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Labyrinth City RP
You know who we are. We know who you are. No one has ever seen us, no one ever will. But you know us, in the very back of your mind, you know who we are. We sneak into your nightmares while you sleep. We tread silently under your floorboards, but you never know we're there. We now offer you a once-in-lifetime opportunity. Meet us at Fifth Avenue East; you'll know where we reside. 12:00 A.M. Tomorrow. At the stroke of midnight. Look under the blue manhole cover.
P.S. Don't be late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The note strikes you as odd.
You live in Horack City, a regular city, skyscrapers lining the horizon, clean cars roaming the well-paved streets. That's the good part of town. You live in what's known as the bad part. Typical; tall brick buildings squashed up against one another, dark back alleys and side streets, contrasting the forlorn grey sky. It seems never to change. The clouds are seemingly glued into place; never moving, hardly even raining.
Ever.
You live out your days in a worn grey hoodie and ripped up jeans, eyes downcast, wandering the side streets and back alleys to and from school. Your only pastime is hiding in corners, listening to conversations and watching people argue while you cower behind gutter spouts. They've never noticed. It's all you're good at.
You've always hoped to find out about a special talent of yours, something that makes you different. Maybe you'd be able to tell time exactly, without ever seeing a clock. Maybe you'd be able to see the truths, or lies, where others couldn't. Maybe you'd get invited to join a secret society and change the world. But you're used to dreams not coming true. You've taught yourself never dream, for it will only become the echo of a forgotten song. By what you know about this city, the only things that can get a person out of the mud puddles and side alleys is a fair pitched singing voice or a well played card.
But you know you're different, deep down.
Strange things have happened in your minds eye, but your mind won't turn them over and over and over again. Because that produces answers. Answers that your mind doesn't want you to know.
What you don't know is that there is an underground city beneath your feet; called Labyrinth City, it is full of criminals, Pirates, and vigilantes who've changed their ways. But the city wouldn't accept them, so they made their own city. They even now tread under your floorboards at night, scrounging for food and supplies. And they need talented children to join them. Children like yourself.
Something else you don't know is that you may be a cyborg, shapeshifter, or have special powers and abilities. They just have yet to surface.
Just like the wind that blew your hair from you face, then stopped suddenly, but not before you glimpsed the note. You hate to worry your parents like this, but nevertheless, you know where you'll have to be at midnight tomorrow.
And you're ready.
_____________________________________________________________________
Okay! I think this is my 3rd, 4th, RP, but all my others have died! Gasp! So, please keep this one alive!
Here's the plot:
You've already heard half of it. You live in Horack City, you find a note inviting you to a meeting at midnight. Basically, what you don't know, is that under the 'blue manhole cover' is an underground city of thieves, vagabonds, and pirates. Only they've changed their ways. But not being accepted into the above city because of their backgrounds, they built their own. At night they sneak under floorboards and between houses, looking for spare food and provisions. They plan to transform their city. I need a little help on the rest of the plot, though. So any suggestions would be much appreciated!
Everyone that joins is either a human, shapeshifter, or cyborg. Here are the options.
Shapeshifters: Only four please, and only one of each. You can be a....
Shadow Wolf (black fur, dark eyes, agile build, can blend with shadows and manipulate them)
Frost Panther (white-blue tinted fur, sapphire colored eyes, can create ice, snow, and frost and withstand cold temperatures.)
Winged Stallion (chestnut or oak colored, white wings, can fly, basically a pegasus)
Ignis Bear (red or orange tinted fur, can create fire, walk in fire, create heat, and create light)
Note: No shapeshifters are in complete control of their powers. Think Elsa in the beginning of Frozen. This way, no one will be OP. No shapeshifters even know about their powers until we are into the RP.
Cyborgs: Again, only four, and only one of each type.
Metallic (your body is made of metal that looks and acts exactly like skin. You can withstand more than a regular human)
Techie (you have extra technology virtually built into your body. For instance, you have a keypad inside your brain that people can hack into [though it's very complicated and virtually impossible] as well as scanner eyes.)
Robo (you are part robot. You might have a computer system in any part of your body, as well as talk and move strange)
Half Steel (you have some steel body parts. It can be an arm, a leg, an eye, anything you choose. They aren't visibly steel until later in the RP though, because of high tech coverings that you don't know exist)
Note: Again, the powers are limited. And you don't know about them yet.
