Fantasy Ink Bleeds

[AlexSilverX]

Ink Bleeds

Basic Setting: 20XX, Fictional city of Ravenglen


Premise: The city of Ravenglen, despites its seemingly rural name, holds a population of over 900,000. Among those are most notably the Rider family, a group of teenaged orphans who dominate the overly active night scene of the city which, coincidentally, happens to be its main touristic attraction. Through this, the Riders have reached a sort of emblematic stardom bordering on being the figureheads of the city. Their names, their story, all are known by the people of Ravenglen and those who care to dwell into its recent past.


However, recently, five years ago in fact, they have vanished from the map. Gone into relative obscurity after the mysterious death of their oldest sibling, Rex Rider, their position at the top of the city has been taken by a group of individuals who call themselves "The Kings".


In truth: Rex Rider - the oldest of the Rider siblings - and his close friend Alic Morgan, created five years ago an unusual substance known as "The Ink" which allowed, through its application, the bestowal of supernatural abilities. To the Rider family (for unknown reasons as even they themselves are unaware of their ancestry), this served as a catalyst allowing them to access capabilities which were already their own, but to others, it is the source of of power otherwise unaccessible.


The problem is that, unless you are a Rider yourself, in Alic's words; "This shit will kill you."


You see, like any other tattoo - which is the most common application for "The Ink" - the marks left by "The Ink" fade with time, and the life force of the bearer with it. The only way to prevent corrosion and eventual death, thus, is to renew the mark by getting more of it printed upon you. The issue with that is that the three ingredients necessary are quite difficult to get a hold of; A special ink generated by a particularly rare breed of octopus, the leaves of an herb exclusive to Ravenglen's forests which only grows at the very start of autumn, and the blood of a member of the Rider family.


Of course, Rex and Alic didn't create this ink just for kicks; but it had become a necessity to protect themselves and their friends and family from those who would target them to steal the spotlight from the Riders. Not that Rex would not have simply given it away; he never asked to be the King of the city... but a title like that - much like a tattoo - wasn't something that came off easily.


The ink was thus a means to this end and for a while, it worked... until that fateful night five years ago.


Now, the other Rider siblings are forced into hiding and Alic is bound to the tattoo shop, forced to watch helplessly as their friends are plucked out of existence one by one. But the really terrifying thing is that "The Ink" has started showing up again... and Alic had nothing to do with it.


This is a war between the Riders and what remains of their allies, who fight for survival, and the Kings, who must hunt them down or die out as their ink - and powers - fade away. Who will come out on top?

 

[AlexSilverX]

The Rules

1. I am the Moderator of this RP. What I say goes.
   
2. Follow RPNation ToS and regulations.
   
3. I will enforce a limit of 3 characters per person. Exceptions may be allowed if you prove to be able to maintain three active characters.
   
4. No auto-hitting, god-modding, meta-gaming, etc. I'm just asking for basic RP etiquette here, really.
   
5. The only things to be posted within the "character sign-up" thread are character applications. This rule goes for all would-be members and myself. I will "like" profiles as a way of accepting them. Do not post until this happens. Discussing profiles should occur either in the OoC thread or through PM.
   
6. This RP is considered "Detailed". I thus ask that your posts contain at least 3 paragraphs, each containing a minimum of 50 words. I believe this is achievable for most if not all. There is no maximum size for posts, but remember to value quality over quantity.
   
7. Fights are fun, they're my second favorite part of RPing personally, but remember that they're not all this RP is about. Keep them relatively short (I'd say 15 posts each is a more than acceptable par) and try to be mature about it.
   
8. The laws of the real world apply in this RP, generally speaking.
   
9. Warn if you intend to be away and/or inactive for more than 3 days in a row, as a courtesy, please. .
   
10. At the end of your character profile, write "I bleed ___" with the blank being your favorite color so I know you read the rules. Yes, shades apply so black, gray and white are all fine.
    
11. Have fun!
    

 

[AlexSilverX]

Setting Details

Ravenglen's Main Venues

There are many party areas within Ravenglen, as can be imagined, but six shine among them;


The Beach Club


The Beach Club is a beach-side five story high pub and dance club with swimming pools, jacuzzis, dance floors, pool tables, etc. They even have their own actual beach complete with sand and a portion of the water of the ocean can be accessed without having to hand over your drink. On a sidenote; they'll rent sea-doos to pretty much anyone who asks if you can do it without slurring your words of doubling over.


