We're once again experimenting with the idea of post-by-post roleplaying, so it might turn out a bit weird at times - but we hope that you give this a try.
Okay... I suck at writing introductions, and borrowing Cienpher's previous wording like I usually do feels a bit awkward, so I'll just stop and let the roleplay speak for itself.
The Dollmaster's Key
Recommended Playlist:
Dolls - Kagamine Rin
La Redecouverte - Yann Tiersen
This world is different from most, with its scattered cities and strange little towns. There is nothing that binds the inhabitants of this world save for the land and the language that they speak. There is no far-reaching ruler. There are no wars to be fought. There are no kingdoms, countries, or states at all, unless each town could count as its own. What sort of world is this? It is one far different and diverse from those familiar to most, a world united through disparity? However, these are all insignificant details. About this world, there is only one thing you need to know:
This settlements of this world have two kinds of inhabitants: those who die and those who do not...
Perhaps another way to put it is this: there are those who live, and those who do not.
Or putting aside all airs of mystery, this world is inhabited by humans, familiar to most... and the it is also inhabited by dolls. Yes, we mean those shells that took to human form that people once thought of as mere playthings. We mean those of flawless features and beautiful clothes that collectors coveted and children loved... and at the same time, we don't.
Those dolls of old still exist, are still loved by the people.
The dolls of which we speak are not always so fortunate.
In this society, there are dolls that are said to 'live'. As large as ordinary humans, they move and speak to their individual wills. Once their wooden textures and jointed limbs gave away their true nature, but now it is near impossible to tell a human from a doll. For this reason, there are wide opinions on their existence. Some humans accept them for what they are, and the dolls of these societies are integral to daily life. They call each other friends, family, and the odd few settlements have legalized marriage between a doll and a human. However, other communities shun them, despise them, call them demons or monsters. Unnatural. The dolls of these societies are often even killed. Shattered. Burned. The dolls are forced to hide, unable to leave for fear of persecution. Other societies use them as machines in favor of profit, leaving the dolls to suffer such abuse.
Now, everyone knows that dolls do not create themselves!
These dolls are no different - they too have an origin.
History:
Once upon a time, there was a lonely man - a dollmaker he was, and back then, dolls were simply lifeless things that took on a human form. They were beautiful, precious creations, but merely a child's plaything. However, he was the maker of those dolls, and he made each of them with the utmost care. One day, this man all but disappeared. He drew into himself first, and then into his home. He refused to speak to anyone, and no one saw him for many years to come. The people were not even sure he was still living. Now, the real events that occurred is hazed in the mists of time gone by, but there are many stories regarding them. Some say that a sort of madness came over this man, and he became obsessed with something that did not exist... and perhaps, these people have the truth closest at hand. One day, laughter was heard from the house, and he emerged from his house with a smile too bright to be of this world. Beside him was a timid child, with features fair and clothes fit for the most priceless of any doll.
Fitting... for that was what the child was. The clothes could hide the wooden joints, but not the hardness of his skin, nor the glass surface of his eyes. That boy was a doll, one moving but not alive, one who spoke but did not live... one who 'lived' but would not die. He was the first of many to come.
Now, countless years have past, countless turns of the hourglass, countless turns of the sun... and dolls now populate the world. They live amongst the human settlements as it was the will of their creator. This man of legend from eras past - people now call him the Dollmaster. Yet, strangely still, dolls continue to appear, to live on, as if they were humans themselves. The Dollmaster should have died long before, so who keeps making these dolls, so life-like that they now can laugh and cry as humans can?
Over the years, they become more and more like humans, with socket joints replaced with smoother curves, and wooden flesh replaced with softer clay. The old and the new both live on, never aging, never dying, yet still slowly growing more human. The human heart already exists - it is the body that will not follow, for after all, the dolls move not from food and drink...
... but simply the turn of a key.
Plot:
Now, to put it simply, our story revolves around these keys.
Although societies differ from town to town, most regions make use of the key-keeper or winder system, where the dolls entrust their precious keys to a human they collectively deem trustworthy. When the time comes for them to be winded, they stop by the key-keeper's shop, often located between several villages or towns, and leave once rewound. It is at one of these shops that our story begins.
You are a doll. It doesn't matter how long you've lived, how much you remember, or how much you've seen - all that matters is that you entrusted your key to one of these shops, and as the time limit approaches, you had come to be rewound. That's all that matters... because when you returned to the shop that day, the store-keeper was gone... as were all the keys entrusted to him. For the first time, you have reason to fear death. Injuries can be repaired, and most humans aren't hostile to dolls, so there was no reason to fear such a thing... until now. The store is deserted, with everything of value gone - almost everything of value. Left behind is an abandoned letter, half burnt away, but important because it leaves you two clues.
These two clues are enough to inspire a small group of dolls to fight against their impending 'death', and leave on a search for their keys on their own. However, they'll find that there is much they do not know to the nature of their keys, life, death, and themselves.
Unlike some other roleplays, in here, the roleplayers will learn several things along with the characters - after all, who exactly has taken the keys? What do they want to accomplish? Why do they need the keys? Is every doll and human you meet... really who it seems?
What will happen?
You will find out as your character does, and hopefully experience similar emotions along the way and get the most out of the roleplay experience. There are many directions to go... you could aim for the elusive 'master key'... or you could chase after these strange few who have taken the keys for reasons yet unknown...
