A Modest Proposal for more X-Men Action

[Dragon]

I know there are some RPers who are trying to get new X-Men characters going and have been frustrated by the lack of action. Meanwhile, we've had several ideas for vast, epic stories fall by the wayside, mainly because they've ground to a halt under their own inertia. As compelling as Cullen's and the Brotherhood are, they both require a certain administrative presence to keep them going. Cullen's needs teachers, the Brotherhood needs recruiters and masterminds. Right now, we don't have enough interested RPers to populate the world we've created.

Besides, with a few exceptions, the best X-Men RPs haven't been the epic story arcs that have been so fun to imagine - they've been the everyday stories of mutants searching for a place in a hostile world, making friends and enemies, trying to make it as a vigilante superhero or criminal, or just trying to live their lives in peace.

So I've got an idea for a setting that should be more flexible. Rather than placing our stories in a school for mutants, which is, by necessity, very structured and hierarchical, how about a private safehouse for mutants who don't have anywhere else to go - just an old house in a poor district owned by one or two adult mutants trying to make a difference.

The residents could be orphans, runaways, boarded students, anything... they still go to school on their own, they may have their own jobs, their own activities away from the house... they may come and go as they please, and rent is worked out individually, whatever each resident can pay. There's no real power structure, and they don't really go on missions, though, in order to protect their own, they could band up as a sort of gang.

I'm thinking a good setting would be Los Angeles. It's on the west coast, far away from Cullen's, there's an extensive gang presence, and the socioeconomic barriers are huge. Meanwhile, we've got a whole huge city to play in as well as the coast, the desert, and the Sierras... In a way, it could be Grand Theft Auto: X-Men. :)

Villains could appear as gang members, prejudiced cops, or members of the Brotherhood (since they are global), and there's no reason there can't be conflicts among residents, either.

Cullen's and all the characters involved there still exist; this is not a reset of any kind. If you've got a Cullen's student or teacher and want to move them to the LA safehouse, as long as you can explain it IC, it's kosher.

Any takers? :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I am interested in playing the house owner. dibs dibs dibs!

[Dasquian Belargic]

*see's the thread title and panics* :uhoh

Oh thank god you aren't proposing we eat baby mutants.

Grand Theft Auto: X-Men.. I like it. I can imagine Fade being involved in this.

[Rossos Atrapes]

*see's the thread title and panics* :uhoh

Oh thank god you aren't proposing we eat baby mutants.

Grand Theft Auto: X-Men.. I like it. I can imagine Fade being involved in this.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It took me a second to remember "A Modest Proposal". I think I woke up my room-mate laughing. I think I PMed Dragon about kick-starting a mutant character. This could work, actually, for him either way; Cullen's or Los Angeles.

[Dragon]

Someone has read her Swift. ;)

I may be a co-owner with LD. There doesn't have to be a whole lot of authority, but there should be a little. Dragon is definitely too entrenched at Cullen's to make the switch, but I'll come up with something.

EDIT: Also, you don't have to live at the safehouse to be involved. You could be a kid from the suburbs who sneaks off there to hang out, or a business tycoon with an interest in a gathering of mutants... sky's the limit! The only real limitation is that if we have twenty or thirty people living there, it starts to stretch credibility... :lol

[Kelly Perris]

I do believe I've got something for this.

[Dragon]

Incidentally, I was thinking something like a ten-bedroom house. Holly and I talked it over, and if we've got two caretakers, that leaves eight for boarders, probably bunks in each room, so up to sixteen before we start putting people on the couch or in sleeping bags in the kitchen.

Crowded, yes, but most of the characters aren't going to be in the house all day.

As for the look of the place, we were thinking something like this (plus or minus a few scorchmarks/craters from powers gone awry):

[Droo]

I think this idea is right on the money in terms of what the mutant-roleplaying community needs: it's gritty, toned down, and close-to-the-bone storytelling. I'm all for this.

[Boulder]

Sounds good to me. For anyone that may not be aware of some of the things going on, Feral just recruited Boulder in one of the threads, and it seems that they are now bent on trying to take over a small port city on the east coast.