Addiction


Addiction is the "spotlight of Ravenglen's underground scene". Drugs, Arcades, Strobes, Wub wubs, Glowsticks, Mosh pits, Grinding, Drinks made with things that should definitely not be mixed together, it's all here. There's a VIP section upstairs for those who like to look down upon the masses and if you pass the right guy a 20 they'll show you downstairs where you can take part in some dubiously legal fights... or bet on them if that's more your thing. Bands sometimes perform here.


La Petite's


If The Beach Club yells "party" and Addiction screams "trashy", La Petite's utters "classy" and sips a glass of rosée. This place is for people who are more into relaxing among people of style, enjoying a good drink, smoking out of a pipe, wearing monocles or ornate gowns and dancing a foxtrot under a chandelier more expensive than three years' mortgage. You can also play yourself some poker or roulette upstairs if that's more your style.


Nostalgica


Nostalgica is the "good old days" style pub, where folk music and local bands play, the pint is cheap, the chat is loud and literally everything in the place can give you a splinter if you don't watch yourself. But by the large fire, sharing a drink with friends as a fiddler sings a merry tune, it's hard not to feel at home. It's not a big place, rather unassuming compared to the others, but it still manages a spot on this list for being packed every single night.


The Lick-A Store


One of the only gender mix strip clubs of the country. Girls above, Guys below... for the staff, that is, you - the client - can go wherever your preferences take you. The alcohol is expensive, the dancers are eager to take you for a private dance which will knock you back a pretty penny and even the entry fee will raise your brow... but it IS #1 in its kind... and at least the show's free, right?


The Middleground


The Middleground is named as such because its exactly that; the middleground between the other five big names in the city. It doesn't have strip teasers, but you can pay to dance on the tables. It doesn't have sea-doos, but they have access to the beach, it doesn't have a priceless chandelier, but its certainly a decent establishment, it doesn't have a massive fireplace, it does have bands that play. It doesn't have a fight club, but the music is definitely grind-worthy. Basically, its the spot for anyone who isn't quite sold on any of the other five big places. It's also the place people go to by default when they're not sure where to take their outing.


Ravenglen's Legal System

The fantasy city of Ravenglen has its own unique set of rules which are as follows;

1. The legal age to enter a bar is 14. The legal drinking age for beer and wine is 16, with spirits being reserved to those 18 and older.
   
2. The age of consent is 16, so as to mirror the legal drinking age.
   
3. The legal age for tobacco purchase of 18.
   
4. The use and purchase of soft drugs, seen in yellow on the chart below, is legal over the age of 16, with borderline drugs (orange) being legal from 18 onward. Hard drugs, however, are completely illegal.
   
   
   
   
5. The legal age for driving and full time employment are both 16. (mopeds and part time employment are 14.)
   
6. The legal age to live on your own is 17, or 15 with permission of your legal guardian.
   
7. The legal age to own a weapon is 18, however, a three month safety class is required to earn a permit.
   
8. From the age of 17, unless otherwise mentioned above, all other age-related privileges are bestowed upon you.
   
9. To offset this, from the age of 17, you are considered an adult under the law.
   
10. A "life sentence" is considered 25 years.
    

How Exactly The Ink Works

How "The Ink" is made;

1. The Rider family has a unique condition resulting in a unique brand of radioactivity in their blood. This does not seem to have any ill effects on them, but this unique blood is a required ingredient of the ink.
   
2. The only ink that does not seem to break when combined with said blood is the blood of the aviarus octopus, a breed unique to the costs of Ravenglen.
   
3. To actually "activate" the effects of the ink and bestow powers upon someone with its use, the mix of aviarus ink and Rider blood must then have crushed leaves of Succora added to them. The Succora is a tree unique to the mountains of Ravenglen which grows flowers yearly, but only grows leaves in late September.
   
4. The exact dosages and how exactly the ink reacts to the shape it is given is left to the talent of the artist.
   

Uses of "The Ink";

• The ink's primary function is to tattoo oneself with it and - in doing so - bestow powers upon the individual. More details on said powers will be listed below.
  
• The ink can be used by someone with "With Doctor" training such as Alic Morgan for other uses such as graffiti art, dying hair or printing upon t-shirts. However, as the ink will have no life force to drain from, its effect will be much less potent.
  

Powers bestowed by "The Ink";

• Energy: Specific tattoos can grant upon the wearer energy-based powers. These powers are the kind of things you would expect from shonen manga/anime such as DBZ, Naruto, Bleach, etc. Such as aura generation, energy blasts, propulsion-based flight, etc. The colors used in the tattoo are reflected in the color of the energy, with the shape it undertakes usually matching the tattoo's own pattern. So if someone chucks a blue fireball at you, they more often than not have a blue flame-like tattoo somewhere on their person.
  Note: The energy itself does not change property, only shape, so a "water" energy will not extinguish a "fire" energy and a "lightning" energy will not intensify a "fire" energy. These changes are purely aesthetic in nature.
  

