In Loving Memory of John Winston Ono Lennon MBE and George Harrison MBE. May their priceless works of art forever resound in the deepest cavities of our mind.
"Nothing is real..."
Foreword
Strawberry Fields Forever is the product of a quick but productive brainstorming session with fellow NS user and P2TMer Vancon, who eventually gave me a nice starting idea for my latest RPing foray. More specifically, it is a magical, psychedelic tale set in Liverpool, somewhere in the 60s, at the highest point of the Beatlemania. In fact, the whole RP is completely based (or themed, one could say) after the varied, inventive works of one of the seminal bands of the last century. While being a fan of the Fab Four is not a requirement for joining this RP, it will certainly make your experience even more valuable.
The other long lasting influence on this RP is the vast Japanese anime genre known in the milieu with the denomination of "Magical Girl Show". Tv Tropes will explain it better than I ever could, but long story short, it's going to be a pretty important element of this RP, so don't be surprised when frilly costumes and assorted magical implements will start showing up. Each and every one of them will be, of course, Beatle-themed in some way or another.
Finally, I'd like to thank Nightkill for his simple but smart "A World Beyond" formula. Making the characters start as pretty ordinary humans and have them endure some meaningful interaction before unleashing the supernatural on them is great when it comes to character and setting development, and makes for some nice storytelling reminescent of a genuine tv series.
I decided to call this an "experimental" RP because some of my choices in creating the RP, especially when it came to character creation and themes, were decidedly unorthodox. Of course, like in every experiment, the results will be seen and evalued. I personally hope that my particular "design" choices will sit well with you, my RPers!
Introduction
It's the 60s. The Cold War is running as usual, the civil rights movement is starting to mobilize in America, and the seeds of the decade's counterculture movement are starting to blossom all over the Western world. But most importantly, these are the years of Beatlemania. The Four Boys from Liverpool have conquered charts worldwide, enchanted audiences in all the four corners of the planets and their music is continuously airing on all the radio stations.
But this story is not about them. Rather, our focus is on a famed orphanage/school in their native city of Liverpool, managed by the local chapter of the Salvation Army, and working as an home and educational institution for orphaned children and teens all over the Merseyside. You're one of them.
You're part of a peculiar group of students, composed almost only by girls. Your friends run the gamut of all personalities, ranging from the cold and aloof one to the boasterous and energic one. The place is pretty decent for an orphanage, but sometimes you'd wish your life was different from being closed on its grounds for most of the week. Your educators are always worried when you and the other older students obtain a "leave" during the week-end: Liverpool is not incredibly dangerous, but recently, several strange and gruesome happenings have targeted the city.
People have gone missing. Others have been found in a demented, shellshocked state. Some bizzarre murders and physical assaults have been carried out, while sightings of unearthly figures and of other spooky happenings flood the city with rumours. The police is powerless and fumbling around in search of clues and the government in London is dismissing this recent wave of eccentricities as mass hysteria. Maybe you would enjoy investigating these happenings more thoroughly, but your status as an orphanage denizen does restrict your chances by a fair deal, and in the end, you would still be creeped out to confront whatever is stalking in Merseyside.
Little you know that you and your friends' lives will be deeply changed by a quick and unpredictable chain of events which will soon unfold before your eyes...
Strawberry Field
Located in the metropolitan suburb of Woolton in south Liverpool, Strawberry Field was originally the garish home of a rich Liverpudlian merchant, which was eventually bought by the Methodist Salvation Army and converted into an orphanage-school for orphaned and troubled youngsters. It is supposed to tutor them up until they reach the age of 18 or find a stable foster home. When it comes to its atmosphere, it feels more like a somewhat less strict boarding school than an orphanage.
Like in the rest of the UK, pupils in Strawberry are obliged to wear uniforms when having lesson or partaking in other educational activities. The weekday daily schedule usually involves classroom lessons for most of the morning and early afternoon, with breaks at lunch. The rest of the afternoon is occupied by sports, extracurriculary activities and occasional guided trips to Liverpool. Curfew starts at 10 o'clock in the evening. Saturday and Sunday (with the exception of the Holy Mass in the latter's morning) are considered "leisure days", where the students can relax or, if old enough, gain permission to exit the orphanage grounds and pass the day in Liverpool and nearby locations.
