- Posting Speed
- 1-3 posts per week
- One post per week
- Online Availability
- Varies incredibly
- Writing Levels
- Elementary
- Intermediate
- Adept
- Advanced
- Adaptable
- Preferred Character Gender
- Primarily Prefer Male
- Genres
- Modern/realistic. Low fantasy. Low Scifi. Supernatural. Future Dystopia (not post-apoc).
RECRUIT THREAD OPEN: OPEN SIGNUPS - Headphone Jack: A Gang/Music RP
Headphone Jack takes place in the country of Musica, which has outlawed music approximately 100 years ago.
It is bordered by the countries of Indie, Emo, and Headphone. Separated by the great wall, the border is patrolled to keep out musical contraband.
There are whispers of an impending war between the countries of Musica, Indie, and Emo. Headphone, however, remains neutral.
Two gangs in Musica have formed - NuMetal (Nus) and Electronica (Elecs). Nus concentrate on media (CDs, etc.) while Elecs specialize in instruments and music creation devices. Both gangs get their product from Headphone, and call these operations 'jack's.
NuMetal's Leader is known as Ryan, or Rye for short. The leader of Electronica is Rachel "Rae" . Years ago, they used to be part of the same gang (Nausicaa) before they split. Rye gets violent and refuses to discuss rumors with his members about the past. Meanwhile, Rae is a little more lenient about it, but prefers to concentrate on the present.
Another key faction in the rp are the Clefs, who are the police. While this rp assumes they concentrate on gang and music-related activity, they enforce all laws. There are positions for undercover clefs currently infiltrating the gangs.
Players can also create civilian characters. While generally assumed to be civilians seeking gang membership, the affiliation is not limited to this. Civilian simply means the character is not a gang member or a clef. Possibilities are nearly limitless.
I'm the GM and I play Rye. Rachel is a skeleton that must be filled by someone else. [Note: her position has now been filled]
If the RP starts, most of it will probably be copied and pasted from that page. I've run this RP a few times, but it has always died for one reason or another. I love the universe though, and so has everyone else who has participated. I'm hoping to breathe new life into it and hopefully have it last long-term.
I'm also kicking around the idea of a forced time-passage dynamic. Like an RP day is 5 thread pages, or something.
Anyway, let me know if you like this universe, and maybe we can start it up again soon. =]
Also, yes, I love puns.
So sue me.
Despite the puns, the RP is actually quite serious in-world.
| Headphone Jack (synopsis) Headphone Jack takes place in the country of Musica, whose political party Metallica has outlawed music approximately 100 years ago through The Mute Movement. Musica is bordered by the countries of Indie, Emo, and Headphone. Seperated by The Great Wall , it is patrolled constantly to keep out musical contraband. There are whispers of an impending war between Musica, Indie, and Emo. Headphone, however, remains neutral.Two gangs in Musica have formed - NuMetal (Nus) and Electronica (Elecs). Nus deal mainly media (CDs, etc.) while Elecs specialize in music creation devices, such as instruments. Both gangs get their product from Headphone in operations called Jacks .Clefs are the law enforcement of Musica. Their aim is to completely eliminate music and gang activity. Metallica has made this easy for them, as the penalty for gang affiliation and music trade is death.The roleplay takes place in Musica's capital city of O Town. Players can have characters that are gang members, clefs, or civilians. |
Headphone Jack takes place in the country of Musica, which has outlawed music approximately 100 years ago.
It is bordered by the countries of Indie, Emo, and Headphone. Separated by the great wall, the border is patrolled to keep out musical contraband.
There are whispers of an impending war between the countries of Musica, Indie, and Emo. Headphone, however, remains neutral.
Two gangs in Musica have formed - NuMetal (Nus) and Electronica (Elecs). Nus concentrate on media (CDs, etc.) while Elecs specialize in instruments and music creation devices. Both gangs get their product from Headphone, and call these operations 'jack's.
NuMetal's Leader is known as Ryan, or Rye for short. The leader of Electronica is Rachel "Rae" . Years ago, they used to be part of the same gang (Nausicaa) before they split. Rye gets violent and refuses to discuss rumors with his members about the past. Meanwhile, Rae is a little more lenient about it, but prefers to concentrate on the present.