Another possibility of a California based group of mutants would be something like a "west vs east". I guess an expanded version of current gang wars, but with mutants.

[Anna Fernandez]

Here I am! I like my house... just have to set out some ground rules

[Dasquian Belargic]

Nice house. Looks much more... well cared for than I'd imagined it.

[Flux]

*GASP!* Is this a...reset?

[Dasquian Belargic]

A reset?


Cullen's and all the characters involved there still exist; this is not a reset of any kind.

No :mneh

[Flux]

I was picking. :p Do wish I'd caught that line though. XD

[Dragon]

Nice house. Looks much more... well cared for than I'd imagined it.

That's just to give you the basic idea. It probably would be pretty run-down, but the caretakers are going to be concerned that it stays safe.

[Ash Addams]

*disintegrates the front door*

...oops. :|

[Anna Fernandez]

Mio dios! The door! :eek

[Ben Merasska]

Erm, wouldn't it be Dios mio? But! But you can say it anyway you want! I wasn't correcting you.

[Carlos Calaveras]

A ciencia cierta, hombre :rolleyes

[Anna Fernandez]

psh whatever, I'm not spanish i just play one on tv :)

[Aidan Fox]

'Sup. :cool

Going to play it that Aidan's been at the house for about a year now. He rolled up onto Anna's doorstep, just another hard-luck case, but he proved himself useful as a mechanic, handyman, and all-around gopher. He's sort of grown into place as her second, and he'll be available to help bring in newbies.

[Anna Fernandez]

http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?p=292692#post292692 first post is up :D

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

The great thing about Vipul is that I can get involved in this too without any continuity issues :D

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:lol too true!

[Freight Train]

I saw an opening and had to take it. >.>;;

[James Prent]

Yay! :D :D :D

[Julian Davitt]

I've made my own foray into the West. Casa de Redención, yo soy aqui!

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Great intro post!

[Captain Untouchable]

I have a Brotherhood-type guy (Hurucan) that I've only just managed to get started out after meaning to for quite a while. I didn't really have a long-term plan for him aside from getting him involved in the Brotherhood.

Has anyone called dibs on rerpresenting the Brotherhood presence in LA? Hurucan is a charismatic guy; I was thinking that maybe he could get himself in with the right crowd, and wind up being sent to Los Angeles to recruit new followers, only to wind up being the local "gang leader". He'd still defer to Saladin & co, and his following wouldn't be that large: just a small-scale presence to provide a little opposition and temptation to the guys at Redención.

[Maxine Flannery]

I so want to be a part of this RP, but I'm not active enough to keep up with the rest of you to be a cast regular, and when I am, it's been a struggle for me. I don't mean to sound whiny, but that's the level my frustration of trying to fit in has reached and I don't know what to do. I see all the threads and just sulk, wishing I could keep up. =/

[Kale]

Well, that's the beauty of this setting - you can be a recurring character and just do a thread every now and then. I'd love to see you around, but I know sometimes things are just too busy.

Untouchable, that sounds like a great idea. And, as we were saying before, Redención won't turn away Brotherhood mutants as long as they leave the revolution outside, but I'm sure it would increase the tension at the house, especially as the Brotherhood's exploits start making the news.

Of course, if it ends up being a turf war between Redención and the local Brotherhood chapter... well, that could be interesting, too. :)

[Daniel Hartford]

H'lo there. May I be of assistance?

[Katchen]

I really need the skinny on everything that's happened in the RP if I have any hope of bringing Max back. So someone please help, and PM me.

[Mandy with an I]

Well, this would give me a chance to do more with Dallas (Banner and Oddity would be staying where they are) and maybe as a starting point for my newest x-person. Nice idea Kale.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Btw, in the new thread, the first person who wants to can invent Ronnie the NPC's mutant ability/curse.

[Anna Fernandez]

Oh and Feral, Anna isn't in the kitchen, she's not in line of sight of anyone in the kitchen. :mneh Oh well :)

guys for now, can we slow down on the people suddenly appearing in the house? I mean, Anna is trusting and all but it would be nice if you at least knocked okay? (this does not apply to Firefox who already lives there)

[Aidan Fox]

Firestorm. Aidan Fox. :mneh

I have the power of open-source browsing! :D

I was considering starting a thread for people to rollick and riot in the streets as well. May do that when I finish classes tomorrow.

