Jump to content
Banner by ~ Ice Princess Silky

ooc Canterlot Noir (Mystery/Crime/Victorian Style)


Raven Rawne

Recommended Posts

(edited)

IC link: https://mlpforums.com/topic/163666-canterlot-noir-nightmare-season-raven-rawne-dark-horse/

 

 

Hello and welcome to my newest, and, may I add, not yet fully germinated, RP idea!

 

The stage is set in Canterlot, the majestic Royal City. I envision it as canon Equestria, but with a twist. Have you ever wished to experience the Victorian Era? Sherlock Holmes, Gothic Horror, the long lost aeasthetics and society, it all comes back to life in this very RP... Together with industrial inventions and breakthrough discoveries every week, Canterlot is the place to be.

 

I'm not yet sold on particular direction where it might go. I'm open for a 1x1, or a small group RP. We can do crime, gothic horror, maybe some good old fashioned Victorian romance? Or a bit of everything, with a touch of Steampunk! Depends on what YOU look for.

 

Now about the stage decor. I see the City as three major districts - Upper (hugging the Palace, where the rich, noble, and famous live), Middle (lesser nobles, traders, factory owners, some artisans and artists, generally middle class) and Lower (the place where the less fortunate, less well off, and the city's working class lives. There's a slum sub-district too). The character's social and economic standing dictates their place of residence, as well as the way the city residents percieve them. Just like in the Victorian society, with it's traditional view on social status.

 

I intend to roll with Crystal Clear - link in sig. Depending on what we cook up, she can be visiting, having scored a big contract that takes months to complete, or even move in for good.

 

The RP samples of my style. I expect my partners to be on par with me, I want to make something... exquisite here.

https://mlpforums.com/topic/162745-snowed-in-1x1-with-raven-rawne/

https://mlpforums.com/topic/162235-friendship-strikes-in-the-crystal-empire-soladv-open-drop-indrop-out/

https://mlpforums.com/topic/159273-all-that-shines-1x1-rp-between-platinum-gear-and-raven-rawne/

https://mlpforums.com/topic/160436-uss-luna/

https://mlpforums.com/topic/159010-diffuse-reflection-1x1-between-nightmare-season-and-raven-rawne/

 

Remember, creativity is key. I present You with an idea, but expect to carve something solid together. We can go anthro or feral (canon pony), I'm comfortable with both really. I don't have objections if You'd wish to include romance, but of course we'd have to keep it within Forum rules. Should we go the good 'ol "civvies solve crimes and seek out monsters in dark alleys of a metropolis", forum rules also apply on gore and graphic descriptions. No, you can't type with painstaking detail exactly what did a psycho murderer do to his last victim, sorry.

 

Hmm, seems like I presented my case. As usual, ask any questions you may have, be creative, maybe give a counter offer to go in a direction I haven't thought of? Although the late Victorian look and feel stays, I love that period.

Edited by Raven Rawne
  • Brohoof 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Nightmare Season,

 

Heeeey! Nice to see you taking interest in this. Any early stage ideas? Or preferences? Like I said in the OP, I'm open to molding the RP setting to cater to the participants tastes.

 

Also, Crystal and Peony are... equally unsuitable as monster killer detectives, but, yeah, it would be fun to write them tossed into deep water.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Nightmare Season,

 

Detective Rarity, heheh. They can be looking into some case separately and bump onto each other. Now depending on how dark the setting turns out, they can decide to be Sunday detectives and look into increasingly complex cases, for bits of course in helping the Guard.

 

Also, canon pone or some subtype of anthro?

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@ScrewLoose,

 

Hmmmmm... wouldn't mind a quirky one pony Q department at hoof, but... Your OC's backstory is rather scarce, so it's hard to tell much from it. Basically I've no idea how they would act in an RP setting. Do you have any RP experience, or examples of it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Raven Rawne

 

I've got to admit that you had my attention with the title alone. I've always had huge appreciation for classic Film Noir and the gloomy, psychological scenarios it portrays. This one sounds like an interesting variation though; Victorian Era you say? That on its own gives us a lot to play with in terms of backdrop and circumstance. It's a good setting for some mystery detective work in a more sophisticated, yet rapidly advancing society.

 

Been a while since I last participated in an RP, but I fancy I could roll with Saffron for this one. He's primarily a stage performer, which fits in well enough with the Victorian time period, but he also has keen interests in historical sources and documentation, as well as pondering on the "deeper picture", so it may help him play well with the scenario. Or perhaps I'm just looking for an excuse. :P

 

Lemmie know what you think anyway~

  • Brohoof 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Dark Horse

 

I guess it's only fair that I admit that I am aware that Film Noire and late Victorian Era are rather far apart, but I had no better idea for an impromptu title for an urban crime and mystery RP.

 

Now I have no issues whatsoever with Your character. The setting is truly perfect for a stage performer. Somehow a stage performer reminds me of the film: "The Prestige". Exposing an immoral, or outright criminal,  rival illusionist, could be a grand case. Along with doctors stealing organs from Lower Level youth, an occasional monster, psycho killers... Yeah, the setting is just ripe with unique criminal ideas.

 

If you're interested, then you're surely welcome, but pray tell, how's your RP savvy? I'm looking for players who can help me craft the world around them, not just move their toons in the environment I provide.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Raven Rawne

 

While I'm by no means an experienced veteran of RP, I do feel that I've a fairly solid grasp in world-building and helping add to scenes as the changing conditions (or perhaps some prior established guidelines) dictate. I've always loved creativity and have experience in script writing and composing short stories from back in stage school, and while I realize it's not quite the same format as a Roleplay, I'm willing to provide what I can with that skill to help the setting along.

