Zoro

Streetlight Dragonflies

As the kid ran off to get his manager, Mister Reis reluctantly bent down to retrieve the stack of discarded missing posters. His gaze was locked on the empty corkboard as he mumbled out a lackadaisical response to the questions from the girl with the strange suitcase. "I guess they're convenient? I can make calls hands free or take videos just by blinking a certain way. In fact," he said while smiling and turning his head to face the girl, "I used it just now to record that pleasant conversation. Just in case his memory of what he said suddenly fails when his manager shows up. It's a surprisingly common problem."

And then before he actually managed to hang a poster up, the manager appeared. She was wearing tacky earrings and an ugly purple shirt, but unlike her underling she at least had some manners. Or maybe it was just common sense. The way she placed her hand on her heart seemed a bit fake. Annoying, even.

". . . Maddie? Maddie Wilson?"

Splash.

Maddie Wilson? Wasn't that the name on this flyer he was using to mop up the mess on his shoes? Yes, it was.

"OK Glass, make a call to 911!"

He dashed at the fleeing girl, but slipped on the milkshake puddle. His fancy white shirt was now decorated with avante guarde strawberry pink splotches. A burst of anger empowered his body to thrust off the floor and back onto his feet, but the stupid brat was already being pursued by the tacky manager lady. Instead, he had a thought to turn around and look back at where she had been sitting. He blinked. Were there any other missing people with her? Maybe her kidnapper was in the diner? If so, they'd best smile for his glasses camera.

"One of the missing people has been seen at the diner! Maddie Wilson, apparently. I'm there right now."

Streetlight Dragonflies

The rest of you should get into heated arguments over nothing as well. It's fun, and literally builds character :D

Streetlight Dragonflies

@Mokley we may need you to play the manager, depending on what @Rabidporcupine wants to do.

Streetlight Dragonflies

Mister Reis blinked as the kid started behaving like an ass with all the insults. He'd taken this job specifically to get away from shit like this, yet his very first day in town he's accosted by some stupid kid out of the blue. If only it wasn't too early to get drunk.

"Hey, kid. Chill. Out. I never said any of them weren't worth looking for, it's just standard design and advertising principles that you simplify things. But since you obviously care so much more about this than me, maybe you should be on the missing persons poster committee. Meeting starts at 2 pm, in the Oak Conference Room at town hall."

He blinked at the girl, eyes lingering on her big honkin'... suitcase thing. What was she doing lugging that around?

"I got them on eBay", he said without so much as acknowledging the rude jerk's clueless opinions on high tech eyewear, "Google stopped making them and they're a bit obsolete, but they have their uses. I hear they'll be relaunching Glass sometime soon though, might want to wait until the new version comes out. Or try a different brand."

He then forcefully stuck a pin into the flier he had picked up earlier, restoring it to its previous place on the corkboard. "While I put these back up, you're going to get your manager or supervisor for me."

João didn't have time to teach this kid customer service 101, but he had a feeling the manager would be happy to do it for him.

Streetlight Dragonflies

This scullion boy was unexpectedly plucky, even if his attempts at snarky comebacks were lame enough to appear in the script of a Mister Rogers episode. He was also most likely upset. João paused to adjust his glasses with the palm of his hand while the tall man made his escape, and then answered the scraggly haired youth's challenge with smile and a gratuitous offer for a firm handshake.

"João Reis. Sorry to have upset you. I'm working with the city to realize a bright new future for Duskwick, one where the walls are no longer lined with missing posters. I was just taking some before and after photos to illustrate my vision. In the midst of crisis it is easy to be overwhelmed by despair, and I think it's just as important to put up signs to help us find that elusive hope as it is to put up signs to help us find our missing people."

Deep exhale as he bent down to retrieve one of the discarded fliers. "Of course I will put those posters back up. But before I do, take a look at this partially empty cork board. Relish the moment. It would be dishonest to get there by simply taking down the posters and ignoring the problem. We need to do whatever we can to find them. And one suggestion I have, meaning no disrespect, is to reduce the clutter. It may be counter-intuitive, but by only placing one or two posters you make a much stronger and lasting impression on passerby. When it's a solid wall of missing person fliers, well, then people more or less ignore it all together or even when they do look at it there's too many faces and names to remember and they end up remembering nothing. It also sets the mood to be depressed, something I think this town doesn't need any more of right now."

Hopefully this would placate the kid and he could go on with his plans to order a quick brunch.

Streetlight Dragonflies

Yelp's local guide lists The Fed Zone as the top rated restaurant in Duskwick. Sometimes quaint towns have fabulous boutique cafes along the historic main street. But walking along the street beside the diner was all it took for Mister Reis to determine that in this case, the eatery owed its top spot more to lack of competition than due to its own merits. If there was actually anything supernatural occurring in this town, it was the fact that a diner from the 70's had time warped into this spot. At least, that's the impression he got from looking at its garish brown and orange color scheme with faded linoleum flooring. He swore it also had that old diner smell--slightly citrusy, with a dash of bleach.

He caught sight of the cork board as soon as he stepped in. How could anyone not? Its small frame struggled to contain the reams of missing person fliers. You'd think this was the police office, not the friendly neighborhood diner. "OK Glass, take a picture." He then ripped off half a dozen missing fliers and tossed them in the nearby wastebasket. "So much better", he mumbled to himself while tapping his glasses to take an after photo. He mentally added passing anti-flyer ordinances to the list of initial suggestions to clean up the town's image he would be giving to the mayor later on.

He then noticed the big tall blonde man standing nearby. "Are you in line sir?", he said while simultaneously pointing both of his index fingers at the man. He hoped the answer was no. He was both hungry and in a hurry.