Another key faction in the rp are the Clefs, who are the police. While this rp assumes they concentrate on gang and music-related activity, they enforce all laws. There are positions for undercover clefs currently infiltrating the gangs.
Players can also create civilian characters. While generally assumed to be civilians seeking gang membership, the affiliation is not limited to this. Civilian simply means the character is not a gang member or a clef. Possibilities are nearly limitless.
I'm the GM and I play Rye. Rachel is a skeleton that must be filled by someone else. [Note: her position has now been filled]
EDIT: I've started working on this rp and a recruitment thread will be made when I've finished fleshing out everything (maybe a week or two?)
In the meantime, you can get a headstart by reading the current rules and how to join here.
The stuff in red needs to be linked and/or possibly updated. But everything else in that thread is completed.
I aim to start the rp in early February.
All those who post that they are interested here will be tagged when the recruitment thread is made.
Update 31 Jan:
Recruit thread & OOC chat now open! OPEN SIGNUPS - Headphone Jack: A Gang/Music RP
In the meantime, you can get a headstart by reading the current rules and how to join here.
The stuff in red needs to be linked and/or possibly updated. But everything else in that thread is completed.
I aim to start the rp in early February.
All those who post that they are interested here will be tagged when the recruitment thread is made.
Update 31 Jan:
Recruit thread & OOC chat now open! OPEN SIGNUPS - Headphone Jack: A Gang/Music RP
-
Enter the rival gangs, Electronica and NuMetal, the members of each labeled Elecs and Nus, respectively.
They're fighting over the Musica territory - a country that has banned music in all forms. Singing? No. Humming? Gone.
Any remote relationship to music is quickly silenced and the perpetrator forcefully detained.
Most citizens of Musica have not heard music at all in their lifetimes, and when faced with it consider it the devil's work, or horrific in nature. They cover their ears and cry. Music hurts Native Musicians' ears.
The bordering countries, Indie, Emo, and Headphone, are currently walled off from Musica, much like East and West Germany once were.
While Indie and Emo have an unfound hate for Musica, Headphone has a neutral ground on the matter. These years are deeply routed with rumors of an upcoming war, all based on a few notes strung from a guitar.
Needless to say, a few of the residents in Musica know what music is and wish to embrace it. Headphone illegally provides Musica residents with CDs, CD Players, mp3s and their players, Tapes and their players, as well as even earlier findings such as 8-tracks and records. Additionally, instruments are also Jacked from Headphone and sold through the hands of the Nus and Elecs.
The Nus specialize in Media, while the Elecs concentrate moreso on instruments and how to use them. These gang bangers all love what they do and the money that comes from it. Despite what the main populace may believe, the gangs have never taken their music wares for granted, and ultimately simply wish to overthrow the corrupt government of Musica, known as Metallica.
Approximately one hundred years a go, The Metallica founded The Mute Movement, which was essentially the downfall of all audio. Within this movement, agents, labeled as Clefs find and destroy music as well as those who distribute and own it.
Because of this, Nus and Elecs are outlaws, and any known members should be reported to Clefs immediately to be processed and either reformed or destroyed.
Reformation is achieved by injecting a neurotoxin into your system that makes it impossible to hear any sort of tempo or music. You can discern human speech, but that's about it. Most gang bangers would rather kill themselves than turn, essentially, deaf.
But, there is still hope. There's been hushed rumors of The DJ, a juice that can not only restore a reformed Musician, but grants the user impervious to any reformation in the future.
The DJ, if found, could be a severe threat to the Metallica, as well as grant the gang who finds it impenetrable power.
The gang with the juice wins Musica. And once Musica is won, they can run their world as they please, without a rival gang being in their way. A revolution will come.
But there's a problem: No one knows where it is.
Ryan ("Rye"), the head of the Nus, is said to have an older brother that is a Clef. The Elecs don't know if this information is true, but assume it to be. The Nus are never given clarification on the matter, since whenever Ryan's older brother is brought up, someone gets the beatdown. Because of this, suspicions arise.
