (or rather, below) them, old tensions began to flare up once again. War never broke out between any of the new island nations, though it did come close. Very close. A few skirmishes did manage to happen, but diplomacy ultimately succeeded, thanks in no small part to the remaining Warriors of Light. A few decided to help "guide" civilization down a peaceful path. It caused a massive fallout between members, some of whom believed that that would be overstepping their jurisdiction. They were to defend the light, not influence those in charge. Those that thought this new path wrong blended back into obscurity from whence they came, severing all ties with the other Warriors.

Gradually, the flood waters began to dissipate. With each year, more and more of the land below was revealed. Some nations even sent expeditionary forces down to scout the land. While it would take a long time for things to recover from the damage, it eventually would. Colonies were planned and eventually settled as time passed. It was much rougher on the surface, but people managed.

And so we come to the present day: to the city of Thorne, the first of the new nations to be founded and that which protects the crystal, which hosts the festival celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of both the defeat of the Mage-King and the founding of Thorne. It's truly a spectacle to see. People from all of the islands, and even a few of the surface colonies travel to Old Thorne to partake in the week-long celebration. It's a time of merriment, feasting, debauchery, and to those in power, a chance to flex their strength or accomplishments. Competitions and tournaments of all sort are held during this time.

All is well...until a familiar face crashes the party. An old friend thought long dead returns, but in place of a warm reunion, he slays the Good-King Roderick I of Thorne in cold blood and delivers a chilling warning. And as he takes his leave, his prophecy rings true: the Great Crystal darkens and the land shudders. Before it goes dark, however, the Crystal manages to send out one last cry for help.

And all across the land, heroes awaken.

Final Fantasy Interest/Planning

Right, so, it'll likely be another day or so before the OOC goes live. Got a good chunk of it finished, but I've got to grab a couple hours of sleep before work. Just thought I'd let ya'll know so you don't go thinking I've gone AWOL. Before that, though, here's another batch of responses!

@Rin
Holy snap! I really dig your art~! And absolutely no judgement on the predraw. I did the same thing, but my peeps all ended up being stick people. T^T

@Zero Hex
It's all good. If you want to take an alternative approach to the class, I'm down to look at it. Punches rule, yo.

@PetiteAmbivert
YAAAASSSSS! XIV is bae. I can respect the doot doots. Always gotta have your doot doots. And if they're magical? That's just better doot doots.

@Laios
You. I like your style. Carry on.

@Demous
We could definitely work something out with that if you're still wanting to roll Sword Saint come CS time. Which will be SOON™, promise!

@Utrax
I'm not sure whether to hold an intervention for this whole self-harm thing or call PETA. Can I even call PETA on a screaming loony bird? These are the things that haunt me when I'm trying to fall asleep.

@RolePlayerRoxas
Blue mages are just the best. Who doesn't love Gobbo pauwnch? #TeamQuinaQuen #ImWithThem

@WXer
Machinists are in and I've got no qualms with letting people use guns. We're all here to have some fun. Just don't pull any kind of Wanted "curve the bullet" shenanigans and we'll be good.

@GarlandDaHero
I'm all for unconventional takes here, so should you decide to join that likely won't be an issue. But no pressure.

Final Fantasy Interest/Planning

@Lugia Nu Mou are too cute.

@Savo xD You kill me. <3

Hmmm, going to need to decide between knight (with a stupidly big sword, naturally) and black mage I guess.

@Rin

psst psst...magic knight?

Right! So it seems like we've got enough interest here to warrant an OOC and with the questions and whatnot asked here, I've got a decent idea on how to go forward. I'll be working on it tonight. Likely it'll end up going up sometime tomorrow morning/afternoon.

Final Fantasy Interest/Planning

Well heeey. This has been a nice surprise! Thank you all for the interest! Well, let's see what sort of replies I can whip up.

I have a suggestion... how about some of the races from final fantasy tactics advance / advance 2?

