Fandom Lasting Impact: A Dark Crystal Roleplay

[UnderBough]

Looking for one to two other folks, so this could potentially be a 1 on 1 roleplay. A small group roleplay would be preferred!

It is two hundred trine (years) before the Gelfling Jen and Kira reunite the Crystal with its lost shard. The self-proclaimed Lords of the Crystal, the Skeksis, rule supreme over the peaceful planet of Thra. Their subjects, the Gelfling and the Podling, live their lives blissfully unaware of the terrible exploitation they're subjected to and the mysterious experiments performed by the Skeksis scientist. The peaceful urRu, or Mystics, continue their monastic existence without interfering in the lives of their counterparts.

In the absence of the World-Mother, Aughra, Thra's power wanes. She has abandoned her home and cast her soul into the stars at the suggestion of the deceptive Skeksis, who hold total power without her meddling. She sleeps, and she dreams of planets and galaxies beyond her own. Worse yet, something stirs deep within the tunnels of the planet--a darkness unlike the blight currently creeping across the land. Not even Emperor Skekso, who dabbles in the dark arts of sorcery, knows its nature. The Gelfling are oblivious of the threat, but not for long, and the Skeksis intend to hide it from them as long as they possibly can while a solution is concocted.​

This roleplay will take place either mainly in the Castle of the Crystal or in multiple places at once, depending on how many players are interested in joining. It is recommended that players have prior knowledge of the Dark Crystal, either having watched the movie or the TV show. If you have not watched either and are still interested in the concept, please let me know and I can fill you in on some of the basics!

You can play an OC or a canon character. Any of the existing Thra races are welcome, or you could isekai a character in here. If the latter is your wish, please PM me with your character for me so we can discuss a plan for their entrance into this world. I have a Skeksis oc and a Gelfling oc prepared, whom I will post if anyone is interested in joining!

Races/Species
urRu
Skeksis
Gelfling
Podling/Pod Person
Gruenak
Arathim/The Ascendancy

Character Sheet:
Name:
Race/Species:
Pronouns:
Rough age:
Appearance:
Occupation:
Counterpart (applicable only if urRu or Skeksis):

• It is preferred that there is no ocxoc this time around.
• I prefer third person prose roleplay, but post length isn't something I'm picky about. We all have days where we can only write one line, right?

 

[Sepokku]

Are you still running this?

 

[UnderBough]

Yep!

 

[UnderBough]

Bump!

 

[Lost Martian]

You had me at Dark Crystal. It's honestly one of my all time favorite movies, so I've seen it a whole bunch of times. I've also seen the TV show and read the prequel comics, though I still need to get around to reading the sequel comics. I already have character concepts in mind for the urRu, Skeksis, Gelfling, and Podling species, so I'll ask if we are allowed multiple characters, and if so, how many? Anyways, definitely count me in as interested.

 

[UnderBough]

Hey, I'm so glad to hear this!! I'd say you can have up to two main characters per setting just to keep things manageable.

I still haven't read the prequel comics, but the sequel ones are alright. I need to read about Raunip though!!

 

[KaasVedas]

Hey! Super interested in this. Dark Crystal is one of my favourite fantasy settings. I would love to join if it is still open. I would be happy to play a canon character (Probably Skeksis and an urRu as I love the dual nature of them).

 

[UnderBough]

Absolutely! I'll close this now, actually, since I have two folks that expressed interest. Sepokku you're welcome to join us as well, since you were the first to ask if I was still open. We can all discuss plot and characters in PMs or in this thread if you'd like!

 

[KaasVedas]

Just to check, would that make the 3 of us who replied able to join in? Just making sure I read correctly ^^

 

[UnderBough]

Yep! That's correct.

 

[KaasVedas]

Alright! Well in that case, if there are no objections I would like to play a Skeksis and urRu. Depending on what we decide on for the plot will influence my choice on them, but I do have a pull towards Skekmal and Skeksa.

 

[UnderBough]

Both are super choices. Do y'all have a preference for whether we focus on one setting or two? Since there are urRu involved I'd guess we should probably plan for two in the long run, but what about when we're first starting out?

 

[Lost Martian]

I'm thinking of playing a Skeksis and either a Gelfling or Podling. As far as the Skeksis go, would I be allowed to make an original one? I'm pretty sure it's confirmed that there were more Skeksis initially than those seen in the original movie, who had just died out. As for my Gelfling/Podling idea, since we have someone wanting to play an urRu, I was thinking maybe have them just live with the urRu. It could almost be like a proto-Jen from the movie, though if I play a Podling, I think the dynamic would be quite different. What do you guys think of this idea?

 

[UnderBough]

Works for me! I have an original Skeksis as well. There were 18 in all, each named and accounted for, but this is our roleplay so obviously we can raise that number to 20, 21, whatever we feel like.

