Thread: Skyline

Skyline



Skyline: A universe painstakingly crafted and forged from the depths of what's possible--and impossible. It's the deepest, purest reflection of humanity. Humans, all bound together by flesh and blood, cursed with logic and impulse, strung together by grey morality and an unquenchable thirst. Whoever said being "only human" was a bad thing?

We're not perfect. Some of us are kings, and some slaves. Some are good, some are questionable in their motives. We're proud and ashamed, we're brave and we're cowards. We'll argue forever over what's good and what's evil; but you're foolish if you think right and wrong are anything more than words.

Skyline takes humanity, our mother, Earth, and sends it into a world where we aren't the best. It sends us in over our heads and ravages everything we've ever known and ever will. Humans have spent a long time praying, and an even longer time trying to stand on our own two feet.

We've been looking into the skies for a long time. Now, it's finally looked back.

Skyline is an RP, but it's so much more than that. I'm going to challenge the most basic rules and limits that we ourselves have placed on our art form. I'm going to take it all, turn it upside down, and show and relay the true, ugly beauty of what we're all capable of. Skyline's here to throw away all notions of inferiority and superiority in RPing. It's going to make your characters strain to the breaking point. Most importantly, though, it's going to be forged by everyone involved. We're going to make a work of art.

And we'll do it together. You and I. All of us.

To prove I'm not just using over-dramatic theatricality, I'm inviting you to join. Here, in the sign-ups, things will already be different. Sign-ups are completely different, because frankly, they're ineffective. They don't work well. When I RP with you, I could care less about your character's backstory and what makes them so special. No, I want to know more. I want to sink my teeth in, strip away all of the flimsy walls we've placed on our characters, and dive deep into the naked, raw humanity of them. Everybody's capable of creating a masterpiece. Just because your characters aren't known to the world doesn't mean they can't be brilliant, excellent, profound works of writing and creativity.

And because of that, I'm going to accept or deny you based on you. I have no doubts that each and every one of you who applies is good enough to be a member of Skyline; it isn't a question of your skill. It's a question of how willing and able you are to truly dive in alongside me; how willing you are to be challenged and accept the call of that challenge. I won't lie; this RP is serious. It's going to take devotion, but I promise you that for every once you put in, you'll be compensated tenfold. This RP is about perfection and the flaws that it consists of. It's about growth, and learning, and mistakes; it's about not only your character's growth, but yours as a writer as well. It's about black, velvet violins. Remember that last sentence. I'm sure I'd love to hear about it in a PM. It's not just an RP; it's a world. It's a novel. It's a story. It's a myth. It's an experience.

Won't you join me?

The Setting

Skyline takes place on Earth. Our Earth. It's a mature, enveloping world of science-fiction set in the very distant future; thousands of years. Thousands of years ago, the world was visited by gods. These gods, alien beings of both machine and flesh, were named the Deos in an act of both respect and irony. Before anything could be done, humanity and its mother Earth were completely consumed and ravished by the Deos. All life was stripped away, humanity reduced in number to mere thousands. The world became a place of metal and cold, humans being forced to clump together in bands across their ruined world, holed up in former metropolises now little more than hollow shells. The sky was covered, the sun swallowed by a Deos larger than the horizon itself.

The Deos have ruled for thousands of years since. Humanity has been spared, but only barely. They are allowed to exist, but only barely tolerated. Thousands of years more have passed, and we have evolved to adapt even to this graveyard of a world. Society has changed. Technology has grown through remnants of technology left by decrepit, ancient Deos. Humanity has evolved.

You play as a special type of human. You are Driven. You have been blessed, or cursed, with a Drive. A Drive is more than a weapon or a boon; it is a melding of mind and body, of machine and flesh. Your Drive gives you abilities unlike anything seen by man before, manipulating matter and energy on the most basic level. You are a child of the Deos, a result of their influence on humanity. As a Driven, you serve the Skylines--The homes of humanity; giant ruins of cities that hold populations of humans scattered throughout the world--as a protector from those Deos that seek to eliminate the remnants of you and your people. You are the nameless solider sent to battle the gods, with only brother and sister at your side.

The Story

You will be facing the Deos. You have no chance of truly winning. Your people have been long driven past all hope, and now, you fight until your knuckles bleed, until your skin is torn and raw, merely because you still can. Your character, alongside you and your fellow RPers, will grow and interact with this world. You'll fight the fight that cannot be won. You will be challenged and asked to reach into the furthest echoes of creativity in your mind. You aren't writing characters like in every other RP. Oh no, I have bigger and better things for you. You're creating a person.

