[OOC] Intrigue in the Fifth City - A Fallen London RP

[Gordian Nought]

Wow! I better get a move on this! But work beckons me once more.

[shylarah]

@Gordian Nought I love your SN. Knowledge and puns? <3

[Gordian Nought]

Name: Alfred Zorkybski
Title: Accountant
Moniker: Parlé; Gabby Gambler
Age: 43
Race: Human



Appearance:
Before donning his meticulous routine, but archaic, crumpled clothes, equipped with suspenders, pocket square, plus or minus fedora, Alfred never misses his 6 o'clock morning shave. He’s shorter than average and his greasy mid-brown hair’s starting to turn silver, though he gardens the tendrils close to his freckled scalp, cropped to hide a growing bald patch. The deep trenches on his face usually etch out a grin edged with seismic desperation, and his teeth, when he lets London take a gander, are ugly, yellowed tombstones jutting out of his tarred gums. He smokes cheap cigars, more because the batty hume irks people off their game. Caked in his Jewish face and ringed with dark bags, his blue eyes frequently sparkle with surprising intensity and wit.

Primary: Persuasive
Secondary: Watchful

The Masters - "Talk less; smile more. Unless you're with Pope Pages."

Bohemians - "Distractions birthed for the proleteriat; they are indeed the Aspidistra in this filth city."
Constables - "Your books must be without blemish. Especially if they are gonna trust you with their laundry. Bribes to the Constables guarentee smoke, quiet conversation and endless movement of money. What could be finer for an unlicensed gambling den to be unmolested?"

Criminals - "Never be in debt to the Gracious Widow. Her shadow will loom over your uncollected grave. Take it from me; steer clear."

Hell - "No one pays better. They even barter in souls."
Revolutionaries - "A poor lot. Their triple or nothing attitude is risky and tends to lose in the long haul. Take a picture. It will last longer."
Rubbery Men - "They possess the best poker faces I've ever faced. Pardon the double down Echo."
The Society - "I was invited to a ball, wasn't I?"
The Church - "Already sold it. Sorry, Father. You can't take it with you anyways, right?"
The Docks - "Great place to NOT funnel money."
The Great Game - "I always was terrible with checkers. Chess, on the other hand, is best played while talking trash."
Tomb Colonies - "Met the mayor twice; he sucked at cards. Both times."
Urchins - "One good debt deserves another, and this gaggle can reinforce said payments. If their time and reimbursement are right."

Background:
Indentured as a teenager from across the Channel, this Frenchie dove deep into the financial crannies of England's finest, only after the Echo Bazaar's tumultuous tincture. London obviously lost, but no one cared a quarter of a century later. Freddy now knows that losing is not only statistical, but also predictable; Alf, as a Constable accountant of more than two decades, wagers on this entropic certainty. He lurks frequently between the roulette wheel, the craps table, and the to-and-fros of hybrid poker in the city's pervasive risky nooks, observing, calculating and ultimately banking on the rationality of the typical gambler. His job, simply, is to make sure the House always wins, while simultaneously pleasing the masses and keeping his nose clean.

@Hekazu

[Gordian Nought]

Kindred spirits are forever kind to one another. Much obliged to those already obligated, @shylarah.

[Hekazu]

@Gordian Nought
How did this fine gentleman find his way to the Neath again? Could you elaborate a bit on that? Immigration of sorts, I take it? How old was he at the time? Does he remember the surface and the sun fondly, or is he happier down here?

[Gordian Nought]

@Gordian Nought
How did this fine gentleman find his way to the Neath again? Could you elaborate a bit on that? Immigration of sorts, I take it? How old was he at the time? Does he remember the surface and the sun fondly, or is he happier down here?

@Hekazu

Immigration from Poland to France, due to anti-semitism. Father died in Poland; mother became ill and sent Alf to London to stay with an Uncle bookie. He was 16. He does remember the surface and sun, but it reminds him of his old life. Hence, he is happier in the Neath.

[EchoicChamber]

Yo, @Hekazu, would you prefer realistic images, or are pictures and the like okay? Also, is it aight if I use two characters, or would you prefer for me to stick to one? Sorry for taking so long, by the way- I've just sort of been fumbling my way through some class work I've been putting off lately, haha.

[Hekazu]

@EchoicChamber
Either approach at imagery is fine. As for amount of characters, I strongly recommend only making one, since with the amount of interested players there is no way I can give multiple characters to one player if I want any semblance of the "small group" idea to remain.

[shylarah]

@Hekazu oh look what I finished. May post Doc, or maybe I won't. I'm not doing well lately, so there's that. X.x I do not currently have a satisfactory cat picture, and given the prevalence of cat pictures on the internet I know better than to start looking. I'd waste half a day. But there's a description, so that should do, yes?

