[Edited] -- OOC and interest

HermesVoice

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The Unwanted -- OOC and interest

The Unwanted

Every city has them … and always has. The Unwanted ones. The Delinquents. The Urchins. Some are castaways, others rebels, others simply broken, like dolls in war. They are the Lost Boys and Girls that are the inevitable price we pay for “civilization” and the creatures from which we most quickly avert our gaze.

“Surely not in Athens!” we exclaim. Or Rome. Or Medina.
“Never in Our Imperial Dynasty!” we declare. Or in Her Majesty’s Empire. Or in the People’s Republic.

And we turn our eyes away, upward to the palaces of kings, the tombs of princes, and the great cathedrals of religion and commerce.

Some of them are fallen angels, hopeful of a Paradise … somewhere.
Some are merely fallen: vicious, predatory, and snarling survivors, hopeful of nothing.
And some are trash, as invisible and disposed of as a McDonald’s wrapper drifting along the sidewalk.

They are in London. They are in Moscow. They are in Buenos Aires.
They are in Tokyo. They are in Melbourne. They are in Beijing.
They are in New York, and they are in Washington DC … but don’t tell anyone. They won’t believe you anyway.

“Not in our Glorious Democracy!”

And they are in the city of Port St. Jude. This is them.


As the title suggests, this is a group role play. I’m looking for characters - lost ones - and writers who can bring such creatures to life on the page. There are no special powers in this story and probably few spectacular explosions. Miracles – if they occur at all – will be small, noticed only by those involved: acts of sacrifice and hope for those that have little reason for hope and perhaps less for sacrifice.

I wouldn’t mind having a couple representatives of society in here: a cop, a social worker, a teacher, a priest or rabbi or imam. Mostly, though, I want kids (with the understanding that we are following board rules here regarding character ages). Could be high school dropouts. Could be drug addicts. Could be gang bangers. Could be street dealers or hookers. Could be just the homeless and unwanted.

Yeah. It starts dark. I’d like to see it end with most of them finding each other, maybe suffering casualties on the way, but finding some reason to expect compassion from a group of others of their kind.

That’s for us to invent together.

I’ll play a male character, eighteen, and I’d like to begin with a sister (which does not necessarily mean an incest scenario). I’d like to see all participants plan on posting at least once each week, but the speed of the thread will be the speed of the thread. I’m most interested in a good story. Obviously that means I’m also interested in expressive writing.

If you have interest, please PM me a bio sketch before submitting here.
 
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Anna Mitchell. 19

She left home years ago and moved to the city with her boyfriend. The home she grew up in was filled with anger, addiction and tumult. Rodney was older and seemed secure and wanted to rescue her from her father's anger and her mother's stupor. But the shine had worn off. They had trouble making ends meet with their collection of minimum wage jobs. And then one day, she came home from work and he was gone.

There was a note on the table and an envelope with a little cash in it. He had gone home. In desperation, she called home but her father had told her not to come home. For a while she had couch surfed, moving in with girls she knew at work, offering part of her meager salary in exchange for a bad night's sleep.

But now, she was squatting. Her job had disappeared and none of her friendships were strong enough to withstand free loading. She had all she owned in a well worn duffle. Her boots were worn in and if someone didn't look too closely, she might have passed for a college student dressed in vintage jeans and an oversized sweater. Her dark hair was tied back in a ponytail, her face was still striking, Anna had always been a pretty girl. But she was hungry and tired and alone.
 
Tyler McMillan - 18

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=22756670

Born in Port St. Jude, Tyler has always felt himself destined to die there. He and his sister Catherine were placed into the foster care system at eight – their mother having been sent to prison for stabbing her live-in boyfriend several years after their father had abandoned the family for reasons neither of the McMillan children were ever told. Ten years of living in the homes of others, sometimes together, sometimes separated, has permitted both siblings to witness great generosity and almost equal paucity of spirit. It is suspected by family welfare authorities that both were sexually molested at some point in the past, although of this Tyler has said nothing.

He is the quiet one. He plays guitar, the only possession he values. He reads Plath and Bukowski and Hunter Thompson. Mostly, he broods, the secret darkness of his life mirrored in his black hair and charcoal eyes.

He is the quiet one … who waits.
 
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http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/320/e/d/intensity_by_serenitysteph-d32ztys.jpg

Catherine McMillan
Age 18

After their mother's....incident.... Catherine's frame of mind became a bit skewed. She was once quiet, shy, easily swayed by others. But things changed with their life in foster care. Things she hated. People who were supposed to take care of her- They were supposed to take care of her- Why would they do these things if they were supposed to take care of her?!

She hated everyone.
She trusted no one...
Only Tyler. He kept her safe. She kept him safe.

