- Invitation Status
- Posting Speed
- 1-3 posts per day
- One post per day
- 1-3 posts per week
- Writing Levels
- Intermediate
- Adept
- Advanced
- Preferred Character Gender
- No Preferences
- Genres
- Anything that actually has, you know, a good plot. I prefer RPs with fantastical elements, however, so generally, a bit of fantasy goes a long way.
The Orders and Guilds of the Americas call it the Bloodless Grail, the sacred relic that lends its might to those who bare their fangs at their tragic fates.
The Sects and Societies of the Oriental call it the Divine Mandate, the bell from the heavens that chimes at the birth of a true Emperor.
But, for many others, it is but one rumor amongst many, proliferating all across the world. Ring the bell at midnight and your wish will come true. Confess to your loved one on top of the bell tower and your feelings shall not be denied. Baptize your child beneath the bell and they will live a long life. Those ordinary myths and those extraordinary truths never intersected, two sides of society never intersecting, never fusing.
Not until the Bell manifested.
Until the Bell rang.
Until the Bell selected.
On a restless summer night, the Gate to the Destructed World was opened once more.
Gas lamps light up the night as steam carriages putter alongside horse-drawn ones. Two lovers swing out of a bar, an elaborate music box signalling their exit with a bawdy tune out of its horn.Until the Bell rang.
Until the Bell selected.
On a restless summer night, the Gate to the Destructed World was opened once more.
On the other side of the street, a young courier rushes out on bike, a bag of telegrams periodically bumping against her body. Though radiophones have been gaining traction recently, cinema's love for written messages still have a certain sway over public perception, and the courier was glad for it.
An overworked Steam Engineering student clears up his fogged up goggles in a back alley, examining the busted power generator. The blare of a far-off tram briefly distracts him, before disappointment settles in. It was the last train of the night, and he would definitely be heading back to the dorms on foot.
Off in the distance, the clocktower rings out the witching hour as a young lady bids her guests 'good night'. Her home is empty now, strange for a noble once surrounded by servants, but photographs of her homeland stave off the loneliness. She turns to the window, inspired. A flash of powder, and another image captured: that of an unsleeping, ever-shining city.
In the background, a sea of thick, unceasing clouds rolls on, forever obstructing the radiance of the sky.
The Offshore Academy City of Ringrange rises above the dark seas as a scholastic jewel, an international university that has become a city-state of its own accord. Housing over one hundred thousand students and home to many who live on the razor's edge of technological advancement, Ringrange is, first and foremost, a microcosm of a country, replicating its most splendorous highs and its most depraved lows. The hundreds of student clubs run the majority of services present, from clockwork repair to restaurant dining, and, outside of senior officers within the Student Disciplinary Committee or faculty members, Ringrange is a city completely managed by students.
Though the average age may merely be in the early 20s, each student is, at the bare minimum, honor students who have passed three sets of entrance exams to be admitted into Ringrange. There is not a single individual who could be considered 'ordinary', and, in recent years, it has become expected that any scholar of real merit would have graduated from the Offshore Academy City.
And yet, despite that fact, there is still a clear divide between 'prodigies', 'aristocracy', and 'merely unordinary'. The scholarships available are reserved only for top scorers, snatched up by true geniuses so they can focus on nurturing their talents. The aristocracy can pay off tuition in full, relying on coffers of wealth that their family name unlocks. But for everyone else, there is little choice but to join a club, granting safety akin to being in a union, or, if no club takes you, work as a freelancer, taking on any work that others are unwilling to do.
Under such pressures, it is no wonder that many first years crumble.
Those that crack fall into the gutter, wasting away their days in the Dropout District, an euphemism for the slums. Though individual professors may beg to differ, as a whole, Ringrange has no patience for children and their fragile little egos.
For all its magnificent highs, Ringrange is balanced by its devastating lows.
Central Ward – East
Central Ward – West
Education District
Scholar Street
Student District
Roaring Surf Street
Union Arch Plaza
Hugo Memorial Library
Dropout District
The Hanging Gardens
The Council Tower
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Tall spires and wide streets makes up the Eastside Central Ward, where most professors and post-graduates take their residence. An imposingly quiet place, students rarely find themselves here, and outside of the occasional truck, the roads are empty. -
A mish-mash of apartment complexes make up the Westside Central Ward, where adult labourers who are not a part of the facility live. Factories and warehouses are also found in this district, and many clubs that require larger spaces for their equipment rent this place out. There is a constant din, with towers of smoke rising from chimney stacks. -
A collection of buildings that seems to continually be under construction, the Education District is where most lectures and labs take place. A rather small district, no doubt due to the small student population it was meant to hold in the past, more and more floors were added as time went on, like blocks continually stacked up on each other. For that reason, it is nicknamed 'Blocktown'. -
Homes of varying sizes are lined up in an orderly fashion, separated by various bike lanes. Carriages are forbidden in Scholar Street to minimize noise pollution, and it is close both to the Education District and the Hugo Memorial Library. An optimal studying environment, prepared for prep students. It isn't uncommon for house parties to take place in the larger homes though, especially after exams. -
Buildings of various styles are clustered together in the district that never sleeps. The Student District houses both most of the businesses that clubs run as well as dormitories for the majority of the student population. Though the price of the dorms may be a bit expensive, depending on whether or not you want hot water and soundproof walls, most of the shops are accessible to students, and one can feasibly go through four years in Ringrange without seeing any district other than the Student District and the Education District. -
