IG42
Paranoid Android
Prank cold war gonna run in the background for at least two arcs
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Fantasy [temp OOC + info] ʙᴏʀʀᴏᴡᴇᴅ ᴛɪᴍᴇ
- Thread starter Zedalith
- Start date
Togy
The Fashionable Crab
Thirding that, is the hotel a location on Earth or is it like another realm disconnected from Earth or?
Nano
procrastination symphony
Not the office asshole olympics 
I did have a question as well. Two, but Nell's question sort of covers one of them, though I'd also like to add to it and ask if there's a way for people to earn the appropriate currency for the nation they frequent for personal purchases.
My second question is regarding the 5 year cap listed on the CS guidelines. Maybe I'm dumb and missed it in the lore, but ik you did mention that the Agents don't stay there forever and aren't immortal. If they obediently work under the Seraphim for 5 years, do they get a second chance at life to fulfill whatever regret they had in the past?
I did have a question as well. Two, but Nell's question sort of covers one of them, though I'd also like to add to it and ask if there's a way for people to earn the appropriate currency for the nation they frequent for personal purchases.
My second question is regarding the 5 year cap listed on the CS guidelines. Maybe I'm dumb and missed it in the lore, but ik you did mention that the Agents don't stay there forever and aren't immortal. If they obediently work under the Seraphim for 5 years, do they get a second chance at life to fulfill whatever regret they had in the past?
Togy
The Fashionable Crab
Four time gold medalist!Not the office asshole olympics
Zedalith
#-#
Nano
At first, I was sympathetic to Arwin's father following his divorce, because it felt like he was doing what he could despite not having much to work with. It is kind of a situation where he might care, for vanity reasons, but Arwin nor his sister were ever the priority to him. His father loved him, but it was never enough to move him beyond complacency when it mattered. Combine that with the emotional distress from mourning his sister and you created a very compelling scenario. It's a gray situation where it's challenging to say who was in the right, and I can tell that it still weighs on Arwin as well. That aspect of his story was well done! It had me questioning who I should root for. Oh and the visual of the letter box opener. .. EUGHHHH. Now I have to see what Aries has going on, I don't have the full details, but their dynamic is hilarious. 
Nellancholy
AURS
It's challenging, but I'd say not uncommon. You get any amenities you need for free at the hotel, but you still do need to pay for things - which usually translates to a job or another source of income. This is extra hard when the only legal identification you have says you're dead! It is possible, but between working as an agent and any other responsibility ... they're gonna have no free time for themselves. That, and having to hide what you do for a living is going to be challenging long-term with any mortal friends/relationships. Maybe an agent does some art commissions on the side and they're popular enough to have an apartment somewhere in a small town. Perfectly reasonable. Maybe they manage to find a partner outside the hotel who loves them and doesn't ask any questions. Also possible.As for the layout, going to be 100% honest with ya and say my spacial awareness sucks ass. I've made (poorly drawn) maps before, but only when my hand is forced. Don't hate me for this non-answer but I tend to create space as needed (if it makes sense). Do you want a training room? Sure there's been one this whole time, right by the pool on the first floor. Want a break room? Third floor, right next to the slot machines. That's kind of my take, I don't put too much importance into having a stable sort of layout
It is conditional though, when I set a scene for a group of characters, generally that is what you have to work with. But as far as the hotel goes - my rules are more lax.Agents are free to retire when they feel it's appropriate to move on. Sometimes getting torn apart by million-eyed amorphous beasts gets old and you just wanna drift away into nothingness. The five-year rule is mostly there because I do not want 500-year-old super-experienced agents as main characters. There are certainly rumors of agents that have been around that long before finally retiring or running out of time. But, as of now, there are none.
Togy
Think of it as its own realm!
Nano
procrastination symphony
All I can really say is that Arwin is an unreliable narrator LOL. Empathy isn't really his strong point, and as a narcissist, he'll jump through every mental loophole to find a way to toss the blame at anyone other than himself. Aries's situation is more or less the one and only time in his life he openly admits to himself that maybe just MAYBE he was the one in the wrong. The situation with the divorce and his sister is definitely a lot more nuanced than what a child can comprehend, but I will say it's true that his father knew about the verbal abuse, emotional gaslighting, and his ex-wife's general neglect but was never able to pull his children out of that loop. Considering how his father's attempts/involvement petered out during the last few years before the incident and Arwin found out that he'd managed to get a whole separate happy family during that time, he was understandably livid.