Schrödinger the Improbable Feline

Name: Schrödinger (Schroedinger, if you don't have the patience for those fancy letters)
Title: sir, ah...cat, erm -- yes (He's definitely male. But that doesn't keep him from confounding those who put a great deal of stock in matters of etiquette but failed to consider that cats are far better people than humans)
Moniker: the Improbable Feline

Age: ? (He claims, at various times, to be a few thousand, to be older than the First City, to be older than the Bazaar. He is probably lying about most of this. He also claims to be older than the Duchess. How old is the Duchess? Come now, that is not the sort of thing one ever asks a lady, particularly not a lady of her caliber)
Race: feline (has the appearance of Felis silvestris. Not F. s. catus -- no one with any sense ever accuses him of being a domestic cat)
Appearance: a standard cat of perhaps nine or ten pounds, about a foot in height at the shoulder when on all fours. He has a luxurious coat of black fur that fades to merely very dark brown in some places. He seems to be of some unknown longhaired breed, though his fur is on the shorter side for most of those breeds. His eyes are either yellow or light green, but which depends as much upon when one is looking as anything else. There is a minor kink about halfway along his tail, and one ear has a small slice in it where an injury didn't quite heal right.

^{Of course, things become far more interesting in Parabola....}

Primary Attribute: Watchful
Secondary Attribute: Shadowy

Connections

The Duchess likes most cats better than most people. She's also intelligent. Naturally she likes him.
The University is fond of him, for a number of reasons. Among them is his knowledge of higher mathematics, though he doesn't care to indulge most of their scientists. He can find any book in their libraries in a matter of minutes, so long as it is on the shelf. He's been known to turn up curled on a table with an open book before him, though doubtless some student neglected to put it away when they were done.
Bohemians tend to be fond. He can write a mean sonnet, when he cares to -- but he rarely cares to, and he dislikes being asked. He is not a trick dog, to show off for any passer-by who expresses interest.
The Devils with their connection to a time not yet arrived are of interest to him, and he's nosed about the Brass Embassy on a number of occasions. To facilitate this, he is unfailingly polite to them, though his opinions on the soul trade are more complex.
Society does not know what to make of him. On the one hand, he's got manners to rival theirs, when he cares to use them; certainly he never uses the wrong fork. He's charming enough. But a cat! ...Then again, he has excellent taste in wine, and can match them to meats like nobody's business. And he even restrains himself on the fish course. Nearly always.
The Great Game could learn a thing or two from him, but he has no specific ties.
Revolutionaries are nearly as good as the Foreign Office when it comes to secrets. Best not to be seen listening, however.
The Docks always appreciate someone who can keep the rats clear, but he is not really a mouser. But he does avoid tangling with their birds and bats. Call it respect -- or better yet, a reluctance to deal with their noise over the matter.
Criminals do not often like people -- or creatures -- that are able to uncover their secrets. For the most part it is a matter of live and let live, with one exception. The Topsy King is unnerved by Schrödinger -- and his bat more than a little intimidated, after a recent indiscretion involving where it wished to sleep.
Urchins are far too fond of chasing and tail-pulling, and he a bit too prone to defending himself with claws if they are rough.
The Rattus Faber are sometimes useful, but his relationship with them is best called an uneasy truce.
The Glass is bad news, and he thoroughly enjoys causing them difficulty should the occasion arise.

Background: Schrödinger claims his mother was a sister to the Midnight Matriarch, and his father a Parabolan panther of considerable power. It is not entirely unlikely that this is the truth, though he must be lying when he says he visited the Second City just to see it fall. ...Mustn't he? He's never had any qualms about bending the truth when it suited him, nor substituting a reasonable lie when the truth just wouldn't do.

What is known for certain is this: he has been around long enough to acquire both knowledge and wisdom, and given the ease with which he visits Parabola and the nature of death in the Neath, he may well be considerably older than the average Surface feline.

He is a frequent figure in the presence of the Duchess, and also at the University (Benthic more often than Summerset). He is fond of the Shuttered Palace and Veilgarden, and like all cats he is intimately familiar with Spite and the Flit. Unlike most of his brethren, however, Schrödinger shows an unseemly (for a cat) fondness for the affairs of humans. Perhaps that explains some of his more unusual habits and predilections. Perhaps he is simply a singularly unique specimen. Whatever the case, he has been known to make himself useful, or at least conveniently bribable, depending on his mood.

[shylarah]

@Hekazu Yes, but making multiple chars would allow more chances for admittance.

[Hekazu]

@shylarah
Well, I cannot say that said statement would be wrong. But if one has any preference at all on which character they'd rather see included, it is for the better to only submit that one.

