Realistic or Modern The Five Steps | Information

[smolfluffball]

[ SETTING ]The experiment takes place on a fictional island off the west coast of America, somewhere around southern California. The island is fairly tropical, with lots of palm trees and ferns and fruit trees (like papaya, mango, banana), but there are also quite a few deciduous trees that thrive on the island. The island itself is mostly forest, with quite a few streams and a couple ponds under the trees, but there is an expansive beach on the southeastern side of it. There’s several other smaller beaches that dot the coastline, and every beach is very clean. The southwestern part of the island has a few rock structures and small caves, which form a natural barrier around a smaller beach called Hearts Beach. The northern half of the island is mostly forested and not as easily accessible as the beach front is, but the forest itself is not too treacherous to navigate.

The majority of the buildings on the island are located further inland, but they’re still pretty close to the main beach. The building the TIES Committee is staying at is located furthest inland, on one of the numerous hills on the island. It is unknown how to get to it. The TIES facility can be seen when approaching the island - it’s a dark gray and green colored building among the trees, with a couple of big windows looking out across the ocean. There are some satellites on the top of the building, and a few balconies as well, and also a ten foot privacy fence on the side.

There’s a single dock off the coast of the main beach, and it’s where boats drop off everyone who’s participating in the experiment. By the dock is a small weather-worn house that holds some supplies for boats, a few fishing poles, and also several objects that could be used when swimming (like pool toys). First aid kits can also be found in the house, along with a few other emergency supplies.

The researchers at the TIES Committee also live on the island, so they can be found around occasionally. They’re easy to recognize by their bright teal shirts or lab coats, and although characters are welcome to talk to them, they’re not likely to respond. They’re just there sometimes to get food or supplies for their facility, and to be honest, they aren’t supposed to interact with the people participating in the experiment. They might be found around the shopping center or cafe, though, since they need food too, and being cooped up in the facility can be exhausting. They do most of their shopping during the night or early in the morning, so as to not get in the way of everyone else.

[ LOCATIONS ]

• The House
• The Play Area
• The Beach
• Shopping Center
• Fruitalia Cafe
• Hearts Beach

• The building that everyone stays at is a modern white house with lots of windows. It’s three stories tall and has a pool on the side of it, even though the beach is easily within walking distance. The bottom floor has the kitchen, dining area, living room area, a bathroom, storage room (for games, blankets, pillows, etc) and a smaller, more cozy, somewhat private lounge room. The top two floors are where bedrooms are at, and the second floor has its own hangout area as well. There are five bathrooms total in the house, and twelve bedrooms, and four balconies.
  
  Outside of the house is an in-ground pool and an outdoor sitting area. There’s a large dark colored porch that wraps around the entire house, and a few steps leading up to the front door. Ferns and tropical bushes are planted around the exterior and nicely decorate the house. There are a few palm trees by the building as well, and there’s several seats along the sides of the house, facing the ocean and pool. A rather large, white umbrella is positioned next to the edge of the pool, to protect people from the sun while in the water.
  
  The rooms all have two full sized beds in them, on top of each other in a bunk bed type of format (like the attached pictures). There are plenty of rooms for everyone to have their own room, but roommates are also allowed (since the bunk beds are built in), if any characters want them. The rooms also have a bench in the window (with storage underneath) and a small desk, and there’s a dresser as well, for all the clothes the characters bring along. There’s also a small closet in each room to store suitcases or anything that characters don’t want kept out. The third floor bedrooms have hidden minifridges to keep snacks in, due to the distance the top floor has from the bottom floor.
  
  There's an attached image for the floor plan of the house, so click on it and get acquainted with where everything is at. The characters are allowed roommates if they so chose, and they can move rooms later, to stay with their Partner's, if they want to. These are the rooms everyone is staying in at the house:
  
  Room 1: Thomas "Tommy" Erald
  Room 2: Cecile Rosine
  Room 3: Ramona "Ray" Roma
  Room 4: Astrid Hale
  Room 5: Trenton "Trent" Kearns
  Room 6: Charles "Charlie" Anderson
  Room 7: Hana Imai
  Room 8: Seba Lynn Wan and Alfie Reed
  Room 9: Tobias "Toby" Winfrey and Dane Morgan
  Room 10: Jasper Reinhardt
  Room 11: Nathalia "Nat" Rogers
  Room 12: Boone Balago
• One of the areas where characters play games. It’s located on the beach, between the ocean and firepit. The area itself is large and is marked with four wooden posts, in a rectangular shape, to signify that characters are to gather there to play games/compete in challenges. The area doesn’t have anything covering the sand, and there’s no gate around it, but it’s where characters are supposed to meet whenever a game or challenge is issued. It’s very unremarkable to look at and one of the posts has a life ring around it, but whenever games require more pieces or props are used, they find their homes in this rectangle. It’s far enough from the waves to not get wet, even when high tide rolls in, and the TIES Committee also has an awning for it that can be used when the sun is too hot.
  
