Fantasy Any good writers wanna do a Labyrinth rp with me?

[That Merry Wanderer]

The Pitch


An ancient terror long locked away below the Goblin City finds its way out of its prison and threatens only the kingdom, but the whole Underground.


A woman who has long left her dreams in girlhood finds herself plunged into a world so impossibly fantastical...and so impossibly familiar.


A prince in exile fleeing his own disasters still seeks to amend one very important bargain he broke long ago.


A silver-tongued chancellor seeking to claim power over an abandoned realm suspects a particular ruler of the most hated creatures of thwarting his great plan.


So begins my idea for a kind of a Labyrinth/Legend crossover. I'm hoping that a talented writer or two will find it intriguing enough to build a story with me.


There are still plenty of details I'm trying to figure out and I'd love another creative mind on board to give me a hand.


I'm still trying to figure out just what I want this great power to be exactly, but I know it's gonna be very old and very powerful, maybe it even predates Jareth's reign. Edit: OH! HOLD UP! I think I've got it! What if the dark power is the same girl in the storybook from the film? What if the actual story ended with Jareth defeating her and having her locked away in an oubliette where she tied her soul to some trinket (like a horcrux kinda thing). Over the centuries the power in that trinket twisted and became corrupted. It would fit the story and I think I know how I could use that plot perfectly. However, it would mean that Jareth would have been a pretty evil guy in the past, but hey, he wasn't that great of a guy in the movie (and honestly the sweet cuddly Jareth is tiresome and unrealistic to his character).


Speaking of Jareth, I will be needing someone to play our favorite Goblin King.


As of right now, I don't have any plans for a return of Sarah or Toby, but if there is someone out there who wants to play one of them, that can certainly be arranged.


The prince in exile happens to be the son of Jack and Lili from "Legend". Turns out, Lord Darkness' curse wasn't totally cured when the unicorn horn was mended again, but we can get to that once I see if there are any interested parties.


His daughter currently resides in the Aboveground as we will call it (getting an idea what that ol' broken bargain could have been about?). Somehow, a particular little red book is going to fall into her hands. Or perhaps she sees a strange looking critter and, compelled by her incurable curiosity, follows it home.


There is also a bit of an amnesia spell plot similar to Once Upon a Time (a show in which Robert Carlyle hoists a mountain of cheesiness and bad actors upon his brilliantly capable shoulders for four seasons, but hell I'm gonna steal ideas from it anyway)


All of this is loosely based on an rp I did last year (seen here: roleplay/labyrinth-new-tales-of-the-underground )


After much tinkering and rethinking, I believe I have created a good story that doesn't take away any of the original ideas of the original roleplay's creator.


Take a gander at the above link to see what kind of a writer I am and what kind of writers I'm looking for. I consider myself big time advanced (multi-para, novella, whatever you want to call it), but posting size depends on what's going on. Of course posts will be shorter during back to back dialogue and fast-paced action scenes.


So, anyone out there interested?


(ooooh I just hope somebody is. I have been crazy about two of the characters I created for the last one and I just can't let them go without their story being told)

 

[Menagerie]

Hmm sounds interesting...I shall be following!

 

[That Merry Wanderer]

Yay! An interested party! I really think I have a good story. I am a veteran roleplayer, and I know how to make sure the plot stays on track. I also want to encourage other players to share their own ideas for how to develop the plot because I belive one of the biggest roleplay killers is stagnancy. You know, when nobody knows what to do next so thier characters wind up standing around twidding thier thumbs? Dude, I write outlines. I have a plan.

 

[Sensei Fox]

I might be able to play Jareth. I'll have to go watch the movie a few times and put David Bowie on repeat to get into the mindset.

 

[That Merry Wanderer]

Neat, neat! It's on Netflix right now if you have it! ^__~

 

[Sensei Fox]

Oh please, I have it in my DVD collection.

 

[That Merry Wanderer]

Hehehe, excellent! As do I!


If you haven't seen "Legend" I reccomend it as well just because it's a entertaining film, and it's a must see if you're into cheesy 80's fantasy. Also Tim Curry pretty much plays the devil.


