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This roleplay takes place in the MMORPG world of Rakuen, which is Japanese for paradise. Taking place in 2109, technology has advanced to become completely immersive. The HoloSpecs are the most recent development, connecting directly to the user's brain to provide the most realistic experience ever. With this headgear (a bit like a cross between Google Glass and a motorcycle helmet), the user can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste anything in the game they choose to play.

If you're familiar with the Nexon game Mabinogi, Rakuen is basically a sci-fi version of that on steroids. It's an open world with quests to guide players with a need for direction. Despite the quests and a major focus on battling, anything is possible in Rakuen.

Lately, Rakuen has been buzzing with activity thanks to its new launch in North America. To celebrate its expansion, a new quest line has been introduced. However, the quest line is buggy, and a particularly nasty glitch activates during the third stage.

When players encounter this glitch, their screen blacks out, and three words flash on the screen. Welcome to Paradise. When this screen fades, the player finds themself trapped in the game with no way to log off. This is the future; glitches are unheard of, and you can't just pull the plug to get out.

What will you do when you can't escape?

If you've read this far, thank you! This is my first attempt at a roleplay on Subeta, and I may have gone a bit overboard. I've wanted to do this for a long time though, and this is my first opportunity to try.

Like any other roleplay, this one has rules:

1. Obey Subeta's rules, obviously. PG-13 in all aspects. This is a video game, so I don't know if romance will even be an issue, but you've been warned.
2. Proper grammar and spelling, please; no chat speak in character. Ever. At this point in time, it's the ancient language of noobs long past.
3. The roleplay will initially begin in the southern portion of The Ridge, very close to the Wasteland. Be prepared.
4. To prove you're reading, put a rainbow somewhere in your first post! Rainbows are rad.
5. No god-modding; players can be very powerful, but it's all about skill level. Nobody is unbeatable.
6. One character per person, please.

If you're interested in joining, please fill out this simple character skeleton:

Name: Real life name Username: In-game name Gender: Please specify if this differs between real life & in-game Age: Approximate is fine (i.e. early twenties) Class: Generate your own class, or if you want to use the same class as somebody else, ask them first Personality: What are they like? Backstory: Gaming is a life choice; why did they do it? What is their life in reality like? Appearance: Real life & In-Game; pictures or descriptions are acceptable

Username: Rost Eisensang

Gender: female (in-game), "it's complicated" (out-of-game)

Age: early thirties

Class: Quixotic Pugilist

Personality: Cathy is cheery in her day-to-day activities; she enjoys the company of her friends and co-workers and isn't above replying to someone trying to make conversation on the bus (though initiating such a conversation is an entirely different matter). She is usually so caught up in her work that trends can pass her by, leading her to be somewhat nervous around people more than a few years younger than she is, and sometimes has to deal with the feeling that she's trespassing in someone else's space. She treasures those closest to her and is the reliable type always willing to help move a couch or watch someone's pets for a week.

Rost is a bit more outgoing than Cathy is, but still maintains the helpful and friendly nature at Cathy's core. Through Rost, Cathy enjoys helping newer players get on their feet, and sometimes makes the occasional daring rescue when higher-level monsters end up in training areas. Rost has yet to join any Rakuen organizations, but one that focuses on roleplaying with the odd spot of group hunting or questing is most likely to keep her attention. As a Quixotic Pugilist, she fights with her bare fists and feet and is quick to champion the weak or helpless; she is a "Quixotic" Pugilist instead of a "Valorous" Pugilist because she doesn't always survive these attempts and because her quest decisions always veer towards idealism so starry-eyed it's almost blind.

Backstory: Cathy has been gaming since she was a kid, back when the VR was still so primitive it could barely handle smells without erroring half the time, and in a fast-paced world of ever-advancing trends she feels somewhat left behind. Her family relied mostly on used units up until she finished trade school and was able to get a job with one of the countless indie groups that stud Manila's technological landscape; now she makes enough to keep all her bills paid and all her gadgets only a few months behind the bleeding edge. She loves the idea of becoming a different person through gaming and maintains a blog on the nature of transhumanism and gaming. Cathy mostly identifies as female but often creates elaborate personae for herself in the games she plays, reinventing herself dozens of times in an attempt to better understand herself, and her somewhat fluid self-expression has caused friction with more than a few friends who assumed she was someone she wasn't. She doesn't intentionally mislead people, but given how fully she throws herself into new roles it's all to easy for new acquaintances to get the wrong impression entirely. Through gaming, Cathy hopes she can figure out who exactly she is, and through Rakuen, she hopes to have fun doing it.