  When the roleplay starts, the play area is covered with a slightly thick wooden platform and five blankets on top of it (held down by rocks). The wood provides stable footing and decreases the risk of slipping on sand, and the five blankets are each equidistant apart from each other in an X-pattern. The bright green awning is out and covers the entire area in shade. It’s set up for the first activity everyone has to do.
  
• The first place that people arrive at. It has the single dock, a small weather-worn house near the dock, and a lot of sand. It wraps around the bottom left side of the island, and the dock and small house are on the side of it. The section where people gather and hangout is on the bottom of the island, and the house everyone stays at is just a little bit off the sand. There’s a pathway from the beach that connects directly to the shopping center and cafe, and that pathway leads to a field further inland and goes even further into the trees. The beach itself is just a beach, but there is a decent sized fire pit and numerous palm trees. Toward the right of the beach are rocks and rocky formations, and the caves system. There’s a way through the rocks (not the caves) that leads to Hearts Beach.
  
  The beach is very clean, and crabs can be seen scuttling along throughout the day. The water in the shallows near the beach is rather clear and light blue, but the water further out into the ocean is medium blue color. Many seashells can be found on the sand, and it’s okay to walk around barefoot, so long as you stay away from all the rocks on the left of the beach. Lots of pebbles are around those, and also sharper rocks and seaweed, as well as a few palm trees. The closer someone gets to the house or other buildings, the more rocks and pebbles will appear as well, but down by the water, it’s pretty much rock free.
  
• The shopping center consists of a general store, a clothing store, an outdoor store and a grocery store. All the different stores are under the same roof, comparable to a mall, except a lot smaller. Outside of the shopping center are several carts that have been tied down, to prevent them from rolling away.
  
  The carts offer various different things, such as fruit or toys or gadgets or gizmos. Some of them also have snacks and quick meals. There are some carts that give hints towards games or have trivial things, such as dream catchers or seashells or carved wooden statues or other kinds of gift items. Most carts stock doesn’t rotate in and out, and there are only three carts that actually have any use to them. The total number of carts is eight, though, and the unused carts have tarps covering them. The carts are unmanned, unless they're offering food or being used for a game or challenge. If they're being used for a game/challenge, either Telltale or an NPC will be there to assist and offer advice.
  
  Passion General: The general store is akin to places like Walmart or Target. It offers a plethora of things, including medical supplies, paper products, sheets and blankets, towels, toiletries, tools, kitchen utensils, electronic components, or any other things that are needed on the island. Bug repellant and allergy medicine is in the store, and so are loads of drinks and dried or canned foods. If characters need something but can't find it in any other store, then they should check the general store, as it's where whatever they need is most likely to be found. Everything in the general store is free to grab, but the TIES Committee has someone in the store to ensure that things are restocked when they run low and that people behave while in the store.
  
  Threads: The clothing store on the island is rather small, but it has a nice selection of clothes to choose from. It’s where characters can come to get new outfits or to replace any clothes that get stained or damaged while on the island. The store offers mostly lightweight and breathable clothes, but there’s still a few long sleeves and flannels in the corner of the store. It also carries socks and swimsuits, as well as accessories and hats. Like the general store, everything is free to take, but someone from TIES does watch characters to make sure they don’t take more than what they need.
  
  The outdoor store, which is called Tropics and Beyond, has various things characters can use for outdoor activities. Tents, floaties, folding chairs, ice chests, general camping gear, flashlights, fishing poles, nets, sport equipment, and more can be found at the store. The grocery store, called Market Front, is a store that provides characters with ingredients to make any food that they would like to. It carries some exotic fruit and other international items, but it also carries instant meals and stuff like 3-minute ramen. It has a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to choose from, and a small variety of meats as well. Since it’s an island, the meat selection is rather limited, but the store has beef and fish and pork and chicken and some shellfish. Like all of the other stores, these stores are free to get things from, but there’s someone in both of them so that the TIES Committee knows what was taken from where.
  
• The single cafe on the island. It’s actually a pretty nice cafe, with a quaint atmosphere and lots of windows to let light in. There are many potted and hanging plants in the cafe and there’s a wooden pineapple sign on the front door, to let people know whenever it’s open or closed. The cafe is actually used by people from the TIES Committee, but they try to visit it whenever those participating in the experiment aren’t around.
  