On the other hand, Electronica's leader, Rachel had a relationship(or friendship) with Ryan at one time. In fact, it was rumored that it was a rumble in between the two that brought about rival gangs. Both the Elecs and Nus have been running for at least five years.
Those who know the true story behind the separation between the once-uniform gang(known as Nausicaa) into the separate factions have been sworn into secrecy(at least on the NuMetal side of things).
To join the gang(or hear music, if you are a native musician) you must be processed.
Being processed consists of two separate, but equally important parts:
# The Beat-in. Much like traditional gangs, there will be a beat-in for a prospective gang member or someone wishing to listen to music without enduring the pain that comes form being a native Musician. The beat-in consists of the prospective being beaten by the gang members and observed by the leader. During this time, the prospective is not allowed to fight back, forced to simply endure.
If they pass this, they are considered 'worthy' of being granted the privilege of music.
# Tempo Control. After the wounds have been treated from the beat-in, usually on the next day(very rarely the same day) Tempo Control takes place. Tempo control is a surgery needed by native musicians only. A Native Musician has an extra piece in their ear called The Tie, which vibrates so much when anything other than a human voice is heard, that it causes headaches(and thus their hate of music). The surgery to remove this is called Tempo Control. It is a relatively simple procedure, but one that has been so tight-lipped, that the only way to find out how to do one is through a gang.
Additionally, there more than likely may be a fee that comes with being processed, especially if you are not joining the gang. In many circumstances, you can not be processed or Tempo Controlled without helping the gang in some way.
Once within the gang, you are given the rules and regulations of the new family you have admitted yourself into, as well as an initiatory mission, in some cases to prove you are not a Clef or narc.
After these introductory practices, you are considered part of the family and are to be protected under that gang. In most cases, you disown you original family to become a part of the Elecs or Nus. After substantial trust is gained, you can begin to learn the trade secrets and start dealing or selling.
You do not actually participate in any of the Headphone Jacks unless you are of very high status. -
More information about Clefs?
Clefs are like police. You've got your traffic patrol, gang patrol, etc., etc., SWAT and FBI. The umbrella term for them all is 'clef'. They work for the government. You know how sometimes USA's government is called US Legislature? Well, in this world, it's "Metallica". So you can use metallica and government interchangeably, and people will know what's going on.
What kind of timeline are we working on?
The Metallica's really uptight. They pretty much redefined the world during the Mute Movement, and thus have changed the date system. While this world pretty much resembles our 2006+, right now we are in "101 AM", which is, 101 years 'after mute'. The mute movement first appeared in 0 AM/PM, and likewise, anywhere pre-movement, is whatever year PM.
More information about the Tie and Tempo Control?
Ties are an extra piece of a native musician's inner ear. When a musician is born, it is customary to put this piece in their ear, and it is the law to do so. People who move into Musica obviously do not have this piece, but would get it as part of their citizenship(If they are under 5 years old when they come in).
This stated, if your character meets those requirements, they have a Tie. Even if they are a clef.
Now, about Tempo Control- this is basically a process where you sedate a person and stick a pair of scissors in their ear and cut the Tie from underneath the skin it's grown under within the ear canal. The gang leaders know this surgery quite well, and pick very few people to teach it to. Both gang leaders haven't taught anyone the procedure.
The Gang's history (Nausicaa)?
(Keep in mind no "normal" characters would know this)
In a really brief nutshell, Rachel came to Ryan(nicknamed Rye) with music. Rye loved it so they started a charity effort to bring music to Musica. Rye's family is a family of government. His brother was a lawyer and the rest of Rye's family were pretty much government officials in one way or another.
Rye and Rachel got into a lot of trouble, but because of Rye's family backing, they tended to get off easily because they were only kids...
Nausicaa became an actual gang some time after that, but a peaceful one that was only dedicated to bringing music to the country. Eventually, they couldn't handle the expenses, and so Rachel brought up the idea of charging for the instruments. Rye begrudgingly agreed, as long as there was no profit. Soon afterward, Rye discovered that Rachel had raised the prices to a point where the gang gained an enormous amount of profit, and that was where Rye drew the line.
