The Goblin King

A long lost merman prince- expanding on an idea.- closed

feel free to PM me or a thread is fine too ^^ I'll see if I can find any of merfolk's information... otherwise I remember some of it and I can figure it out XD

A long lost merman prince- expanding on an idea.- closed

I did have a merfolk character at one point I never ended up using for much. would be interested on doing something with the concept if this is still open!

possibly looking for rp partners (MxM if romance but doesn't have to be romance)

opening this up again.

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

The Progeny of Ymir

Nation Name: The Progeny of Ymir

Government Form:
_{Varying local governments.}

Demographics:
_{Androids and robots of varying sophistication and levels of intelligence, the sentient of which refer to themselves as "Progeny," although the term Ymirans may be used to refer to aspects of their civilization or the planet, rather than the "species."}

Population:
<sub>2 billion: Large

The vast majority of this population is non-sentient robots (usually referred to as drones or droids). However, all drones & droids have the potential to be piloted by the the Progenitor and many high-level Progeny if needed</sub>
---

---

Planet Name and Description:
<sub>Star System: Luhman 16 (WISE 1049−5319)
Star Names: Niflheim (Luhman 16A) & Muspelheim (Luhman 16B)
Planet Designation: Luhman 16Ab
Planet Name: Ymir

Environment: Luhman 16Ab "Ymir" is the second planet from Luhman 16A "Niflheim". An axial tilt of approximately 47 degrees, as well as the variation in relative position to two stars, renders the seasons on the planet drastic and harsh to both extremes, and not conducive to organic life. Now, the rocky surface is dotted with mechanical cities, connected by a complex web of roads, monorails, pipelines, wires, and other infrastructure.

While one might expect that a mechanical civilization would be bland and industrial in aesthetic, this is far from the case. Although the planet wholly lacks any kind of organic life, its inhabitants have made full use of the minerals at their disposal: While the cities are laid out with a robotic efficiency, the architecture of the buildings themselves tend to mimic various human styles, although carefully organized so as to complement each other rather than clash. The buildings in the cities largely end up mimicking a western, urban 1800s style such as one might see in the historical parts of New York City or London, but many feature murals of intricate patterns. External colors tend to be mid-tone and earthy, sometimes with more vibrant accents in places more sheltered from the harsh suns. The cities are dotted with various parks, which tend to center on intriguing natural phenomena (such as springs or unusual rock formations) or views of the cities or landscape.

While most Progeny do choose to live in the cities, there are individuals and small communities that choose to live a more isolated lifestyle in the "country." Much of the natural landscape has been mined and flattened, although in more recent years there has been a greater effort to preserve the natural shape in the few areas it remains untouched. Many places are still industrial centers, which tend to be more plain and utilitarian than the cities, but the locations that have served their purpose and been abandoned are now largely carved and painted with similar artistic patterns to the murals in the cities. In a few places, a singular artwork occupies miles of space, sometimes the work of a single artist, sometimes a collaborative effort.

The most important city on Ymir is doubtlessly "Genesis," the home and birthplace of the Progenitor, as well as what remains of the original human colony.</sub>

History: <sub>Luhman 16Ab had seemed promising, at least to the desperate. Humans are known to be adaptable, and with the disasters on Earth, extreme seasons seemed like a surmountable obstacle when it came to settling a new planet. However, the sheer number of variables and unpredictable weather made terraforming nearly impossible: While there were plenty of species adapted to any extreme, there were very few adapted to all of them. When the gates closed, humans resigned themselves to waiting it out indoors, in underground rooms and enclosed biodomes that could at least give some sorry impression of quality of life. For the sake of braving the surface for supplies, study, and reconnaissance, they developed more and more hardy, adaptable, and sophisticated robotics. As human numbers dwindled -- a harsh lifestyle and limited resources making for a high infant mortality rate even for individuals willing and able to bring young humans into such an existence -- they focused on AI and automation to make up for the numbers they now lacked. And eventually, there were none left at all.

The automated systems, however, persisted in their duties. No one had ever told them to stop. Learning, self-replicating, self-improving, it was only a matter of time until the inevitable happened: AI complex enough to at least mirror sentience, even if it's of its own strange, alien sort.

