F
FieryCold
Guest
Original poster
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Our story is set in DE WALLEN, what appears to be a quaint, historic neighborhood that lies in the heart of old Amsterdam. Picturesque houses dating all the way back to the medieval ages stand tall and sturdy along its narrow, cobbled streets. The murky canal that runs through it is also a sight to behold and is one of its many defining features. But this neighborhood is not all what it appears to be in daylight: when the sky dims, neon lights start to flicker and cast its blood-red glow upon the antiquated cobblestones, setting a mood fit for late night getaways. After all, De Wallen isn't just any ordinary place, but Amsterdam's largest and most notorious red-light district.
By night, De Wallen's infamous streets hum to life with a large troupe of interesting characters: pimps, prostitutes, marijuana smokers, lonely businessmen, curious tourists--the list goes on and on. There is no vice, no guilty pleasure you cannot indulge in here, for De Wallen has an inexhaustible variety of diversions. Cozy up in one of its many family-friendly coffee shops, or watch professional dancers take the stage in sex theaters like the Moulin Rouge. De Wallen will be happy to accommodate all your whims and your pleasures... for a price.
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THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB opened its doors in the summer of the preceding year, but its services still remain as something of a novelty among tourists. It is the only club in Amsterdam, or perhaps even Europe as a whole, where the roles are reversed and handsome men are hired to cater to females seeking conversation and intimacy. Male prostitution, while not as popular as its counterpart, is no new concept, but what makes the Lonely Hearts Club so different from other businesses in the sex industry is that it does not try to sell sex in itself, but love. Inspired by Japan's host club culture, it is an ambitious endeavor that is slowly making waves in the market, but it is not as popular as it aspires to be. Tensions are rising high within the host club as employees try to lure in more customers to keep the business running and generate more income, all the while being subjected to the cruel treatment of their boss, also known as the Mistress. The past year alone has been an endless roller-coaster ride of drama, what with hosts stealing each other's clients, or outright destroying each other's reputation. What will become of the Lonely Hearts Club? Will it be able to raise itself from its slump, or will it see an early demise?-
More helpful information on how a host club operates goes here.
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General
1. "Male hosts pour drinks and will often flirt with their clients. The conversations are generally light-hearted; hosts may have a variety of entertainment skills, be it simple magic tricks or charisma with which to tell a story. Some host clubs have a dedicated stage for a performance, usually a dance, comedy sketch, etc."
2. "Hosts' ages usually range between 18 and the mid-20's. They use stage names. Men who become hosts are often those who either cannot find a white-collar job, or are enticed by the prospect of high earnings through commission."*
3. "Hosts are often sent out onto the streets to find customers, but these are usually the younger, less-experienced hosts. A common look for a host is a dark suit, collared shirt, and silver jewellery. However, casual clothes are also acceptable."
4. "Pay is usually determined by commission on drink sales with hosts often drinking far past a healthy limit, usually while trying to hide their drunkenness. Hosts who cannot increase their sales usually drop out very soon. The environment in a host bar is usually very competitive, with tens of thousands of dollars sometimes offered to the host who can achieve the highest sales."
5. "Buying bottles of champagne usually means a 'champagne call'. All the hosts of the club will gather around the table for a song, talk, or a mic performance of some kind. The champagne will be drunk straight from the bottle by the customer, then her named host, and then the other hosts gathered. Often a wet towel will be held under the chin of the customer and hosts while they drink to prevent spills."
6. "Also a 'champagne tower' can usually be done for special events. Champagne glasses are arranged into a pyramid, and champagne is poured onto the top glass until it trickles down the layers of glasses.
7. A champagne tower uses at least 6 bottles, but for a 7 layer tower, 20 bottles can be used. Depending on the champagne used, this can cost between 7800 euros-15,700 euros."
8. Clients may change their named host after three months of continued patronage.
9. The host club serves some food (mostly just bites or confectionery), and beverages other than liquor.
Etiquette
1. "On the first visit to a host club, the customer is presented with a 'menu' of the hosts available, and decide which host to meet first, but over the course of the night, the customer will meet most of the hosts. The customer then decides which host they like most, and can make him their named host. This can be done by buying a 'keep bottle' (a bottle of liquor that can be saved for next time), stating your interest in a host, or inviting them to sit by you. The named host will receive a percentage of the future sales generated by that customer."