  There’s a friendly person who works behind the counter at the cafe, and she’s the person that prepares everyone's meals while at Furtalia. Her name is Coral, and she likes to gossip about everyone who comes to the island for The Five Steps. She doesn't wear any teal clothes or have a lab coat, but she wears bright colored sundresses and has her brown hair almost constantly in a bun. It's unknown if she works for the TIES Committee or if, perhaps, she was someone who once participated in the experiment and has gotten a job helping the Committee out. She likes to gossip, though, and is always down to listen to people's secrets.
  (Coral might make appearances in the RP, but as something like an NPC. She's just here to provide food and smoothies and gossip.)
  
• This beach is isolated from the rest of the main beach, hidden behind rocks. There’s a path through the rocks on the main beach to reach this secluded beach, and once people get there, they’ll find that the rocks surrounding it have paint and engravings on them. There’s many different quotes and names on the rocks, from people who participated in past experiments. The beach has several palm trees and bushes to shield part of it from the sun, and there’s a rocky outcropping covering the sand as well to protect from rain. (Kind of like someone carved out the edge of the rocks, like a natural alcove.) There’s numerous paper notes tied around a curvy, almost S-shaped palm tree (the notes are protected from water because the tree is mostly under the rock), and there’s the stump of a burned palm tree closest to the water. The beach is basically an open faced cave with a sandy floor that meets the ocean, and to access it, one has to navigate through the rocks and enter a tunnel. It’s not that hard to find once someone knows where the pathway is at.
  
  Many people have exposed their hearts on this beach, which is what earned it the title of Hearts Beach. This location is not explicitly stated during the tour and needs to be found during the RP, either through natural exploration or because characters need to gather there.
  

 

[smolfluffball]

[ The Five Steps ]A social experiment created by the TIES Committee. The experiment's primary goal is to connect people to one another. This is accomplished either through friendships or romantic relationships, whichever happens between people naturally. The experiment doesn’t promise a “soulmate” or even a “lover”, but the experiment does find a supposed “perfect match” for you - someone that aligns with your personality, interests, history, dreams, and just general self. It’s a social experiment that explores human relationships and connections and friendships, and how those are achieved. It’s an experiment that many people have tried before, even if they’re as asocial as a brick, and almost everyone has found connections of some sort through the experiment. It’s not guaranteed to work for everyone, but the success rate is about 98%, and that’s nothing to laugh at.

It’s an observation on human interaction. It’s an analysis on what happens when people are forced to expose themselves and be completely honest in front of each other. It pushes people past their comfort zones and watches how other humans react to that. It watches how humans lie to protect themselves, and it studies why humans are lying to protect whatever it is that’s important to them. Why lie? What’s the end goal? Are humans just afraid of getting hurt, and is that fear what holds them back from connecting with others? Are they just cold and abrasive because they were treated harshly before, or are they afraid they’ll be disliked or humiliated? It’s all so very interesting, and the TIES Committee wants to learn as much as they can.

The advertising has been warped and made the experiment out to be something like a dating experiment, and the researchers have run with that idea, somewhat. The Five Steps pairs people together to do various things together, but every pair or group is put together to figure out why exactly they work out or don’t work out. It’s all to find that “perfect match”, to figure out who works best with each other, who meshes the best. The experiment is NOT a dating experiment, though, or a reality TV show, at all. It’s just a simple social experiment on an island, with an incredibly intelligent and perceptive, sentient and thoughtful, robot host.

• Telltale
• Bracelets
• Partners
• Tender Moments

• The robotic host of the experiment. Telltale’s purpose is, seemingly, to pair people together, to announce games or challenges, and to offer advice or answer any questions people have. He also is just there to help anyone with whatever they might need, and he serves as a lifeguard, or a friend, or a confidant, or a guru, or shopping assistant, or a waiter, or… You get the idea. He basically does everything, honestly. He’s recording all that happens, and he sends the information back to the TIES Committee to be analyzed. He sees everything and keeps track of everything, and adds every new detail to his data. He also studies the information himself and is constantly learning about humans from humans, so he can be a better robot.
  
  Telltale’s initial purpose wasn’t actually to assist the TIES Committee or help with The Five Steps - he was created for a much simpler job. He’s being used far beyond what he was made for, but he seems to be doing a good job with figuring people out and pairing people together. He’s been doing the experiment for a few years now, after all. He’s basically become a pro at this point. He’s quick to figure out who gets paired together, although he knows it’s best to not jump to conclusions, since humans can be rather surprising. He likes to wait and see if his judgements are sound before saying anything about his analysis, although he’s always thinking about who to pair together and he’s always saving data.
  