As such, you'll be tasked with an engaging, thrilling plot that lets you explore and expand your environment. You'll have a hand in creating a spectacle that I guarantee will never be forgotten by these forums. I merely ask you to close your eyes, listen, and follow me.

The Application

The Skyline Project isn't just going to change the way that you look at storytelling and writing, but at the way we conduct RPs on the most basic level. I'm changing the thing we're most comfortable with, and engaging a new system that I believe will increase the quality of our RPs tenfold. Sign-ups are gone. I don't believe a character can be truly explained and told out by listing a backstory, appearance, and personality. I don't care that your character has pink hair. I want to know the person, not the character. I want to savor their flaws, revel in their strengths, feel the sting of their wounds, and the glory swelling in their hearts.

What does this mean? Well, there isn't a sign-up. If you're interested, let me know.

I'm going to develop a character with you, one on one. Characters featured in other RPs are prohibited. You know that one go-to character that you copy and paste from RP to RP? Well, you're not going to be doing that. The world of Skyline is so deep and complex that it calls for a character all its own, created specifically for this world.

You know how characters tend to clump together in small groups, and may never even interact with other certain characters? That's gone too. You will not only be developing your character with me, but with your fellow RPers. Your characters are members of a squad that has been fighting together for years. You've saved each others lives. You've lost love ones. You are humanity's best and worst, and you have absolutely no reason not to trust each other completely.

You will be developing your character with the other characters, forming connections before the RP has even started. Your character could highly respect and even idolize another, more veteran character. He or she could be a rival who saves the other's life merely because it would be boring and less of a challenge with him or her. The point is, there will be no reason to not RP with each other. Your group is small, tight-knit, and laced together.

The world of Skyline isn't stifled. I'm not so arrogant to think my ideas better than yours. Did you come up with a concept that doesn't exist in Skyline, but would really add a new level of depth to your character? I'm already on board, and I'm here to change and craft this world into a more perfect, flawed, beautiful, and ugly world with you. I may be the creator, but you're just as important in making this world into something truly special.

I won't lie; the group is supposed to be small, so I won't be accepting everybody. I want to know a little about you. I want to know about what you want to contribute. Some of you will be denied, but don't let that discourage you. I don't care if you're new or a veteran when it comes to RPing. If you really want to partake in this experience, and you're as devoted to growth and excitement as I am, you'll make it in. I promise.

So, that's about it. Let me know in this thread if you're interested, and I'll make a list of who gets in and who doesn't. Once the applications are closed, we'll begin working together in private on your character. The Skyline world is much more massive and detailed than summarized above, and so I'll teach you more about the world while you do the same.

Welcome to Skyline. It's going to be an experience you'll never forget.

-Sovereign

Yeah, sure, I'll join. But what's a drive? You're kinda vague...Is that 'cause what it is varies from dude to dude?

You know I'm in this sov, so yeah count me in man.

I'm all in for this. It's great to do something..... different (although I hesitate to say 'different' as a word to do it justice) once in a while. One thing I wanna ask about the setting, if anyone says 'future' to me, I immediately start thinking 'sci-fi'. What's the kind of tech level we're looking at here?

Heir is ready.

Actually I have a question as well, I don't think I undertood it right, exactly how are we making the characters?

@Pi Face; Exactly. The Drive is something that your character will be built around. It's not something easily summarized, but it'll be the core of your character. It's a sort of mutation that makes you able to do impossible things.

@Plumbum; It's high-level tech, unique and adapted for survival in the Skyline world. You'll be using a lot of light and energy based tech.

@Stellar Gale; I don't know how to explain it much better than has already been said. If I feel like you'd be a good addition to the RP, you'll be accepted. Once accepted, I'll begin working with you privately to develop your character, one on one.

i dont know what to day to dazzle you honestly, it seems like you have a deep knowledge of what you want out of this . if youll have me , im in.

If there're still spaces, I'm interested.

I'm interested as well.

You think I'd miss this party? Count me in for sure.

I would also like to join. Love to see how it turns out.

This will be magnificent. Count me as interested as well.

Oh, also, by serious, d'you mean all grimdark and stuff, or just that we're supposed to take this seriously?

I would love to join this. I hope this isn't filled, already.