He left Rachel in a fit of rage, and one of the members of Nausicaa reported him to the clefs. Rye was detained for a year, but his older brother(the lawyer) managed to get him out. Ryan's brother was fired from his job because of this effort to help Rye, and thus is now the head chief of the clefs in the district who's only ambition is to shatter the Music trade.
Rye was under the impression that it was Rachel who told the clefs about him and not one of his/her members, so made it his mission to spite her and get her back with his own gang. Some members sided with him in the matter and thus left Nausicaa to form NuMetal, and Rachel's side eventually changed their name to Electronica.
Rye has a zero-tolerance policy for talking about what happened. If anyone brings it up, he'll likely beat them. Rachel, on the otherhand, is more lenient, but only with older members who were a part of Nausicaa; she doesn't appreciate lower ranks or newer members spreading rumors.
Explain how music affects people with Ties, and the laws regarding music?
When someone who has a Tie listens to music, it gives them a headache dependent on volume and bass. So if they have the volume down low, it will be irritating, and if it's blasting, they will either have a migraine or temporarily stunned.
So, yes, in this manner, if you were to blast music at a clef (who has a Tie; some may not if they're not native) you could get away quickly.
As far as the laws concerning music go, it's not tolerated. You pretty much are set with a strike policy and sort of clef record (like a police record).
If you're wearing headphones, you could claim you don't know what they are, and just say you bought them off the street thinking they were a fancy headband, as long as it wasn't connected to anything. This may be a warning if you look innocent enough, but could end up with a ticket or a fine.
If you're actually caught with something that plays music, for example, an instrument, CD Player, mp3 player, etc., the item is confiscated and destroyed, and you're vigorously questioned with a high possibility of jail time for a few months or more depending on which offense of your's it is and what item (A guitar would warrant more jail time than an mp3 player).
If you hum or sing in a public place, then you're given a warning or ticket or possibly a fine, but on the third account you are Reformed.
If you're suspected to be assisting in the illegal music trade, or a gang member, you are immediately detained and questioned regarding your trade (even if there is no evidence). If you give up who you're with and identities, you will be Reformed and allowed to live your life. If you refuse to cooperate, you'll be allowed a trial, but with a jury of clefs and not peers. If you have a good lawyer, you can still get out, but you need a really, really good lawyer to convince the jury.
Even if you are deemed innocent, you have to stay in jail for a year (although this can be counted while awaiting trial instead of after it). If you are found guilty from the trial you are put to death.
Do the gangs have colors, signs, uniforms, tags?
In short, no. Graffiti isn't really used that much by the gangs, since the risk is so great for being caught. Elecs and Nus are somewhere in-between the mafia, who run full-out operations, and gangs, who just do it because they can. Because of this, there are some things that have begun to die out.
Rye and the Nus tend to take things more seriously whereas the Elecs have a more laid-back attitude about how gangs and jacks should be held.
For signs, there's devilhorns which show love for music, but that was pretty much a given. ;p
What kind of cities are there in Musica?
Clef headquarters is in O Town, the largest city in Musica.
The Nus mainly reside in Linkin Park, while the Elecs take over Björk, both of which are counties within O Town. -
Putting this here mostly for my own reference. There's extra info in here that could be written in elsewhere whenever I get around to rewriting this info page.
# Joining in general: PM me the bio, but you can start RPing immediately. This goes for gang members, civilians seeking to be gang members, regular civilians, and regular clefs(that are not of some special rank). If your character doesn't fit into any of those categories then you have to PM me the bio and wait for me to approve it before you can roleplay.
# Everyone is free to start out as either a gang member, a civilian, or someone wishing to join a gang. If you have been a part of the gang for a while, you should PM a history of what has happened that is separate to your character bio to the gang leader of your gang. For example, if you bio says you have a scar on your arm but you don't detail it and it means something significant, you should PM how you got that scar to your gang leader. Just because you're a civilian doesn't mean you have to be a regular person. "Civilian" just means you're neither clef nor gang member. *hinthint*
# Solia Rules, ToS, etc., etc.
# Romance of any kind is accepted, even inter-gang romance. However, please know that if you have a relationship with someone outside of your gang that it will be not only extremely taboo, but may end up costing your life and/or hearing. Both gangs are capable of performing the reformation procedure as the ultimate form of punishment and banishment.