Regarding Schrödinger, I think the character is fair enough. We'll have to keep the finding of things in check, but I am sure we can manage that. If you would have him tag along with somebody to the masquerade, that would likely be the best solution. I would not invite a cat myself, despite everything. As for Parabola, wellllll with them being a cat I guess it is unavoidable to have such a close connection to it. Besides, I am sure we have a few honey-dreamers here, despite nobody admitting it openly.

@Gordian Nought
Seems fair. By my maths he would have arrived in London in 1869, 7 years after the fall, just in time to witness the war of '70 against Hell itself. But not old enough to be part of the doomed soldiers. One should note that the entrance to the Neath is in the Mediterranean, but apart from that little fact reaching London should not be too big of an issue. There are people who do trade with the surface through the Lamentation Lock, or what else have you.

[shylarah]

@Hekazu Do you really think you could keep him from turning up if he really wanted to? Doubtless the Duchess was invited -- nobody fails to invite her to such things. Perhaps she did not attend, but he turned up in her place. Or maybe she's there, somewhere, and he came with. <3

And yes, the Parabolan aspect is not exactly part of his original build, but since this is FL it cannot be avoided. It's the only time he's actually seriously Dangerous. But I see him as a smaller sort of black jaguar (that is, a panther) -- not full sized. His claws are just as sharp, though....

[Hekazu]

@Lady Selune@Ms Ravenwinter@Templar Knight@Sofaking Fancy@Gordian Nought@shylarah
Six humans, and a feline most improbable. It might be just a wee bit more than what I had been aiming for, but I don't think I have a particular reason to drop anybody as things are. We shall try how well this works out with a slightly larger group, that we shall.

Which actually brings me to the matter of pacing ourselves. Unless there is a particular disagreement for one reason or another, I would like to propose that everyone should get out at least one post per week. The bare minimum of Advanced according to the official guidelines is two paragraphs and after seeing the character sheets I do trust that everyone can manage that. More is often better, but try not to bang your head against the character limit set for posts by the site, m'kay? Write how much you feel like, I say. If one has any other suggestions, I encourage them to speak now! Easier to change things when nobody has set them anywhere yet!

Feel free to move your sheets on to the characters tab, I'll hotlink them in the 0th post as soon as I see them come up!

@EchoicChamber
I'm afraid you missed the deadline set for the character sheets. But worry not, I'll keep you in mind and poke you if it ever starts looking like we could use new blood!

[shylarah]

@Hekazu I'll do my best! Ordinarily, this would not be an issue. Right now I'm having some irl trouble with...well, with life. But the odds of me going a full week in a group rp are very low.

I don't trust guild guidelines for rps, though. *snickers* I'm vrey much a "write what's needed and then let other people write" instead of any sort of minimum. Sometimes shorter is better, particularly in discussions or high-action scenes. Sometimes to get around that, I poke other people for immediate general reactions -- does X back away or draw a weapon when threatened? Stuff like that. And then I can keep going a bit more.

By the way, you can post your own char in a separate tab, and it might be advisable to do so. 0.0

[EchoicChamber]

@Hekazu Damn. That's alright- I should've been faster. Sorry for taking so long! I hope the roleplay goes well for y'all. c:

[Hekazu]

But the odds of me going a full week in a group rp are very low.

Please elaborate?

By the way, you can post your own char in a separate tab, and it might be advisable to do so. 0.0

@shylarah

I could, am aware of it and many of those things. But I could also be my petty self and demand my character, for once, gets to be the first one in the listing. So I chose to be petty instead

Also, thanks for the input on the guidelines thing. If anyone else has anything to say, I'd love to hear it. By the time all characters have moved on to the appropriate tab I'll get on with the opener post.

[shylarah]

@Hekazu I mean you could have posted it immediately...=P

I mean I shouldn't have an issue keeping up. If you wanted a post every other day I might have to reconsider. And things should be improving significantly as of next week. Here's hoping. -.- Then again, this week in particular has been awful, so I can't help but think next week kind of has to be better, simply by virtue of the fact that it can't be much worse...

[Hekazu]

@shylarah
I was going to wait until the roster was finalised so that people would not follow the example. Then I encountered people taking initiative and my plans were ruined. And thanks for the clarification!

[shylarah]

@Hekazu Whoops

[Hekazu]

With all participants having confirmed their participation and stance on guidelines, the 0th post has been updated. I will start working on the intro post now. It should be going up within the next ten hours, updates will be given in the case of delays.

@Lady Selune@Templar Knight@shylarah@Sofaking Fancy@Gordian Nought@Ms Ravenwinter