Appearance: In reality, Cathy is a slightly dumpy Filipino woman with thick glasses and an ever-present grin. She dresses as modestly as she can in the heat, aiming for long skirts of light materials, and her black hair is usually pinned up in a bun (the better to stay out of her soldering). She's in slightly better condition than the average tech due to regular gym visits and kickboxing lessons, though her midsection belies a fondness for lumpia, and her favorite color is teal. A tattoo of a bird is on her right ankle.

Rost, on the other hand, is a lean, dark-skinned woman with short brindle hair, golden eyes, and a slightly sad expression. Cathy has spent most of her time in Rakuen (well, the time not spent rescuing new players) carefully tailoring her avatar's appearance, and so while Rost's equipment isn't terribly impre

So, we just post here then?

Name: Kaylee Hamilton Username: Metus Vescor Gender: Female out of game, Male in Game Age: 16 out of game, early 20s in game Class: Fearfeeder Fool Personality: Kaylee is one of those types of people who are just born to game. She's been playing MMO's for years, and she likes to think she has learned a few things. She doesn't like to be proven wrong. She is a nice person overall, but can be a bit to serious from time to time. She's a firm believer in Roleplaying, and tries to not get out of Character for any reason. While Kaylee is playing Metus, she tries to be cold and uncaring. She wanted to go for a darker character. Not necessarily evil, Metus is almost the Anti hero. He does eventually help, but in his own twisted way. Backstory: Kaylee grew up in New York City, her father being a wealthy business man. She spent much of her childhood alone, a slave to the latest trends in video games. She went to private school, and did not make many friends, but in her MMO's she always had allys. Rakuen is just another check off on her list of games played, and although she is looking forward to spending her time playing, she expects to move on when the best big thing is released. Appearance: Kaylee Looks like my avatar. Metus is a young Caucasian male in his early 20s. He has short black hair and faded blue eyes. His face is painted white and under his eyes are small upside down triangles, typical of a mime or a Jester. His clothing look likethis . He caries a walking cane with a carved jester's skull as the handle and a large satchel behind his back.

EDIT: Forgot the rainbow requirement!

[ Yep, thanks for joining! We'll probably get started once we have a couple more people, maybe four or five total. I hope you don't mind waiting a bit?]

Name: Vivian Crest Username: Random Punk (Just goes by Punk) Gender: Female Age: Early twenties (Just turned 21) Class: Cyber Datamage Personality: In the real world, Vivian is the type of girl who blends into a crowd. Her features are ordinary and she is quiet, two characteristics that don't apply when she enters Rakuen. Punk is outgoing, loud, clever, and charismatic, basically everything that Vivi wishes that she could be. Essentially she is the same person in and out of game, but when she connects to Rakuen as Punk, she is granted confidence that she can never seem to grasp in her own life. Where real people make her nervous, she feels at home in the realm of the game. Backstory: Vivian grew up in a small town in the South, a place where most teenagers are married by the time they graduate high school and are content to live in monotony. Some manage to escape the pull of complacency offered by staying in the same place, but the majority never even leave the state. Vivian tried to get away. She wanted to go to college, find a career, and move away from home. Although they had always encouraged her dream, Vivian's parents lacked the funds to send their daughter even to a state college (let alone the private one she had her eye on). Without money for tuition, Vivi had little choice but to remain in the small town rather than pull out for loans. Working a summer job, she saved enough to purchase the HoloSpecs. She made the decision to become a gamer and left her mediocre life, family, and handful of friends behind. Appearance: There is little difference in Vivi and Punk, despite physical characteristics. Where Punk sports a short, boyish haircut, Vivian has always had long black hair with bangs that hide her face. Punk is far more athletic and a bit taller. Vivian would never have the courage to wear such flashy clothing. Punk looks like my avatar.