Often referred to as simply "Cat", her attitude toward others is similar to a feline. Doubting. Cautious. Everyone is evil.
And if they dare tread in her territory, she'll claw their damned eyes out.
Fear equals defense. Fear everything.
But if she's defeated... When others take away that defense... She goes docile. Shame overtakes her. Failure. More hatred.

Never toward Tyler.
She could never hate him...
 
Virus

Age: 22

Part of the Valley Kings gang.


http://www.psu.com/forums/image.php?u=215813&dateline=1300839511&type=thumb

At the age of 7 he dropped out of school and began to sell pot to kids around the neighborhood. Members in the Valley Kings enjoyed having a kid around, kids could do the running and trafficking of drugs.

By the time Virus was 14, he had become well known throughout Port St Jude as a VK, drug dealer. His first kill was a young kind, 12, from a drug deal gone bad. Valley Kings made him family for life because of this.

He's been in jail twice, for drug possession and firearm possession. He's on parole, and probably has a couple of warrants out on him already.

He runs the drugs in Port St. Jude.

He is crazy. A life of running from the cops, rival gangs, junkies looking for a fix and being in prison have taken their toll. Virus has turned into a wild animal, pacing the fence of his own cage. Nothing quite makes sense to him unless he's on some sort of drug. He always has a loaded gun with him. Sometimes he hears voices.

He rarely eats, never sleeps and thinks he has a daughter in Recita somewhere, but he isn't sure. At the moment he lives out of a suitcase hiding out in different hotels, trying to keep away from phantom cops that he thinks are after him.
 
So now we definitely need a cop writer.

Welcome, Virus.

I'm waiting for one confirmed writer to put up her bio, and I'm talking to a few others. My aim is to kick this thing off on Wednesday or Thursday. Either way, I'd like to leave the thread open for others. Since we're in a wide open town, it would seem easy for anyone to jump in and find his way to one or more of us.

Thoughts?
 
My Character

NAME: Alan Dean
AGE: 19
GENDER: Male
APPEARANCE: 5'11" and 145 lb. Looks thin and gangly, has light blue eyes, pale skin, and straight black hair. He wears dark clothing that helps him blend in with the urban environment. Has a scar on his left fore-arm from a street fight.
PERSONALITY: Shy and reserved, Alan isn't a very social person, so he doesn't make friends easily. He likes to plan things out and not rush into situations.
HISTORY: Born in an orphanage in New York, Alan had little to look forward to. The other children didn't like him and families, for some unknown reason, didn't want to adopt him. As the years passed Alan gave up hope and, at the age of 15, ran away. He joined a gang who were involved in criminal activities. 4 years later he broke away from the gang, which wasn't allowed. They chased him with an intent to kill, so the only way to escape them was to leave the country. With the last of his money, he booked a flight to the city of St. Jude.
NOTES: At the start of the IC, Alan will have just gotten off the plane. Also, he faces another problem, he's a foreigner in a country completely unfamiliar to him, and to make matters worse, he doesn't speak the native language.
 
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I sent a PM called Unwanted. You replied saying thanks for the interest and telling me that this hread will need me to put a good amount of description into my posts.
 
Hmmm ... the potential for two gang presences in Port St. Jude could be interesting.

Alan, welcome to the big city.
 
Oh yeah. Sorry to PM you about the update on my character. I was too busy catching up on my other threads.
 
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/330/2/d/businesswoman_2_by_ezysummers-d33mjjq.jpg

Anya Petrovka was trafficked into Port St Jude at eighteen years of age after accepting a bogus job as an au-pair. She was a sex slave for years, hooked on drugs and sold on to different pimps at various intervals. She worked brothels and streets until a miracle happened. An undercover cop who wasn't corrupt rescued her and put her in rehab.

That was 5 years ago. Now she is 27.

Now she is a qualified counsellor and social worker. She specialises in reaching out to troubled youths; those with self destructive lifestyles, gang affiliations, substance abuse problems and more besides. Anya is fiercely proud of her achievements, that when offered a chance to build a legitimate life for herself she succeeded at it. She got clean, mastered English, studied in her second language, became a naturalised citizen and is now respected among her peers. Anya never dreamed about going home. Her eagerness to get out of Russia and away from her family was part of the reason she was easily ensnared all those years ago.

She doesn't look back.

Anya's life is... perhaps a little austere now. She does not drink, smoke or take illegal drugs. She has no time or desire for romance. Anya doesn't think anyone would want someone who has been used like she has. She tells herself that she has had enough of men and sex to last her more than a lifetime. She clings to her work and has virtually no social life outside of her profession.

So there are times when she is listening to troubled souls recounting their recent hellraising and part of Anya is... wistful. There were occasional good times... very good times augmented by cocaine or MDMA.

Of course she's deeply ashamed of these thoughts.

She would never regress.

She's come way too far.
 