2. "Sometimes a host will go with a customer for a meal or karaoke after hours. It is possible to go on day trips or travel with a host, but a host can only go with their own customer. A host interacting with another host's customer is liable to be fined or fired from the club. Drinks can be purchased 'on tab', but contact information is taken and the customer must pay later. If the customer does not pay, the host must. It is considered rude to leave a customer alone. A customer who is abusive and troublesome may be expelled from a club."
3. "Usually, hosts try to make the clients feel loved without having sex with them, as it takes up their time and energy. Sometimes, for instance if a customer pays a large amount of money and/or if the host likes them in return, the host can have sex with the client. If the same host meets the same client, they have a higher chance of having sex than the host having sex with another client." [More often than not, however, hosts try to draw out the relationship as long as possible, because clients tend to cease patronage after sex.]
4. Hosts usually carry a business phone and a private phone, the former of which is used to keep in contact with clients.
(Taken from Wikipedia) -
TBA
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More helpful information on how a host club operates goes here.
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1. No-Brainers
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General Iwaku rules and role-playing regulations apply. This means that godmodding, power-playing, meta-gaming, and the likes are strictly forbidden. Godmodding may be necessary at times, and even convenient, but this should only be done sparingly and upon the consent of the role-players that would be affected by such initiatives.
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The minimum posting expectation for this role-play is Adept. I do not want to see any one-liners here, but that's not to say I expect novels. Do understand that there's a minimum and a limit. That being said, each IC post must have 15 sentences at the bare minimum.
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Lonely Hearts Club is NOT libertine-oriented, albeit it does have some sexual themes. Sex scenes must be written sparingly and placed inside spoiler tags. I know this is fiction and all, but as per Iwaku guidelines, adult members are forbidden from role-playing sex scenes with teen members.
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Violence is allowed, but gore will not be tolerated. Swearing is also permitted, but keep it within the limit of good taste.
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Violation of any of the following or aforementioned rules will result into one (1) warning. Three warnings and you're out.
2. Skeletons
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Reservations are not allowed. I don't operate on a first-come, first-serve basis. Posting your character sheet does not guarantee you the position. I can always reject character applications and you never know when competition might pop up. Again, all roles are available TO ANYONE who wants it until I say otherwise. Comprende?
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Diversity is highly encouraged! However, as with everything else, know the limits. You may add your own touches of creativity, but try to keep them within the boundaries of common sense, please.
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This is a face-claim role-play. In other words, real people pictures only, please! We won't be using anime or digital art or any of that sort here. Having trouble finding face-claims? You may look up model sites like NEXT or you could simply hit me up and I'll try my best to assist you. Overused face-claims tend to make things a little less believable, so as much as possible avoid those. High quality pictures are recommended.
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Banners are a must. The size limit shall be 500x300 pixels (width x height). These may be in GIF format or not, it's all up to you.
It has also come to my attention that certain people like to post an inordinate amount of pictures in their skeleton, to the point of absurdity. Seriously, people. This is not a gallery, and even if it is one, frankly, I don't care. I know that a picture is worth a thousand words or whatever, but to be honest, I'd much rather read a thousand words rather than be bombarded with a thousand glaringly huge pictures. One banner would suffice. If you absolutely must post more pictures, at least keep them reasonably-sized or place them in spoilers.
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I may ask you to tweak your skeleton, but this only arises in the event of discrepancies. If your skeleton is inconsistent with the plot or setting, or just plain inconsistent, then you'll have to make the appropriate revisions.
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Relationships are mandatory, but there's no hurry to fill these out until after you have been accepted, of course. You will be given ample time (about a week) to coordinate character relationships following the day of your acceptance. Participants do not have to plan a relationship with every single character in the role-play.
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You can fancy up your skeleton all you want, but keep in mind that this is not particularly necessary and won't affect my judgment in any way. Feel free to mess around with the format of your character sheet. You can rearrange it in anyway you want, so long as it's coherent all the requested information is present.
Try to avoid bright colors and keep in mind that Iwaku allows users to customize color themes. It is advised that you use colors that would blend well with any of the backgrounds that Iwaku provides. That being said, as a general rule of thumb, avoid using black or white font. More to the point, if you just can't code for shit, then don't force yourself to do it. Simplicity is perfectly OK. It's the quality of your writing that matters, anyway.
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Since the roles are limited, those who happen to be interested in the same position have no choice but to compete for it. They will be given until the deadline to complete their character sheets, after which the latter will be assessed by yours truly. However, this doesn't automatically mean that those who don't get competition immediately get the slot. I'm a picky person and I can reject your character if I find that it isn't up to par with the standards of this role-play.