 

[KaasVedas]

I personally have no qualms with either! I figured it would be easiest for others to work their OC's into the story if at least one of us plays a canon character, hence my leaning towards Skekmal and the such.

 

[rubyfyre12]

Would you be open to oc x canon? And, perhaps, doing one on one??

 

[UnderBough]

Hi! Unfortunately this particular rp is closed, but you can pm me if you like. I don't do romances, but I'm open to 1 on 1 roleplays.

 

[UnderBough]

KaasVedas skekMal would be cool! Especially since he's versatile in terms of his ability to travel from place to place. The urRu and Skeksis are usually so stationary, but skekMal and urVa present a really good opportunity to link the castle to the Mystic haven.

 

[Lost Martian]

Hey sorry about going silent, I was overtaken with real life stuff. Anyways I’m still interested in this. I’ve decided on making an OC Skeksis and an OC Podling, which I hope to have the character sheets done by in a few days.

 

[KaasVedas]

KaasVedas skekMal would be cool! Especially since he's versatile in terms of his ability to travel from place to place. The urRu and Skeksis are usually so stationary, but skekMal and urVa present a really good opportunity to link the castle to the Mystic haven.

Thank you! That was my thinking as those two are always on the move, relatively speaking for urRu

 

[UnderBough]

I'll have my characters written up and posted here tomorrow, y'all. Looking forward to seeing everybody else's as well!

Their names are skekRa the Mortician, urEl the Sculptor, and Isla the Stonewood Gelfling. More details to follow.

 

[UnderBough]

Skeksis
Name: skekRa the Mortician

Appearance: About 6'3 feet tall, dressed in long black and white robes. Like all Skeksis he has a long, hairless tail and four arms (two small ones sprouting just behind his shoulders, though they still have use. The other Skeksis' secondary arms are vestigial). He has a beak similar to that of a bearded vulture with a little hair tuft beneath. His eyes are a vibrant gold. His posture is hunched, taking a few inches off his height. His secondary left arm ends in a mechanical claw, which can be changed out for different tools. His skin is a grayish color and he has long black spines poking out from a black carapace he wears on his back. These can be used defensively, though he hasn't had cause to defend himself in many, many trine.

Background: skekRa spends most of his time down in his chambers below the Castle of the Crystal, using his skills as a mortician to prepare the dead. Because his species does not leave a solid form behind when they die, he has turned his attention primarily to the preparation of Gelfling guards who are killed in the line of duty. The families of those guards are rarely made aware of their whereabouts, and no funerals are held for the bodies that leave the Mortician's table. His passion has become routine; the corpses end up being thrown to the animals or carted off to skekTek's Chamber of Life for experimentation. The bodies have no meaning to him, only the art and care he puts into making them appear alive.
He shares some attributes with skekEkt the Ornamentalist in some regards--his love of fabrics and makeup to dress up his subjects often leads him to seek the Ornamentalist out for materials. Unfortunately, the pair have a bitter dislike of one another and often clash when skekRa ventures up from his chambers. This Mortician actually lost his secondary left hand during a (Emperor approved) physical altercation, and he now uses interchangeable prosthetics to compensate for the loss.
skekRa is generally solitary and can at times be cruel, but he has a twisted sort of soft spot for smaller creatures. Over the years he has kept Podling and Gelfling as "pets" and assistants, but he despises deviation from routine and this often means he becomes taciturn when they die. He is often possessive of a person he considers "his" and will become aggressive if they're threatened.

urRu
Name: urEl the Sculptor

Appearance:

(pulled from my artfight page [Cornflower_Crone]. You can also find skekRa there!)
Background: I have less background for urEl, but he's solitary like skekRa. The exception is urUtt the Weaver, with whom he bonded after they sustained injuries due to the fight between their counterparts. He pours his energy into sculpting and carving abstract and often disturbing statues that reflect his unsettling dreams of Skeksis-urRu union and the Great Conjunction. The sculptures also have a heavy emphasis on death and rebirth, with the abiranariba serpent being present in most of them.
urEl as a person is gentle and softspoken, if a little blunt and slow to warm up to others, and he has a deep love for small animals. He keeps a tiny menagerie in his studio up on a hill, which he tends to almost as faithfully as he does his sculptures.
Interruption of his routine can be disorienting for urEl, and he often lapses into long silences while he processes any changes. Both my fellas like things to be orderly and scheduled.

Gelfling
Name: Isla

Appearance: Stonewood Gelfling in her mid 20s standing at about 4'4". Her skin is dark tan and her hair is ash-brown with green streaks. Her wings are translucent, shot through with shades of silver and pink. Her clothing usually consists of castle armor. She's heavyset and confident, fiercely loyal to the Skeksis.