@Lugia

Interested also, although race wise, like Lugia said, if we can get final fantasy tactic species, it would be nice

@Evanist

Right, so that's an egg on me face. I completely forgot about the Tactics series. That would actually work perfectly. Moogles, Nu Mou, Bangaa, and Viera yes? I've got absolutely no qualms about their inclusion, so we can make that happen.

I would like to see the Final Fantasy V job system used, albeit with less constant class switching. Maybe something like picking one main job, and then taking sidejobs to get some of its skills and weapon privileges, maybe? There's probably another Final Fantasy game like that, but I can't remember any names, honestly.

@GarlandDaHero

Additionally: I don't mind either style of class systems! For the sake of choosing - I like the rigid Job systems like those in FFV.

@Utrax

...Oh right, whilst I'd be fine with either job system, the more rigid style would make it easier for me to come up with character concepts so... Probably that one I guess.

@Rin

Okie dokie. I was leaning more towards the rigid style anyway, so I can work with this. I don't think Job changing all willy nilly will be a thing, so pretty much whatever you pick is what you'll have.

So... I haven't heard from the OP... is he usually here, or only here for a few minutes at a time?

@Lugia

Yeah, sorry about that! I think I may have left my PC on this page when I went to bed. So if it had my name down in the corner, that's what's up. But yeah, I was asleep. Usually, I'm up between 3pm EST and 10am EST. Kinda overslept today. Oh well. Night shift life.

Final Fantasy Interest/Planning

EDIT: Thread is now live!

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^{art by: TYPK}

"We were wrong all those years ago. All we sacrificed, all we suffered - all of it in vain. We were so very wrong. Watch now, heroes, as your precious crystal falls to the Darkness. And with it, so shall this world be cast from the Light. Perhaps then may our most grave mistake be corrected."

Mage-King Otreux the XXII of Sunuveur, following the assassination of King Roderick I of Thorne

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Flavor, Fluff, and Backstory!

Because I don't completely hate mobile users

Fifty years ago, the world found itself brought to the brink of ruin by an Eldian Mage-King who had been seduced by the Darkness. Wielding the incredibly destructive magicks granted to him, the Mage-King put together a powerful army of monsters and men then began enslaving or slaughtering all who would dare stand in his way. Certainly he would have succeeded, were it not for the Great Crystal having summoned its champions, the Warriors of Light, to oppose him.

The Warriors and their allies fought back against the Mage-King's army, claiming victory time and time again. They defeated his Great Generals and prevented the summoning of some unspeakable monstrosity from the Void. When they finally confronted the Mage-King himself, they mortally wounded him - though not before he had a chance to cast his potentially most devastating spell.

In a final act of bravery, one of the Warriors sacrificed himself in order to prevent the loss of countless lives. He imprisoned both the Mage-King and the spell within what should have been an impenetrable shell, though he would be trapped as well. And as heroic as it may have been, ultimately it wouldn't be enough.

The Warrior's sacrifice only managed to delay the spell, not avert it completely. The remaining Warriors learned this and had to scramble. They gathered as many as they could and fled to the mountains and high ground. And when they gathered all they could, the Warriors used the Crystal's powerful magick to lift the very land they stood on to the skies. The brutal waves summoned forth by the Mage-King hit shortly after. Within hours, the surface world was flooded beneath dark waves. Had it not been for the Warrior delaying the spell, all would have drowned.

The survivors of the flood adapted to their new lives among the clouds quite well. Since the end of all life was averted, the people were feeling pretty chummy. Peace reigned throughout the land and a technological boom occurred. The Great Crystal emitted an extreme amount of energy, and the people were able to harness and exploit it. By far, the greatest invention to come out of this time would be the mighty airship. It enabled the people to easily traverse the numerous floating islands. This meant that people could spread out once more and, by extension, grow again. Trade flourished. Culture flourished. Everything was great.

For a while.

