[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/o8v3mKK.jpg[/img] [sub]Character Based [color=black][b]II[/b][/color] Long-Term [color=black][b]II[/b][/color] Advanced[/sub][/center] [hr] As mentioned in the title, this RP will focus on the deconstruction of the Captain Planet series. Picture a bunch of teenagers with elemental powers trying to save the day, without the cheesiness and technicolor of the original series. With the shortest possible explanation, this RP is "What would Captain Planet be like in real life?". With a longer explanation, I'll go ahead and give you folks a quick recap on deconstructing fiction. Sometimes you'll hear this referred to as being "played completely straight", and it can be thought of as taking a work more seriously on its own terms than even the work itself does. "Deconstruction" literally means "to take something apart." When applied to aspects of fiction, deconstruction means to take apart a work so as to better understand its relevance to real life.For example, in Dungeons & Dragons, when a cleric reaches fifth level, he gains the ability to cast create food and water. Normally, the impact this would have on a society (especially a medieval or pseudo-medieval one) is completely ignored. A deconstruction would explore how a society would realistically react to that ability.Note that while deconstructions often end up darker, edgier, and more cynical than the normal version, there is no reason they have to be. Expanding on the Dungeons & Dragons example above, a cynical deconstruction would involve the food-creating clerics either being enslaved for their powers or becoming the ruling class in a dystopia, while an idealistic deconstruction would involve the alleviation of scarcities and hardships based on class. Either one's perfectly valid. In this RP, I'd like to have a more deconstructed Captain Planet and The Planeteers -- Focusing on how a group of teenagers would go about saving the earth and protecting humanity. Namely, I'd like to focus on character development, as well as interpersonal relationships and other character-related things (Maybe The Planeteers won't immediately like each other because they're from cultures on [i]different ends of the globe[/i]? Just spitballing here.) I like element-fights as much as the next guy, and we'll have our fair share of them, but I'd still largely like the RP to be character-based. I'm all for hearing about your character's personality and possible future arcs, but please leave your characters who exist to be exclusively used in fight scenes at the door. :lol A fair deal of the deconstruction present is only the tone, though there have been changes to make the setting its own, whether or not they are more or less realistic than the original source material. Read up! If you're still interested when you're done, cast in some interest and we can get this show on the road. [hider=Captain Planet] [center][img]http://orig08.deviantart.net/bf7e/f/2014/114/4/6/captain_planet_by_artofant-d7fpu09.jpg[/img][/center] As mentioned, this iteration of Captain Planet and The Planeteers will be decidedly less cheesy than the originals. The most notable part of this change is the Captain himself, who is now less of an outdated mascot and more of a [b][i][u]terrifying force of nature.[/u][/i][/b] Using the mythology of Judaism/Christianity/Islam, Gaia is pretty much God, Captain Planet is pretty much an archangel, and The Planeteers are pretty much prophets. God could cause plagues and floods to wipe out a problem, but lacked a corporeal form to deal directly with the subjects causing the problem. He could occasionally speak to humans, though this is only ever depicted through very abstract means (Burning bush/talking thunder), and in the same way, Gaia will only ever talk to The Planeteers through visions. Moses/Jesus/Mohammed were created to be the voices of God and use magical God powers to deal directly with the offending parties. They could try to talk it out instead of annihilating entire civilizations, or at least give [i]warnings[/i] of impending annihilation to specific people. In the same vein, The Planeteers are the ambassador of Gaia first and foremost, and are largely pacifistic in their initial approach. Although The Planeteers are the voice of Gaia, her sword is Captain Planet. His powers in this RP extend further than the original canon's powers -- Instead of having run-of-the-mill elemental control, Captain Planet is a fearsome destructive force capable of creating tsunamis that cover islands, fires that burn as hot as the sun, winds that can reshape earth itself, and so on. His power is equivalent to anything you'd ascribe the phrase "Wrath of God" to. Bear in mind, Captain Planet [i]is[/i] an extension of Gaia, though he still has his own free will. Whereas his Abrahamic counterparts relied on their largely Lawful Good religious beliefs as a scale to judge mankind by, Captain Planet lacks any code other than that of nature, which is pretty True Neutral. He's generally only summoned as a last resort, as the destruction he's capable of leaves too much of a risk for him to even [i]exist[/i] outside of the rings. If The Planeteers choose to take down an enemy through force, a pollutant-filled factory gets blown up. If [i]Captain Planet[/i] chooses to take an enemy down by force, the factory and everything within a thirty mile radius, schools, orphanages, hospitals and all, are reduced to a single, smoldering crater in a firestorm of biblical proportions. Captain Planet's main concern is the earth -- not mankind -- and when faced with a tough decision, will choose whatever is best for the earth in the long term. It's worth mentioning that Captain Planet will always attempt to solve a situation diplomatically at first, though his tone and voice are [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cptCxZfOydw]decidedly less preachy[/url] than the original. He definitely isn't human, and this is most prominent in his detached view of humanity and willingness to kill for the planet. He knows that The Planeteers are helpful to his cause and are on his side, though as a being that exists only to be used as a divine mouthpiece or weapon, he and the group aren't exactly friends. Although he is much more powerful than his original incarnation, he is not without weakness. Pollution significantly weakens him, and is generally as poison to him as Kryptonite would be to Superman. Aside from the usual pollutants, radioactive waste and manmade radioactive material are especially poisonous to him, to the point that it can be used to kill the otherwise immortal being. Keep in mind, though radiation is natural, it is harmful to animals and thus hated by Gaia, which in turn allows it to harm Captain Planet. Though this fact means that there is a thought process involved in whether or not Gaia dislikes something and if it is harmful to Captain Planet or not, just go with it.