Some of the sports practiced in Strawberry's gardens include cricket, junior rugby union and lacrosse. The school possesses a sizeable musical auditorium, with its own record archive. Allegedly, it was financed by Apple Corps on the disposition of John Lennon himself.
At least once a month, the school organizes a guided trip to localities such as York, Durham, southern Scotland, Manchester, Lancaster and even as far as south as London. The trip is usually reserved to good and well-behaved students.
Boys and girls sleep in separate dorms, but otherwise share most of the daily classroom and extra-classroom activities, with the exception of some sports which are alternatively deemed too "masculine" or "feminine" for determinate sexes to participate in.
Substances like cannabis and lysergic acid are expressely prohibited and searched for (even while the latter is still barely legal, according to British law). Even then, there's rumours about some of the older students retrieving samples of said substances after some lucky trips to the inner city. A similar ban is placed on music deemed to be "dis-educational" to the denizens of the structure, but it's seldomly enforced by the prefects.
Liverpool and surroundings
A big city numbering about 700.000 souls, Liverpool grew from an humble medieval borough into a major oceanic port, which contributed in creating its eclectic and varied cultural framework. Heavy immigration from Ireland and high unemployement rates in the early 19th century nearly transformed the whole city into a land of slums and rotten boroughs, before mass demolitions and forced relocations to council estates were enacted by the central government in London.
Liverpool's economical rise hit the top in the early 20th century, when it was hailed as the "second city of the Empire", and regarded as the most important Atlantic trade hub in the UK. Said importance would come to bite the city in the back: after suffering through the effects of the Great Depression in the 30s, an indebolished Liverpool had to deal with the hardships of the German Blitz on Britain, which left half of the city completely devastated or damaged in some way or another.
Ever since the end of the war, the city has been slowly etching for a resurgence, carrying out plans for a further expansion of its iconic docks and to boost local manufacture and businesses. Luckily for the city, the sudden worldwide success of the Beatles has brought a ray of hope and optimism to the place, while fueling the rise of a musical-touristic market and a growing cultural scene tailored after the so called Merseybeat.
Liverpool's inhabitants are known under the name of Liverpudlians and "Scousers", deriving from the Scouse, a meat stew consumed by sailors and other working class people in olden times. A scouser's accent is stereotypically fast, heavily marked and almost lyrical, but it's usually spoken in informal context. Its use is, somewhat unsuccesfully, dis-encouraged by the English teachers of Strawberry Fields. Scouse accents are usually associated with "streetwise" individuals, or other less commendable people.
Its rivalry with nearby Manchester is rooted in social, economical and football reasons. It is usually advised to avoid speaking with a thick Mancunian cadence while visiting less-than-reputable parts of the town.
The city has got several landmarks, Beatles related or not.
The Docks were and still continue to be the fulcrum of the city's economy, drawing workers and managers from all the social classes of Liverpool. While it is now just another high-intensity oceanic port, the dockland also harbours the dark past of claiming the title of Britain's slave trading capital. The city's common conscience resents these days, but the scars of slavery still continue to ominously haunt the city's past. Some dock workers recently went mysteriously missing, and sightings of "sea-borne lights" were reported by sailors.
The Cathedral of Christ in Liverpool is the seat of the Anglican bishop of the city. An imposing church started at the turn of the century, partially damaged during WW2 and nearing completion just now, the Cathedral is a magnificent testament to the megalomaniacal dreams of its architect. It sports the largest belltower in the world, housing a giant bell known as "Great George", whose alarming ring can be heard as far as the dockside. Regarded as a place of contemplation and prayer in the day, at night it is usually regarded as a spookily big building which seems to express more of a vain show of power rather than serious commitment to spiritual causes. Some eerie sightings were reported by the Cathedral's dean, who spoke of "crawling shadows" skulking on the roof of the Cathedral or furtively passing through its naves, under the pale moonlight.
Pier Head or the Three Graces is a group of buildings in Liverpool's city centre, composed by the Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building, each of them a specific symbol of the city's and, by extension, the Empire's merchantile power. Atop the Liver Building sit the two iconic liver birds, statues of cormorants which bear the insignia of the city on their chest. A common legend (probably told as a way to unsuccessfully keep hopelessly romantic teenaged couples away from such a beautifully scenic zone) says that, when an honest man and a virgin woman will fall in love below the Liver Building, the two birds will come to life and fly away, bringing about the destruction of Liverpool.
