Steven Universe in the Playground: Believe in Steven! OOC I

[Callos_DeTerran]

The official tag for Steve UniverseITP threads is simply [StevenITP]. Put that on any threads for this.

Questions and answers:

What is Steven UniverseitP anyway?

SUitP is a FFRP universe which is heavily influenced (read: alternate universe version of) the cartoon Steven Universe. In Ocean City a tremendous event has happened which could have shocking repercussions for the entire planet depending on its outcome! See, a REAL long time ago (the dates vary a little bit) a race of polymorphic rock beings called Gems came to earth with the intent to use it for nefarious purposes but a group of Gems disagreed with the plan and fought back, driving away the invaders and naming themselves the protectors of the planet. Cut forward to the present day and the invaders have come back...These homeworld gems have unfinished business, both with the Earth and the gems that turned on their own kind (so-called Crystal Gems) and war is on the horizon. Caught up between both sides are the hapless humans who have to figure out how to deal with all of the magical chaos and sort through the layers of mystery to get to the heart of the problem...and enjoy their regular lives in the process!

Okay, but how is it different from, say, the Town or ACRONYM?

Well it's different in a few significant ways...

First, it is a lot more uniform that the Nexus and ACRONYM. StevenitP is pretty much restricted to four groups of characters. You have your regular ol' humans, you have Crystal Gems, you've got your Homeworld Gems, and you have your corrupted gems, those who have begun to lose themselves and begun turning into monsters. (Maybe half-gems as well if people want to play them).
Second, the plot of StevenitP is going to be more directed. There are the good, the bad, and the ordinary, and they are mostly organized. As such, most plots and stuff will be interwoven into one big plot. Or at least that's the intention. A mixture of big sweeping dramatic plot arcs, hints of the terrible war from the past, and happy-go-lucky slice-of-life stories are the name of the game for the most part.
Third, StevenitP is NOT in any way connected to any other free-form game here, at least not in the way other games are i.e. you cannot have a character travel between the two. If you want a character in StevenitP, it is for StevenitP. You can have a version of the same character for both ACRO/Town and StevenitP, but they are different characters.

How do I start?

Well, you want to post a character in this thread, and the character registry when it eventually goes up, so everyone can find information on your character and so people can give you helpful criticism on it or find out what they need to know.
To prevent a pattern that is all too easy to fall into, it's good to point out the fact that passive actions don't tend to get much attention.

With that in mind, make a post and begin!

There are rules, right?

Yes, there are.
Firstly, no godmodding (or godmoding). A far better explanation of godmodding than I can give is here.
Second, please remember that we plan to have a far more directed plot than ACRO or the Town. Please run any major spanners in the works past guys on this thread first.
Third, don't ruin anyone else's fun. I can't stress this enough.
Fourth, have fun!

What the hell is going on?

Spoiler

Show

A great and terrible magical war is brewing and the denizens of Ocean City, human and Gem, are in danger of being pulled into the crossfire. Homeworld Gems have stationed a ship in orbit while they set about restarting the plans they laid so many years ago, posing a major threat to every living creature on earth in the process while Crystal Gems, defenders of the planet, pick and choose their battles in their attempts to drive off their own kind once more. Caught between the two and quite possibly the deciding factor are the humans of Ocean City who can have profound effects on the magical Gems by simple merit of their vastly different outlooks on life and how to go about living it...every life is important after all and one never knows when even the most over-looked soul might become the most important player in the fate of Ocean City!

While there is an uneasy cease-fire between the Gems for the moment as both sides set about making plans for the future, war threatens to erupt at any moment and none know when the smallest scrap between opposing sides could escalate into a full scale war. Does either side want that? Is either side truly prepared for that? Those are the questions that might be given an answer sooner rather than later while the role the humans will play is still unknown...

Not a terribly enlightening history overview, but I'm leaving a lot of it to be determined by the players as a whole beyond a few basic guidelines of...

-There are more than three Crystal Gems protecting the planet and various magical sites.
-Whatever plans the individual Homeworld Gems might have are, over all what they work towards does NOT bode well for the planet.
-While there are battles between the two sides, neither is willing to commit to an honest to goodness war (yet) for various reasons.
-Humans know of the Gems and, vaguely, there are battles between them. More than that is up to individual humans.