I will be making just a few references to Legend such as Lord Darkness' curse, Lili's ring, and Jack's sword, but that will basically be it. I'm thinking about chaging the chanellor to a king and the exiled prince's brother like I did in the last rp. Audric (the brother) has a particular hatred for goblins (Lord Darkness' second hand was a goblin named Blix and he was the one who nearly kills one of the two unicorns in the realm), and belives that his younger brother had some dealings with Jareth before his dissappearance.

 

[Menagerie]

Gotta tell you, I know NOTHING about Legend but I know the Labyrinth inside out and backwards.

 

[Sensei Fox]

I read through a quick synopsis of Legend. Tracking down a good way to watch it tonight.

 

[That Merry Wanderer]

Oh, you poor dears! You two are missing out! Baby Tom Cruise is in it, everything is covered in glitter (much like labyrinth come to think of it), there's UNICORNS and fairies and goblins and dwarves and elves, did I mention Tim Curry is in it?


So yeah, part of my plot mentions the aftermath of what takes place in the movie (I'm not one of those nasty criminal movie streamers or anything, but uh, a friend of mine, yeah a friend, tells me a copy may be found through project free tv <_< >_>)


Think of that world as a garden of eden of sorts. It blooms in an eternal spring, its home to the only unicorns in existence, and there is a kind of innocence to most of the people and creatures that live there. As one of the realms in the Underground, it is the source of the purest light magic. However, our proverbial Eve, Lili unwittingly triggers a curse that plunges the realm into darkness and winter and gives power to Lord Darkness himself (in truth it was that damn goblin Blix, but she played her part in the mess). Buncha stuff happens, she does her part in making things right, the realam is saved!


Well, in my story the curse has never been totally erased. It easier to invite Darkness in than it is to get it back out. She and Jack have two sons, one born of light (he has an aura about him that makes him just so darn charming and likeable) and the other of dark (that isn't to say he's a bad guy per se, just misguided as a result of being born with an air about him that tends to make folks uncomfortable). I've created them in order to explore some of the greater complexities of good and evil and to show how bad things can come parading about as good and vice versa. I'm all about creating rich characters and I do feel that the film dropped the ball in that regard.


 
Sensei, as you are thinking about your creation of Jareth, I'd like your imput on a part of the plot. The exiled prince is a known criminal who was even tried by the High Council (a group of the wisest minds in the Underground called to make various rulings on behalf of the realms). He basically created an illegal (unnatural) portal to the Above in an attempt to get away from a land that had rejected him his whole life. He joined a ragtag group of unsavory folks while over there, copulated with a junkie, and produced a child (a fact he discovered after being caught and brought back home to be tried).


Eight years after her birth, he did managed to catch a peek into his daughter's world to witness a life of abuse and neglect and desperatley sought help. His brother already ruled against bringing her to thier realm, citing the curse (perhaps it had been passed on to her as well) and potential of upsetting a kingdom still teetering on the edge of chaos. So he reaches out to Jareth.


Knowing the prince's criminal record, I wouldn't think Jareth would be all too willing to agree to something that would draw unwated attention and grief. So, he makes one exception in order to keep his own hide covered: under no circumstances is the prince to make any contact with his daughter until he can take her. The prince (his name is Marten) agrees and happily endures his punishment back home. Five years pass. The girl is thirteen when Marten can no longer stand it and decides there would be no harm in peeking in on her life in the Goblin City.


As soon as he sees her, the deal is broken. She is sent back above with her memories wiped. Marten flees shortly thereafter and ever since, he has wandered the Underground trying to find his way back to her or some way to make things right again.


So, do you think Jareth would erase his own memories of her as well in order to protect himself further? No lie goes undetected under the eyes of the High Council? The girl is going to somehow wind up in his kingdom. Will he know her or not? I'm leaving that up to you to decide, but I would like for the girl to remember things a little gradually.


And Jessi, do you have any ideas as to what you'd like to do or who you'd like to play? There's plenty of room for more OC's or you are welcome to play Sarah too if you wish.

 

[Sensei Fox]

I'm not really sure. That might be something I'll have to play with tonight. Jareth is an interesting mind to try to understand. His goblim side would probably wish to cover everything up. In the movie, the goblins are displayed as somewhat timid. His human side is somewhat unpredictable. In Labrynth he was a very angstful character. His human side is more bold and with somewhat subdued mystic flare.


 
Or we could look at him in the perspective of a fey and change everything entirely.