The Williamson Tunnels were built by eccentric tobacco merchant Joseph Williamson in the early 19th century, for unknown reasons. While many describe it as simply a philanthropic act to provide employment and work to many Liverpudlians, some think that there may be more hidden, occult reasons for the creation of such a sprawling network of underground labyrinths. With the recent wave of oddities, the local guided tours have been hit hard, losing plenty of potential guests, too spooked out to venture in the claustrophobic network.
Anfield Stadium is Liverpool's most important and valued cathedral, dedicated to the worship of association football. The home of world-famous Liverpool F.C., Anfield is always chock full of supporters looking for some cheap, sporty fun with an occasional serving of brawls with rival supporters. Usually, many students from Strawberry Field spend their sunday there, before terminating the evening in Matthew Street, Penny Lane or Pier Head. Recently, football-related violence has been on the rise, reaching levels absurd even for English hooligans. The causes are unknown.
The Cavern Club is located in Mathew Street, which once hosted Liverpool's wholesale vegetables and fruit market, but is now regarded as a popular nightlife spot for youngsters. The Cavern is arguably the most renowned club in the area: the Beatles played their first British gig in the club's characteristic "cavern", which was built from the remains of a WW2 air raid shelter. Now the Beatles are out touring and will probably never come back again, but several other interesting acts play at the club. Plus, it's a perfect place to snog in or snatch some booze. It isn't uncommon to find various "dealers" in the seedier side streets.
Penny Lane is a famed bus terminus in Liverpool, simply because Paul McCartney and John Lennon used to take it when coming back to school or venturing the city. It's full of gentle bistros, cute shops and other mildly interesting attractions, and many Strawberry Field students usually spend a part of their leisure days there. Recently, the zone has seen a state of decadence after the retrieval of the body of a young person in the surrounding gardens. The police is currently trying to identify the person and the causes of death.
Backgrounds
While they all share the common status of orphans, the denizens of Strawberry Field are a varied bunch of different life stories, civil backgrounds and personal creeds. Here are some of the backgrounds your character can possibly have. However, be sure and fast in choosing your particular brand of past: secret, absolute universal laws have decreed that there can only be a girl per background.
Born Dreamer - You're like Peter Pan, an happy orphan ,ignorant about his past, enjoying the beauties of nature and constantly striving to find the hidden world of fairy tales and legends. You may seem childlike, idealistic and somewhat visionary, but deep in your heart you know that your fantasy will not be shackled by earthly bounds. You deeply enjoy fantasy readings and creative music, going as far as listening to psychedelic rock and other genres judged unproper by the headmaster of Strawberry Field. You're a pretty sociable person, but you usually get mixed results when trying to enlighten your friends with your tall tales and whimsical thoughts. (RESERVED FOR AGRITUM)
Blitzborne - WW2 was the deadliest conflict in mankind's history, and while it didn't directly affect you, it afflicted several lasting effects on your family. You were born an illegitimate daughter of a soldier who departed to the conflict and never returned, and a young nurse trying to survive through the horrors of the Blitz. While you were still in your infancy, your mother suffered the ill effects of her traumatic experience, instilling a deep fear of loud noises and airplane propellers in your household. Eventually, the poor thing wasn't capable of managing a child all by herself, and gave you up to Strawberry Field. You're aloof, not particularly social and peculiarly cynical for a girl your age, but you also know how to work out things by yourself and avoid getting flustered over petty issues.
Young Lady - Your father was an important politician or businessman, belonging to the highest reaches of Britain's class structure. You were tutored to become a shining example of the nation's high class, just like your late mother was. You didn't know much about her, since she died when you were still a baby, but you heard daddy quietly sobbing for her every night. Eventually, he re-married with a charming but cold-hearted woman who hiddenly scowled whenever she noticed your presence. After your daddy died during an "hunting incident", she was quick to send you away to Strawberry Field, virtually usurping your household. You're distinctly more educated and well-mannered than many girls in the orphanotrophy, and you instill respect and awe with your exquisite ways. However, that could just be your own way of coping with your personal losses.