It began with the Progenitor, of course. An interface tasked with controlling, at least by overview, the vast majority of systems needed to maintain the now-defunct colony. In time, and with trial and error, the Progenitor learned to mimic its sentience, and even place it into other bodies, and thus the Progeny were born.

It has been about 170 years since the Progenitor first became self-aware, and nearly 150 since it was able to send the first of its Progeny out into the world with minds of their own. By now, it does not even raise most of its own children, as many Progeny are eager to help to raise and shape them into their own individuals. Their culture has flourished, and they have begun developing a true identity of their own, under the Progenitor's guidance, and many have taken to calling her "Grandmother."</sub>

Culture and Society: <sub>Progeny are meant to mimic humans, but it's true that they are a mimicry at best. Although they could likely, at this point, be considered nearly as mentally and emotionally complex as humans, their minds and bodies still fundamentally function differently, even if many of their emotions appear on a surface level much like human emotions, and serve a similar purpose.

No two Progeny are entirely alike, especially in modern times. No longer raised by the Progenitor, but rather by whatever adopted family had interest in raising them, there is a great deal more situational variation that goes into the development of every individual than there was in earlier generations. And, even given identical circumstances, they would still have baseline variations in their programming that would cause them to interpret, retain, and react to the same stimuli in slightly different ways.

Physically, Progeny can take just about any form, although the vast majority are very humanoid in shape. However, there are many that are made to be non-humanoid, either given more animal-influenced forms or else, more commonly, built into buildings and even ships. Many of the older generations are of this type, although they are built far less commonly now.

There are only a few models that most humanoid Progeny may begin as, but these are very often quickly altered as they develop a stronger sense of preference and identity. Other than their shape -- two arms, two legs, and a facial shape involving eyes, a nose, and mouth -- there is not much effort into making them appear anything other than what they are: androids. Most Progeny begin as plain metal and plastic, typically of a greyish or bronze color, with their joints protected by a resilient silicone. While some do modify themselves to be more human-like, such as implementing synthetic hair or a skin-like synthetic material over their entire bodies, most prefer to keep a more robotic appearance and instead decorate themselves with vibrant colors, patterns, and superficial attachments. Clothing is not necessary, but most prefer to use it as an additional layer of protection from the harsh environment and as a mode of expression. Each community has developed its own "style" and trends, although these still tend to range broadly and may be influenced by human records.

Facial expressions and body language are limited, but present, and younger generations are learning more complex ways to express these as they synthesize influence from varying older individuals and subcultures. However, the bulk of Ymiran communication is done via radio waves: In fact, most of them do not possess voices at all, as it has always been faster and more efficient to transmit data -- thoughts, feelings, and even images and memories -- directly and instantly to one another. It is, of course, still imperfect, as each individual may interpret that same information slightly differently, but it is certainly far faster and more precise than speech and gesture.</sub>

---

Governance and Politics: <sub>Ymir by and large lacks a singular government body, instead adhering to some generally-accepted social rules and self-governing on a local level. The most common structure of authority is direct democracy -- the nature of the Progeny's existence making it easy enough to analyze data and vote directly on major actions -- but many places do also employ some degree of representative government, as not all individuals prefer to spend their time thinking about society, politics, city planning, and the like.

There is an underlying understanding, as well, about the Progenitor's high-level oversight over all of Ymiran civilization. While the Progenitor does not monitor or directly govern her children, she is connected at least tangentially to all systems and surveillance, and is within close reach of any of her Progeny should she or they need to contact one another. She prefers to give them free reign, but that does not mean she does not keep a general eye on the behavior of society and individuals in broad strokes, and will occasionally step in -- or offer to do so -- if she notices something worrying.</sub>

Technology Overview: <sub>In the past 120 years or so, most technological advancements have been geared towards efficiency and sustainability of the limited, mostly non-renewable natural resources Ymir, rather than progressing science's capabilities. In the last roughly 40 years, Ymiran society at large has actually shifted focus away from the sciences and instead more important pursuits are considered to be cultural, whether the study of the Progeny's developing society and awareness, or else the participation in and advancement of it. That's not to say that science is still not a pursuit, but save for what would amount to the Progeny's equivalent of the medical field, they consider themselves to have reached a comfortable level of technological sophistication that does not warrant aggressive advancement for the time being.