[Julian Davitt]

Hey, Firefox, I've waiting in some Park Ranger's cage for quite bit now. My back's getting sore. ;)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:lol Firefox it is sticking...lolz

[Anna Fernandez]

Some random thread ideas:

*protecting the House from a gang war on the street

*going shopping and running into prejudice or helping someone or both

*turmoil in the house as a resident breaks the rules (keep in mind that Anna can throw out anyone she wants and then your character is not allowed to RP in the house anymore. You could RP around the house, but no dropping in unexpectedly)

[Jamie Morrigan]

@ Julian: Meant to get to it yesterday, should be able to get to it this evening. I've spent much of the day driving from Lubbock to Dallas, but now I'm here and should have plenty of time on my hands.

@ Thread ideas: there could be drama around/after school - this'd be public school in a low-income neighborhood, so a very different situation from Cullen's.

I'm also trying to stir up some ideas for a mutant gang, and I might contribute a character to be a ringleader. They could try tempting House members into their fold, and they probably will eventually be courted by Hurucan and absorbed into the Brotherhood network.

I've also got an idea for a major crisis. The tension's going to keep building until, one night, there's an epidemic of anti-mutant riots across several neighborhoods. Redencion will find itself under siege most of the night, and there can also be storylines about mutants stranded outside trying to survive, maybe trying to tend the wounded and maintain pockets of sanity until morning.

[Anna Fernandez]

Chimera is invited to my new clsd thread...

[Feral]

Evil ring leader tempting House residents? I'm working the inside angle. :) And eyeing the really cute firecracker of a house mother.

[Ash Addams]

I just broke into you guys's house :ninja

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Whaaaa O_o

Anyone who wants can feel free to start other threads, at school or coming back 'home' from school, or heading to the House for the first time.

[Anna Fernandez]

BTW Feral, its not usual for Redencion House to house youngsters that aren't in at least highschool. Jamie is an exception to the rule. But of course, if she needed to take care of a child for a few weeks Anna wouldn't say no. ;)

[Feral]

They're all children to Feral. They have to prove themselves to be adults.

[Anna Fernandez]

Just saying 'cause I doubt teens would be holding teddy bears. ;) no biggie

[Feral]

The girls still might. Maybe some of the guys too. You just never know. But you know I've got good care of you taken down pat. Just don't go downstairs. You stay tucked in your bed and I'll handle the big bad man.

Wait, I am the big bad man.

[Dallas Walker]

I sleep with a teddy bear...>_> (and in this account, that is a little strange)

[Aidan Fox]

:lol

Oh, I figured we should have a fictitious neighborhood for the house. In "Come All You Weary," I put it in Los Santos, which is the LA equivalent in GTA: San Andreas. It's generally somewhere in southern Los Angeles, probably near Compton.

[Anna Fernandez]

Sounds good to me :)

[Anna Fernandez]

Well Jacob and I have started escalating the power struggle in the neighborhood. The Three Elevens are a local gang, who do usual gang stuff and also hate mutants.

We should also have a mutant gang to throw into the mix, I think. And Redencion house will get caught in the middle.

[Oddity]

*shakes fist at Feral* Just wait til I get back to the states! :mad

I'm going to *try* to start a Dallas thread sometime tonight/tomorrow.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

If yous guys start an RP with Redencion House, plz to post title/link here so we/I can keep track of which ones are LA mutant threads. It would be most helpful.

Also if you need/want Anna let me know, and if you DON'T want her but I see that your characters are breaking the rules I'll probably crash and there will be consequences! :) Or Firestorm or Jacob might. We're like the head honchos. ;)

[Cameron Bell]

Made self-explanatory by the title but just in case, this (http://75.126.43.122/forum/showthread.php?t=19043) is a Redención House roleplay. :)

[Ethan Evans]

I need something new for this guy to do.. he is just too amusing, in my head, to ditch due to inactivity at Cullen's.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Feel free to have him crash at the House!