[*]Enhancement: Tattoos that grant a superhuman aspect to their wearer, whether it be strength, speed, eyesight, smell, reflexes, regeneration, aim... if humans possess it, a tattoo can improve it.


[*]Evocation: Summoning tattoos are - basically - a tattoo which allows you to bring into existence something which wasn't before. This can be...

• Additional features, such as claws, wings, additional arms, a tail, etc.
  
• A weapon, such as a sword, a gun, a whip, a scythe, a stop sign, etc.
  
• A creature, fantastic or not, such as a cat, a bear, a phoenix, a dragon, etc.
  
• Much much more! Get creative!
  

[*]Evolution: A tattoo which essentially functions as a "boost" to the effects of other tattoos via a "superior form". It is complementary and thus, essentially useless when possessed alone. Prolonged use of these tattoos exhaust their users proportionally to how effective they are, but they don't seem to have an actual effect on lifespan.


[*]Exchange: Exchange tattoos give a semblance of the abilities of a Witch Doctor, allowing you to generate your own brand of the ink. However, that ink will merely be a pale copy and cannot be used to actually make tattoos, it can - however - be used to do small things. For obvious reasons, these tattoos are more potent when worn by actual witch doctors and members of the Rider family.


[*]NOTE: The appearance of the tattoo has NO correlation whatsoever with its effect. The effect is imbued by the witch doctor. The only exception to this is the energy tattoos because its less difficult for the witch doctor to make them match (and therefore, less expensive to get the tattoo made) but this is NOT always the case.



Downfalls of the Ink (how to work around them).

• Fading: The Ink fades with time (generally fading completely after 3 years) like any other ink would. However, unlike a normal tattoo, your life literally comes to an end when this one fades completely. There are, thankfully, a few ways to extend the duration of a tattoo and - by extension - your lifespan.
  
  Reprinting the tattoo: Using more of "The Ink" to reprint the tattoo before it fades completely is obviously the best solution, as it essentially starts the tattoo over anew as though nothing had happened... but that can be hard considering the ingredients required and the fact that only someone who is both a trained witch doctor and tattoo artist can reproduce it. ...let's hope nobody killed the person who made them in the first place during the time it took your tattoo to fade.
  
• Inked blood: When option 1 is... well, not an option, the go to back-up plan is to spill another ink bearer's blood. Unfortunately, this is - obviously - not quite as effective as the former and this depends vastly on the inked blood itself. To top that off, the amount of blood required is so high that you're pretty much guaranteed to kill the person you use for this. It's literally a "kill or die" scenario.
  
  Someone else with an Ink Tattoo: This is the easiest thing to find and might make your tattoo last another week at best... if you're lucky.
  
• A Witch Doctor with an Ink Tattoo: Due to them being more in touch with the ink as a result of their "spiritual" nature, their blood is a tad more efficient... well, you might buy a month or so.
  
• A Rider's blood: The rarest but also the best option. You can buy yourself half a year in this manner.
  

[*]Tattoo over it: Good news, that'll work for a day or so. Bad news, the tattoo will fade back as it rejects the other ink. I hope you have a lot of money and time to spend on getting tattooed over and over!


[*]Ease off: Not using the tattoo will slow down the rate at which it fades... a little... Over a year, you could buy yourself a day by not using the tattoo at all... better than nothing, right?




[*]Insanity: This is a double-edged sword. On the one end, the more ink you print upon yourself, the more you lose touch with reality and go slowly mad. On the other, have you ever seen someone who was insane and NOT dangerous? Yeah... Crazy makes you stronger... not MUCH stronger, but stronger. Enough to make people stay away from you... or is that because you pick at your scabs in public, you freak?

• 3+: After 3 tattoos, the effects on your mind may begin to show. You will be a bit stronger, but you will also be hallucinating and your hormones (not just the sexual ones) will be thrown out of whack.
  
• 4+: At this point, the effects above will definitely start to show. You will have a hard time on off days telling reality and fiction apart and might start developing some unsavory habits. It wouldn't be too shocking if you forgot to sleep... or eat...
  
• 5+: Buckle up kiddo 'cause you're going for a trip... That will last 3 days. After that, you're pretty much going to die from self-inflicted injuries.