~ Name:Aellea Arielle Rich.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Kjf7tf_5PRs/SXv0KZVOJiI/AAAAAAAADHQ/SS6uwu6gGHU/s400/diznee-leopardprintbikinioutdoors-1.jpg

Age: 18 1/2

Nicknamed Storm to most of the people that she knows, thanks to the tatoo of the cloud with a lightning strike and tornando she has on her wrist, Aellea makes a point never to get close to people unless she has to. Although sweet, people rarely get to see that side of her, and only see the hard shell she had concealed herself underneath. Her brother, Xavier, aka X or triple X to his enemies as well as friends, is a member of the elite growing gang is St. Jude, ALs, aka the Loco Asassins, and with no parents to help her out, she ran away at 16, living on the streets and barely survivng, to get away from the crime. Her brother still associates her with the gang, and everyone knows her; makes her a prime target among the enemies getting pushed back by her own brother. She is constantly on the run, with only a few posessions, mainly consisting of the necessities. She usually had to result to begging and even worst. Because of the hatred in St. Jude of "her kind", she rarely gets a break, and many people looking down on her, she learned to be a perfectionist, critical of everything of her own. She trusts no one, and she makes sure no one will know the real her. She uses her body slightly to get food and clothing, stripping a few times, but actually a virgin, though it doesn't seem like it she is, and everyday she fears the worst.


Her tattoo:
http://http://tattoo-art.com/catalog/imagemagic.php?img=3eHC29ninmGTpaHhw6Hg2NaV1eDd4sjW49vjYI%2Fc5Ns%3D&w=75&h=75&page=
 
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Welcome to Aellea and heartfelt welcome to Anya ... we need some adult supervision around here.

The IC will go up tonight or tomorrow at latest, folks. I'll be keeping the OOC around for us and to allow other writers a forum into the thread.
 
Nifty start. Thanks for setting the bar high, guys.

I plan on giving Neko one more day to enter her first post; either way I figure I'll have something up on Monday or Tuesday.

I've also thought it might be fun/useful to post up large city-wide events here in the OOC. These would be news items that may or may not find their way into several of our story threads at the discretion of any individual writer. Any thoughts?
 
Stephanie Andrews 24

http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/people/portraits/#/d3eadx6

Her life started out fine. Her parents were married, she lived in a nice town. By all rights she should have grown up, happy, well adjusted and taken care of. And then she turned ten. In the span of that year, her father lost his job. He started drinking, hitting her mother. Hitting Stephanie if he got drunk enough. People looked at her differently now, with pity, even though she denied anything was wrong. Of course, the people on her street heard the yelling. Even when her father wasn't screaming on the front lawn. By the time she was twelve, her mother ashamed and nearly broken, gave Stephanie to her sister in Port St. Jude. The city she had tried so hard to get out of was the one she tried to save her daughter with.

Scared at first, Stephanie adjusted fairly well, did well in school. She learned early this wasn't a city you wanted to stay in. At 17, she was all but guaranteed a full scholarship. Her father found her just a week after she graduated. Her mother was dead, said he killed her for keeping them apart. He said everything would be fine now, they could be a family again. Her reaction wasn't...pleasant. He refused to accept it. He killed her mother so they could be together and that's what they were going to do. Stephanie's not sure what happened, but when she came to she was covered in blood...not all of it was hers. Afterward, her aunt gave her a handful of cash and wished her luck. She moved away a week later.

After that, Port St. Jude seeped into her. She frowns more than anything now. Likely to curse at you, if she speaks to you at all. Keeps a tiny apartment, with a waitressing job she got by doing 'favors' for the owner. She's ready to explode, she still remembers what it was like to be happy. Some days it helps, but mostly it just makes her cry at night. She's lost all hope of leaving Port St. Jude. She doesn't have a reason to leave anymore.
 
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The city she had tried so hard to get out of was the one she tried to save her daughter with.
Ah, the bitter ironies of the great cities.

Welcome, Stephanie.

bchick, please post a photo of Stephanie or include in the IC some physical details for other writers to work with. Thanks!
 
Hey, folks. I just wanted to let all know I'll have limited computer access for the next handful of days. This may slow down my posting if we cycle around to me again.
 
Hey, folks. I just wanted to let all know I'll have limited computer access for the next handful of days. This may slow down my posting if we cycle around to me again.

I have no doubt that you'll be worth the wait. :kiss:
 
I have no doubt that you'll be worth the wait. :kiss:

Oh Jeez. Like your first post didn't put ENOUGH pressure on me. :)

EDIT - This just in: Virus is hilarious ... in a creepy kind of way. He reminds of me of a far more psychotic Ziggy from the second season of The Wire.

EDIT the Second - It is now snowing in Port St. Jude.
 
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I just wanted to let everyone know for the next couple of weeks, I'll be out of town. I'll have access to a computer and I don't see any problem with posting. Just a heads up in case there is. On a side note, I think everyone's doing brilliantly.
 
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