Streetlight Dragonflies

Same! I’m really excited for this world and to see everybody interacting.

@lady horatio

What you could you possibly be excited about in Duskwick? Just a bunch of crazy kooks spreading rumors. Nothing to see here unless you like window shopping at quaint antique stores.

Streetlight Dragonflies

Any estimate for when this will get started?

Streetlight Dragonflies

@Mokley I issue you a license to play any and all characters, implied or explicitly mentioned, from João's backstory except his best gamer buddy Seph.

Streetlight Dragonflies

João Reis

WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME? WHAT DO THEY PREFER TO BE CALLED?
João Reis. His main online name is Zoro. In professional contexts he prefers Mister Reis since Americans can't pronounce his name properly.

HOW ARE THEY BEST RECOGNIZED IN A CROWD?
He's the 30-something white guy in the overpriced black and white business suit wearing Google Glasses and sporting shoulder-length black hair. Outside of work, he wears computer game themed T-shirts and black skinny jeans.

WHAT IS A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM? HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER SEE THEMSELVES?
Most people are a bit confused seeing a sharply dressed man wearing Google Glasses. Is he a fancy classical pianist? A lawyer? An IT director? Whatever the case, he seems friendly and carries himself with confidence.

João sees himself as a sleek, hardworking go-getter and alpha male. He is immensely proud of his accomplishments and exorbitant salary. But he's just as much a hardcore competitive gamer as an urban professional. He also fancies himself as the epitome of a rational being.

WHERE DID THEY GROW UP? WHERE DO THEY FEEL AT HOME?
He was raised in a gated community just outside Minneapolis, but for most of his adult life he has spent just as much time in airport lounges as in whatever skyrise apartment he's currently living at. He still considers Minneapolis to be his hometown, but is comfortable in any metropolitan area.

WHO ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES?
His parents and siblings come in first place, closely followed by his gamer friend and former college roommate, Eddy "Seph" Green. Until recently he was engaged to be married to one of the Senior Partners at his firm, but things took a turn for the worst and it's unlikely they'll ever get back together again. He still keeps in touch with one of his first girlfriends, who is one of the few people he feels comfortable talking to without his facade of competence.

WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION, SKILL OR LIFESTYLE? WHAT DO THEY THINK THEIR STRENGTHS ARE? WHAT ARE THEIR ACTUAL STRENGTHS?
João works for Reed Westland Consulting, which is a municipal management consulting firm serving hundreds of clients throughout the world. His specialty is organizing advertising campaigns to attract businesses to relocate to a city, but he sometimes does tourism campaigns as well. He graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in political science, and was awarded an MBA from Columbia University. He is a very driven and competitive individual who is able to stay focused on a single task and get things done. Sometimes part of getting things done involves crossing lines and dabbling in moral grey areas, something João can do without feeling too guilty about it.

He's also an accomplished gamer. He's set several speed run records on various SNES and PS1 games, and used to play in a top ranked WoW clan and compete in Star Craft tournaments. Other skills include calligraphy and playing the violin.

WHAT ARE THEIR FEARS, FLAWS AND SECRETS?
His greatest fear is that everyone will find out that he's not nearly as good at everything as he lets on. He goes out of his way to project an image of a flawless professional and hardcore gamer, and while he is undisputably great at both things he is happy to let others assume he is even better than he actually is. He is also worried that someday his colleagues will discover that he has a drug problem or that he is actually the gamer known as Zoro, an identity he takes great lengths to keep separate from his professional life. As part of his alpha male lifestyle he never feels satisfied with just one woman at a time, resulting in his current disastrous relationship with his ex-fiance and coworker as well as scores of previous girlfriends. More generally, he is a bit of a machiavellian manipulator and deciever, although seldom an outright jerk. He is frequently stressed out and turns to drugs and booze to deal with this problem, resulting in a repeating cycle of drug binges followed by days or weeks of going cold turkey before giving in again.

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST? WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED?
What he wants most is to start his own family and find more time to devote to gaming, but he is also still deeply concerned with advancing his career. He really wishes he had a decent-sized gang of very close friends he could form deep everlasting bonds with, like what happens in a typical JRPG. What he really needs is a nice long vacation away from work and competitive gaming.

IF YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE ANY SUPERNATURAL ABILITY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Mind control!

WHY ARE THEY HERE IN DUSKWICK? WHAT IS THEIR OPINION OF THE STRANGE RUMORS?
João came to Duskwick on a job. It turns out the strange rumors have really hurt business, aside from those catering to youtubers and paranormal investigators anyway, and so the town sought out the services of Reed Westland Consulting in order to come up with ways to restore their image and convince businesses to come back. João would normally never accept a measly paying assignment to a small town like this, but he needed an excuse to get away from the office for awhile due to serious relationship problems with one of the firm's senior partners who was also until recently João's fiance. He was also intrigued at the bizarre rumors, and felt it would be fun to try to disprove all those crazy conspiracy theorists during his stay.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS CHARACTER CHANGE AND DEVELOP?
I'm picturing a "City slicker ends up humbling himself and appreciating small town values" arc, as well as possibly finding a gang of awesome friends or falling in love.

PITCH A SMALL SUBPLOT THAT WOULD BE PERSONALLY MEANINGFUL TO YOUR CHARACTER.
Zoro (João's gamer name) attends a LAN party held in a creepy mansion so he can put the locals in their place and show off his mad skills. But then the power goes out. There's a generator outside... but it's night. Those strange stories were just small town superstitions that shouldn't concern the mighty Zoro, right?

A visiting youtuber posted a video purpotedly showing a local woman being mauled and eaten by a tiger. Now it's João's job to spin the story into a reason why Duskwick is a such a great place to do business.