 

[That Merry Wanderer]

There is definitely lots of opportunity to give him some complexity. I still dig his mean side. I feel like the person who played Jareth in the roleplay that inspired this one wrote him up to be too nice too soon. He was unrealistic to the canonical Jareth which was a bit of a bummer to me.


I agree, I think he'd want to cover everything up. I think it will help add another layer to the story. In wanders a face that he swears he knows but cannot for the life of him figure out how. Perhaps it freaks him out, makes him suspicious, especially if she enters his realm without saying those magic words.


If you wouldn't mind, I like to make a suggestion for the labyrinth itself. I see it as a kind of entity with a life and energy of its own (like the TARDIS you might say). Maybe some of Jareth's powers are tied into it? Maybe part of the reason the Sarah Williams incident failed was because he abused his power and tried to draw power from the Labyrinth that wasn't his to take? Whatever, that's just a suggestion, but my idea is that the girl (I'll call her Joby...erm, nothing at all to do with Toby, I realized the rhyme after I created her, but the name has since stuck, I've even written it all over my notebooks this past year and I'm keeping it...its not the name her dad gives her anyway) is more or less invited. Joby has a past there and a destiny in which she must return to her true home in the Underground.


Another thing to just mull over:


-How would Jareth be as a caregiver of sorts for this little frightened child that probably doesn't want to be there as much as he doesn't want the job? Would he take on the job (and thereby making him a little more sympathetic) or would he leave her in the care of one of his denizens (after all, he only agreed to look after her and keep her safe right)?


I wanna make an OOC plot development thread when we're ready to hammer out the details. Since the past is something that will be unfolded over time, we can work on it together as we build our story.


I keep rambling because I have so many ideas, but I really don't want to hog/take over the plot. It's a group effort after all.


As for Jareth's blood, that is all up to you. Goblin or fey work perfectly fine for me (or anything else if you'd rather).

 

[Sensei Fox]

I'm gunna research into his character a bit before I make decisions on him. He's on odd one, for sure. I'll take any and all suggestions you have. You're the head of this little project. I'm just the one trying to make sense out of the odd goblin king that is Jareth.

 

[That Merry Wanderer]

Check out the old rp on the last page, that creator had like a friggin mythos to the whole place, it was wild. Click the ooc tab and then the player's guide page for all that stuff. She cut out a bunch of it to post as a fan fiction story which can be found here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10753727/1/Labyrinth-The-Cross-land-Chronicles-I


The roleplay itself might read rather wierd because we changed the plot around ooc but that ought to give you an idea as to what inspired me as well as the kind of characters I will be bringing to the table.

 

[That Merry Wanderer]

Some ideas I have on how you might develop Jareth.


-Ask yourself why he behaves the way he does.


He can be a little, well, bratty at times. I have two possible explanations. The first being a rather simple one: he's spoiled. In the film it's kind of a reflection of Sarah's own childishness at times. He has complete power and control over this kingdom until someone comes who can really be a threat to that. He doesn't know what it's like to say no and he has a rather twisted concept about generosity.


Explanation #2: he's resentful/bitter about his lot in life. Let's face it, the Goblin City ain't the most charming place to be given charge over. It's bleak, it's mostly barren minus the forest and occasional gardens and hedges. Heck, one area is quite literally a dump, perhaps it really sucks to be goblin king.


I think a back story would help in his creation. To explain possible feelings of resentment, you could maybe say Jareth was somehow tricked into his position. I think about the story Sarah reads in the beginning and how that could be tied in somehow. Maybe he was a father himself once? Maybe the child in the storybook was his own? Or perhaps the storybook girl was not such a victim but rather the bad guy and the child was one Jareth was trying to rescue? Maybe the kingdom was granted to him in the guise of a gift for doing a good deed. Or going on the notion that he's as much of a goblin as any of the others, maybe he made a wish of his own to be something greater and simply let the power get to his head.


The labyrinth is so vast and full of secrets. There's tons of potential for a good story. I love bouncing ideas off people. So funny that I generally detest any sort of work involving other people, but I live for collaborative storytelling.


 
On another note, do you happen to know how this roll dice feature works? Should we get this thing off the ground and later find ourselves stumped about how to move the plot along or should the story get a little lax, it might be kinda fun to leave some of the story up to chance.

 

[The Confused Pixie]

This sounds absolutely awesome. I will definitely be following.