Anything else can be determined as the game goes on and will be added to that summary as it becomes relevant.

New and Improved (but loose) Rules v.1.1!
These "rules" are more loose guidelines that serve another FFRPG very well so I adopted them into this one, because they work.

1. Consider asking to join in fights before jumping in.
   Please respect that all plots might not be open. Alternatively, if you yourself want to keep a fight cordoned off from other participants, say so in the OOC, at the beginning of your post, or both.
2. TALK major fights over with your opponent!
   This is to keep arguments about who's the better fighter, who should win, blablablablabla, out of the OOC. Of course, talk these things over in PM, or some kind of IM service. While arguments might break out over said PM/IM... It keeps it out of the OOC. Which is what we're trying to do here. On that note...
3. Don't argue in the OOC!
   They make the atmosphere oppressive, they make things less fun, and generally unpleasant and maybe even make the arguments larger than they need be. So, if you have a problem with someone, try to talk it out in PM or IM before using the OOC.

These guidelines/loose rules might be viable to change or be added on to as issues come up, but the bases are covered pretty well.

And, just so there is an example for people to follow for character entries...

Name: Onyx
Race: Crystal Gem
Height: 6'4"
Weight: ?
Gender: Gem
Weapon/Gem Location: Throwing Shield/Back of Right Hand
Opinion on War: Finds humans funny but doesn't understand why other Gems are willing to risk being destroyed for them.
Relationships:
-Loyal to the Crystal Gems.

Appearance: (Self-explanatory)

Personality: (Self-explanatory)

Special Skills/Powers: What skills or special powers set your character apart from every other? Every Gem can shapeshift for example, but does yours see into the future? Can you modify what your weapon? Hydrokinesis? Holograms? For this example...

-Invisibility: Onyx is unusual in the sense that she is capable of achieving a level of invisibility, which makes her very difficult to detect. The sharp-eyed can still pick out the distortions in the air when she moves though (think Predator-style cloaking).
-Durability: She may not be able to dish out serious punishment but Onyx can take quite a bit of damage before returning to her gem. This has the side effect of making her a good fusion partner with other Gems.

Secrets: This is obvious but any secrets your character might have. Are they secretly a fusion? Do they sympathize with the enemy side and wish to defect? Are they a human gathering magical debris for some unknown purpose? You put it here so people know about it even if their characters do not.

There, an example of the format and character that may be turned into an actual character.

Now keep in mind that even though the game is based out of Ocean City (and the Homeworld ship and Crystal Gem base), the game is by no means restricted to just there. Between homeworld ships, cars, and the Crystal Gems' access to warp pads a scene can take place all over the world or in magical locations and they should for variety! My only request is that we make an effort to recycle locations because it gives the locations as much history as the characters!

[Gnomish Wanderer]

O.O Yes. I am definitely interested in this. I love Steven Universe. I'll have to write up a character and get involved in the FFRP community for this.

[Callos_DeTerran]

For those interested, I've also started up a mirror of this very roleplay over IRC at the #OceanCity channe on sorcery.net l. OR just click this link here.

[Tectonic Robot]

My hat is in the ring.

[Razade]

Haven't really ever watched the show but a wiki crawl has given me some ideas so I'm in I guess.

[Tectonic Robot]

I'd highly recommend watching the show! Its quite good. And would probably help with the whole vibe of the game.

[Razade]

I'd highly recommend watching the show! Its quite good. And would probably help with the whole vibe of the game.

I'd like to, but I also have RWBY on my plate. I guess I should ask, would not having seen the show bar me from playing in the game? From what I gather Steven Universe is a Slice of Life/Comedy series with a fairly big focus on the Coming of Age story and some Monster of the Week stuff pulled in.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Shouldn't be a problem at all since any questions could be answered by other people in the thread if you don't have time to watch the show yourself. I will say that while it is a Slice of Life/Comedy series with a fairly big focus on the Coming of Age story and some Monster of the Week stuff pulled in, it does have a rather awesome Myth Arc to it as well. Considering this game may lack a 'Steven' type figure, it might very well also lack the Coming of Age type story as well.

[Razade]

Yeah, I can see that. I think I've got something that might work then. A character that plays with the Sciemagic feel the Gems seem to have.