Humans: four types, one of each.
Mind Reader (you have very limited mind reading/prediction skills.)
Levitator (you can levitate from the ground for short periods of time.)
Time Warper (you have very limited time warping skills, as in you can replay a few seconds from the past, or make yourself one or two days older. You can also tell time exactly. )
Truth Seeker (you always know what's the truth and what's a lie)
Note: see previous note.
Regular Human: four, one of each.
Nerd (knows a lot, reads a lot)
Tech Nerd (can work and build technology)
Riddler (clever, solves mysteries and riddles easily)
Agility Freak (backflips, handstands, karate, you name it)
Note: these are normal humans, but very talented.
Remember LIMITED POWERS. That's the key.
Here's the charrie sheet!
Name:
Gender:
Age: (13 and up please)
Species: (Human, Shapeshifter, or Cyborg)
Appearance:
Appearance as Shifted/Cyborg: (optional)
Personality:
Most Often Seen:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Powers/Abilities: (see above lists)
Backstory:
Here's mine!
Name: Ariana Graldë
Gender: Girl
Age: 15
Species: Shapeshifter (Shadow Wolf)
Appearance: Long black hair, usually tied up in some kind of complicated knot. Pale skin, almost silver in the moonlight, one green eye and one gold eye, both cold and menacing. Tall and slender, agile. Wears black boots with brass buckles, black leather vest over a red and black striped shirt, black gloves, sparkly gold leggings, and dragon scale green eyeshadow.
Appearance as Shifted/Cyborg: Long black fur, one green eye and one gold eye, both cold and menacing.
Personality: Seems cold and unfriendly at first, but is a good friend once you get to know her. She might look like a rebellious teen, but she really just has an unfriendly stare and likes black. I'll develop her more in the RP.
Most Often Seen: Doing dangerous tricks such as flipping off of rooftops at night, and sneaking around.
Likes: Dark Chocolate, the color black, wolves, shadows, justice.
Dislikes: Criminals, bullies, injustice, wimps.
Strengths: Agility and Gymnastics. Some fighting. Sneaking.
Weaknesses: Dark Chocolate, Cute Puppies (though she'd never admit it).
Powers/Abilities: Shapeshifting, blending with shadows, manipulating shadows.
Backstory: Mom died, was raised by her father in the sewers, they on,y come out at night. He was one of the founders of the Labyrinth City.
Rules:
-No OP charries please.
-Not a lot of crushes, please. Everyone needs to become pretty close friends in this RP, but I don't want any love triangles.
-Again, LIMIT your powers, people.
-Only 16 people can join, then after that, we'll see. Just request after that. We will start after we get two of each type of charrie.
-We'll start with one charrie per person.
-I'd like developed charries and detailed, well written posts.
-Don't join if you aren't going to post often.
-Have Fun!
submitted by Leeli
(January 19, 2017 - 1:02 pm)
(January 19, 2017 - 1:02 pm)
Jules
~
The evening is peaceful. The glass and chrome in the skyscrapers catches the light of the sunset. The vibrant oranges and blues illuminate the streets in pastel colors. It's as picturesque a scene as you can get in a city.
I sit on the musty velvet window seat in my grandparents' ancient house, dreamily watching the changing hues. I want my French horn badly – this sort of sunset makes me feel like playing a quiet melody – but it's in the repair shop; one of the slides was impossibly stuck.
"Jules!" Grandpa calls from the other room. "Could you take the trash out?"
"I already did," I call back. It's odd – I can hear the Mexican lilt in my own voice blending with my grandfather's French accent to form a strange combination. My own intonation, the way I pronounce my words, must sound incredibly peculiar to strangers.
"Oh, you did? All right," Grandpa says.
I frown. Dementia? More and more frequently, Grandma and Grandpa do things like this. Only small things, only forgetting I've already collected the mail or taken out the trash. But it worries me. They're only getting older, and forgetfulness only gets worse.
A note hits the windowpane, inches away from my face. Despite the glass between it and me, I jump.
I climb off the window seat, slide on a pair of sandals, and pad to the door. It's open just a crack already, I notice uneasily. So Grandma didn't even remember to lock it when she came home from the doctor. Not such a little thing.
I slip outside and stride to the outside of the glass window. The note is slightly damp from the pavement. I scan the writing quickly, already walking inside.
The blue manhole cover? That's only a few blocks from my house. Tomorrow? All right. I lock the door and slide the note into the pocket of my leather jacket. I'll be there.