But eventually, with the threat now far behind (or rather, below) them, old tensions began to flare up once again. War never broke out between any of the new island nations, though it did come close. Very close. A few skirmishes did manage to happen, but diplomacy ultimately succeeded, thanks in no small part to the remaining Warriors of Light. A few decided to help "guide" civilization down a peaceful path. It caused a massive fallout between members, some of whom believed that that would be overstepping their jurisdiction. They were to defend the light, not influence those in charge. Those that thought this new path wrong blended back into obscurity from whence they came, severing all ties with the other Warriors.

Gradually, the flood waters began to dissipate. With each year, more and more of the land below was revealed. Some nations even sent expeditionary forces down to scout the land. While it would take a long time for things to recover from the damage, it eventually would. Colonies were planned and eventually settled as time passed. It was much rougher on the surface, but people managed.

And so we come to the present day: to the city of Thorne, the first of the new nations to be founded and that which protects the crystal, which hosts the festival celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of both the defeat of the Mage-King and the founding of Thorne. It's truly a spectacle to see. People from all of the islands, and even a few of the surface colonies travel to Old Thorne is partake in a week-long celebration. It's a time of merriment, feasting, debauchery, and to those in power, a chance to flex their strength or accomplishments. Competitions and tournaments of all sorts are held during this time.

All is well, that is until a familiar face crashes the party. An old friend thought long dead returns, but in place of a warm reunion, he slays the Good-King Roderick I of Thorne in cold blood and delivers a chilling warning. And as he takes his leave, his prophecy rings true: the Great Crystal darkens and the land shudders. Before it goes dark, however, the Crystal manages to send out one last cry for help. All across the land, heroes awaken.

Could this be the end? Or will this new generation of Champions take up arms to save the realm from unspeakable evil?

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For Real Tho

If the above was just a biiiit too much:

TL;DR
Basically some evil elf dude wanted to kill everybody. That ain't cool. So some giant diamond thing (GDT) said stop it. He said no. So the GDT sent some doods after him. They rocked him like a hurricane, but since he's a baby-back bitch, he flooded the planet. So everybody lives on floating rocks now because magic. Thanks crystal doods. Also its now like fifty years later, and the crystal dood who killed the evil elf dude came back during a kick ass week-long kegger, killed another crystal dood, and now GDT stopped being all blue and shiny and started glowing all purple and fadey. Peeps freaked out, so some new crystal doods show up to kick some ass. You peeps be the new crystal doods and/or their homies.

Also we got flying boats. Because magic.

Good? Moving on.

So, let's address the elephant in the room, eh? This story's gonna draw heavily from the Final Fantasy franchise. What can I say? Been playing XIV again and after a night of drinking, I think I've come up with a half decent plot. I don't plan on retelling any of the main stories from the games here. So none of the canonical characters from any of the games will make appearances here. Going original boyos and girlies. For the most part. Of course, some of the reoccurring elements may show up: summons, spells, chocobos, crystals, so on, so forth. Now, more specifically, this is going to skew more towards the series roots, akin to the likes of FFI-VI + IX.

HOWEVER!
This isn't to say that any prior knowledge of Final Fantasy will be required for participation. For all intents and purposes, this could be just another generic fantasy setting. That just sort of, y'know, winks and nods at Final Fantasy. And writes it heartfelt love letters.

Any and all supplemental material will be posted neatly in an OOC. If anybody gets lost in the jargon, feel free to ask any and all questions.

The Peeps

-The protagonists of this story (i.e. dem PCs) would be those chosen by the Crystal to serve as its new Champions. These individuals would become more powerful, even drawing from the experience of the warriors that served before them. Now, the crystal doesn't exactly filter who it picks for the job. Its Champions can come from all walks of life. They can be children (12+, not down with diaper magic), elders, amateurs, professionals, pirates, knights, or anything in between. If they didn't know how to fight before, a little bit of that crystal mojo will fix 'em right up.

