ERode

Lostman Grafitti [Character Driven Urban Fantasy]

@MaliceEyup. To start with, it's probably better to think of him as someone that doesn't have powers, and then figure out how he gets things done. If you're going for the idea of 'madman puts other people into deep shit to rescue them himself in order to validate his existence', the ability to tell when someone's going to die isn't totally necessary to the core idea.

@Letter BeeS'all good. Hope you find better luck with other RPs.

Lostman Grafitti [Character Driven Urban Fantasy]

@Malice mm, a Deathseer would be opening you up to a buncha things, plot wise. Munchausen by Proxy basically means that they'd be engineering those future deaths to begin with, yeah?

Lostman Grafitti [Character Driven Urban Fantasy]

@Letter BeeI prefer using the forum to talk about it right now, because it gives me more time to think. And sure, you can think of it that way. I just don't particularly want this to turn into a superhero beat-em-up RP. The Lostman would be giving you a singular ability, so you probably won't have people going around who can project energy shields, shoot laser beams, and also sparkle in daylight or whatever. It'd probably be better if you formulated your character's singular, greatest desire and then I'll come up with a power for you.

@Burgerlol Tenoroshi having a MMA scene at all. Anyways, if you basically set her up as a zombie (e.g no need to eat/breathe/shit/sleep/doesn't generate body heat), I'll be fine with that too. Will she basically be waddling around on prosethics to start with? Or will she have taken other, unrelated people's body parts in order to sorta live normally? The detective will probably also be a private investigator rather than someone in the force, btw. I can definitely use a gang of crazy motherfuckers though.

Her ultimate time limit is going to be eight years. After that, she'll be unable to assimilate any of her lost body parts. She regains her body parts by actually finding them, so the act of getting revenge is a purely personal thing and won't magically require her bits and pieces. Taking parts off other people (or animals, if you're feeling dangerous) will end with those foreign pieces liquefying after a month of substandard operation. If it turns out that some of her body parts have been, I don't know, eaten or burnt to ash or whatever, then she's shit out of luck for those parts.

Viscious Virtue (Dark Magical Girls)

There ye go. A starting point for someone else to wrap up.

Viscious Virtue (Dark Magical Girls)

Sometimes, despair was found within warehouses, where one slaved away for an undetermined future. Other times, despair was found within parks, despondent thoughts oft crafted upon public benches. Occasionally, unfortunately, they could be found even in the homes of people, a dysfunctional family giving birth to a Vice that preyed on all.

But while those places sprang despair easily enough, nothing symbolized lost dreams more than an amusement park that never got finished. After the company funding the project had declared bankruptcy a couple years past, the landowner had put the place up for sale again, only for the reality to settle in: no one wanted land in the middle of nowhere. And thus, the skeleton of amusement park rides remain, rusting away, bothered only by delinquents wanting to leave their mark on the world and lovers wanting a unique vista to copulate in.

Isolated and quiet. The perfect place for a Vice to grow, to feast.

On the peak of the water slide, an amorphous blob of liquid shadow and bright, long teeth writhed, its sticky hands rubbing together in malice and greed, even as it pressed itself in the hollow of the log-shaped train. It wasn’t hungering, yes, but it certainly was looking for new prey, and to think that more would pop up so soon! Its shapeless form squiggled in instinctual pleasure, ear-shaped shadows forming over its body as it listened to the world around it. Oh, there it was! The distinctive sounds of soft-soled shoes clicking against the tracks, rhythmic and hypnotic as its prey pulled themselves willingly to their end.

Closer, closer, closer, an-

The sifting of the tip of a shoe, the ruffling of skirts being raised.

-d attack!

As the monster ballooned to four times its regular size, long fangs extending out like a porcupine’s spines, it lacked the cognitive ability to realize just how odd this particular victim’s attire was. A long black dress, offset by a pure white apron. Dark brown shoes of a soft leather, crossing each other. Her hair was a glossy jet black, pinned up so not a single strand strayed. Her pale skin made her ghostly in comparison, a phantom of her own. Before the Vice, she curtsied .

“Magical Maid Resolute Anne at your service, Master.”

It was only when she opened her eyes, those chips of unforgiving ice, that the monster realized it had chosen the wrong prey.

Twirling on her toes, the Magical Maid evaded the initial skewering strikes as white fangs dug into the infrastructure around her, before pulling out a rocket launcher from her long skirts. She bent down on one knee, levelled the anachronistically advanced weapon on her slim shoulders, and fired.