[Jacob Foley]

Feel free to have him make cheeeeesssee... at a cheeeeeesssee factory... in a little town called... Cheeeeeeeeeesssee! :D

[Ben Merasska]

<a href='http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/view.aspx?ciid=2900766' ><img src='http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/12/17/128740021828061496.jpg' alt='funny pictures' /></a><br />moar <a href='http://icanhascheezburger.com'>funny pictures</a>

[Pedro Calaveras]

We should also have a mutant gang to throw into the mix, I think. And Redencion house will get caught in the middle.

Olah, chulita :cool:

[Tess Abrahams]

Any relation to Carlos, hombre?

I may bring Tess into this - perhaps after she left Cullen's and a brief interlude with the Brotherhood, she stayed at Redencion for a time before hitching back to Oregon and dropping off the map for a while?

Anyway, she'll be coming back and will probably pop in at the House

[Anna Fernandez]

Sounds good, I will be glad to see you again, chica. *hug*

[Pedro Calaveras]

Any relation to Carlos, hombre?

My little brother, si... vato loco.

[Jacinda Blake]

So... I'm graduated and hitting the road with mine mexican hottie. No pun intended. :p I'd say we'd come see you ^, but you look like trouble.

[Tess Abrahams]

Isn't a little trouble worth it to see your old BFF? :(

[Jacinda Blake]

Oh, I suppose we could make a stop at the beach.. and you're still my BFF you treacherous minx! :twak:lol

[Wyl Staedtler]

Yay! Just con't let Carlos make fun of my no powers crisis. It's a sensitive subject. :cry

[Jacinda Blake]

If he points and laughs you have my word that he will find himself up a tree. ;)

[Dee Cusiak]

Hello! I've come to L.A. to be around peeps like me .... eventho it's hard for me to relate to peeps like me. But it's better then running around naked in the woods at night, howling at the moon.

So ... how should I jump in XD

[Lilaena De'Ville]

What's wrong with running around naked in the woods at night? :p

Just start a new thread taking place in LA. You can hear about the House and head for there for a place to crash, or...? Just be somewhere and someone can run into you for fun times and hilarity.

[Dee Cusiak]

I fleshed out the backstory :p

Basically she hands around the house because she's got nothing better to do now that High School is over. One of the kids at the house introduced her to Anna about a year ago.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Ok sounds good to me :)

[Captain Untouchable]

All of the kids at Redención attend the local High School, right?

Since Cullen's is shifting the focus more onto the kids-with-powers side of things, I wondered if any of you High School age people from Redención would be interested in branching out into the schoolyard / classroom side of things a bit.

At the moment, myself and Rosie (playing Alec Goreman) have been spinning the idea of having the Brotherhood effectively use the High School as a recruiting ground. Alec is Hurucan's son, and a member of his little Brotherhood club: the idea would be to slot him into the teaching staff, and keep an eye on which kids might have mutant powers, might be interested in being involved with the Brotherhood, etc. I remember there being some talk of there being "gangs" - maybe the High School scene is part of that, with the Brotherhood kids approaching the students that Alec things might be suitable for recruitment?

Because classroom stuff is a tad boring, I doubt much would happen during actual lessons (unless people wanted it to) - more like the occasional exploit during detention sessions, lunch breaks, talking to the teacher after class, etc.

So far, we've got two teachers - Alec Goreman teaching English, and Tom Harriman (Untouchable) teaching Maths and/or Physics/Science (do you guys have separate Physics/Chemistry/Biology teachers and lessons state-side, or do you have combined Science classes?). Harriman is a "good guy"; he'd probably be a proponant of fighting back against the Brotherhood though, which might not endear him to the adults at Redención all that much. :\

[Dasquian Belargic]

I have Pedro and Void in the Los Santos area.

Saladin has sent Void on a nation-wide tour to stir up Brotherhood support, so if there is already a cell nearby he'll likely want to meet with you guys and see how the local grass roots support is.

Pedro.. he is too old to be in school but I guess some of his gang might be. He is probably pretty notorious locally.