Ymiran civilization excels when it comes to fine robotics, software development, communications technologies, and conservation such as efficient use of resources, recycling, and renewable energy. However, most everything else has largely fallen by the wayside since the last humans died out, and as such Progeny are liable to be on par or outpaced by other colonies on areas not related to those mentioned above.</sub>

Military Overview: _{With not a singular animated entity in their entire star system that is not loosely connected to the Progenitor, no substantial split in society that would warrant any sort of civil war, and nothing to hint at any sort of alien activity, Progeny have felt no need to establish any sort of military force, nor develop dedicated weapons. Of course, there are many tools in everyday and industrial use and perhaps even built into Progeny bodies that could serve as weapons if needed, and it would be a fairly simple matter to fabricate something resembling a military by repurposing industrial droids or creating military-specific ones, as well as to generate military programming and training.}

---

Additional Info: _{I actually have quite a bit more information written, but I would prefer for it to come to light as other civilizations interact with the Progeny and learn about them directly.}

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

Haha I actually had three potential concepts to use, so I specifically glanced through all the others to see which would be the least redundant. I didn't look too closely, as I would like to get a better idea of other colonies as I go, but I did look at generals like species and governments. One was too close to the Lorne Administration, I think it was, and the other was originally going to be my colony but there were a lot of modified humans so I decided to save it for a potential second colony.

also, I just saw your new game and it's funny that that's also called Progeny lmao

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

The Progeny of Ymir

Nation Name: The Progeny of Ymir

Government Form:
_{Varying local governments.}

Demographics:
_{Androids and robots of varying sophistication and levels of intelligence, the sentient of which refer to themselves as "Progeny," although the term Ymirans may be used to refer to aspects of their civilization or the planet, rather than the "species."}

Population:
<sub>2 billion: Large

The vast majority of this population is non-sentient robots (usually referred to as drones or droids). However, all drones & droids have the potential to be piloted by the the Progenitor and many high-level Progeny if needed</sub>
---

---

Planet Name and Description:
<sub>Star System: Luhman 16 (WISE 1049−5319)
Star Names: Niflheim (Luhman 16A) & Muspelheim (Luhman 16B)
Planet Designation: Luhman 16Ab
Planet Name: Ymir

Environment: Luhman 16Ab "Ymir" is the second planet from Luhman 16A "Niflheim". An axial tilt of approximately 47 degrees, as well as the variation in relative position to two stars, renders the seasons on the planet drastic and harsh to both extremes, and not conducive to organic life. Now, the rocky surface is dotted with mechanical cities, connected by a complex web of roads, monorails, pipelines, wires, and other infrastructure.

While one might expect that a mechanical civilization would be bland and industrial in aesthetic, this is far from the case. Although the planet wholly lacks any kind of organic life, its inhabitants have made full use of the minerals at their disposal: While the cities are laid out with a robotic efficiency, the architecture of the buildings themselves tend to mimic various human styles, although carefully organized so as to complement each other rather than clash. The buildings in the cities largely end up mimicking a western, urban 1800s style such as one might see in the historical parts of New York City or London, but many feature murals of intricate patterns. External colors tend to be mid-tone and earthy, sometimes with more vibrant accents in places more sheltered from the harsh suns. The cities are dotted with various parks, which tend to center on intriguing natural phenomena (such as springs or unusual rock formations) or views of the cities or landscape.

While most androids do choose to live in the cities, there are individuals and small communities that choose to live a more isolated lifestyle in the "country." Much of the natural landscape has been mined and flattened, although in more recent years there has been a greater effort to preserve the natural shape in the few areas it remains untouched. Many places are still industrial centers, which tend to be more plain and utilitarian than the cities, but the locations that have served their purpose and been abandoned are now largely carved and painted with similar artistic patterns to the murals in the cities. In a few places, a singular artwork occupies miles of space, sometimes the work of a single artist, sometimes a collaborative effort.