# Real, believable humans only. No inter-species, special powers... Stuff. Clefs are like the police. They bust you for music as well as other law-breaking activity. Gang members are normal people, so are native musicians.
# Spies. Spies are accepted on both ends. You may be a clef invading a gang, or a gang member that is also a clef. Bios must be approved before you can post. Put "<gang name> Clef" as your affiliation. All Clef and gang rules apply(meaning age limitations, etc).
# Clefs and The Metallica. The Metallica is kind of run in the background. However, if you wish to be a normal Clef trying to arrest/detain/reform gang members, be my guest. Just PM the bio to me(Q) and you can roleplay even before I read it.
# Technology. Musica is just like our world, and in some respects may be more advanced- it just doesn't have music. That means, swords aren't really going to be a cool fighting weapon. More like guns, fists, knives, etc. While the Nus and Elecs are not necessarily violence-minded, mob mentality does happen, and it could end badly.
# Killing. Some characters may be killed. Some characters may be killed via one hit(afterall, these are guns we're talking about). Fighting posts must take the form of you are attacking AT someone, so you can give the other person a chance to respond.
For example: "User A dropkicks user B" isn't good. "User A dropped down to kick user B" is good. Wording and semantics are important, but only for fighting posts.
One hit kills can go as follows:
"User A aims his gun at User B's head. Pulling the trigger, if it hit it's mark, brains would fly everywhere" would be an example of a one-hit kill. Obviously if someone doesn't want their character dead in this RP, you must give them some sort of chance to respond.
No crazy dodging of bullets could ever happen(Bullets move way too fast), but User B could always "In that precise moment, s/he noticed that his/her spraycan had dropped under the car, so s/he bent down to get it. And once s/he did, s/he heard a gun bullet pierce through the windshield." or something similar. A weird coincidence like that.
Of course, if you're not in a situation where you can 'dodge' like that, you're pretty much dead.
If you are cornered like this, and you really do not want to die, see if you can PM the guy killing you and see if you can work out a deal so he doesn't kill your character. If not, I'm sorry, but you're dead. You may rejoin the RP as another character if you wish. PMing a character you want to kill off is common courtesy. Not required, but, be courteous, people.
# Multiple characters. You may play as many characters as you wish.
# Weapons. You are limited to one seen weapon and one concealed on your person. Please keep what you carry realistic. You can't conceal nor carry around a bazooka all the time.
# Characters' age limitations. You characters can be any age or gender for a normal civilian, any gender but 14 - 28 for a gang member, any gender but 20+ to be a Clef.
# Schools/jobs. To keep a low profile, younger gang members go to school and older ones maintain real jobs. Nobody wants to be caught by a Clef. While respect is demanded from gang bangers, they should not go out of their way to promote their relationship. If you do, you'll get caught, and nobody wants to be reformed.
# Dissing. When in the vicinity of a rival gang-member, if you don't dis them in some manner, you will be punished. Punishment varies between gangs, but it's a customary thing to dis the rival every time you see them.
# Violence. As previously stated, the gangs are not overtly violent toward eachother but fights do happen. Planned fights are rare, most things that happen are personal quarrels between two rivals or 2 - 3 people within the same gang over a disagreement. Rarely does someone pull a gun - it's a last resort, as it pulls attention toward you. Clefs could be anywhere.
# Selling/Dealing. Elecs sell mostly instruments, and Nus mostly media. There is some interjection between the two, however(meaning, some Nus sell a very small amount of instruments, some Elecs sell a specific set of CDs or something...).
Selling music works almost in the same fashion as drugs in this common age. The dealer waits somewhere, and the buyers come to them. Because most music-related things are large, buyers usually give an address and the name of what they want. The next day, that product will magically appear at their doorstep. This is called Delivery. Usually new or young members are sent to do this, and it involves breaking into a home and putting the product in there.
In rare cases, a dealer might wait near a warehouse or abandoned building with the supplies on site. Usually, the warehouses are not where deals take place since this is the headquarters for gang activity. Since these places are so easily found, HQ moves every month or so to a new area.