[/hider] [hider=Gaia] In the show, Gaia lives on Hope Island, is the female counterpart of Captain Planet, and guards peace and harmony as the Spirit of Earth. Given that this is all [i]hippie bullshit[/i], the Gaia in this story will be a more primal entity. Instead of taking the form of a middle-aged woman, our Gaia is simply the consciousness of Earth, who speaks to The Planeteers in visions. Though Gaia is referred to by Captain Planet as "She", little is really known about Gaia other than her being the literal Earth, and her being the creator of the rings. The visions Gaia uses to speak to The Planeteers are infrequent but important, and are usually more intimate than the group-chat thing she had in the original series. Once again, think God>Prophet conversations. Booming voice, supernatural occurences, probably a nosebleed or two. In general, I plan for the descriptions of visions to be similar to the head rush you get from standing up too quick, combined with vague commands. Her true form is so great that it is beyond comprehension, leaving most to see her with impossible features, such as those seen during DMT highs (Multiple faces and arms, translucency, auras of color, etc.) Her voice is equally so great that non-planeteers who hear it are deafened if she speaks above a whisper, and so on. You get what I mean. She has cosmic-level reality warping powers, which Captain Planet only has a fraction of. She has full control of the earth's orbit, temperature, humidity, size, and shape. She can create matter in all forms, is omnipresent, and can probably time travel. That being said, she doesn't really use her powers, since Captain and The Planeteers do a lot of that for her. It is possible to speak with her through meditation, though otherwise her interactions with The Planeteers are few and far between.[/hider] [hider=The Planeteers] That's you! The Planeteers are humans chosen by Gaia to serve as protectors of earth and humanity. To do so, they are each given rings that allows them to control a specific element -- This is seemingly done to encourage teamwork and to enforce a respect and understanding of nature in Gaia's followers, though the true reason for this will be made clear in the plot I have in mind. It is Gaia's belief that in order to have a desire to protect humanity, the protectors of earth must feel compassion toward humans, and the only way of doing so is living among them. If the protector of earth was instead an all-powerful immortal being like Captain Planet, this protector would not have anything in common with ordinary people. Gaia also acknowledges that the protectors of earth must experience human life and emotions, such as sadness, anger, joy, and happiness, in order to learn how precious human life is and therefore understand the need to protect it. At the start of the RP, The Planeteers are all being summoned by Gaia, given rings, and sent to their new home. Aside from all that, the only thing she does is magically teach them all English instantly, as the group all come from different countries, and English was already known by more than one Planeteer (I'll leave this up to ya'll). As mentioned, I'd like a group of five, though I'd be willing to let in a sixth weird element (Either Wood, Metal, or Electricity) if there's enough demand. Each role will correspond to a role in the show, though I'm drawing them more from the stock 'five-man-band' characters. By all means, that doesn't mean that your character should be a stereotype; since this is character based, I'm really hoping for characters who can come to life. However, I believe that it is important that the characters have different talents and personalities, and that having these vague roles already established is the best way to ensure that happens. These characters are as follows: (I'm going by random genders, but any character can be any biological sex and gender identity. However, keep in mind I'll be playing a male planeteer, and I'll be trying to keep the genders even. [u][b]The Leader[/b][/u] - Whether he likes it or not, this character is the type of person who people naturally gravitate to in times of crisis. His ability to keep a clear head under pressure and naturally strong leadership abilities are his best strengths, and characters will naturally fall in behind him when the going gets rough. Examples include Captain America, Aragorn, and Optimus Prime. [u][b]The Lancer[/b][/u] - Where the leader is calm and in control, his lancer is often rash and impulsive. She can be the leader's best friend or worst rival but she is the second-in-command, first and foremost. Though her unpredictability can sometimes make her difficult to work with, her ability to think outside of the box and her extreme loyalty make her an asset to the team. Examples include Han Solo, Jack Sparrow, and Iron Man. [u][b]The Big Guy[/b][/u] - While not necessarily the largest member of the team, physically, he's definitely the most aggressive. He could hold his own in a fight even before becoming a planeteer. He's almost always in favor of doing things in the most direct, preferably physical way possible. This trait may put him at odds with the rest of the team. Examples include The Heavy, Hulk, and Fezzik. [u][b]The Smart Guy[/b][/u] - An extremely intelligent character who prefers to think things through before jumping into them. Exact area(s) of expertise are up to the player, but this should generally be the more logical character in the group. She generally prefers peace; or at least, not getting her ass kicked unnecessarily. Snarkiness requested but not required. Examples include Gandalf, Batman, and C3P0. [u][b]The Heart[/b][/u] - The more emotional/artsy character, and the group's moral compass. She is the first one to speak up whenever it seems the group is going too far past that line that separates good from evil. This character has an excellent understanding of how people tick, and while she usually uses this gift for good, to help keep the group cohesive and take care of members emotionally and whatnot, she can also be an excellent manipulator. Examples include: Daphne, Numbuh 3, and The Pink Ranger.[/hider] [hider=Character Sheet] [pre] [center]OPTIONAL IMAGE GOES HERE[/center] [u][b]Name[/b][/u] Full name [u][b]Gender[/b][/u] Gender goes here [u][b]Age[/b][/u] Between 15 and 17 [u][b]Nationality[/b][/u] Country of origin [u][b]Element[/b][/u] Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Heart [u][b]Appearance[/b][/u] 1-2 Paragraphs of description [u][b]Personality[/b][/u] 2-3 Paragraphs of description [u][b]Backstory[/b][/u] 1-3 Paragraphs of description [u][b]Likes[/b][/u] 4-5 Things [u][b]Dislikes[/b][/u] 4-5 Things [/pre][/hider]