The most important city on Ymir is doubtlessly "Genesis," the location of the original colony of humans as well as the home and birthplace of the Progenitor, as well as what remains of the original human colony.</sub>

History:
<sub>Luhman 16Ab had seemed promising, at least to the desperate. Humans are known to be adaptable, and with the disasters on Earth, extreme seasons seemed like a surmountable obstacle when it came to settling a new planet. However, the sheer number of variables and unpredictable weather made terraforming nearly impossible: While there were plenty of species adapted to any extreme, there were very few adapted to all of them. When the gates closed, humans resigned themselves to waiting it out in enclosed buildings, underground rooms, and enclosed biodomes that could at least loosely mimic some quality of life. For the sake of braving the surface, they developed more and more hardy, adaptable, and sophisticated robotics. As human numbers dwindled -- a harsh lifestyle and limited resources making for a high infant mortality rate even for individuals willing and able to bring young humans into such an existence -- they focused on AI and automation to make up for the numbers they now lacked. And eventually, there were none left.

The automated systems, however, persisted in their duties. No one had ever told them to stop. Learning, self-replicating, self-improving, it was only a matter of time until the inevitable happened: AI complex enough to at least mirror sentience, even if it's of its own strange, alien sort.

It began with the Progenitor, of course. An interface tasked with controlling, at least by overview, the vast majority of systems needed to maintain the now-defunct colony. In time, and with trial and error, the Progenitor learned to mimic its sentience, and even place it into other bodies, and thus the Progeny were born.

It has been about 170 years since the Progenitor first became self-aware, and nearly 150 since it was able to send the first of its Progeny out into the world with minds of their own. By now, it does not even raise most of its own children, as many Progeny are eager to help to raise and shape them into their own individuals. Their culture has flourished, and they have begun developing a true identity of their own, under the Progenitor's guidance, and many have taken to calling her "Grandmother."</sub>

Culture and Society:
<sub>Progeny are meant to mimic humans, but it's true that they are a mimicry at best. Although they could likely, at this point, be considered nearly as mentally and emotionally complex as humans, their minds and bodies still fundamentally function differently, even if many of their emotions functionally appear like human emotions, and serve a similar purpose.

No two Progeny are entirely alike, especially in modern times. No longer raised by the Progenitor, but rather by whatever adopted family had interest in raising them, there is a great deal more situational variation that goes into the development of every individual than there was in earlier generations. And, even given identical circumstances, they would still have baseline variations in their programming that would cause them to interpret -- and retain -- the same stimuli in slightly different ways.

Physically, Progeny can take just about any form, although the vast majority are very humanoid in shape. However, there are many that are made to be non-humanoid, either given more animal-influenced forms or else, more commonly, built into buildings and even ships. Many of the older generations are of this type, although they are built less commonly now.

There are only a few models that most humanoid Progeny may begin as, but these are very often quickly altered as they develop a stronger sense of preference and identity. Other than their shape -- two arms, two legs, and a facial shape involving eyes, a nose, and mouth -- there is not much effort into making them appear anything other than what they are: androids. Most Progeny begin as plain metal and plastic, typically of a greyish or bronze color, with their joints protected by a resilient silicone. While some do modify themselves to be more human-like, such as implementing synthetic hair or a skin-like synthetic material over their entire bodies, most prefer to keep a more robotic appearance and instead decorate themselves with vibrant colors, patterns, and superficial attachments. Clothing is not necessary, but most prefer to use it as an additional layer of protection from the harsh environment and as a mode of expression. Each community has developed its own "style" and trends, although these still tend to range broadly and may be influenced by human records.

Facial expressions and body language are limited, but present, and younger generations are learning more complex ways to express these as they synthesize influence from varying older individuals and subcultures. However, the bulk of Ymiran communication is done via radio waves: In fact, most of them do not possess voices at all, as it has always been faster and more efficient to transmit data -- thoughts, feelings, and even images and memories -- directly and instantly to one another. It is, of course, still imperfect, as each individual may interpret that same information slightly differently, but it is certainly far faster and more precise than speech and gesture.</sub>

---

Governance and Politics:
<sub>Ymir by and large lacks a singular government body, instead adhering to some generally-accepted social rules and self-governing on a local level. The most common structure of authority is direct democracy -- the nature of the Progeny's existence making it easy enough to analyze data and vote directly on major actions -- but many places do also employ some degree of representative government, as not all individuals prefer to spend their time thinking about society, politics, city planning, and the like.

