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The Setting:
A private mental institution - the Grant Home for the Mentally Unstable - upon a hill on the outskirts of London, in the early 1900's. The "home" is a little worn down and slighlty behind the times. Gas lamps have just been installed at the beginning of the story. We start in winter, as snow falls on the city.
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The Characters:
Henry Lochbourne (Open:Taken:Reserved)
One of the resident psychologists at the Grant Home for the Mentally Unstable. He is often at odds with the head practitioner, who sees Henry as being too involved with his patients. A relatively young man, he is driven and has, to himself, devoted his life to aiding those society has cast aside.
Head Practitioner (Open:Taken:Reserved)
A bitter old man. Very empirical in his psychology, Henry's empathy towards patients irks him.
Young Blind Woman (Open:Taken:Reserved)
Newly interred at the Home, she has been cast aside by her family. She and Henry form an immediate bond upon her arrival. Quick of wit and very intelligent, she could pass as someone who had learned at one of the more famous schools in Britain (Oxford, Cambridge, etc.), whislt having barely attended any schooling. Wasn't always blind.
NOTE: New Characters to be added as the story progresses.
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The Plot:
A young blind woman is interred at the Grant Home for the Mentally Unstable by her family. She "sees" things that aren't there, and is declared insane. Henry is assigned to her case, and meets her as she arrives. Their sessions begin shortly thereafter and the young woman thus begins to draw Henry into a world he never knew existed.
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The Rules:
Since this is a recruitment thread, once the Role Play actually gets off the ground, I'll start an official OOC.
For now the rules are as follows:
1) Follow the Batoto Forum Terms, please.
2) If you don't know what those are, go read them.
3) This is, as stated above, a recruitment thread. As of now there are only a few characters, but more will be added. If you want to be a character, post here. I'll check back often.
4) If you apply for a character, there will be a screening process. I like Role Playing, but there has to be some sort of standard of quality. I'm aiming for a "Literate Advanced" Role Play with this. The hierarchy of literacy is below for those wondering what I mean by that.
5) Colors are fun, colors are nice. For this forum, use whatever colors you want, but please stick to the normal size font. The IC on the other hand will be strictly black and white.
6) Don't post a character bio. Even if we talk and I take you in, the biographies will be added to the top post in the Recruit, the OOC and the IC.
7) Despite all of these rules, I want to have fun. You should too. Role Playing is something done in the spirit of having fun, of living lives you never could otherwise. So while I do hope to see some level of respect, let's not take ourselves too seriously.
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The Hierarchy of Literacy Levels:
These are ordered in descending order from worst to best.
Illiterate:
This one should be pretty simple. Illiteracy generally means that there is little to no grammar, lots of spelling errors, and frequent use of 1337 and chtspk. Avoid this at all costs.
Semi-Literate (or semi-lit):
A step in the right direction from the above. "Semi-Literate" Role Plays tend to involve short sentences intermingled with longer ones, decent grammar and spelling and one to two paragraph posts. While it may not seem like much, a lot of "Semi-Lit" Role Plays have really good stories. These are the best kind of Role Plays for those who are just getting their feet wet.
Literate:
This is the middle ground. "Literate" Role Plays tend to be the most frequent across the web, and have the widest variety of Role Players. Defining characteristics of"Literate" Role Plays include, but are not limited to, good use of grammar and sentence structure, very few spelling errors, two to four paragraph posts, complete lack of leet or chatspeak, and a decent amount of detail per post. These Role Plays also tend to have much better multi-character interaction than the above two levels, and are suited for an intermediate level of experience and comfort.
Literate Advanced:
These are the good Role Plays. "Literate Advanced" Role Plays are generally all about quality over quantity. The posts in these Role Plays involve impeccable grammar and sentence structure, no avoidable spelling errors, three to six (or more) paragraphs per post, incorporation of multiple characters, actions and events outside of the writers direct control, and often have a well defined direction. The cohesiveness seen in most of the Role Plays at this level is generally due to the active use of an Out of Character thread, more commonly referred to as an OOC. These are the people who really know what they're doing and what they want out of a Role Play. As such, "Literate Advanced" Role Plays are suited for a higher level of experience and comfort, and it may be beneficial to have some outside writing experience (i.e. short stories, screenplays, novels).
Advanced Literate:
The most advanced anyone will ever get, short of writing an entire novel per post. The best way to get a feel for the level of quality and length that goes on in an "Advanced Literate" Role Play is to imagine being involved in one with people like J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephen King and Piers Anthony. The post are lengthy and immaculate. The writers incorporate every aspect of each other in their own posts and flesh the story out in incredible detail. The use of OOC is necessary, and often the OOC will have more activity than the actual Role Play itself. These are the most fun to read, because it almost feels like reading an actual novel. Yet while "Advanced Literate" Role Plays may seem like fun, unless one has a masterful grasp on language and vocabulary and is willing to flaunt said mastery. The amount of flourish involved in what can only be called interactive prose is so intense that very few are actually able to achieve and maintain this level for extended Role Plays, which these most definitely are. These Role Plays are only suited for the best of the best, and as such are often very selective in who they allow to join.
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With all of that out of the way,
the thread is now OPEN for discussion!
Edited by Synwave, 27 December 2012 - 02:01 PM.