Fiber

Our Final Nights: A World of Darkness Roleplay

On a night like this the normal hum of electronic communications in Los Angeles was cluttered with violent and chaotic bursts of terror. It was easy to witness this from the basement of the switching station, 27 stories of wiring and interconnections, a great river of data just waiting for someone to drink from it. In Grace’s case the noise interrupted the normal lessons she was trying to teach Julie, an overwhelming force she tuned out while sampling the datastream. All of the circuits were at their maximum, but alternate channels let Grace get the calls she needed to make through. News of the fire was spreading fast, and with her subordinate in tow Grace headed out of the basement and to the street outside.

They walked to the skyscraper at the end of the block, a mass of steel, glass and the basic geometric forms of the international style. Grace’s card got them past security and through the white marble lobby, completely deserted except for security guards that time of night. Once they made it to bank of elevators at the back, Grace began to talk.
“It’s almost calming to have something in the present to deal with, a break from unlimited worries of the future.”

Julie answered “Very true. My father used to wake us up in the middle of the night and time how long it took us to get to the fallout shelter. He kept rankings of me and all of my siblings, telling us which of us would make and which of us wouldn’t when the bombs fell. I spent so much time worrying about that it felt weird when the government was at our door, because it was one of the only times that something else was on my mind.”

Julie bit her lip, and then said “If I’m slowing you down, I can do something else. Just tell me how I can help, I know it’s a weird night and I don’t want to be burden”

Grace said “It’s fine, this is an opportunity for some direct experience. If it wasn’t for the fire I’d probably be over at JPL or Vandenberg doing readiness checks right now because that’s where I always end up when something far away makes the high command nervous.”
After the elevator there were stairs to climb, up to the rooftop, above the massive glowing Deloitte sign.

Julie asked “Where are we going?”

“The Helipad.” Grace said.

“There’s a helipad on this building?”

“Forty years ago one of us snuck a line in the fire code that required helipads on top of all the skyscrapers in the city. That’s proven to be useful to us, it may make the buildings look boxier but that is the least of our concerns. So much of this city’s history has been shaped by the hands of someone who fancies themselves an aesthete I’m surprised we were able to slip it in the first place.”

One flight of metal stairs brought them to the helipad where their vehicle was waiting for them It was painted pitch black, and looked close but not identical to civilian models, having dozen of modifications to harden it against electronic warfare, give it a suite of stealth technologies and other technocracy additions. Near silent and invisible to conventional radar, the usual methods of helicopter detection would write it off as no more than an urban myth while it flew through the air. Despite its aptitude for evading normal technology, the files were had a laundry list of incidents where their enemies had managed to use exotic means to spot them, ranging from dowsing rods to divine revelations, conjured spirits and jury rigged tv antennas, a frustrating reminder of the variety of reality deviant threats they faced.

The pilot’s seat was empty until Grace got in. She fished around for a thin cable and plugged it into a socket in the back of her head, giving her full access to the helicopter’s systems. Julie talked as she found her place in the co-pilot chair “I didn’t know we still used these. I thought we went all drone.”

Grace said “We keep a few of these around just in case. Truth be told this could be done with them, but I believe some firsthand experience would help you.” The aircraft rose off the ground with so little sound and a smoothness that made it look like it was being pull into the air by invisible strings. They gained altitude and kept a low flight pattern, just above the rooftops of the skyscrapers as they headed towards the fire in the hills.

The orange glow of the fire filled the sky. Pillars of smoke rose in the Hollywood Hills, a beacon for where they were going. The helicopter glided above the streets, seeing the cars and streetlights like they little shining specks in a tight grid pattern. Grace flew it without lights, relying on the GPS, IR, inertial guidance, and other means to find her way. With all of the data feeding in through the port in the back of her head, she didn’t even need to open her eyes to guide it.

In just a few moments they were flying towards the cloud of smoke. Julie was quiet, absorbing it all and hearing the noise of dozens of fire engines below. Grace said

“You’ll have to address this tomorrow, you know. It’s topical.”

Julie said “Yeah. What do I say? I can’t talk about fire science the whole time.”

“Do what you always do, explain, but do it in a way that will make them feel safe, let them know we have a system and it’s in control.”

“And then what?”

“Then you offer our solution. You give them something new for them to support. A new government office, a new forest management practice or investment in the electrical grid; I’ll have a menu of policies for you in the morning. This is how we get them on our side. Fear drives people, because it’s something they can’t ignore, so offer them a choice between our safe options and only darkness outside it.”
They were flying low to get images of the site of the fire and the smoke was all around. Grace wasn’t bothered thanks to her own enhancements, but when Julie started to cough from it, she turned on the filters to spare her. After she could be breathe clearly, Julie said

“Are we going to try and put it out?”