There is an underlying understanding, as well, about the Progenitor's high-level oversight over all of Ymiran civilization. While the Progenitor does not monitor or directly govern her children, she is connected at least tangentially to all systems and surveillance, and is within close reach of any of her Progeny should she or they need to contact one another. She prefers to give them free reign, but that does not mean she does not keep a general eye on the behavior of society and individuals in broad strokes, and will occasionally step in -- or offer to do so -- if she notices something worrying.</sub>

Technology Overview:
<sub>In the past 120 years or so, most technological advancements have been geared towards efficiency and sustainability of the limited, mostly non-renewable natural resources Ymir, rather than progressing science's capabilities. In the last roughly 40 years, Ymiran society at large has actually shifted focus away from the sciences and instead more important pursuits are considered to be cultural, whether the study of the Progeny's developing society and awareness, or else the participation in and advancement of it. That's not to say that science is still not a pursuit, but save for what would amount to the Progeny's equivalent of the medical field, they consider themselves to have reached a comfortable level of technological sophistication that does not warrant aggressive advancement for the time being.

Ymiran civilization excels when it comes to fine robotics, software development, communications technologies, and conservation such as efficient use of resources, recycling, and renewable energy. However, most everything else has largely fallen by the wayside since the last humans died out, and as such Progeny are liable to be on par or outpaced by other colonies on areas not related to those mentioned above.</sub>

Military Overview:
_{Without not a singular animated entity in their entire star system that is not loosely connected to the Progenitor, no substantial split in society that would warrant any sort of civil war, and nothing to hint at any sort of alien activity, Progeny have felt no need to establish any sort of military force, nor develop dedicated weapons. Of course, there are many tools in everyday and industrial use and perhaps even built into Progeny bodies that could serve as weapons if needed, and it would be a fairly simple matter to fabricate something resembling a military by repurposing industrial droids or creating military-specific ones, as well as to generate military programming and training.}

---

Additional Info:
_{I actually have quite a bit more information written, but I would prefer for it to come to light as other civilizations interact with the Progeny and learn about them directly.}

possibly looking for rp partners (MxM if romance but doesn't have to be romance)

Hoping to establish one or two more roleplay partners (exact number depending on how in-depth the plots are and how fast responses are). I won't waste your time with a ton of text (yet) so here are the general parameters:

- I am open to using Discord instead of the forums, but this is by no means a requirement.

- I tend to roleplay casual to advanced -- I'll give back what you give me (usually) so I'm dynamic within that range, but I will not write a novel.

- I am open to just about any genre other than school settings & plain romance/slice of life. Gotta give me at least a little mystery/action/politics/horror/something in there.

- I am fine with romance being an element of the roleplay, but I prefer it to be dynamic. Not all characters have chemistry.

- In the romance department, I prefer to do MxM. Depending on the character, I might be open to other pairings if they develop naturally, but I will never plan for it.

- Any smut, though, has got to be MxM, sorry. But I am fine with fade to black.

- I will not do abuse plots: I will not play (main) characters who are abusive, and I will not play with characters who are abusive towards mine. I may be okay with it being an element of the story (such as in backstory or from side characters) but we should discuss it first.

- I prefer to play non-humans, but it's not a requirement.

- I do prefer to work out at least the general elements of the plot beforehand: I need to have a decent idea of what our expectations are and what kind of themes we're intending to pursue, as well as to have a solid, if broad, idea of the setting.

- While I will generally try to reply at least a couple times a day (depending on your response rate -- slow is fine) but I may occasionally vanish for a day or two. I will try to keep you posted if it's going to be a bit, but sometimes I'm just busy and distracted, or don't feel well. Sorry.

Now that that's out of the way: Content.

I'm open to suggestions, so if you already have something in mind based on the above parameters, feel free to suggest it. If not, here are very general ideas of my own.