(February 25, 2017 - 8:21 pm)
(March 1, 2017 - 5:36 pm)
I want to keep doing this RP, if you guys do!
(March 6, 2017 - 2:33 pm)
(March 7, 2017 - 10:23 am)
Y'know what, I'm just going to write!
Iris~
I wake up, exhausted from lack of sleep. I stretch and notice something crumpled into my hand. A note. The note. A tingle runs through my body all the way from my palms to the soles of my feet, like an electric current. Something's going to happen. Something's going to change. I can feel it.
Throughout the day I have trouble focusing on anything. This isn't unusual, as I usually doodle right through all my lessons, but normally I can recall anything I see with an almost frightening accuracy. Today I'm preoccupied by the mysterious letter I recieved the night before. Random phrases run through my head: The stroke of midnight. Blue manhole cover. Don't be late. Fifth Avenue East. Nightmares. Midnight.
At lunch I'm listening to music when I feel a sweaty, heavy hand on my shoulder. I start and look up. It's Mr. Clerval, my English teacher. I move my shoulder out of his grip, not obviously rude, but not exactly polite, either. He gives me what's probably supposed to be a kind, reassuring smile and moves his mouth, but I can't hear a word. Impatiantly, I yank out my cheap earbuds and say wait for him to repeat himself.
"Ah. That's better, Iris. Now, there's no need to look at me like that, you aren't in trouble," he gives me another forced smile and continues, "I was wondering if there was anything troubling you today. Anything you want to tell me about?" I do not reply, just slightly shift away from him. He looks like he might want to try and grab my arm again. "No? Nothing at all? There isn't anything going on at... home, is there, Iris?" I shake my head.
"No." I shift away again, so that a large stack of books on the table is between us. He looks disapointed that his well-rehersed speech had no affect.
"Ah. Well, if there's ever anything you want to talk about, Iris, anything at all. You know where to find me."
"Yeah." He waits a few more moments, then sighs and gets heavily to his feet. I pointedly put my earbuds back in, though I don't turn on the ipod. He hesitates, standing there uncomfortably. I don't turn around. He lumbers away and I relax slightly. Mr. Clerval's a good teacher, but not the type to inspire intimate confidance in his students. Or maybe he just doesn't inspire confidance in me. But then again, people rarely do.
After dinner and homework, after the little kids have gone to bed, I stare out my window and wait. Somehow, I always know what time it is, so I have no need of a clock. 11:07. I pick up a book and try to read. 11:13. I put the book down. It's hurting my eyes trying to read in the dark. 11:35. I turn on my ipod. 11:38. My eyelids keep falling. I'm so sleepy...
11:46. It's time. I should go now if I want to make it by midnight. I pull out my earbuds and place them carefully on my windowsill, wrapped neatly around the old ipod. I pull on a hoodie, then my sneakers. As an afterthought, I put the ipod in my hoodie's kangaroo pouch.
I'll probably wake someone up going out the door, so I slowly open the window. I wait for a bit, heart pounding. Not a sound. Silent as a cat, I creep out onto the gutter, my small feet easily fitting in the narrow trough. Then a scramble onto the roof, a run along the shingles and a drop onto the next-door's carport and I am free. It's 11:50.
(March 8, 2017 - 10:37 pm)
Top! Is ANYONE doing this RP?
(March 9, 2017 - 2:09 pm)
I really want to! Let's keep it going!
Lucas
~~
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Clocks are so annoying.
Folding my arms, I slump backwards on my bed and stare at the dingy and beaten time-counter on the wall as it etches out the seconds. Midnight, midnight, midnight... seems like forever until the stroke of it. Right now it's 11:45, which I figure is a good time to start out. Who knows if I'll meet anyone else out there--I hope so. Honestly, this all seems like a wild goose-chase, but maybe it could be my only hope to escape this awful place. Curling my lip, I roll off the bed and wince as I hear springs creak rustily. I cannot wait to be back uptown.
Casually strolling downstairs, I listen for my aunt for a moment before nearly tripping over a bottle, steadying it before it can shatter and spill liquid all over the floor. Shaking my head, I pull my (good) cloak off the rack and shrug it over my shoulders. Overkill, I know, but I figured if I don't come back it'd be good to take along something fine.