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Reservations are not allowed, but you may post works-in-progress in the Sign-Up thread. Please place a note above your character sheet indicating that it is indeed a work-in-progress, for organization's sake. Also, do not post something completely bare for a WIP. I will not tolerate that. At least have some information written down before posting your character sheet. Once you're finished writing your character sheet, inform me via private message or the OOC thread, whichever works.
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If your character gets rejected or if you decide to opt out of the role-play, then please delete your skeleton. This is so that the Sign-Up thread doesn't get cluttered with obsolete character sheets. I will give you three days to do this yourself, before I take matters into my own hands and delete the skeleton on my own. I will NOT be held liable for any lost content. You have been warned.
3. Activity
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Please post at least once a week. I know that life can be hectic, but I'm sure one post a week isn't too much to ask. Post consistently to keep things running. Writer's block is not an excuse; you can write something shitty for all I care, so long as it isn't inconsistent with the story and/or jam-packed with spelling and grammatical errors.
The more active you are, the happier I am. But just as there is a minimum, there is also a limit. To the more active role-players, try to give the others a fair chance to respond to your posts. This is so nobody gets left behind.
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Going on hiatus? Inform me. Tell me when when I should expect your return. Will your hiatus last two weeks? A month? What do you want me to do with your character while you're on leave? If you disappear without telling me, I'll just assume you're dead and turn your character into a NPC.
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If you want out, inform me. Don't just drop off the face of the Earth or something. I hate it when people keep me guessing. Just remember that I reserve the right to do whatever I wish with your character once you leave, since it isn't exactly believable to just have them disappear into a puff of smoke just because you don't want them to be part of the role-play anymore.
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I will monitor the activity closely. If you haven't posted for a week, you can be sure I'll pester you about it in the PMs. That's one warning for you. I'll give you another week to catch up. If you don't post within the allotted time, I'll boot you out of the role-play. Simple as that.
But even if you do catch up, you've still accumulated one warning. Get two more and you're out. I have limited patience and I shouldn't have to constantly remind you to post.
4. Posting
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Strictly no WIP posts in the IC thread. Either post something complete for the IC or don't post at all.
- Banners, current locations, and character names must be present in all IC posts. This is to make it a little easier for some of us to pinpoint who is playing who. And also so that we all remember how everyone's characters look like.
5. OOC
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A special thread exists for out-of-character conversations. All OOCs go there. I will NOT see any OOCs in the sign-up thread and the IC thread. Such posts will be automatically deleted, with or without warning. It depends on my mood.
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No OOC drama, no elitism. Talking about drama is fine, sure, but stirring up the same with your fellow role-players and ruining the fun for everyone is an entirely different matter and something I will not tolerate. That being said, respect yourself and respect each other. Exercise the proper etiquette. Furthermore, I will not be having any "elitist" role-players who believe they're better than everyone else and know all there is to know about role-playing. Confidence is good, arrogance is not. Remember that even the best writers are not perfect. There's always something new to learn.
(c) Special thanks to @darkflames13 for helping out with the rules.
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General Iwaku rules and role-playing regulations apply. This means that godmodding, power-playing, meta-gaming, and the likes are strictly forbidden. Godmodding may be necessary at times, and even convenient, but this should only be done sparingly and upon the consent of the role-players that would be affected by such initiatives.
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THE MISTRESS (BY DARKFLAMES13)
Whether her wealth still remains as inexhaustible as it once was is unknown, but it is all thanks to her that the Lonely Hearts Club came to be. She and her long-time friend and business partner, the Chaperone, are at the helm of the club and accrue inordinate amounts of money at the expense of the hosts. She is loathed by those who work underneath her supervision because of her ruthlessness: even though the host club is not a brothel, it is sometimes treated as such; hosts are forced into prostitution to appease their clients. Despite her cruelty, the Mistress remains untouchable, for her employees need her and the profit they are making. For some reason, may it be a personal vendetta or something else entirely, she is especially sadistic towards the Marionette, whom she has forced to become her lover.
THE CHAPERONE (BY FIERYCOLD)
A host as well as the Mistress' business partner and long-time friend, but despite this association he is not totally exempt from her cruel treatment. He is her right-hand man, loyal to a fault. Like the Mistress, he is obsessed with wealth, but he can also have his soft side. He genuinely likes the Sponsor: there's just something about her that draws him in. Sadly, she seems to have her eye on someone else, and it irks him to no end.