A jet of flame burst from one end and a rocket-propelled grenade shot out the other end, smashing into the viscous darkness of the Vice with such force it send the monster flying off into the sky, before exploding in a plume of heat and force.

True to her hairstyle though, not a single strand of hair was displaced by all this.

“I'll leave it to you to finish the rest.”

Lostman Grafitti [Character Driven Urban Fantasy]

@Letter Bee
First off, let me make clear. You're making the NPCs, but I'll be the ones controlling them.

Second off, the powers granted by the Lostman is far more esoteric than the stuff you'd expect out of normal shenanigans. In general, the ability to change the world isn't related at all to anything that grants you combat ability. It'd be stuff like...being able to see imperfect roses bloom from the chests of others, symbolizing the imperfections of their psyche, or being able to reprogram a human's mind through low-electricity shocks. In this RP, at least, powers that grant straight up combat ability are pretty weak. If you consider their powers as an extension of their innermost desires...people who gain destructive powers are probably a buncha psychos. Those who change themselves can have transformation abilities, sure.

Third, outside of Flame and Ashton's whole coupledom, you haven't explained at all how the older people relate at all to Ashton. Generally, people who are chosen by the Lostman are driven by their own interests and desires, because that's the greatest common denominator between them. And your former assassin dude is going to have lotsa trouble with ordinary society due to the bag of firepower he'd need to put down what basically amounts to supernatural existences. Japanese gun laws don't stop existing just cause the police don't wanna deal with inhuman threats to society, and without the backing of his former organization, it's definitely gonna be harder for him to do...whatever the hell he even does.

Generally, your pitches are lacking the 'why' behind a whole bunch of things, the most important one being 'why are they chosen'. I'd recommend you keep them unpowered until you have those reasons in mind.

In regards to Flame's hatred of Harmoney, I hope you realize that he'd have started out with chasing what amounts to conspiracy theory bullshit. Like, it'd require a sort of ridiculous madness on par with thinking the moon landing was faked to seriously ascribe any 'real' problem to Harmoney.

Neo Sorairo

“FLAMESTONE G-”

Flung back again by the large invader’s shield, Tian-Gui was about to rush in for a third time when Yui ended it in an instant, the foul-mouthed katana-user striking like lightning, practically bisecting the monstrosity in a singular blow. Cancelling his thrusters, the armored titan skidded to a halt beside the girl and marvelled at her work, before, just as a precaution, he raised his palms to generate more flames, incinerating the sloppy remains of the Invader.

It certainly wasn’t the best thing to smell, but Final Red came with air filters anyways, and Tian-Gui remained unfazed as he watched it burn. Finally, once it was charred black, he let it be, the vents in his armor still exuding heat.

“Well,” Tian-Gui said, turning to their clincher, “That was pretty awesome, Yui. New secret move or something?”

Lostman Grafitti [Character Driven Urban Fantasy]

@Letter Bee Pitch me what your character idea is and I'll think about it. As a general note though, Lostman is the root of all supernatural powers, so there's nothing like 'a magic bloodline' or anything like that.

@Malice@Cole@Burger this goes for the rest of you too. I'd like an idea of what sort of character you plan on making, as I only intend on making the OOC and IC once I have a cast of accepted characters.

The Fated World Defiance

For him? For him?!

What on earth was happening? How could this actually be? No way, was this some super extra luck he was having right now? Sweat broke out on his forehead as Allereun tried to control his breathing, gulping in air like a fish on land as he did his best not to imagine exactly what November A was doing in the back room. In a town where most of the eligible bachelorettes were sunburnt and on the skinny side, someone as soft and curvy as November was more than sufficient for arousing the curly-haired youth’s primal urges. The titillating sound of wet clothing being peeled off pale skin. The erotic rubbing of a towel underneath all the places his hands had never explored. The sexual way she’d put on new clothes, his clothes, like a reverse strip show.

Oh man…he took in a gulp of water and sat himself down, trying to think up of all the least arousing images in the world, only to always return to the blonde bombshell in the back of his store. His thumbs were twiddling, his knees were bouncing, he was the very picture of a tortured beast about to explode as she walked out again, her dynamite appeal now given a mysterious allure by the cloak she wore over her features. With a bated breath, Allereun waited for her explanation, hanging onto every word.

…

Turned out, it really was beyond his wildest delusions.

Waging a war against the Church?

Almost instantly, Allereun’s little buddy shrivelled up and died.