Grace said “That’s what the fire department is for.”

“But we can help”

“We help by making institutions like fire departments, like intelligence agencies, corporations. If we didn’t trust them then we wouldn’t have invested in them.”

“It’s hard to ignore people being burnt alive down there.”

“It’s what we must do. It’s a tragedy, but not a new one. How many billions died in misery before them, and how many more would’ve if not for our work? At the end of the day we’ll count up the damage, but it will be so that we can move forward. Once this fire is out there’ll be federal redevelopment projects, new policies to push on the politicians, so much work to be done. You have to see the big picture.”

“What you’re saying is that we can’t save everyone”

“Not yet. But some day, we’ll be able to. We have to believe in the plan, believe in the goal, because that is what makes this all worthwhile.”

The helicopter continued on its route, circling in the dark of the night and the light of the flames below, passing over the site of the Sunset Lounge.

『BLANK PAGE』 Manga Slice of Life RP

A normal morning on the job

The first thing Nobuhiko Ogasawara did after getting out of bed that morning was go to the fridge and fish around for a turmeric and ginger concoction that had always served him well as a hangover cure. He’d been out late last night because a friend that worked as a foreign correspondent in New York was in town, a rare occasion. He always had stories to tell, and never wanted to go home until he’d told them all; there were a lot of them by this point. Nobu had heard most of them, but he sat through it anyway out of politeness, even though he spent most of the night counting just how many of those stories featured Italian Restaurants as a setting.

Most of the time when he’d gotten a raise Nobu he’d spent the extra money on his dwelling place. He preferred to be closer to work even if it meant living in a small space, but that was something that wasn’t a problem for him because he lived alone, never really managing to hold a relationship together for long enough to change that. At this point his condo was only a fifteen minute walk from the office, invaluable for those times when he stayed at the office or at the bar later than the trains ran. It wasn’t large, but unlike his last place it had a kitchen big enough to do some actual cooking in, which Nobu used to decompress and get work off his mind when he could.

Nobu had his tablet propped up on the table while he ate breakfast. A recording of the AmeriTel annual keynote was playing. All employees were encouraged to watch it, but because it happened on American time, Japanese employees were stuck with a recording that few would find time to sit through. The sheer number of times they mentioned 5G made him nauseous, even the part about the upcoming movies from their movie division managed to find a way to incorporate it. Watching made him realize just how big it all was, the whole book and magazine division didn’t even get a full two minutes in the presentation. The only other thing that caught his attention was the segment about their streaming service, bragging about the goldmine of intellectual properties that had the rights to develop. They talked about work on a live-action adaptation Martial Journey, a big win for the types of people that liked to talk about corporate synergies, and sure to be a massive headache for all the creative talent involved.

He took the bus to work that morning even though it was slower than walking. This way gave him the benefit of checking the emails during his commute. It was the usual stuff, mixed in with some amusing emails that were meant for accounts payable but CC’d him because they thought it’d get them to pay up faster. That trick never worked. One email was marked high priority, and it had a CC line full of names that Nobu only knew from big conference calls and looking at the org chart, people with titles like Global VP of Intellectual Property Development and Senior VP of Strategic Marketing. He couldn’t tell who was the most important, but he knew that when they asked him for something it was best to get to it as soon as possible. That task went to the top of his todo list that day. Everything else, like answering that email from the marketing department asking what an isekai was, was secondary.

Nobu walked into the double doors of the office a few minutes before nine and said hello to the secretary. He made one circuit of the desks in the main area before sitting down in his office. Nobu had a little block of time before the morning editorial meeting, which he used to fire off a short email to the entire creative department.

“Dear Authors,

Some executives who can’t be arsed to pick up a magazine or do a cursory google search want to know more about what we publish. They’ve asked us to give them a summary of our currently running series, their premises, and current and future merchandising/licensing opportunities for each of them. Presumably, they’re going to use this to leverage their strategic advantages synergistically, or whatever euphemism they’re using for trying to make a load of money. Anyway, if you want to do your own writeup instead of leaving in the hands the editorial team to squeeze in between meetings, please email it to the editorial mailing list by the end of the day. Who knows, maybe if something you write catches their eye you could be in for a nice windfall if you sign a deal with them.”

Nobu took a sip from his green tea and wondered what the next interruption would be, maybe he could make it all the way to the editorial meeting without anything coming up.