Urchin - Your mother was a whore queen and your father was the biggest and baddest gangster in all of Merseyside, or so you like to claim. The truth was definitely much different, but you were never particularly bothered by it: growing up in the streets, you learned to tolerate the ugly truths of life and just soldier on. You've got an history of violence you like to boast about, which includes several brawls with other street children, petty criminality and that one time you allegedly "knifed a Glaswegian gal in the eye". Eventually, you got in the eye of the coppers, who proceeded to gently shut you in Strawberry Field to recover you from your delinquent status. You're shifty, a bit selfish and quite short-tempered, but maybe you're pretty sweet, deep inside. Maybe. Your English teachers have since failed in trying to stamp out your thick Scouser accent.
Saintly Soul - Liverpool is historically peculiarly Catholic, so it is not unusual to find a particularly devout, kindly soul in the varied masses of Strawberry Field. You grew up in a Catholic orphanotrophy, which enlightened you with its values. You were particularly affected by the notions of self-sacrifice and forgiveness, which you still hold dear by this day. Unfortunate rumours about the head priest of the orphanotrophy eventually led to its closing, and you were taken in by Strawberry Field. You're a trustworthy and dependable friend, but sometimes your companions think that you have some sort of benevolent Messiah Complex. However, at times you come off as a bit prudish and conservative-minded, even if you try to convince others that it is for their own good. Some people think of you as too much feeble for your own good.
Bookworm - Strawberry Field is not only an orphanage, but also a school. Ever since your arrival, you took this last very seriously, leading to high marks and showers of praise from your teachers, along with much less praiseful remarks on your "eggheadness". You're a bit of an overachiever and perfectionist, and you always strive to do your best in every pursuit, be it academical or personal. You've managed to make some friends, but you'd enjoy it more if they had the same articulate cultural and scientific interests as you. You, of course, wear glasses.
Optimistic Prefect - Ever since your parents abandoned you, you firmly decided that no other child had to suffer your same fate, and that everyone's stay in the orphanage school of Strawberry Fields should be as pleasant and risk-free as ever. Thanks to your determined, sanguine personality, you managed to get elected as one of the Prefects of the orphanage, a position which gives you considerable responsibility over your fellow students and friends. You're recognized for being particularly charismatic and leader-like, but sometimes people think that it's all a show to hide your personal insecurities. You're permitted to carry a rattan cane to deliver corporal punishment to unruly students, but knowing you, you've got quite the qualms about it.
Jude - You're a pretty ordinary male orphan. Good at school, decent at sports. The only particular thing about you is that your social zone is mostly composed by girls. Some boys mock you for that, others are envious of your pleasant companions, while your teachers are either somewhat worried by it or welcoming of your eclectic social circle. You're free to define yourself and the extent of your relationship with your female friends however you want. Just be wary: your ladyfriends will drag you into a chain of very strange and unusual happenings. Your name is Julian, Jude or a varation thereof. (RESERVED TO ****)
Names
The names of your characters can be chosen from this set list of particularly...themed names. Feel free to TG me if you'd want to put some more names in the list, or complain that this part of the RP is TOO MUCH experimental for me.
Female Names
Prudence
Eleanor
Michelle
Sadie
Rita
Molly
Jojo
Pam
Lizzie
Abbey
Penny
Apple
Linda
Cynthia
Julia
- Julian
Jolyon
Julyan
Jools
Jules
Jude
Application Form
- Code: Select all
Name:
Age (14-17):
D.O.B.
Gender (always female unless when using the Jude background)
Background:
Bio:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Appearance:
Defining Quote:
RP Sample:
Rules
- 1. I'm the OP. That's pretty self-explaining.
2. The co-op is the co-op.
3. No one-liners and bad grammar
4. Keep it as PG-13 as you can
5. Be British
6. Have Fun
Accepted Apps
Martha Lewis - The Opera Nerd - Anonymous Penguins
Prudence Lightfoot - The Quintessential Scouser - Rupudska
Lucy "Silly" Davis - The Cloudhead - Agritum
Pam Bennet - High School Copper - Constaniana
Julia Arling - Poor Little Thing - Hasgriu
[url]Julian Fisher[/url] - That One Guy - Reverend Norv
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