 

In any case, I'll try not to simply rely on everyone else for context. :P

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Dark Horse

 

Ah, that's good! See, I aim to capture that Victorian feel in the RP. The stark contrast between social classes, the pristine Upper Level and the dirty, crumbling Lower Level, the list goes on. If you've read XIX century novels or saw good films about the era, you'll know what I mean.

 

So, by any means, welcome aboard!

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Reminds me a bit of the Charles Dickens novels, particularly Oliver Twist. There's that deep contrast between the delinquent, poverty stricken slums of London and the affluent, high society streets of Pentonville where everything is white and speck-less. Hard to believe it could be the same city.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Dark Horse,

 

I've read "Crime and Punishment" and "Doll", from the more memorable ones (second is a polish piece penned by Bolesław Prus, and I consider it a personal favourite), but the XIX Century, especially the second half, always captivates me.

 

So I've thought about having max 4 players, and if Screwloose makes the cyt, we'll have full crew. Any more and it may get hard to get around with posting, I think. So it's time we draw some basics, I guess.

 

I've already mentioned 3 main Districts of Canterlot, that the RP world is Canon - we just were shown, on-screen, the Upper Level locations, and some better parts of the Middle Level. In order to bring the aesthetic, let's assume that ponies in Canterlot wear slothes from the era (even the poor ones dress in something, only those Ponyville ponies are weird and wear nothing), and express behaviours typical for the period (especially the upper class). There's no need to alter the look of the city, although some factories and other industrial facilities will be present, along with gas street lamps, for example. To give our characters some incentives, we can assume that the Guard, or the citizens themselves, offer payment for aid in solving crimes or sharing useful information ,and there are public notice boards where such ads can be found, among other things. In order to tie their strings of fate, something needs to push them out of their zones into a collision course. Being robbed would be pretty easy to pull off, or maybe something less severe - somepony vandalised their posessions/locale. We can decide to just time skip between cases, or keep the show running if the toons will develop other agendas. Also, we need to settle on hor dark we want it to be. Because XIX century mystery can go all the way to grave digging mad sciecists and beyond. Real life has more than enough creepy stories from the period to keep us occupied for years...

 

Nightmare already said he prefers canon pony characters, rather than anthro. While the latter give unique opportunities, like ladies keeping Derringer pocket pistols in their stockings, ponies... are ponies. I'm fine with either really.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Raven Rawne,

 

I have a good idea for a case already. Peony Spring will be from the upper class. One day she found her garden vandalized and a rare blue rose was stolen from her garden. I like the myth of the blue rose being used as a love potion of sorts. Causes the one who smells it to forget themselves and fall deeply in love with the first pony they see afterwards.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Nightmare Season,

 

Hmm... so she lives in the Upper level, am I right? I like the idea, although I can't yet phantom how it would bring a couple of strangers together. And Crystal's CM kinda is a blue rose...

 

Speaking of which, my gal will live in the cheapest part of Middle Level, in a tiny rented house. She's working for a noble family in the Upper level, but never even met her employers, who delegated their servants to take care of the task. So she walks to work in the Upper Level, dragging her tool cart. If the RP spins up into a long one, she can just take another job, and maybe even move in for good, since her services are very pricy for ponies from outside the Empire.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Nightmare Season,

 

Ah, the "can I help you" type of thing? Well in that case Crystal can just walk past her house and garden on the way to work, no need to make it any more complicated. Seeing a mess she would investigate. Same could happen with other characters, or Peony could pin an ad on the notice board to help her return the rose, and maybe warn about it's effect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Nightmare Season,

 

So we have that nailed down. Just keep in mind that I was OK with you broadly outlining my toon's actions and what was happening to her in our 1x1, but in this case I'd like you to refrain from that, OK? Just for clarity's sake.

 

@@ScrewLoose, @@Dark Horse, - still waiting for your thoughts on the subject, as well as declarations whether you're in or not. ScrewLoose, I need some RP examples if you have them, and some more fleshed out backstory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Raven Rawne,

@@Nightmare Season

 

That sounds plausible. I'm thinking Saffron could be in the area for the purposes of social research. Theatre in the Victorian society was largely eschewed by the Upper Class, and many performances featured a more critical look at various social problems people saw within society of the time. Saffron just manages to eke out a relatively modest life in low Middle Class, but has seen close friends fall to petty thievery and crime just to survive, and he's become rather cynical as a result. He's come to the Upper Class area to see just for himself how the "other half" lives. He doesn't completely trust the nobles, believing them to be deliberately ignorant towards the poverty of the lower classes, and that they're partially to blame for the increased criminal activity. Nevertheless, when he encounters this crime, he feels compelled to investigate out of a sense of justice and an underlying desire to know the truth.

 

The perpetrator could even be somepony he once knew, though I don't know if we'd want to make it seem more personal for just one character.

 

Other than that though, I'm in with this one.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Dark Horse,

 

Sounds feasible. As already mentioned, as an artist, he needs to be "out there", to observe the world and draw inspiration to his performances. Wouldn't hurt to peek at the ones who are usually paying for it.

 

I have no issues with the culprit being known to him. Crystal is totally knew around the block so there's no way to make things personal for her anyway.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The theft of her blue rose is personal to Peony.

 

By the way I see it, it probably be best of I start the thread for it. After another day or word from the forth person I will get on it. Sound good?

 

Also I think after the first case, the group can look into other cases.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...