“Uh…” he scratched the back of his head, awkwardly laughing, his gray eyes gaining a quizzical light. “That’s a very…unique joke, Miss A. Super…interesting? Really though, I’ve never done anything like acting though, so I don’t think I’ll be very able to help you with this…provocative play of yours. Oh, but if you need like, a stage hand or something, I can definitely assist!”

Lostman Grafitti [Character Driven Urban Fantasy]

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Schoolgirls disappear and adults don’t bat an eye.
A grim reaper stalks skylines, severing blossoms before they wither.
Monsters steal memories and skin, deceiving and seducing their way to their next prey.
Two men twist hearts for their own ends, their paths parallel and opposing.
Bleak graylight scours the night clean of dreams.
Pale starlight burns the shadows from the day.
And somewhere, nowhere, the Lostman watches and waits.
For another lamb to answer.
For another lamb to desire.
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The metropolis of Tenoroshi exists under a veneer of calm, a monochrome cityscape indistinguishable from so many others. Monorails curve eloquently around towers of glass and steel, while convenience stores sprout like weeds every three blocks. School-bound children share the same streets as wage slaves and punk rockers, a human melting pot created by a too-small world, while warehouses and amusement parks stand empty, relics of a brighter past abandoned by an untrusting present. No one forgets though. The smokestacks of the crematorium inhales and exhales day in and day out. A holy man stands watch over the graveyard, ringing a bell to help the dead pass on. Streetside memorials emerge as splashes of color upon the pavement, whether it be for those lost by accident, lost by malice, or simply lost. Grayscale is the world of eight hundred thousand people, no matter how bright the neon lights of the red-light district, how vibrant the beats of the downtown core.

This indifference and numbness though, is what keeps this microcosm of a world functioning.

Beneath the grayscale veneer of Tenoroshi is a world that no ordinary person would want to comprehend. Grisly murders go uninvestigated and unreported, dying with the memories of the victims. Buildings vanish overnight, leaving nothing but empty, overgrown lots. The mayor of the town never appears in person, but continues to win elections, over and over again. Rumors and superstitions cross the airwaves constantly, as television hosts invite psychologists and hacks to make sense of the incomprehensible. But no consensus is ever reached, and the legends only grow. Of the Firefly that metes out infernal retribution, bearing a burning hand, a burning heart. Of the Ghost of the Electronic Matrix, the second dimension fairy that scatters itself into the void of the unseen spectrum. Of Harmoney, the true overseers of the human race, the ones who pull the strings without ever revealing their faces. All things that no ordinary person would want to comprehend, all things that no ordinary person would want to face, to explore.

But for those that do delve beneath the grayscale veneer of the metropolis that doesn’t care, they would undoubtedly be lead to a certain tale. The story of the Lostman, the messianic figure that would grant the faithful the power to change the world or the power to change themselves, but never both. And never for any price, nor to achieve any particular goal. The most famous enigma of all, the most obscure of them all, the most debated, the most misunderstood.

They are the key and lock to the underbelly of Tenoroshi.

They are the root of every impossible incident.

They are the beholder of all.

The asker of one.

What would you change? The world or yourself?

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Bookkeeping

Well, fancy-smancy talk aside, Lostman Graffiti is a character-driven urban fantasy RP, with individual plots furthered by a larger, overarching incident, set in a metropolis with a whole lot of sketchy shit around. I’m looking for a small group of 4-5 players who can stay active in the OOC and who don’t mind doing world-building of their own. I’ll definitely require each person to make three NPCs and three locations within Tenoroshi that will be relevant to their character to start with, so yeah, best to be comfortable with this.

Posting speed is, at the very slowest, one post per week, with the ability to get conversational collabs out as well. I care less for large posts and more for posts that progress plots, so as long as you get two paragraphs of good quality, I’m fine with whatever. What’s most important is that your characters are all internally driven to do something right at the start. Being a little bit off their rocker is probably going to help out. Generally, it’d be helpful if your characters don’t have full-time work to worry about.

I will give you a heads up if your character has a high chance to die, because character death is definitely going to be a thing, especially with how in-over-your-head you’ll all be. I’ll generally strive not to kill nonsensically though, unless your character just makes catastrophically bad decisions constantly.

This RP is inspired by Boogiepop, Wixoss, Dead Mount Death Play, and Haru no Houtai Shoujo. Things are gonna get violent and weird, but hopefully it never gets too stupid. Maybe we’ll even try some non-linear RPing, who knowssssss.