A popular place for dates and window-shopping, Roaring Surf Street is modelled after Venice, complete with waterways travelled through by gondolas. Small, fashionable shops and restaurants are everywhere, though the clothing and accessories range from 'an overindulgent luxury to your paycheck for three months'. It is also the most pollution-free place in Ringrange, where the water is a dark blue instead of a murky green. Avoided by all lonely basement dwellers, especially during Valentines or Christmas. -
A large plaza with a large arch and the flags of all the major continental powers, Union Arch Plaza was built during the inception of the Offshore Academy City to symbolize world peace. Below the arch hangs a massive, ornate bell forged and inscribed by the Yu Dynasty's craftsmen, while the maple trees that line the roads leading to the Plaza were shipped from the Americas. This Plaza is where most city-wide events take place. -
A library with books of enough variety to rival the Great Library of Alexandria, Hugo Memorial Library was funded by the Roman Empire, who provide the majority of Literature Cards that sit on the shelves. By inserting these Literature Cards into a Film Reader, one will be able to read the contents of an entire textbook just through a single roll of plastic. It is a wonderful place, though the Library Club always jokes about how the more it grows, the more they suffer. -
An underground district that sits below the Student District, the Dropout District is the only hangout for delinquents and failed students, as well as the only place where foreign currency can be used. Black markets and banned indulgences can be found here, from speakeasies to opium dens to massage parlors. Here, the Student Disciplinary Committee works more to quarantine than to store order, and most students aren't aware of this place. -
Is it a luxury resort that pretends to be a controlled experiment, or a controlled experiment pretending to be a luxury resort? The Hanging Gardens is one of the few places in the world that works to restore the environment to its former greenery. Pure water and truly green verdure can both be found in this district at the southern corner of Ringrange, and there are many, many greenhouses all over the place. Most impressive is the artificial beach that is carefully modulated by top-tier students and professors. The Hanging Gardens is also where the residences of the Governing Council are, and tall walls prevent those without authorization from entering. It has another nickname: the Last Eden. -
The skyscraper that truly stands in the center of Ringrange. A mysterious building managed solely by automated maids and clockwork soldiers, it is said that the Governing Council rendezvous at the top level to make life-altering decisions about school policy. Committee heads are occasionally invited as well, but none have yet to describe the interior to the press.
Much has changed since the advent of the Clockwork Renaissance and the Engine Revolution, as governments change and alliances are formed.
To the Far West, the Americas stand in stalwart rebellion against their former masters, colonies unifying to form the Continental Alliance of the New World. As if taking every opportunity to snub the Great Morceban Kingdom, the Americas embrace change and progress, being the nation to benefit the most from the Engine Revolution.
Within Europe, the Island-Bound Great Morceban Kingdom, the Grand Duchy of Eirchenstadt, and the Sea-Ruling Roman Empire are constantly butting heads as the three Old Powers. Though tensions between them have reached a boiling point already, under the watchful eye of the Transcontinental People's Regime of Kievan Rus, none are willing to pull the trigger.
In the Far East, the Heaven-Blessed Yu Dynasty has all but subjugated surrounding nations, either absorbing foreign territory or turning them into vassal states. Unchallenged and unparalleled, their strong trade relations with the three Old Powers have elevated them to the greatest dynasty in Tian Guo. And yet, the impotency of their Golden Emperor has led to questions of whether or not the Yu Dynasty is still in Heaven's good graces.
The Southern Dark Continent stands unmolested by Imperialism, remaining as the last continent without borders or close relationships with any major powers. Though rumors have spread about certain tribes making connections with the Americas, ultimately, the unforgiving landscape and the lack of natural resources leaves much to be desired.
The Offshore Academy City of Ringrange rests off the mouth of the Mediterranean, with oversea bridges connecting it to the Great Morceban Kingdom, the Roman Empire, and the Dark Continent. Once a symbol of truce between the three Old Powers, it now stands on its own as a city-state that finds independence through the technological advancements that it makes.
Within the stormy waters of the Atlantic Ocean, contact has yet to be made with the Remote Mist-Nation of Meganesia.
Indeed, it is for that same reason that explosives were rarely employed in the battlefield despite their effectiveness. A unit may use loud sounds to deafen or shock opponents before launching an assault, but using it to smash apart the ranks and send limbs flying everywhere was a terrible scene for both sides. Neither side wanted such indiscriminate weaponry to be used against them, and thus, what started as a gentleman's agreement became an international ban on the use of black powder and the like in combat.
Those 'regulations' however, loosened once the Steam Revolution came about. Preventing needless casualties and wanton destruction became less of a concern as colonies would rather fight for independence at any cost, and as the Eastern power became more and more prominent. Black powder was once more introduced in the form of bombs that blimps could drop from above or handheld explosives used to crack open fortifications where piledrivers could not.
Black powder, however, was not used for projectile weapons. Seen as anti-personnel weaponry, it simply didn't make sense for guns to utilize a deadly powder that was used to destroy fortification or cause widespread havoc. Instead, guns were powdered by tanks of compressed gas, the power of each blast modified by manipulating the pressure valve. Though assembly takes longer, the reloading speed of steam guns and how they were both fairly equal when it came to tearing through flesh, made the steam-powered gun the superior variation of the two, new technologies developed to improve upon steam-powered arms as opposed to firearms.
A few eccentrics have indeed attempted to reintroduce the usage of black powder into projectile weaponry, but decades of inventions and improvements have practically stripped away any advantages that firearms may have had.
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