Doesn't really help that whenever they sat down to have a "talk", one would talk on and on without really trying to delve into the crux of the matter while the other was too busy ignoring the other party in the first place due to stubbornly believing he was the victim in this situation.The letter opener/knife bit was admittedly me at 4am thinking about what kind of objects you'd typically find on an office desk and was like yeah this will do. But hey, at least the Seraphim gave him a new eye! Sure, it's not HIS, but beggars can't be choosers. Though every so often, he does threaten Aries by saying he's going to forcibly take his left eye back one day.
Damn, I guess that means Arwin has been stealing all those ties (though I doubt anyone will miss them). No wonder why Aries cuts them up.
Zedalith
#-#
Nano
That makes sense! It's why there's so much of a gray area where it's hard to say who's in the wrong. It adds a lot of nuance to his character. Arwin can always do small jobs to get a bit of dough here and there, but buckling down and creating a life away with a full-time or even part-time job is a hard ask. 
ERode
Qing-Yi's grandparents are brutal. But damn, if that's not a realistic representation of people from that era. If I could summarize Qing-Yi with one word it'd be mellow. She's just painfully average in a world where people are looking for more. I did find the way that her mother tried to use her as a vehicle to undo her past mistakes too realistic. It's kind of in theme with the entire premise of this RP - trying to find peace in past regrets through the lens of another life. And it's not like there's a soul-crushing sadness or consequence that overcomes her when she fails to meet expectations, there's just the typical vacancy that is so familiar with her personhood. She has a kind heart and she's just trying to go through the motions of life without hurting anyone as she passes. I think she would be the most likely candidate for helping some of these characters find peace, not in any grand act of servitude, but in the small niceties that she offers them. Really interesting character, she encapsulates the largest theme of this RP. 
IG42
Alistair is a sweetheart! I can imagine some of these other characters forcing them out of their shell. Also, they're an artist which I adore. As a warning, one of the seraphim might 'gently encourage,' he draws a portrait of them. The feller just needs a bit of confidence! It almost makes me feel bad for what I am about to subject the agents to. At least, I am glad that they were able to build something for themselves and painlessly escape the expectations of their parents. They're far from a push-over, a lot of the time when we hear stories like theirs it ends up going the other way - with a kid stuck in a job they despise. Both sheets were a pleasure to read
AURS
questionable inc.
ERode
Definitely have to say, Qing-Yi's bio was deeply satisfying. I had to read her backstory a few times because you captured that empty kind of normalcy in a way that was so distinct and relatable, maybe even fulfilling, to see laid out in writing. It's a talent I've seen very little of!
AURS
questionable inc.
Dang I guess Angie's gonna have to butcher people for a living. I'm joking, but maybe a 'freelance interrogator'? That might be too evil for her. Maybe a back alley
As for the layout, going to be 100% honest with ya and say my spacial awareness sucks ass. I've made (poorly drawn) maps before, but only when my hand is forced. Don't hate me for this non-answer but I tend to create space as needed (if it makes sense). Do you want a training room? Sure there's been one this whole time, right by the pool on the first floor. Want a break room? Third floor, right next to the slot machines. That's kind of my take, I don't put too much importance into having a stable sort of layout
Agents are free to retire when they feel it's appropriate to move on. Sometimes getting torn apart by million-eyed amorphous beasts gets old and you just wanna drift away into nothingness. The five-year rule is mostly there because I do not want 500-year-old super-experienced agents as main characters. There are certainly rumors of agents that have been around that long before finally retiring or running out of time. But, as of now, there are none.
Zedalith
#-#
She'll just give them some placebo pills and work her magic. They'll be none the wiser. Either that or just prod a few random parts of their body and convenience them they were pressure points or some other pseudo-science lmao.
I can see her being a private physical therapist fr though, taking on the occasional appointment for a bit of cash.
lyn.
can i get a bacon egg and cheese
Oh! so Elyn is broke as hell
As for the layout, going to be 100% honest with ya and say my spacial awareness sucks ass. I've made (poorly drawn) maps before, but only when my hand is forced. Don't hate me for this non-answer but I tend to create space as needed (if it makes sense). Do you want a training room? Sure there's been one this whole time, right by the pool on the first floor. Want a break room? Third floor, right next to the slot machines. That's kind of my take, I don't put too much importance into having a stable sort of layout
Agents are free to retire when they feel it's appropriate to move on. Sometimes getting torn apart by million-eyed amorphous beasts gets old and you just wanna drift away into nothingness. The five-year rule is mostly there because I do not want 500-year-old super-experienced agents as main characters. There are certainly rumors of agents that have been around that long before finally retiring or running out of time. But, as of now, there are none.
phnx.
bite the hand that feeds.
me when rpn stops giving me notifs
AURS
questionable inc.