『BLANK PAGE』 Manga Slice of Life RP

@Yankee@hatakekuro@c3p-0hAll you guys are approved. Feel freed to add them to character tab whenever.

『BLANK PAGE』 Manga Slice of Life RP

_______________________________________________ Nobuhiko "Nobu" Ogasawara | 60 | Editor in Chief at Shonen Spirit

Tell Me About Yourself ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ It takes a lot to get Nobuhiko to talk or react. He's a subtle man and wears a shell of grumpiness most of the time, a feeling of resignation that stops much from affecting him decently. He's polite when he has to be, blunt when he can be, but he isn't pushy from the outset. He has a long fuse but the few times it's ran out his temper has been described as explosive. All of this has left him with a few solid friends and a string of unhappy relationships, but even those who don't get along with him admit he sticks to his convictions. When he really trusts someone he's willing to open up a little and talk about both frivolus and deep subjects, but to get him in that mode you've either got to be lucky or a good friend of his. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Work History ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Nobuhiko's first work in the publishing world came when he was in college, studying literature. He and his friend Takashi were broke and fighting off a hangover when they got an idea for how to make some extra cash. Taking cues from cheap pulp novels and alternating chapters, together they wrote a book called Isao the Tiger, a simple action story about a former terrorist turned hired killer. It got published and did well enough that the publisher asked for a sequel. Takashi and Nobuhiko worked on a few more until they graduated, thorooughly sick of churning out potboilers by that point. While Takashi tried to put that behind him and become a serious artist, Nobu just wanted a steady paycheck. His grades weren't very impressive but he had enough rapport with Torishima Publications that found a spot for him as a junior editor at a manga magazine. He worked on some of the seinen titles where he got a reputation for keeping the authors on schedule and helping them with longterm plotting. After a good run there, he arrived at a dilemma. He'd been doing good so far, but Torishima's seinen magazines were a mess and staying with them for too long could be a career killer. The staff at Shonen Spirit reached out to him after hearing good things and Nobuhiko took them up on the offer. He made splash there because two thing immediately became apparent, the first was that he never minced words, and the second was that no one could figure out if he even liked Shonen manga. He rode the wave of more mature titles and was part of the editorial team during the glory days of the 90s, editing several of their big hits. Nobuhiko's reputation is more of a turnaround artist, helping struggling series, rather than someone who has an eye for the next monster hit. He stayed on into the 2000s, rising to the position of deputy editor and holding that for several years. The declinging sales and the AmeriTel buyout led to a very messy process of finding the next Editor in Chief of Shonen Spirit in the late 2010s, but the job eventually fell to Nobuhiko because he was seen as a safe bet. All of his peers who were better at playing office politics had managed to find their ways into other, more prestigious roles within the corporate goliath, sometimes leaving him feeling as though he is the captain of a ship that might not be sea-worthy. So far he's kept a conservative hand on things, but that may be changing soon. References ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ (List characters they know and have some kind of relationship with. Can be PCs or NPCs) Character: Relationship

『BLANK PAGE』 Manga Magazine Slice of Life

@c3p-0h@Yankee@Duthguy@Hey Im Jordan@hatakekuro@Fabricant451

Hey everyone, here's the OOC!

『BLANK PAGE』 Manga Slice of Life RP

Customize the colors however you want

Character Sheet Template

_______________________________________________ CHARACTER NAME | CHARACTER AGE | CHARACTER JOB

Tell Me About Yourself ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Describe your character's personality here ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Work History ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ (Talk about their biography, including any jobs they've had in the industry before this, any manga titles they've worked on. This is a great place to make up a title that was published before) References ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ (List characters they know and have some kind of relationship with. Can be PCs or NPCs) Character: Relationship

『BLANK PAGE』 Manga Slice of Life RP

Discord Link

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Premise  
Premise

You ever meet anyone who’s never read a copy of Shonen Spirit? It might aimed at hyperactive kids but there’s a reason it’s the country’s most popular manga anthology; go out on the street and you can see housewives picking up an issue on a trip to a convenience store or salarymen on the subway reading one they’ve hidden underneath pages from a financial newspaper. Even if you don’t read it you can’t escape the franchises that were born from it, they’ve been made into anime, toys, merchandise, games, stage plays, even theme parks. That’s the way it’s been for decades now and for most people under fifty, manga from Shonen Spirit isn’t just part of pop culture, it’s part of their childhood, tied to nostalgic memories. It’s gone international, too; thanks to international licensing people all around the world from the Americas to Europe have come to know and love series from Shonen Spirit, to the point that creators from all over the world have dreams of joining the team at the magazine.