🌈

(Very interesting idea you have here, I'd love to join. I was going to stalk it for a little while, but I might as well jump right in. Also, I'm sorry for the similarities in the eyewear of Punk and Beat. I made the avatar for Punk, then I looked at Beat.. XD If you'd like, I can hang her look a little to make them stand apart more.)

[ Thanks for joining us! And that's all right, no need to change it! Even in a world this big, somebody's going to end up wearing the same thing somewhere xD]

.M.

RAINBOW

Wow, this definitely has to be one of the more interesting RPs I've seen here so far (granted, I've only returned to Subeta for a grand total of three days). I'd definitely like to join in if I may!

Here's my character, in case you say yes!

Name: Jonathan Garner

Username: Crusher Jay

Gender: Both real life and in-game personas are male

Age: Early twenties

Class: Permafrost Ravager

Personality: Jonathan Garner is an athlete by day and gamer by night, which leaves very little time for his studies. He is currently enrolled in a prestigious college on a sports scholarship, and while he is certainly not dumb, he likes to play the part. Jonathan is a sensitive individual, and is a strong believer that society has an order in which people should observe and follow. The strong will devour the weak. Even though he doesn't like it, he plays his role in the social order very well. As one of the top jocks on campus, Jonathan feels like he has an image to maintain, and his online character is very much a reflection of that.

Brutal, merciless, relentless are some of the words that could be used to describe Crusher's personality and battle style. To him, there is nothing more satisfying in both worlds that smashing an enemy into tiny crystalline shards of ice with any kind of giant weaponry; maces preferred, maces are always preferred.

Backstory: Jonathan came from a broken family. His father had been a parishioner in the local church and was an active member of his community in the suburbs. But he was also an abusive husband and father. On countless occasions, Jonathan had thrown his own body in front of his mother to spare her from his father's onslaught. That only made him tougher and more resilient to the abuse. One day, his mother decided that enough was enough, and took her son with her to the city. She impressed upon him the importance of a decent education, but he always seemed to be more interested in getting "stronger". Not wanting to let her down, Jonathan did his best to excel in his studies and that was how he got his scholarship.

The college gave Jonathan everything he needed: access to a fully equipped gym, the best tutors, but most importantly, it opened his eyes up to the world of Rakuen. He never had much chance to play games when he was growing up because his mother could never afford a game system this advanced, so he allowed himself to have little indulgences in the cyber world. Besides, everyone else in school seemed to be into it, and he didn't want to look like he wasn't cool or anything.

Appearance: Jonathan is every bit the collegiate footballer. He towers over most of his gaming compatriots and has a physique has is both their envy and bane when it comes to getting the girls. He has a natural dark brown hair, blue eyes and sharp facial features.

Crusher, on the other hand, is a complete mess. A drooling, snarling Neanderthal mess of sinew and muscle. The drool usually results in a jagged icicles forming at the base of his jaw, only adding to the grotesqueness of his image. Like most Ravagers, you can only see the whites of his eyes, but there is a frenzied tic that accompanies them, always darting from side to side as though looking for the next thing to smash. His skin is a pallid white colour and is icy to the touch and his armour comes complete with fur embellishments.

Hello! I would be super interested in joining this, if you'll have me. :3

Name: Rachael Moore Username: Elendia (Sometimes goes by "El" with her friends.) Gender: Female Age: 19 Class: Steampunk Mage Personality: Rachael is a quiet girl who doesn't have many friends in real life. She isn't really shy; she just doesn't like talking much. She's sweet and helpful, though she isn't very quick to trust people. She always liked gaming, but after she graduated high school and was free of responsibility, she got into hardcore gaming.

Elendia, on the other hand, is a bubbly character. She's quick to jump into group missions and is usually the most talkative of her party. Just like Rachael though, she is kind and helpful. She became a mage so that she could heal her party members and provide boosts if they needed anything. She's a good person to have around for moral support.