Name: Heliotrope (Bloodstone)
Race: Crystal Gem
Height: 7'
Weight: ?
Gender: Gem
Weapon/Gem Location: Powerful blasts of scintillating energy/The back of its palms
Opinion on War: Necessary, dissension should be eliminated before it can throw everything into chaos.
Relationships: Nominally loyal to The Crystel Gems


Appearance: Heliotrope is tall and thin, its edges smooth and almost youthful with an androgynous appearance though is rarely seen outside . Quite tall, Heliotrope dresses in flowing robes and often obscures its face behind a scarves. Its skin is a deep green, almost black, which flickers with red flecks that almost seem to rise to the surface of its body before dimming and fading. Heliotrope has a second personality it uses while on Earth, as that of High School Science Teacher Tadashi Yamada. In its fake form Tadashi is a sharp and snazzy dresser, cropped black hair and brilliant green eyes continuing the facade of an up and coming 20ish year old college graduate. Tadashi is never seen without pristine white gloves.

Personality: Heliotrope is cold and calculating, viewing others merely as parts of some grand cosmic machine only it seems to see. Broken pieces of the machine are to be fixed and put back in their place ore replaced. As Tadashi, Heliotrope is stern and reserved though prone to practical jokes. This double identity has allowed Heliotrope to learn and understand human culture to an exacting degree, having assumed numerous such roles through the past. Heliotrope seems to have a fondness for humans though its "amusement" serves only as another facade, seeing humans as good task forces for work. Heliotrope is quite prim and proper, finding anything messy to be extremely frustrating, even to the point of blind rage.

Special Skills/Powers:

Technology Wiz: Heliotrope is adept at not only Gem technology but human technology as well needing little time to learn and master any new type of information required. Heliotrope is also adept at crafting new technologies or re-purposing existing technology for other purposes.

Flight: Heliotrope seems to have some form of flight though if this is do to its nature or some form of machine is hard to tell.

Poison: Heliotrope can inflict one of its numerous "flecks" that dances within its body, causing rage and transmutation in humans as if they underwent a Gem fusion, thus creating chimera like beasts. These transformations are not stable however and rarely long lasting as the spirits and bodies of the gestalt entity rage against each other. Exceptionally powerful souls can negate these effects, using the fusion as a strength like any Gem in a typical transformation. This ability seems to drain Heliotrope severely, even to the point of returning it to its gem. This exertion is caused by Heliotrope physically placing a part of itself within the vessels granting them, at least temporary, some of the characteristics of Gems themselves.

Brittle: A thinker, not a fighter, Heliotrope's body is frail and prone to damage where other Gems would be able to handle.

Transformation: Like all Gems Heliotrope can shapeshift, a function it seems to relish in with its many assumed identities.


Secrets: Heliotrope is an Exile in practice only, having been a double agent for The Homeworld through out the war and has remained on Earth only because its ability to return home has been cut off. Heliotrope remains with the Crystel Gems out of necessity, its duplicitous actions having gone undiscovered by its fellow Gems to the present day. In truth The Homeworld all but forget their double agent though if this was a further plot from the conniving Gem is yet to be seen.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Looks pretty cool Razade! The one thing I am going to point out though is that Heliotope's poison ability sticks out a little bit as unusual and with some odd implications. Gem Fusion is something that can only be done between two willing gems and (from what we know!) basically seems like their form of romance. Being able to use it on humans not-withstanding (I find it odd but I can live with it!), forcing a pseudo-fusion on others carries bizarre unfortunate implications with what we know of Gems above and beyond just forcibly transforming others.

[Razade]

Looks pretty cool Razade! The one thing I am going to point out though is that Heliotope's poison ability sticks out a little bit as unusual and with some odd implications. Gem Fusion is something that can only be done between two willing gems and (from what we know!) basically seems like their form of romance. Being able to use it on humans not-withstanding (I find it odd but I can live with it!), forcing a pseudo-fusion on others carries bizarre unfortunate implications with what we know of Gems above and beyond just forcibly transforming others.

I figured it might cause some issues, I'm not exactly married to the idea but the issues you've brought up are sort of what I'm going for. More or less on all points. It's meant to be skeevy and it's meant to be unsettling and unusual because Heliotrope is meant to be an antagonist at the end of the day. Though in effect its effects puts a part of Helitrope into the human (and animals), making them part Gem and that's how the fusion works. Perhaps I should add that. I was mostly worried if it were to powerful really and perhaps a little to dark for the setting in general. I'd certainly not have it used by players who didn't elect to have it happen to them in character.