The public laps up the drama within the pages of Shonen Spirit, but few know about the drama that happens behind the scenes. Even during it’s best years the people behind it could only be described as eccentric and poorly organized, now things are even stranger. Sales have been dropping after their most popular title just ended it’s long run, and pressure from the corporate leadership is not letting up. The magazine is hungry for new talent, eager to see if anyone can meet their high expectations. One thing that is still true is how the staff get along. Shonen Spirit and the other manga periodicals published under it’s umbrella not a place of bland corporate dogma, it operates like a family, a big, screwed-up family, but a family nonetheless. From the artists to editors to the marketers to the accountants, they’re all along for the ride, wherever it may go.

---

A Brief History Lesson

Shonen Spirit is going through an interesting time these days. Circulation peaked in the early 90s, and while that golden era ended, it left the magazine on solid ground. They didn't have the string of hits that they had from the 90s, the days when every kid was buying an issue on the way to school, but they did have one monster, one manga that became a pop culture phenomenon. Martial Journey lasted for 22 years and broke sales record after sales record, carrying the magazine even when other series failed to get the same momentum. The finale was the highest selling issue in the fifty year history of Shonen Spirit. The only problem is what is finding a path for the magazine in a post-Martial Journey world. There have been sales slumps before, like the infamously bad period in the 70s, but times are different. Shonen Spirit was started by a small, family run, publishing company called Torishima Publications, and they didn't care much about how much money their manga magazines made as long as it was more than they cost to run. In the 90s Torishima got bought by a electronics company that went on a buying spree, and just a few years ago that electronics company was absorbed by AmertiTel, a giant multinational media telecom conglomerate, always on the hunt for new pieces to add to it's empire. There's been little change to how the place is run at the daily level, but every quarter new financial goals come, and the feeling is sinking in that any freedom the management has now is conditioned on meeting these strict goals.

The heart of Shonen Spirit is an office building deep in the Chuo ward of Tokyo. It houses the offices of Shonen Spirit and two other manga publications under the same umbrella. Shojo Weekly targets a different audience than Shonen Spirit, and has never enjoyed the same level of success, struggling to maintain the third place position among Shojo magazines. It's showing some growth lately as they've done strong on the digital end and international licensing, outpaces larger rivals in those area even if print circulation isn't as impressive. The other magazine is weirder than it's siblings. Monthly Comic Ace came about when several floundering magazines aimed at adult men and women were combined into one umbrella. Despite the word monthly in the title, it actually comes out every week, but the manga in it are still on a monthly schedule. The series in it rotate out depending on which week of the month it is, it remains to be seen if this experiment will hurt or help reader retention. The office itself has space for permanent staff, as well as open desks for occasional visitors, like artists that want to do some work outside the house. The employees work hard to put out a good product, you can see people in the office at all hours. Everyone has a different view on what it takes to succeed, what kind of character you need to make great art, but there's one thing everyone at Shonen Spirit can a appreciate, and that is determination.

---

Orientation

Office Departments

-Creative-

The heart of the organization. All of the editors, artists, writers, and assistants fall under this. It's a loose structure, people are expected to report in to their boss but outside of that there isn't much micromanagement, as long as everyone is hitting their goals. If they aren't then that where things start to get more serious.

-Distribution and Printing-

The department that makes the magazine an actual thing you can hold in your hands. They handle getting each issue printed and sent off to store shelves. Everyone knows how important this is, but that doesn't stop them from forgetting about this department 90% of the time.

-Marketing-

They handle the branding and advertising. Anything related to graphic design goes through them, and the last reshuffle gave them control over all of the electronic content, too. They've always had a contentious relationship with the editorial department, as each one likes to argue about who deserves more credit for the success

-Licensing & Business Development-

These are the people who make the deals. Someone needs to sell the advertising slots in the magazine, and they make sure the company gets paid a good rate. They also handle deals for merchandising and spinoffs of series, including being part of getting anime adaptations and foreign licenses for the big hits. That part can get complicated because they have to work with the artists in addition to outside parties, doing their best to find a deal that will send everyone home happy.

-Admin-

This the catch-all for people the office needs but don't fit in with any of the core lines of business. It covers stuff like the accountants, the office manager, the IT department, everything the parent company likes to call a "cost-center", their polite term for wishing theses functions weren't here. For the employees, they feel the lack of passion but they've got other things keeping them their, whether it's a steady paycheck or the people that work there, there's something that keeps them coming back.