Now, I know some people aren't big on the whole "chosen one" trope. And that's fine. If you'd rather play as one of the Warriors' allies, a hero not chosen by fate, we can make that happen. It's all groovy. We can work something out here, I'm pretty open to ideas.

-The three major races that I've got in mind right now are Humans, Elves, and Dwarves (Humes, Eldians, and Deepkin respectively this go around.) If any of ya'll want more race options, feel free to suggest below.

EDIT: Due to popular request, Final Fantasy Tactics races will be included: Moogles, Nu Mou, Bangaa, and Viera.

-As for a Job System, I'm open to suggestions here. We could either use a job system in which certain archetypes should be followed (FFI FFIII, FFIV, FFV, FFVI~, FFIX, FFX, FFXV~), or go a more freeform system in which everybody can do everything (FFII, FFVII, FFVIII, FFXII, FFXIII). I'm leaning more towards the former, but I could probably swing either way.

EDIT: Right, so the general consensus thus far seems to be FOR the inclusion of a job system. For this, I'll put together a list with descriptions of what the job does and this iteration's lore behind it. The job will be static in this case, so job changing will likely be a no-go. _{unless there's a super good reason/charrie development?}

-Magic will fall into White Magic (curative), Black Magic (destructive), Blue Magic (monster ability mimicry), Summon Magic (Temporary Bad Ass Homies). Gonna avoid Time Magic for the sake of our collective sanity.

-Technology in this universe may be a bit wonky. I'd say a good representation would probably be FF VI if you're familiar with it. If not, it's more or less steampunk or uh...magicpunk? More on the low end of one of those. Most nations still use swords, armor, bows, what not. The deepkin, responsible for innovations such as the airship, have invented a crude sort of firearm. More or less flintlock. It's not in wide use quite yet. The homes and whatnot have energy, but cars aren't a thing. Good ol' chocobo (chicken-ostrich-horse) power.

-More as needed

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OKAY! With that, I'm dead tired. Waaay too late for me. Gonna get some sleep. So let's just open the floor with this: Is anybody interested in this? And if so, do we have any comments, questions, concerns, feedback, etc?

University of Hollywood | The Rich vs. The Poor

Just when you thought you got away...


ANYWAY! Bout to head out, but I'll probably start on relations after work. If anybody wants to set anything up between their charrie and Tabby or Ben, hit me up. If we've already been in contact and you don't wanna change anything, we're good to go.

University of Hollywood | The Rich vs. The Poor

Tabby Ferguson

_{"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment."}
-Henry David Thoreau

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Name;

Tabitha Lee Ferguson.

Nickname;

Tabitha. Tabby. Tabs. Whatever works.

Birth Date;

February 3rd.

Age;

Nineteen.

Zodiac Sign;

Aquarius.

Gender;

Female.

Sexuality;

Pansexual.

Rich or Poor;

Poor.

Trust Fund or Scholarship;

Scholarship.

Major;

Theater.

Minor;

Education.

Occupation;

Currently employed at the bookstore - Books of Hollywood University. Also pulls in some shifts as a waitress part-time at a sports bar near campus.

Social Status;

Working Poor

Spending Habits;

Frugal. Super frugal. Penny-pinching to the extreme.

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In Depth Appearance;

Tabitha, like many of our friends kissed by fire, has this fair skin that just loves to burn. But when it’s not all pink and peely, Tab’s skin is relatively clear and free of blemishes, save for the freckles what dot her face, neck, shoulders and chest. Her hair is a sort of red copper throughout with blonde highlights, with the underside having more of an auburn tint to it. Should she let it hang freely, her hair reaches down to just below her breasts. Sometimes she’ll pull it into a braid...but let’s be real: that’s a lot of hair and the laziness is real.

The girl’s face is rather angular, what with her defined jaw and chin, fairly high cheekbones, and prominent nose. Well groomed brows, usually hidden by Tab’s wild, angry bangs, sit above a pair of round eyes with irises on the smaller side of things. Unsurprisingly, she has light green irises.