THE MARIONETTE (BY VISCERA)
After borrowing too much money from the Mistress than he has the capability to repay, he is condemned to work at the Lonely Hearts Club as a host. The Mistress has now become his lover against his will, but she makes his life a living hell. He's not too happy about this arrangement, but because he owes her, he is enslaved to do as she wishes. The Marionette is in no position to complain. This causes him to act out on the Gentleman, with whom he is having a secret and forbidden affair. Because of the emotionally abusive relationship with the Mistress, he, in turn, has become physically and emotionally abusive towards the Gentleman. Meanwhile, the Debauchee, who once caught the Marionette and the Gentleman in the act, is now someone that the Marionette threatens to kill. The Debauchee now has no choice but to keep quiet about the affair, lest the Marionette goes through with these threats.
THE GENTLEMAN (BY DARKIUSHEAVENSTEIN)
The Gentleman is the most popular out of all the hosts, and for good reason. He is chivalrous, laid-back, and has an air of openness and affability. But even he has his own dark secrets. He harbors a deep desire for the Marionette. It is clear that his love is one-sided and that the relationship will never work out, but the ember of hope still burns within him. Unfortunately, their little affair might come to a premature end, seeing as the Debauchee once walked in on them. For some reason, though, the Debauchee has kept quiet about the affair. It's quite odd considering the Debauchee and the Gentleman are no longer good friends. The strain in their relationship was caused by none other than the Sponsor, who had dumped the Debauchee in favor of the Gentleman. The Gentleman appreciates the Sponsor, but he doesn't love her in a romantic way. Because of his honest disposition, he is torn between telling her the cold, hard truth, or keeping her by his side, not only to avoid hurting her feelings, but also for the financial support she provides him with. Furthermore, if he were to jeopardize his relationship with his client, he'll get a lower wage as a result or potentially lose his job--something that he cannot afford at the moment.
THE DEBAUCHEE (BY MALFIS)
He and the Gentleman were once good friends, but now there is only animosity between them. The Debauchee holds a bitter grudge towards the Gentleman for stealing his old regular, whom he only tolerated because she used to spoil him to no end. His former client is now known as the Sponsor of the host club and is one of its most profligate clients, and it's all for the Gentleman's sake. The Debauchee knows of the affair between the Gentleman and the Marionette, but is forced to secrecy due to the Marionette's threats.
However, with the Journalist's arrival, things are about to change for the Debauchee, either for the better or for the worse. He has taken on the role of mentor for the Journalist, oblivious to the latter's real intentions for joining Lonely Hearts. With all the time they have and are about to spend together, what will happen?
THE SPONSOR (AVAILABLE)
She and the Debauchee were once an item, until she met and fell in love with the Gentleman. She romanticizes him and showers him with gifts, blissfully unaware that he is not at all interested in her romantically. They are good friends, and he seems open to her advances, but she wants much, much more than that. Only due time will tell if she will give up, or resort to forceful means to get what she wants. She dislikes the Marionette, whose closeness to the Gentleman makes her feel uneasy. Meanwhile, the Chaperone has had his eye on her for quite some time now, but she has yet to respond to his advances.
THE JOURNALIST (BY ARCHAIC)
The Journalist has only recently started working at the host club, and because of this he doesn't have much of a history with any of the other hosts. It would appear that he takes his job just a little too seriously: wanting to earn his big break as soon as possible, he begins working at the host club to earn the next big scoop that he aims to publish at a local newspaper. However, his plan backfires as he gets entangled in the dramatic and scandalous lives of the hosts. -
FEBRUARY 2016
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Cast list has been updated. All roles EXCEPT THE SPONSOR are now taken. Relationship planning has now commenced and will come to an end February 29th, 23:59 EST. The IC thread will be posted the same day or earlier. Unfinished and rejected character sheets will be deleted after 3 days. That is, February 26th, 23:59 EST.
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In preparation for the February 28th update, I will be merging the overview, cast list, and rules into one post (that is, the first post in the OOC thread). I will do this later in the week, probably the 26th. Lastly, a reminder: the deadline for all character sheets to be completed is February 22, 23:59 EST. Unfinished character sheets will be automatically rejected.
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Just a reminder: don't forget to read the rules before posting!
Lorenzo Adalardi (PC: DarkiusHeavenstein) has been ACCEPTED. The role of Gentleman is effectively CLOSED.
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Cast list has been updated. All roles EXCEPT THE SPONSOR are now taken. Relationship planning has now commenced and will come to an end February 29th, 23:59 EST. The IC thread will be posted the same day or earlier. Unfinished and rejected character sheets will be deleted after 3 days. That is, February 26th, 23:59 EST.
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