---

Notable sites in the neighborhood

-Eiichiro's-

There's many bars around, this one has the combo of being close to the office and having the best happy hour prices of any in the neighborhood. On any given night you can probably find someone from Shonen Spirit or one of it's sister publications here, and a few infamous times have seen multiple members of the creative staff passed out in the alley after a night of hard drinking. They all made it back to the office in the morning with an agreement not to talk about what happened afterwards.

-New Page Cafe-

Owned by an old hand who used to be an editor at Shonen Spirit. He's not around much, but you can tell the legacy because it's got the best stocked manga cafe in the city outside of Akihabara. The tea is good and the staff can always give you a recommendation for something to read, they know the deep cuts. A good place to go to take a break, or avoid work. Just don't bring up to any of the mangaka that you read their series over tea here instead of buying the volumes of it

-Toriyama Park-

A nice refuge from the office, a great place to enjoy nature. Or have screaming matches too loud to be held indoors. Word of warning about the second, that tends to scare the kids and get the cops coming over to ask you some serious questions.

-Friendly Eleven Convenience-

The prices are cheap, the hours are 24/7, and they carry everything from hot food to new t-shirts. What's not to love? The employee are used to seeing bleary eyed employees of the office shuffle in at any hour to get some desperately needed caffeine, and they won't ask any questions at this point

-Okamura Steakhouse-

This place has been a favorite of locals for decades now, but the prices it charges means this is for special occasions. Whether it's inking a massive deal, putting on a good show for a high ranking executive, or someone blowing their first big payday in an extravagant way, this is where you go if you want to celebrate and enjoy some delicious Wagyu beef.

-Tezuka Station-

It's not the closest subway station to the office, but it's only a little farther and it has something the others don't: A multi-story shopping mall built on top it. The stores cover everything, but be sure to check out the bookstore on floor three if you're interested in new releases, and the hobby shop on the second floor if you want to stock up on anime merch.

OOC

Rules
1. Be kind to everyone. If you have a dispute, work it out in a civil way.
2. Keep in mind the slice of life feel. There'll comedic antics but this is still supposed to be the real world, and make characters that fit with that
3. Be part of a group. Try to work with people to make the RP happen, give people the opportunity to decide where the plot goes. Also, if you end up leaving the RP, it's all fine, just let us know if you can.

Character sheet format is on the Character tab

『BLANK PAGE』 Manga Magazine Slice of Life

@Fiber How is the ooc coming along?

@Duthguy

Thank you for the continued interest! Most of the OOC is done, final edits should be coming soon, so keep watching this thread. I should have it posted this week.

『BLANK PAGE』 Manga Magazine Slice of Life

Thank you guys for the interest! I'll be working on an OOC over the next few days.

『BLANK PAGE』 Manga Magazine Slice of Life

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Premise  
Premise

You ever meet anyone who’s never read a copy of Shonen Spirit? It might aimed at hyperactive kids but there’s a reason it’s the country’s most popular manga anthology; go out on the street and you can see housewives picking up an issue on a trip to a convenience store or salarymen on the subway reading one they’ve hidden underneath pages from a financial newspaper. Even if you don’t read it you can’t escape the franchises that were born from it, they’ve been made into anime, toys, merchandise, games, stage plays, even theme parks. That’s the way it’s been for decades now and for most people under fifty, manga from Shonen Spirit isn’t just part of pop culture, it’s part of their childhood, tied to nostalgic memories. It’s gone international, too; thanks to international licensing people all around the world from the Americas to Europe have come to know and love series from Shonen Spirit, to the point that creators from all over the world have dreams of joining the team at the magazine.

The public laps up the drama within the pages of Shonen Spirit, but few know about the drama that happens behind the scenes. Even during it’s best years the people behind it could only be described as eccentric and poorly organized, now things are even stranger. Sales have been dropping after their most popular title just ended it’s long run, and pressure from the corporate leadership is not letting up. The magazine is hungry for new talent, eager to see if anyone can meet their high expectations. One thing that is still true is how the staff get along. Shonen Spirit and the other manga periodicals published under it’s umbrella not a place of bland corporate dogma, it operates like a family, a big, screwed-up family, but a family nonetheless. From the artists to editors to the marketers to the accountants, they’re all along for the ride, wherever it may go.

OOC Information

The concept for this is a slice of life RP about a manga magazine. It’ll focus more on character interaction and hijinks, any plot stuff is just there in case people are looking for some additional inspiration. I’m hoping for a variety of characters, there’s a lot of potential roles at the magazine, related periodicals, and characters who are in that circle. It’s going to be set in Japan but characters from any country are welcome, the magazine’s parent company is a multinational conglomerate. If this gets some interest I’ll make an OOC for this RP.