As far as height goes, she’s not about to break any records at an astonishingly average five foot five. She is quite a bit on the thin side though. Rather underweight, to tell the truth, the result of a long struggle with an eating disorder. She’s currently on her way towards recovery though.

Clothing Style;

While Tabitha does care about her appearance, she doesn’t exactly have the deepest bank account around. So she makes do with what she can. Hand-me-downs, thrift-store sales, flea-market finds, whatever works. As such, her wardrobe...well let’s just say it varies. She wears anything from sundresses to flannel button ups and jeans, from tees and hoodies to sweaters and shorts. She especially likes sweaters. Stylish, comfy, and warm. What more could she ask for? In any case, she has fun with it. That’s all you can do, yeah?

Potential Outfits

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Likes;

✔ Quiet Walks in the Woods.
✔ Cats. Really, any fluffy creature will make her swoon, but cats are just the best.
✔ Terrible Movies. Tabitha’s one of those people who get a sick thrill out of just the worst movies. Intentionally bad or otherwise, it’s all good to her.
✔ All Things Disney. Some people never outgrow their childhoods. Not completely anyway. Tab’s no exception.
✔ Alcohol and Cigs. Terrible for one’s health, but most fun things are.
✔ Running. Tab’s used to be an avid runner, but as she indulged more and more into the previous like, she spent less time running. Shame, that.
✔ Music, Dancing, and Singing. Any music will do.
✔ Bubble Wrap. ‘nuff said.
✔ A Sense of Humor. Life’s too serious, so have a laugh.
✔ Adventure.

Dislikes;

✘ Snow. It’s too cold and miserable to drive in. No thank you..
✘ Phone Calls. Text or have a face-to-face conversation, please.
✘ Blood/Gore/etc. She’s squeamish.
✘ Driving.
✘ Boats.
✘ Swimming.

Habits;

• Drums her fingers, bobs her head, or hums along with music.
• Wiggles her nose or grinds her teeth when frustrated.
• Notorious pen thief.

Hobbies;

• Piano and Guitar
• Songwriting.
• Singing.
• Busking.
• Running.
• Hiking.
• Reading, particularly horror or fantasy.
• Gardening.

Fears;

• Being buried alive.
• Being hanged.
• Drowning.
• Sharks.
• Dying with regrets.
• Literally anything with more than four legs.

Personality Traits;

_{Passionate • Spontaneous • Creative • Witty • Timid • Naive • Impulsive}

Personality;

The way Tabby sees things, any one of us could go at any time, so why not live life as fully as possible? Live in the moment and all that. Do whatever feels right at the time, consequences be damned. She’d rather do something and regret it than to regret having never done it at all. When one understands this, one can understand why Tabitha might choose to walk home instead of riding the bus. Why she might actually stop and smell the flowers or just gaze at the clouds for awhile. Life’s just a short race to the grave, really, so why rush through and miss the beauty all around? There’s just so much to experience.

But sometimes it’s not quite so simple. We’re only human, after all. Tabby knows that. Hell, she’s incredibly shy, truth be told. Now, one might think of a shy performer as a bit of an oxymoron, but it’s different when you’re on the stage. When it’s just you, your instrument, and the music, that’s all that matters. Doesn’t matter if the audience is as large as Madison Square Garden all packed to capacity or as small as a lone cat, music whisks you away. Away to somewhere familiar.

And It’s similar if she either has a friend or two with her or is just in a place where she’s comfortable. People and places have a way of anchoring you to reality, of getting you out of your head. If she’s got her anchor, Tabby can be her usual quirky self.

But boy howdy, if she’s alone around new people she kind of just clams up. Go figure. Now if somebody interacts with her directly, she’ll respond. And the more friendly they are, the more she’ll open up. Humor is a quick way to win her over, really. And don’t let her timidity fool you, she’s pretty quick on her feet and if she feels comfortable enough, she’ll jab.