If God didn't nerf her with selfless compassion she'd be one hell of a hustler. I bet she lets other agents mooch off of her so long as they run around and get stuff for her
ERode
In The Mirror
Zedalith
Yeah, my central focus with Qing-Yi was to create someone who could serve as a counterpoint to the more dramatic and tragic characters in the RP. Gotta have at least a couple of well-adjusted dead-folks in order to serve as a palate-cleanser for the more volatile folks in the hotel. At least until she goes mask off and whispers "Hail Hell" before bombing the hotel with an appropriated ICBM that she snatched mid-flight.
AURS
Ey, thanks for the compliment. It's just the power of listening to Birds of Time on repeat at midnight. As well as like, the dozens of melancholic slice-of-life manga I've read in the past kekek.On a separate note, I just wanted to confirm: Do Agents still age? And does the stuff in the Hotel (e.g food, water, other hijinks) disappear if you take them outside the hotel? If the Hotel can be accessed by any door, can you also just straight up exit to any door in the world?
Are our gifts sealed off when not on the job, or can we use them freely, so long as we don't harm humanity?
Kovacs
the maestro of mad shit.
Goddd Disco Elysium songs are the best, I love studying to them. Great, great pick for Angie, I can see why you chose it. The music pairs so well with the crippling spiral of servitude and all-consuming worry for others she tortures herself withOh, I'm down,It's been at the front of my mind, and honestly, I may need to do some more digging? I really do like Angie's death, I'm not sure if you'd be okay with your boy being the one she was trying to save! Maybe he didn't die instantly and she was trying to assure him that she'd get him out as the gas leaked and the inevitable drew closer, she just didn't want to admit it in hopes of a close, close call. I think about this song when I think of her. Validating her existence in critical service of others and bundling it up in some struggling belief in a higher power is Angela's Roman Empire. She's probably one of the characters that would want to spite the Seraphim the most because she half-believed nothing came after death, and now she's just, "Why?"
Were we born just to suffer?
That said, when everyone connects the dots that he did what he did, I can't see Angie being too mad at him. Does she think he's spineless and despicable? Yes. But he's got a second chance to not fuck up again. That's why they're all here, 'cause they're fuck ups.
In regards to Nick's crash, I think if we combine both elements of what is in our backstories,
the tragic scene would play out something like, say ---
Angie is the first responder to the scene and she sees that Zack (who had called 911) had already pulled himself out of the wreckage with moderate injuries (some broken bone, bleeding but not life threatening). Thanks to being briefed about his 911 call, she knows Nick is still in the driver's seat. She tries to pry open any kind of opening for him (at this point, the blood loss is so great, Nick has lost consciousness). An absolute nasty car fire has already started; despite the cries of fellow EMT/FD personnel to leave the wreckage and get a safe distance away, Angie finds herself glued to the car and as it continues on in your backstory, she gets caught in the car fire explosion.
^^ So these two would find themselves dying together, and most likely waking up together, which would pose very interesting dilemmas.
From the top of my head, I'd say the most obvious one is that she'd probably be the first and the fastest person to catch onto who Nick is in relation to her, and what he did to end up in that situation. But before that, to preserve some of the mystery we could say Angie never ever got a good look at the face of who she was saving, and secondly, there's a high chance that all she would have known about the emergency she was dispatched to was the address. Nothing about drunk driving, about the mother and daughter hit miles away, etc. Nick would also likely not recognize her at face-value, and would connect the dots once what he's read and heard from the news lines up with her own eventual testimony of how she died. At that point... wow. I'd imagine with a revelation like that, they'd both feel like a car hit them. Real fun, slow burn stuff heh, until it's not.
Kovacs
the maestro of mad shit.
Exactly, at the end of the day he was the one behind the wheel, not his friend. With that kind of crime and that kind of gross negligence on display, it's not hard to imagine that the sort of return to normalcy and repentance Nick will crave and deeply yearn for is nothing short of a pipe dream. The main thing he has going for him is his youth & remorse, but to Nick, that will likely solve little to none of his issues. In fact, it may exacerbate them in the sense that he's gonna have to contend with the loss of a bright future, of a clean slate, of ever having the moral high ground again lmao, etc;. There's a difference between being an asshole in neglecting your relationships and being an (unintentional) asshole to the point of culling innocent lives - it's gonna be a long ride with lots of road bumps for this mfKovacs A "moral wringer" is a great way to put it. It's easy to write him off as a terrible person, and what he did IS terrible ... but you did a phenomenal job illustrating how he got there. I want to be sympathetic to him, it's just that the crime looming over his head is too hard to look away from. At the end of the day, he was behind the wheel.