I feel like an outsider in the wilds, walking along with a neat-pressed white suit in a city of black. I can see black shapes moving around in the night, though none take notice in me. Tch, they're all wrapped up in their own petty lives. As I round a corner, I spot the blue manhole cover just ahead, almost glowing in the darkness. Quickening my pace, I'm almost at it when a new figure slinks out of an alley and comes face-to-face with me.
Both of us freeze as our eyes meet, her violet-blue pupils widening among a mane of shaggy dark hair. Instinct taking over, (instinct? odd..) I stride forwards and loom over the blue manhole cover, a spat word coming out as a growl, and the world around me lightens as if I'm looking through night vision. Like a cat's eyes?
Now that's odd...
(March 9, 2017 - 8:01 pm)
Judith~
Judith woke up from the floor, a sharp prickle in her side. She rolls around and notices a splinter and flicks it off.
It was about 3 am in the morning. She woke up an hour earlier than neccessary, which meant less energy. But she would have to deal with it. Slowly picking herself off the ground, She softly walked over to the kitchen.
It was dead silent in the house, with everyone asleep. With Judith being the youngest, making her the 'most useless', she had to do the house chores while everyone tried to get a good education. She also worked a low pay job technically not illegal everyday, making her life quite miserable.
While she cleaned up the kitchen, her thoughts traveled to the blue note. Blue note. She had found it when she was working. It was very well made paper, which made Judith think it was from someone wealthy. But the instructions on it where strange, telling her to go to some blue manhole. She knew where that was, of course. It was pale blue, sticking out of an alleyway and so average that most people just ignored it. Judith noticed it, but never went in. She's never had a reason to go in.
But now... Judith wondered if perhaps she should go. If she were to, right now would be the best time, when everyone was asleep and if anyone woke up they would just think Judith was going about her chores... But why? Would her stupid life actually become eventful? Judith didn't have the energy to go.
However, Judith still went out the door and onto the cold sidewalk. Perhaps instincts guided her when they never had before. Whatever the case, she found herself reaching the manhole.
(March 9, 2017 - 11:21 pm)
~Mira
I find myself counting the minutes until midnight. The orphanage is sound asleep, and I slowly scale down the wall at 11:45 when I reach the blue manhole cover, I'm surprised to see other are actually there. For an instant, I have a sinking feeling that it was a joke and that Miranda and her new friends would be waiting for me, laughing their heads off. But it isn't, and I exhale the breath I'd been holding. What happens now?
(March 10, 2017 - 9:14 am)
Iris~
It's turned 11:59 as I creep along the shadows next to tall buildings. I'm just in time. I can see the pale blue of the manhole cover in the dull orange of a streetlamp. I'm about to slip out of my alley and get there, when I hear a brisk tap tap tapping noise. I stop. That's not a sound of the city. Not this part of the city, anyway. I wait, and seconds later the owner of the sound comes along. I was right, the sound is not from this area. That's the sound of uptown skyscrapers, of clean, bright glass and eye-achingly reflective chrome.
It's coming from a boy in clean, expensive clothing. His dyed hair catches the glow of the streetlight, turning it a yellowish hue. Probably just passing through on some rich group's tour to 'give aid to the poor' and see how 'the other half' lives. 12:00. I dart out of the shadows to get to the manhole when he sees me. Our eyes meet and a strange chill goes through my bones. I suppress a shiver, and tense up, preparing to run. I'm alert for any movement from him, from the area around him.
Suddenly, he walks forward to stand over the manhole cover. He makes a weird chokeing noise, and starts- to change. A shudder runs through him, his fancy clothing seems to melt away, leaving white(?) fur. I let out a strangled gasp and flatten myself against a wall. He has turned into a panther. An enormous, snow white panther. He makes eye contact again and his pupils have turned slitted. Like a cat's. He is a cat. He regards me arrogantly and I feel a prickle of dislike. Slowly, I peel myself off the wall and walk towards the manhole cover, keeping my eyes on him.
Out of the darkness come two more people. Two girls. Everyone stares around suspiciously for a few seconds until the panther-boy lets out a rumbling growl and bobs his head at the manhole cover. His meaning is clear.
"Well..." I start, my voice tiny in the orange island of light we stand inside, "Shall I do it?" One of the girls, the shorter one, brown haired with no shoes, shrugs silently. I take that as affirmation and manage to heave the big blue disk away.