Unfortunately, Tabby’s a bit too trusting. She takes people at face value, not really questioning their motives. Sure, doubt creeps in from time to time, she’s not completely oblivious after all, but she prefers to think the best of people. If somebody says something, she’ll take their word on it. Until she’s burnt. Tab’s not big on second chances. Granted, she might not hold a grudge, but she sure as hell will get cold and aloof.

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Place of Origin;

St. Albans, West Virginia

Background;

The youngest of three born to Henry and Susannah Ferguson born in the small town of St. Albans just outside of the state capital. Henry worked in the coal mines and for a while he made some pretty decent money. Coating his lungs in coal dust, but he was willing to pay that price to make sure his wife and kids lived comfortably. Sure, they wouldn’t have the best of everything, but they wouldn’t have to go without.

But as you may know, coal went on the decline. The mines shut down and the men were put out of work. The state was devastated. It’s people even more. The family lived off Henry’s unemployment for a while, but eventually it became clear that the mines weren’t opening back up and Henry would have to look for work elsewhere. He got a job with a small-time construction crew and spent the next few years traveling the tristate area. More often than not, he would have to stay out of town for long periods of time.

Now Susannah tried to take care of the kids, but the sudden lifestyle shift was jarring to say the least. And she found herself suddenly a single mother raising three children, more or less. It was too much. So, like woefully so many others in the region, she found solace in pills.

So with Pops out of the picture more often than not, and Mother Dearest drawing deeper and deeper into her nose candy, the kids relied on each other. Things were not ideal and got a bit rocky for awhile there, but things could always be worse.

So, of course, they got worse.

Henry got injured on the job and blew out his back. He wouldn’t be able to return to that line of work, if he went back to work at all. By that point, the man was beaten. He threw in the towel and resorted to trying to find his purpose at the bottom of a bottle. The family again was uprooted, moving into a much smaller, less maintained dwelling.

That was breaking point for Susannah. She left, allegedly running off with her pill dealer. Tabitha hasn’t heard from her since.

Her older brother Billy, the eldest of the three, dropped out of high school and went to work to supplement Henry’s disability checks in supporting the girls. He and Henry clashed a lot during this time.The fighting was bad, and on more than a few occasions did it boil into violence. Still, Billy stuck around. He didn’t trust his father to not just drink himself to death and leave the girls up shit creek without a paddle.

Amanda, the middle child, ended up getting knocked up during her Junior year. Surprisingly, the boy stepped up and got a job to support them. Amanda did drop out, but she and her boyfriend ended up moving to North Dakota. He got a job on the oil fields. The baby was born happy and healthy, the two got married, and last Tab’s heard, there might even be another bun in the oven.

Tabitha, always a bit of a petite girl, developed her eating disorder towards the end of middle school. Life was hectic at the time. Her father and brother had gotten into worse and worse fights since Amanda left. It finally exploded. Billy beat Henry near half to death and left. She went with him. It meant changing schools partway through the semester, but that beat living alone with Henry. She hasn’t seen him since.

The new school was pretty rough and she made a ripe target for bullies. She felt insecure and like she had no control over her life. But that? Her weight? Her body? That she could control. Or so she thought.

Outside of that, high school went...relatively alright for the girl. She found an escape through music and really just poured herself into that. She had friends, did decent in her classes, and generally did average teenager things. But she and Billy had started their own bickering soon enough. He didn’t like the crowd she was hanging around, and definitely didn’t approve of her picking up smoking or, god forbid, drinking like Henry. Tabitha thought he was being too controlling, so she did it anyway. He said that if she kept it up, she’d get knocked up just like Amanda. She resented that.

They never came to blows though. By her Junior year, Tabitha’s disorder had gotten bad. She was in terrible shape. So she agreed to be admitted. She spent a month or so there before being released. It had occurred to her just how close she came to actually dying. And although she had thought about it from time to time before, actually being faced with it terrified her. There was so much she still wanted to do.