Other characters only know what you want them to. If / when he gets found out in character? Oh boy. All that potential for drama puts a smile on my face, especially with so many strong personalities. He's going to make Fifth's week easy, replacing him as the office asshole. High chance that the other agents will see the good in him by then and it's going to be hard to see his self-sacrificing attitude but not see the desperate act of repentance behind it.
Nellancholy
Two Thousand Club
Rania would probably spend a lot of time exploring different places,but return to the Hotel consistently. Maybe she'd shoplift minor things she wanted,she's good at that.
AURS
questionable inc.
This is an excellent idea!Goddd Disco Elysium songs are the best, I love studying to them. Great, great pick for Angie, I can see why you chose it. The music pairs so well with the crippling spiral of servitude and all-consuming worry for others she tortures herself with
In regards to Nick's crash, I think if we combine both elements of what is in our backstories,
the tragic scene would play out something like, say ---
Angie is the first responder to the scene and she sees that Zack (who had called 911) had already pulled himself out of the wreckage with moderate injuries (some broken bone, bleeding but not life threatening). Thanks to being briefed about his 911 call, she knows Nick is still in the driver's seat. She tries to pry open any kind of opening for him (at this point, the blood loss is so great, Nick has lost consciousness). An absolute nasty car fire has already started; despite the cries of fellow EMT/FD personnel to leave the wreckage and get a safe distance away, Angie finds herself glued to the car and as it continues on in your backstory, she gets caught in the car fire explosion.
^^ So these two would find themselves dying together, and most likely waking up together, which would pose very interesting dilemmas.
From the top of my head, I'd say the most obvious one is that she'd probably be the first and the fastest person to catch onto who Nick is in relation to her, and what he did to end up in that situation. But before that, to preserve some of the mystery we could say Angie never ever got a good look at the face of who she was saving, and secondly, there's a high chance that all she would have known about the emergency she was dispatched to was the address. Nothing about drunk driving, about the mother and daughter hit miles away, etc. Nick would also likely not recognize her at face-value, and would connect the dots once what he's read and heard from the news lines up with her own eventual testimony of how she died. At that point... wow. I'd imagine with a revelation like that, they'd both feel like a car hit them. Real fun, slow burn stuff heh, until it's not.
To add to this; maybe Angie, due to her power or something, keeps having vivid flashbacks of the car accident, but doesn't remember for sure how she died, like; to make way for the trauma of others her subconscious has literally put aside her most trying moment. She knows that she died failing the person she tried to save, and everything leading up to it, but she's not sure of the full specifics of it.
Angie is avoidant as hell, I can see her seeing her little section on the news or online and just going full denial even if she knows she's dead and has accepted that on paper, she just...can't confront her fuck-up in her face like that. And at the point where she does finally entertain it, Nick would be associated with that horrible, awful thing, not just the crash, but maybe if he hadn't ever been there, if they'd never crossed paths, she'd be alive, she'd eventually get her shit together (she wouldn't she was hurtling towards inevitable demise like a fucking meteorite) -
Especially after brokering some camaraderie in the story? To go back on all of that, possibly project some of her resentment onto the poor guy?? Whew...
There are so many ways that could go!
Building up to it though; Angie's been an agent for over a year compared to his one month, do we want to change that or are we playing with weird time shenanigans (we have someone who's from the 17th century in-game so it's possible she came back earlier than he did?)
That said, what if there's some karmic bond involved in dying together? Different from a bond made in life as a love bond might be - maybe there's a weight of shared tragedy between them, a strange sense of déjà vu when they meet for the first time?
It's implied that Angela died in S. Korea, but I can change that easily as she originally moved to the US to get away from her family.
Zedalith
#-#
ERode
1. Agents do not age.
2. The items are all real and you can take things in and out of the Hotel.
3. See my Reply to Kovac’s question on page 1 of 2.
4. They’re not sealed off, just don’t get caught using them.
Kovacs
Supplies that are created within the confines of the hotel are free. But, to buy things or have a home in the real world you need money and they’re not getting paid with any kind of actual currency.
ERode
In The Mirror
The virgin "don't get caught using gifts" vs the chad "become a street magician and rake in cash with gift".
Pilgrim59
Ardent Advocate of the Ausrufung
Just a sleeping bag (shared) and red plastic stool chairs with metal sheet panels for roof.
We're not making it out of the favela with this one.