# Posting. You must post paragraphs, and it must be related to music in some way. Your post can either have a music accompaniment(like the intro post to this RP), the character could be listening to music, and the lyrics posted somewhere in your post, or the character could be citing the lyrics. Music played in the background is also acceptable. An inside joke dealing with music could also suffice. For instance, I named the countries with words that have to do with music. Being "emo" is no longer what it used to mean, it's just like being "american". Coming up with something similar in your post can work.
You do not need to cite all the lyrics to a song, some choruses and refrains can be annoying. Usually it is much easier to just kind of visualize a 'theme song' for your post, and make a written music video. In old days, some stories were written like this, and they were called 'song fics'. I don't know if these still exist or if they changed names, though.
You do not have to credit the song or artist, but if you can make it fit with your post, that'd be cool. You could also make it a part of a post style if you wish. But you should change the song/lyrics every post or so.
I realize some posts may be very short or not warrant a whole 2 - 3 minute scripted music video of their own, so it's not necessary to have a song in every post, put shoot for most of them.
# Post Styles. You don't need them. But if you want one, I'd suggest the character's name and their affiliation. You can put lyrics in a post style for the 'theme' for that post and to keep in the 'music theme' rule, but you should change the lyrics every post or so. If your post is especially long, it would be nice to add a tl;dr or summary inside of a spoiler tag at the end so it's easier for people to catch up when they don't have time to read the entire thing. But, again, this is not required.
# Don't puppet anyone else. Puppeting is moving someone else's character without their permission.
(you CAN however, create NPCs[for a deal or something to pass time]. If you don't know what this means, then don't create one. But you can ask me to explain it via PM or something, if you wish.)
# Q(the GM) is god. I may timelapse if needed. I may puppet your character if needed during these time lapses. I will attempt to move your character how you would have. If I do something with your character that they absolutely never would've done, tell me and I will change it.
# Tattoos/markings. When instated into the Nus, you'll receive a tattoo on your right shoulder. It is the flat sign.(Image) It's pretty small and ambiguous, and can also be easily be mistaken for the letter "b", which is why it is used instead of something more noticeable. Older members who originate from Nausicaa have the treble clef, instead(Image). This sign was abandoned when the gangs split. The Elecs have sharps(#) on their left shoulder.
# If you have to leave the internet/rp for an extended period of time, or wish to quit the RP, TELL ME! If you leave the RP, just kill yourself off or something, and if you leave for an extended period of time, try to make some sort of excuse that will get your character away from the current happenings. This will help us all greatly in the end, thank you.
# Post at least once a week. If you can't do that, see above. If you have left someone waiting for longer than 7 days, I will NPC your character and I may kill you off and/or kick you out. Be aware.
# Keep OOC separated from IC. But that's a given. The OOC thread is here.
# Relationships with other players are highly encouraged. Form alliances, friendships, rivals, etc., with other players of this roleplay through PMs or the OOC thread. When thinking of sending in bios, PM other people to be family members or to have had similar pasts. This entire roleplay is open and anything can happen. Please communicate with eachother your ideas.
# Character Profiles/Bios. I'm sure you're all wondering exactly what needs to be in those bios I keep telling you to PM me.
Well, here it is:
[form here]
Please PM this with the subject line of "Jack App"
If the RP starts, most of it will probably be copied and pasted from that page. I've run this RP a few times, but it has always died for one reason or another. I love the universe though, and so has everyone else who has participated. I'm hoping to breathe new life into it and hopefully have it last long-term.
In the last spoiler, I copied the old rules post over. Those are not going to stay.
Notable changes would be:
- must ask permission to kill
- no hard post deadline (or at least it's not going to be as short as 7 days)
- No music lyric requirement for posts. That was a real post-killer in the last threads.
Notable changes would be:
- must ask permission to kill
- no hard post deadline (or at least it's not going to be as short as 7 days)
- No music lyric requirement for posts. That was a real post-killer in the last threads.
I'm also kicking around the idea of a forced time-passage dynamic. Like an RP day is 5 thread pages, or something.
Anyway, let me know if you like this universe, and maybe we can start it up again soon. =]
Also, yes, I love puns.
So sue me.
Despite the puns, the RP is actually quite serious in-world.
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