So she started the road to recovery, cleaned up her act a bit, and focused on living. Her grades had actually improved and on the behest of her guidance counselor she applied to a few schools. She also applied for a couple scholarships. She didn’t think anything would come from it, but...you never know, right?

So imagine her surprise when she not only got accepted to Hollywood Academy of all places, but was offered a scholarship that, when paired with a few others she had somehow gotten, would get her a full ride. She had an actual chance to get out. To expand her little world.

Tabitha parted from her brother on good terms. He was planning on getting his GED then perhaps getting into trade school. They promised to stay in touch, and with that, she went west. To the land of new beginnings.

To her very own second chance.

Extra;

Tom Hanks. The man is a treasure.

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Benjamin Hill

_{"Party. Sleep. Repeat."}
-Unknown

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Name;

Benjamin Theodore Hill

Nickname;

Ben or Benny, preferably.

Birth Date;

August 12th.

Age;

Twenty-three.

Zodiac Sign;

Leo.

Gender;

Male.

Sexuality;

Heterosexual.

Rich or Poor;

Filthy stinkin’ rich.

Trust Fund or Scholarship;

Trust Fund.

Major;

Film and Television.

Minor;

Creative Writing.

Occupation;

Independent Filmmaker.

Social Status;

Upper Middle Class/New Money

Spending Habits;

Let it rain.

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In Depth Appearance;

Alright, so let’s just go ahead and address the elephant in the room: Ben’s a dwarf. Always has been, always will be, barring some sort of medical breakthrough. And to go ahead and answer the inevitable follow up question, he’s about four foot four. To be fair, we could probably cut this section right here, because as far as Ben knows, he’s the only little person on campus, so it really shouldn’t be too difficult to pick him out of a crowd.

But fuck that noise.

Ben has a rather average build, all things considered. Not exactly skinny, but not fat either. Perhaps leaning a bit towards pudgy, but he’s got a few years before it’ll likely evolve into a full beergut. His limbs aren’t exactly proportionate to his torso, with his legs actually being quite bowed. Yet another gift from Achondroplasia. And if the fair skin, brown hair, and general facial features hadn’t clued you in yet, Ben is caucasian. A shock, we’re sure. Ben keeps his hair cut clean and tight, and his beard and moustache mostly trimmed. Male-pattern baldness has pushed back the guy’s hairline on the sides aggressively quick. Like, one day he had a full head of hair and the next he was about a bottle of red hair dye away from being a miniature Louis C.K.

Gotta love that genetic lottery.

Clothing Style;

While Benny will dress up from time to time, for the most part he’s a tee-shirt and jeans kind of guy. Graphic tees, polos, really as long as it doesn’t stink or have mold growing on it, it’ll do. Fashion’s never really been his forte and he’s never really had expensive tastes. Hell, most of his wardrobe comes from Wal-Mart.

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Likes;

✔ Alcohol.
✔ Bars and Clubs.
✔ Parties. Sleeps. Repeats.
✔ Classic Rock. How can anybody NOT love AC/DC?
✔ Women.
✔ Film.
✔ Humor. Literally nothing is off-limits.
✔ Attention.
✔ Meeting People.
✔ Road Trips.
✔ Books.

Dislikes;

✘ Children.
✘ Being Pitied/Looked Down Upon.
✘ Roller Coasters/Amusement Parks.
✘ Dairy Products.
✘ Country Music
✘ Being Ignored

Habits;

• Absentmindedly chews pens when focusing.
• Exaggerates for literally no reason whatsoever.
• Borderline alcoholic.
• Can’t resist a bet.

Hobbies;

• Writing.
• Worldbuilding.
• Reading.
• Watching Netflix/Movies

Fears;

• Bears.
• Heights.
• Horses.