Background: Isla comes from a long line of castle guards; her great grandmother was once the personal bodyguard of Emperor skekSo. Her family prides themselves on asking few questions and paying handsome tithes, and Isla aims to continue her bloodline's honored legacy. She's hard to sway and slow to trust others, though she has a few close friends among the other guards and a few Podlings. Her understanding of the Podling language is limited, but she has been actively trying to pick it up during her time at the castle in order to make communication smoother.

 

[Lost Martian]

Sorry about the delay, but I've finished my two character sheets. Let me know if anything needs changing.

---

Name: skekDur the Bureaucrat

Race/Species: Skeksis

Pronouns: They/Them

Rough age: Unknown

Appearance: Standing at 6’4’’, skekDur is taller than several of their fellow Skeksis, mostly thanks to them having a less of a hunch than the others. Their gray, wrinkled skin is accented by a bright beak, almost orange in color, and deep eyes, one’s that are like looking into a deep blue watery abyss. The rest of skekDur’s body is clad in garish clothing, even by Skeksis standards. Mixed material garments of various bright colors adorn skekDur, giving their form the appearance of a messed up rainbow. On skekDur’s tail and four arms are many bracelets and bangles, made of all kind of precious material mined by the Gelflings who serve under the Lords of the Crystal. Lastly the two hands on the arms they can’t use are covered in rings of great worth, and around the neck of skekDur is a necklace that ends in a smaller recreation of the Crystal, a reminder of the power skekDur and the other Skeksis have over it.

Occupation: Lord of the Crystal

Counterpart: urDi the Organizer

Background: skekDur initially didn’t have a role among their fellow Skeksis, as their kin found titles that befitted their skill set. It was only when they began to squabble that skekDur found their role. Seeing that a set of rules governing interactions and uses of power was necessary, skekDur stepped into the position of the Bureaucrat. Soon they were an essential part of maintaining order in the Castle of the Crystal.

Eventually skekDur’s duties would expand as the Skeksis took dominion over the land of Thra, including the other species. When the Gelfling people accepted the Skeksis and their control of the Crystal as the true power in the land, skekDur began instituting policies for how the Gelflings would interact with each other and the Skeksis. Over the many trine that elapsed, skekDur would keep themselves busy with creating rules and regulations that had to be followed no matter where on Thra you were.

Compared to some of their kin, skekDur would become pretty sedimentary, fulfilled enough with the job they were doing and the power provided by it. However the other Skeksis were always hungry for more, and thus wrapped skekDur into their plans for even more total domination of the land. Knowing that their power and status only existed if the other Skeksis allowed it, skekDur would go along with these machinations.

Lately skekDur has been torn between following their kin or maintaining the balance of power they had so carefully created in Thra. This means that skekDur is one of the last Skeksis to maintain the shreds of good they once possessed, before the Crystal corrupted them into what they are now.

---

---

Name: Jokra

Race/Species: Podling

Pronouns: He/Him

Rough age: 20

Appearance: Jokra is a Podling and thus very short, only reaching about knee high on a Skeksis. With earth like dark brown skin and hazel eyes, Jokra can blend in quite well in most outdoor environments. Jokra’s naturally black hair is cut short, usually hidden behind the white hat he wears whenever he goes out. A similar set of white and brown clothes adorn the rest of his body, capped off by high quality black leather boots. Jokra is also always in possession of a string instrument and a backpack full of books, pages, and writing implements. He is also accompanied by Chips, a small dirty blond color Fizzgig who has decided to follow Jokra around.

Occupation: Traveling Bard and Poet

Background: Born in the far off wastes of Thra, Jokra was raised to be a shaman among his people, due to his love of stories of the past. Jokra would love this path chosen for him, as all he wanted to do was tell stories. Things were progressing well, until a rival Podling clan attacked Jokra’s home. Pillaging, burning down the village, and kidnapping several Podlings (secretly bound for the Castle of the Crystal and the Skeksis), there would be nothing left of Jokra’s home as he fled it.

Jokra would then wander away from the lands he called home, searching for other Podlings who were good like his village had been. While searching, Jokra would come across a baby Fizzgig, the runt of its litter. The small animal would become enamored with Jokra, deciding to follow him. Jokra would eventually decide to call him Chips.

Eventually Jokra would find the kingdoms of the Gelflings, where he would be taken in and taught their language. In exchange he would offer them the stories of his people, only to then receive the tales of the Gelflings, including that of the Lords of the Crystal. Jokra would then redouble his efforts to learn and tell all stories, becoming a well liked poet and bard among the Gelflings.

Eventually this celebrity would reach the ears of the Skeksis. Wishing to immortalize themselves even more, they would gather various artists and poets from throughout Thra, including Jokra. He has been instructed to write the great epic of the Skeksis, and share it with all of Thra. Sensing no danger, Jokra would depart the Gelfling lands for the Castle of the Crystal.

 

[KaasVedas]

Sorry for the delay! Will post in a bit!

 

[Lost Martian]

Just checking in on this to make sure it's still a thing.