  He is just one simple robot, though, and, yes, of course, he does have the TIES Committee helping him out but… it can all get a little bit tiring for one simple robot who’s being pushed way past what he was made for. But he’s always so chipper and ready to help!
  
• The bracelets are what the characters get given when they first get onto the island, as a way to symbolize that the experiment has really started. Wow. It’s actually real now. Yikes. They’re used to keep track of heart rates and any other discrepancies with people's bodies, and they also record audio. The recordings are sent to the TIES Committee every four hours, and Telltale is constantly able to hear what’s happening between people and he keeps track of everyone’s heartbeats. Telltale discerns if anything he hears is important enough to alert the TIES Committee of, such as an emergency, or if a Tender Moment™ is coming. They’re vital to the experiment, and cannot be removed during the entire time the characters are on the island. They simply won’t come off, no matter what anyone tries to do, thanks to science!
  
  The bracelets are waterproof and cannot be damaged or scratched or destroyed. They look like black bands and are very thin, and are about an inch and a half wide. It’s not obvious that they’re recording audio or tracking heartbeats, but when it’s time for a game or challenge to start, the bracelets flash either blue (for a game) or green (for a challenge). Telltale can also contact people through the bracelet, although this happens very infrequently, since this time around, the experiment has created a social media platform. And because he doesn’t really want people to know that he’s constantly hearing them.
  
  Everything that the bracelets record are simply sent to the researchers at the TIES Committee and aren’t sent to any third-party organizations. The TIES Committee and Telltale are the only people/robot that have access to anything that they hear, although if someone commits a crime, the Committee will allow any law authorities (like police or lawyers) to access the recordings. This has only happened once before, though, so don’t worry too much about it.
  
• AKA the “perfect match”. Your Partner is who is most compatible with you, in a very simple way. You two are similar in personality, share similar passions, have similar dreams or goals or secrets, and can help each other the most. Your Partner is someone that, according to science, is likely to understand you the best and help you become a better version of yourself. They’re going to help you open up and reveal all of your secrets, so long as you’re willing to allow yourself to do that. The entire purpose of the experiment is to form connections, and if you chose to not connect with your Partner, your perfect match, then why are you even here?
  
  Your Partner is not who you are most compatible with romantically or even platonically: it’s who fits the absolute best with you as a person, even if it doesn’t seem like that at all when you first meet each other. All of the secrets that are told to Telltale are used to help figure out your perfect match, along with observations of every interaction, and every text, or eye roll, or stare, or laugh, or blush, or smile, or joke, or fight. Telltale and the TIES Committee are watching everything, and they’re determined to find the perfect match for everyone.
  
  Your Partner can absolutely be someone that is the most compatible with you romantically, platonically, or even both! But they also can be someone that you don’t necessarily get along with, or even like. Sometimes, there are Partner’s who are so strange together, but just trust the process and Telltale’s analysis skills and have some faith. And be honest with your Partner, even if it’s terrifying to lay it all out. Your Partner will, most likely, hopefully, probably, understand and be accepting and help. Or science has failed.
  
  ♡ Characters are definitely allowed to make friends and be in romantic relationships with characters who aren’t their Partner’s, as the Partner’s are going to be announced later in the RP. Some Partner’s might be obvious throughout the RP, but some might come as a surprise, but make sure your characters interact with the characters they’re interested in (over the “texts” in the server and in RP, where allowed)! It helps science out. ♡
  
• A Tender Moment™ is a moment when two characters share something between themselves, or is just something that looks like it will be a private moment. It’s when they’re honest with each other, or share a kiss, or is just what Telltale thinks is a “soft” moment. Dates can be these moments, but so can adventures in the woods, or quiet nights together watching the ocean, or laughing together over stupid jokes, or crying in front of each other. It’s when characters allow themselves to open up with each other and let down their guards, or when they reveal something that is not what they ever really talk about. It’s just a tender moment, you know?
  
  Telltale and the researchers at the TIES Committee will be keeping track of these, but they are not public to any characters. The characters will be told that these are a thing in the roleplay, but I felt the need to specify what they were, since both guides don’t entirely know what they are, and Telltale likes to keep what classifies as a Tender Moment™ a secret. If you think characters might be having a Tender Moment™, then you might be right, but Telltale won’t spill the details about anyone’s precious moments.