Backstory: Rachael had a fairly average childhood, apart from the fact that she was one of the quietest kids in her class. Her parents always tried to give her the best, but she was never truly happy until she was sitting in front of a game console. She discovered online gaming in middle school and realized how much easier it was to talk online than it is in real life. Throughout middle and high school, she would game casually with a few online friends because she had to keep up with school work. After high school, she scored herself a job at one of the local game shops and started spending more time gaming. When the store got its first shipment of HoloSpecs, Rachael knew she had to have them. She saved up her money as much as she could and bought them. Instantly, she was addicted to Rakuen and has been playing enthusiastically ever since.

Appearance: Real Life: Here In Game: Here

;; i am very interested in this. i'll be sure to post a skeleton soon enough. (:

[ Awesome, thanks for joining! (Gotta admit, I'm kind of terrified of your character |D)

Aaaah, you're just forgetting one little thing! ;u; Perhaps just read the rules again? It's a tiny thing, very easy to forget though, I'm sure you'll spot it~

Excellent! Ping me once you have it up, I'll add your character to the roster, and we should be ready to begin!]

;; here's the bulk of it. i have to step away from my computer, but hopefully this is enough for you to be able to start. (:

Name: Felicity Adkins Username: Siren Destruction (however she just goes by Siren) Gender: Female both in-, and out-, of game Age: Approximately in her late teens, around 19 or 20. She's lost track given the amount of time it feels like she's been trapped in the game. Class: Ravenous Helldemon

Personality: In-game, Felicity is cold and daring. Outspoken to a fault, she's been known for her quick tongue and quick judgement. It's not that she can't help it, because she can, but the game makes her have the control she felt eluded her in her real life. She's very compassionate regardless of the situation, her mentality that of 'strive to be the best, but only by fair means' and takes cheating in the game very seriously. In real life, however, she's a quiet girl. Someone who listens and is never heard. A bit of a doormat, really. Once when she was younger she had a better faith in other people, but a series of events led her to be reserved, practically a hermit. While she does associate with others, she's normally manipulated and used resulting in her powerful, and somewhat egotistical as well as overbearing, persona on the game.

Backstory: WIP - updating soon

Appearance: In-Game | Out-of-Game

🌈

.M. Hello! I hope this character fits what you're trying to do here; let me know if you'd like me to make any changes! Also, I am paying attention.

Name: Cathy Macaraeg Username: Rost Eisensang Gender: female (in-game), "it's complicated" (out-of-game) Age: early thirties Class: Quixotic Pugilist

Personality: Cathy is cheery in her day-to-day activities; she enjoys the company of her friends and co-workers and isn't above replying to someone trying to make conversation on the bus (though initiating such a conversation is an entirely different matter). She is usually so caught up in her work that trends can pass her by, leading her to be somewhat nervous around people more than a few years younger than she is, and sometimes has to deal with the feeling that she's trespassing in someone else's space. She treasures those closest to her and is the reliable type always willing to help move a couch or watch someone's pets for a week.

Rost is a bit more outgoing than Cathy is, but still maintains the helpful and friendly nature at Cathy's core. Through Rost, Cathy enjoys helping newer players get on their feet, and sometimes makes the occasional daring rescue when higher-level monsters end up in training areas. Rost has yet to join any Rakuen organizations, but one that focuses on roleplaying with the odd spot of group hunting or questing is most likely to keep her attention. As a Quixotic Pugilist, she fights with her bare fists and feet and is quick to champion the weak or helpless; she is a "Quixotic" Pugilist instead of a "Valorous" Pugilist because she doesn't always survive these attempts and because her quest decisions always veer towards idealism so starry-eyed it's almost blind.

Backstory: Cathy has been gaming since she was a kid, back when the VR was still so primitive it could barely handle smells without erroring half the time, and in a fast-paced world of ever-advancing trends she feels somewhat left behind. Her family relied mostly on used units up until she finished trade school and was able to get a job with one of the countless indie groups that stud Manila's technological landscape; now she makes enough to keep all her bills paid and all her gadgets only a few months behind the bleeding edge. She loves the idea of becoming a different person through gaming and maintains a blog on the nature of transhumanism and gaming. Cathy mostly identifies as female but often creates elaborate personae for herself in the games she plays, reinventing herself dozens of times in an attempt to better understand herself, and her somewhat fluid self-expression has caused friction with more than a few friends who assumed she was someone she wasn't. She doesn't intentionally mislead people, but given how fully she throws herself into new roles it's all to easy for new acquaintances to get the wrong impression entirely. Through gaming, Cathy hopes she can figure out who exactly she is, and through Rakuen, she hopes to have fun doing it.