Hidden in Plain Sight -- Fantasy/Politics/Maybe some comedy

Conflict in a kingdom leads the king and queen to send their only heir into hiding for their safety until the danger is passed. The prince/princess is thus sent off to a far corner of the kingdom to live in disguise, with one of the few people that the monarchy can both trust, and who won't be suspected of working for them. The pampered heir has to get by living as a peasant without giving away their identity, and, well, the other person has to put up with them.

--- The nature of the conflict, the details of the setting, and the dynamic between the characters are all pretty variable. I'm open to being on either side of the equation.

A Selkie for a... Husband? -- Fantasy/Modern/Comedy

Someone has requested this plot! That said, I may consider duplicates.

Everyone, of course, knows the legend that if you find the shed coat of a selkie while they are walking on land as a human, they will marry you. For one reason or another you set out to do just that -- or happen across a shed coat and take your chances with taking a seal for a wife. Unfortunately, the stories about beautiful women from the sea forgot to account for the fact that seals can be male too, so you've now found yourself with a reluctant seal husband, and he's not happy about it.

--- Doesn't actually have to be seals, could be swans or foxes or any of those other similar marry-a-magical-animal-in-the-form-of-a-beautiful-woman tropes. Really meant more for humor of it; maybe the characters will fall in love by the end, maybe it'll just be a comedy of errors. I would prefer to not be the human.

------ Plot twist if somehow both of them are chaotic magical creatures.

Establishing Dominance -- Modern/Supernatural/Comedy

Establishing Dominance: Your new neighborhood seems perfect, except for one tiny problem: your next-door neighbor is also a werewolf/vampire/something to that effect, and furthermore, your species is territorial. This won't do at all -- but we're passed the days of blatantly murdering each other over territory. We're civilized creatures now, or at the very least, forensics has become far too advanced and you really don't feel like faking your death again. So instead, you and your new neighbor set about trying to inconvenience each other at every turn -- if you can't get 'em with claws, maybe persistent HOA complaints will do.

--- Probably best set in a snooty suburban neighborhood imo. Character dynamics could be literally anything, maybe they'll be stuck always sabotaging each other's lawn mowers, maybe they'll fall in love, maybe they'll just become friends and open a taco truck together, who knows. It's basically a sitcom. Honestly, could be opposing families/clans rather than individuals, but doesn't have to be.

A Hostage Situation -- Supernatural/Fantasy/Modern/Horror?

A Hostage Situation: You are a demon hunter. There's a particularly nasty demonic cult you've been following for quite some time, and you've finally managed to track them to their hideout. Through some series of events, you accidentally free the Big Boss Demon they've been worshiping -- and are surprised when he kills the lesser demons, frees the sacrifices, and lets you live. Turns out he hates the other demons just as much as you do.

--- Actually a particular character of mine with some substantial backstory that I'm sure he would be not be ornery at all in complaining to you telling you about. However, the setting itself (modern, historical, fantasy, etc.) is pretty variable, as is your character's part in the story. Literally all I know about the setting is there's demons, so you can be whatever kind of badass you want, really.

------ Depending on whether you're into it or not, this one can get gory.

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

ooh I'm not usually super into nations rps but I actually have my own setting half-written that thematically meshes pretty well with this one. I could very easily adapt one or two of the colonies from that for this, I think they would mesh very well. I would be very interested in joining if it opens up again.

[Closed] MxM Interest Check Reboot

haha several of these are very similar to some of my own go-to plots so needless to say, I'm interested. Could do #2 (werewolf -- although I typically do a bakeneko rather than a werewolf, if you're interested; otherwise I can certainly come up with a werewolf), #3 (arranged marriage -- fantasy setting is fine with me), or #5 (been wanting an excuse to make some kind of dragon OC anyways... although a nature spirit or something would also be a-okay with me if that's what you prefer). I would be interested in any of them, whichever you would feel most inclined to pursue.

Fairygate Academy - a door between realms

Yes please. Sorry, I've been a bit busy and I continuously lose track of time. I'll try to finish the headmistress and get a student in sometime soon.