Personality Traits;

_{Gregarious • Quick-witted • Generous• Goofy • Lazy • Hedonist}

Personality;

Some people just like to be around others. These people, they’ll talk about anything with anybody anywhere. They never meet a stranger. Everybody’s friend, y’know? Ben’s like that. He’s got a way of getting people to talk with him. To laugh with him. He’s just a cheerful dude and it’s pretty infectious. He just doesn’t take life seriously. After all, Ben’s just here to have a good time. So absolutely anything and everything is fair game in his eyes. And if he can get everybody else in on the fun, he will.

It can be a bit frustrating though. Benny’s carefree nature leads him to half-ass just about anything he’s not super into, which pretty much leaves just his writing and his films. Everything else gets completed on “Bennytime”: finished when(if) it’s finished, deadlines be damned.

Ol’ Benny Boy never misses a chance to party. See, he considers himself something of a playboy, and Lord knows he has all the confidence of one. He’s never let his condition stop him from going after a beautiful woman, and to his credit, the guy’s got more than a few notches on his headboard. So uh...good on him.

He genuinely wants the best for those around him. Doesn't matter who it is, where they come from, or even what they've done. Hell, he’s willing to give the shirt off back if someone needed it. Money, things...none of that matters. Money can always be made and things can be replaced. Truth be told, Ben doesn’t have a mean-spirited bone in his body. He’s quick to forgive and forget. Grudges? Nah. Ain’t worth it. Unfortunately, Ben’s altruistic nature makes him pretty easy to use. He doesn’t really mind though, so it could probably be argued that he’s trying to buy affection from people. But what can ya do?

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Place of Origin;

Anaheim, California

Background;

Ben was born in Anaheim, California to Theodore and Bethany Hill. The couple had waited until later in life to have a child, but faced certain difficulties. Bethany was barren. It was difficult for the two to accept, but they did, eventually turning to adoption. They were quickly matched with Ben’s biological mother and everything went along without a hitch.

Well...almost.

See, Ben’s bio mother neglected to mention that Achondroplasia had been detected. Needless to say, the couple wasn’t exactly prepared for what they were getting into. Ted was furious at being bamboozled. He nearly backed out at the last moment, but the moment he and his wife laid eyes on the baby, they fell in love. So...yeah. Without a hitch.

Both Theodore and Bethany were very successful in their respective fields. Theodore was a well respected director with plenty of critically-acclaimed hits under his belt. And Bethany? Well she was quite the actress back in her day, though she actually got her fortune through trading stock. Apparently investing in Microsoft was a great idea, who’d have thunk it?

So, in other words, the couple was loaded. Ben wouldn’t want for anything growing up, having access to the best of the best. Generally, Ben had a happy childhood. He got an excellent education and would generally have his pick of the world. Thing is, Ben didn’t have the foggiest clue what he wanted to do. So, after high school, he took some time with some friends and embarked on the Great American Roadtrip to explore the country and himself. Forty-eight states and a party almost every night. It was heaven.

But eventually the fun had to end. His friends had to return to their lives, to their Harvard Law and their Yale Medicine or whatever it was they ended up doing. And he would have to decide on a school too…

After a stint backpacking across Europe with some other friends, that was. It ended up being mostly the same as the road trip, just with less English. But beer is beer, no matter where you’re at. Still, it was an enlightening experience.

Ben, upon returning to the states, decided that he was finally ready to go to college. During his travels, he had heard countless stories from people from all walks of life. He wanted to share these stories with the world. He wanted to go into film. Follow in Dad's footsteps. Hell, be BETTER than him.

He picked Hollywood University for a few reasons. Distance was a biggie. After spending so much time away, Ben wanted to be close to his roots for a while. The school also boosted a very strong film and television program, unsurprisingly.

And, there was also the party scene, not gonna lie.

Extra;

But Robin Williams tho...

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Hollywood University | The Rich vs. The Poor

@HushedWhispers

Hakuna matata, dudette. I'd be down for a reboot.

Hollywood University | The Rich vs. The Poor

@Xandrya
I reckon I'll pass too. I'm still interested, but continuing this without Hushed just doesn't sit well with me. But by all means, y'all have fun <3