Appearance: In reality, Cathy is a slightly dumpy Filipino woman with thick glasses and an ever-present grin. She dresses as modestly as she can in the heat, aiming for long skirts of light materials, and her black hair is usually pinned up in a bun (the better to stay out of her soldering). She's in slightly better condition than the average tech due to regular gym visits and kickboxing lessons, though her midsection belies a fondness for lumpia, and her favorite color is teal. A tattoo of a bird is on her right ankle.

Rost, on the other hand, is a lean, dark-skinned woman with short brindle hair, golden eyes, and a slightly sad expression. Cathy has spent most of her time in Rakuen (well, the time not spent rescuing new players) carefully tailoring her avatar's appearance, and so while Rost's equipment isn't terribly impressive statwise she can usually snag a few compliments with it. Most recently Rost has been clad in a horned mask and flowing star-patterned robes that move like water when she fights.

(( .M. Oh I would really love to join this! I'll edit with my skeleton as soon as I finish, alright? 🌈 ))

Name: Riley Manson Username: Eris Titania Gender: MtF in real life, female in-game. Age: 17 Class: Sparkplug Samurai Personality: Riley is very kind but also quite obnoxious, curious to a fault and drawn to sticking a nose into other people's business with the intention of being helpful. And, though her tall, full-figure and stone-cold stare would suggest, this shows plainly in Eris as well. Rather unpredictable, as well as pessimistic, which mixes oddly with her sure-fire and peppy personality. Backstory: Riley was born the second of four children in a town just outside of Toronto; and, the only boy. And though his parents were both rather accepting people, being the only son didn't exactly help when Riley started experiencing gender dysphoria in his earlier teens. At first, he tried to hide it from everyone, causing more and more inner problems, and a huge fight with his oldest sister. Eventually, he moved out at age 16, still struggling with trying to understand who he was. That's around the time he found gaming. And, not only did he love it in and of itself, but it was one place where he could truly be him, or rather, herself. Appearance: Out of and In game

((OOC: Can we start, can we start? I'm super excited about this rp, and I think I'm ganna burst waiting. BURST I tell you!))

[Goodness, I didn't expect so many people to join! Hopefully everyone's okay with the number we're stopping at; I do believe it's time to start!

...but, erm, this is my first roleplay on Subeta, and I'm not one hundred percent sure how things normally work around here. Is posting a free-for-all sort of thing, or is there usually an order established prior to starting?]

[[ ;; some people have an order established, but when i was real big in the roleplaying forums a while back, i found it generally helpful if it's a free-for-all because if it's an order and someone has to leave the computer unexpectedly with no warning to us, the roleplay is basically stopped dead in its tracks waiting for them to return. if anything, i say create a ping group that can be pinged in each post so that people who might not be too active still know they're a part of the thread. (:

also, & ;; you guys might be interested. it's never to late to see if something piques your guys' interests. ❤️ ]]

[ ...erm, ping group? I'm a serious noob ;u;]

I'm going to have to pull out of this roleplay, as much as I hate to. Unfortunate events have prompted me to return home, where I unfortunately do not have a steady internet connection. I will be checking in just to browse the forums, but I won't have time to keep up with the roleplay. Sorry and good luck.

[[ ;; it's alright. you can make a ping group here. it's basically mass pinging, by pinging individual people involved in that group instead of having to ping each one individually with the fear of missing someone.

;; best of luck with whatever is going on your real life! ]]

[Sorry for my absence, everyone! I'd be lying if I didn't say I might've become obsessed with Animal Crossing and forgotten about Subeta. Whoops.

In any case, the ping group for this board is ! I believe I sent an invitation to the group to everyone accepted for the roleplay; if you didn't get one, let me know!

We should be starting very soon! There's just one more thing I'm waiting for before we do.]

(( Awesome! I'm very excited to see where this goes, and I hope everybody has fun with the story. ))