This roleplay starts at the key-keeper's abandoned shop. Someone has just discovered and pieced together the remains of this strange and cryptic letter. The only ones left to see the message are the ones who had not yet lost hope. The other dolls visiting that day left in despair. Some would have been crying if they could. Most did not truly understand the severity of the problem. However, those are the ones who left. The ones remaining, they are the ones who would unearth not only the circumstances of their existence, but the changing world around them.
As they journey, people come and go, both companions and enemies. However, exactly how many of them are trustworthy in a society that is slowly corroding away?
PLEASE NOTE: THE PLACES TAB WILL BE USED. FOR THE SAKE OF PLOT AND KEEPING THINGS COHERENT, WE INSIST THAT YOU POST IN THE PROPER PLACES.
World:
This is the realm, the world that this story takes place ? it has neither true name nor form. Rarely have people ventured beyond the natural borders of their land, and so no one knows the true shape of the world. It may very well be flat... but such things do not matter.
This tale focuses on a small portion of this world, with blue expanses to the north and west and mountainous terrain to the east. As stated before, there are no kingdoms or nations, for every city is their own. Each city with its own laws and beliefs, its own unique culture, these settlements are scattered throughout the world. Yet still, they are connected through the delicate means of the people - trade, information, entertainment... they unite this world in all its diversity.
Our story starts in a simple town in the north, or perhaps more accurately, a village. With no firm political standing or economic benefits, this village called Terota acts as a rest stop or cross roads of sorts for several major city-states. All of use that can be found here is a small inn for the weary, a diner for the starved, a general shop for the wanderers... and a now abandoned key-keeper shop.
As for the rest of the world? Well, there are so many settlements so different from the other that it would take ten years to describe them all. Perhaps as the characters of this tale move forth, there will be reason and time to explain.
For now, there are only three names one ought to know:
Belerise - a city famous for its prosperity and wealth
Sagen - a port town where wayfarers may set for open sea
Eidings - the only all-doll settlement known in these parts
About:
The Dolls
The life of a doll is not as simple as it may seem. There are many kinds, many forms that they take, with the most common distinction being this: ball-jointed or not.
Jointed - The dolls of old, the Dollmaster's first creations are easily identified by their smaller statures and visible joints. Their eyes of glass catch the sun as they move and speak, although more haltingly than their successors. However, for their less human-qualities, they are granted a different benefit... that of a longer 'life'. One winding can last one of these older-generation dolls at least twice as long as it does these newer humanesque figures.
Jointless - Now all this title means is that the doll does not have visible ball and socket joints. Instead, like humans, they have skin that covers their skeletal frame. Over the years, the Dollmaster has learned, and the newest generation is so very close to human. Their movements are fluid, their speech well-rehearsed, and they are in all appearance, like any living boy or girl. However, these advancements come with a price, for the jointless generation have a shorter 'life', needing windings far more frequently from their predecessors.
Of course there are those from times between who carry traits from both generations, for the Dollmaster is slow to change his ways. However, even still, there is not only the hatred between the dolls and the humans - the dolls discriminate as well. The newer generations scorn their olden counterparts, calling them obsolete. The older claim themselves the originals, and also the Dollmaster's favorites.
What will happen to these dolls?
Well, who knows?
That story has not yet been told.
Cast:
Have we piqued your interest enough to make you want to join our cast? We're looking for both dolls and their human companions, of either gender. As long as your character is original and interesting, we'd love to have them running around this world of ours. ^^
Other Information of Note:
So the format of this roleplay is... well, I'm not quite sure what, but what'll happen is that GM posts will show a timer counter on the top, and then proceed to describe interactions with NPCs and your surroundings. Anything we mention can be interacted with and examined in further detail, although we won't guarantee exactly what it will reveal. This also means that depending on what you choose to notice, you might miss some vital information. If you look carefully, you'll encounter clues and strange pieces of evidence to help piece together this mystery.
Also, your character can come and go as they wish. Hopefully, that'll make it so that this roleplay will never fill up, forcing you to wait for a vacancy and dropping it, due to real life, won't induce the same cringe-inducing guilt from letting the entire group down. ^.^
Who and What We Want:
1. Our posting requirements are as follows: it must be sufficiently detailed, original, and interactive. Each post should move the plot of the roleplay forward by some small extent. We understand that not everyone is the best when it comes to grammar, so all that we ask is that we see a visible effort. No blazing malapropisms, no obvious spelling or punctuation errors, and no internet/text jargon is sufficient. We have a tendency to write longer posts ourselves, so as a result, we prefer longer posts from others as well, but in the end it's your choice. Detailed, original, interactive, and moves the plot forward - then we'll all be happy ^^
2. As for characters, please make your characters original! No one enjoys a cookie-cutter personality... take the time to give your creation life. Make it so that you would be able to pluck them out, set them down, and see them make it off into the world.
3. People who participate in the OOC would be much participated. A quiet OOC thread is boring... but also, there is often vital information that could be discussed there.
4. People with a good deal of common sense and courtesy. Some people with sanity would be nice as well, seeing as we all lack it quite a bit XD
Notes:
A large thank you to randomness, as that is what gave birth to this wonderful RP! More thank you's to the artists of the pictures we have used, but we apologize for not being able to quote your names! One last thank you to those who read all of this and feel interested enough to join!
Also, please do realize that your character has a high probability of completely unwinding, especially in the later phase of this roleplay. Please try your best to not have this occur or they become a body... hopefully your character has enough personal ties with the others so their body doesn't get ditched. XD
So hopefully, we've garnered some of your attention. If you're interested, drop us a note over at our OOC. We look forward to seeing you and your creations~
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