(March 10, 2017 - 3:54 pm)
Jules
~
Late, late, late! I'm angry and frantic as I sprint through the darkened alleyways. Late for what might be the most important night of my life!
It isn't my fault. I set out early tonight, around eleven, giving myself an entire hour of extra time. It's the fault of those good-for-nothing rascals who just had to choose tonight to pick a fight with me. A bunch of kids, maybe thirteen at oldest. Small but scrappy, outnumbering me six to one.
So I'm furious at them as I wipe the smears of blood off my knuckles and dash down the street. It's damp from yesterday's rain; lone, flickering streetlights reflect dimly off the puddles.
I finally arrive at the blue manhole cover, and stand, breathing hard, in the shadows. Four kids around my age are hunched around it; three girls, one boy. The girls look poor, but the boy is rich. I can tell from the way he dresses but mostly from his posture. He's strolling, unashamed, unabashed, announcing to the world how wealthy he is.
I'm not poor. I'm not rich. To be honest my family is probably regarded as kind of... bourgeois. Living in a big antique house we can barely afford anyone, trying to pay the rent and support a moderate lifestyle with just a teenage boy and two senior citizens.
The girl closest to me hauls the manhole cover open. And I make my move. I don't want to get left out.
"Hey," I say, stepping into the moonlit circle.
The boy doesn't even flinch, but the girl opening the manhole spins uncertainly on her heel. "Who are you?"
I cross my arms. "Why? Who are you to ask?"
She frowns. "Why shouldn't I ask?"
"I'm Jules," I grunt, picking my battles. "It's past midnight. Proceed, stranger. Let's find out what those notes were about."
(March 10, 2017 - 7:43 pm)
Dana ~
I'm panting as I run toward the group of people huddled around the blue manhole cover. I don't think they've seen me yet. One girl is slipping nimbly down into the manhole and I don't want to be late. Late for what? says a skeptical voice in my head. You don't know what you're getting yourself into.
This is true, but something in me makes me feel like I need to be a part of this midnight rendezvou. (A sense of adventure? No. Couldn't be.) As I approach, other people begin to appear from the shadows, creating an ominous circle of silhouettes. I get a flash of a boy with whitish-silver hair, then blue-purple eyes, then a steel leg, and before I know it I'm following the girl down, down, into the dark.
(March 13, 2017 - 9:25 pm)
Iris~
I drop the metal disk and it falls to the ground with a clatter that makes one of the girls, the one who's actually wearing shoes, cover her ears. I hastily stifle the noise with my foot, flattening the cover onto the ground.
"Hey," says a male voice. I spin around, startled and on my guard. Did someone from one of the houses hear me drop the plate? Are they going to arrest us?
"Who are you?" I squeak, preparing myself to explain how we're just maintenance crews or something. Does anyone hire fourteen year old maintenance crews? At 12:04 in the morning?
"Why? Who are you to ask?" He crosses his arms and juts his chin out stubbornly. Why's he have such a big chip on his shoulder? I frown uncertainly, a bit put off by his aggression.
"Why shouldn't I ask?" He uncrosses his arms, lets his stance relax a tiny bit. Almost unnoticeably.
"I'm Jules," he mutters at last, "It's past midnight. Proceed, stranger. Let's find out what these notes were about."
So he's one of us. He got the note. I get the mystique of the whole thing, the anonymous beckon and all that, but honestly? 'Proceed, stranger'? He sounds like some sort of fantasy-adventure movie. However, I'm not about to mention that to this boy with blood on his knuckles, who's big enough to knock me down with one swat. I nod gravely, then decend into the dark hole.
My hands immidiatly find cool ladder rungs, which have a slightly rough, irregular texture, the rust. The smell is musty and dank, but not quite as foul as I expected. The ladder suddenly starts shaking and vibrating as someone follows me down. Judging by the size of the feet, it's the boy with the chip on his shoulder. Jules. I catch a flash of something silver on his ankle as his foot lands in front of my head. Almost like... his leg were metal. I shake my head. That's impossible. He must be wearing an anklet or something. He didn't really strike me as the anklet type, but appearences can be decieving, can't they?
Suddenly, my feet hit solid ground. My heart races. I'm about to discover what this is all about.
(March 15, 2017 - 6:32 pm)
~Mira
I gaze up at the stars one last time, and slip under the manhole cover. What have I gotten myself into?
(March 15, 2017 - 7:49 pm)
(March 18, 2017 - 9:43 pm)