[Callos_DeTerran]

I figured it might cause some issues, I'm not exactly married to the idea but the issues you've brought up are sort of what I'm going for. More or less on all points. It's meant to be skeevy and it's meant to be unsettling and unusual because Heliotrope is meant to be an antagonist at the end of the day. Though in effect in effects puts a part of Helitrope into the human (and animals), making them part Gem and that's how the fusion works. Perhaps I should add that. I was mostly worried if it were to powerful really and perhaps a little to dark for the setting in general. I'd certainly not have it used by players who didn't elect to have it happen to them in character.

Purely on a discussion of power, it is REALLY powerful if for no other reason than Heliotrope can do it with non-Gems nevermind the actual effects of the power in general however if it can only be used on other gems it is much more limited. Lets get some other opinions on that before changing stuff.

As for it being too dark...hmm...that is much more difficult to say. The setting is very light-hearted but it does hint at and suggest that many dark things have happened and almost happen to some of the characters. The most noticeable example being that war is not in anyway treated as a 'good', 'respectable', 'honorable' act if done for the right purpose but a horrible thing that results in many tragedies that leaves emotional scars on the survivors. So the fact that sort of unsettling and skeevy feeling was exactly what you were aiming for is good, but this is another case were we might need some more input on if other people are alright with it as well. Sound good to you? Otherwise Heliotrope seems pretty cool!

[Razade]

Purely on a discussion of power, it is REALLY powerful if for no other reason than Heliotrope can do it with non-Gems nevermind the actual effects of the power in general however if it can only be used on other gems it is much more limited. Lets get some other opinions on that before changing stuff.

It expressly cannot be used on other Gems or Half Gems, only regular every day humans and critters.

As for it being too dark...hmm...that is much more difficult to say. The setting is very light-hearted but it does hint at and suggest that many dark things have happened and almost happen to some of the characters. The most noticeable example being that war is not in anyway treated as a 'good', 'respectable', 'honorable' act if done for the right purpose but a horrible thing that results in many tragedies that leaves emotional scars on the survivors. So the fact that sort of unsettling and skeevy feeling was exactly what you were aiming for is good, but this is another case were we might need some more input on if other people are alright with it as well. Sound good to you? Otherwise Heliotrope seems pretty cool!

Absolutely

[Callos_DeTerran]

Figured it was probably a good idea to actually do up an actual character, to help get the ball rolling. So here we go, a potential leader of the Homeworld Gems.

Name: Moonstone
Race: Homeworld Gem
Height: 5'10"
Weight: ?
Gender: Gem
Weapon/Gem Location: Bident/Forehead
Opinion on War: Sees the war as a necessary evil and the Crystal Gems as misguided traitors to their own kind.
Relationships:
-None.

Appearance: Moonstone is the very picture of prim and proper decorum, usually appearing in a white and pale blue formal dress that compliments her extremely pale skin and hair. Her gem sits high on her forehead with a small veil dangling down beneath it to hide the upper portion of her face behind it. Rarely is she seen without a peaceful smile on her face but just as rare is seeing her without the trio of white ovals that hover around her, security robonoids that ensure that she rarely needs to draw her own weapon to defend herself from surprise attacks. Said weapon is a fanciful bident that seems far too...elegant and showy to function as an actual weapon, but those who have felt its bite know otherwise.

Personality: Despite her serene and regal exterior, Moonstone is a cold, calculating individual who was sent to Earth for a very specific reason, she gets results. While such results may be costly, Moonstone is of the opinion that victory is worth almost any cost and views taking control of earth as being a soon-to-be accolade on her long list of accomplishments. She treats the warriors under her command well enough but sees any displays of honor or hesitancy as a weakness that they can ill-afford considering how tenuous the situation on earth already is. This attitude extends to humans as well since she knows that Crystal Gems will act to protect humans, she'll frequently endanger them in her schemes to gain an advantage. Luckily, she spends a lot of time monitoring various strategies and plans on the homeworld ship and rarely gets personally involved in day-to-day operations!

Special Skills/Powers:

-Strategy: Moonstone is a leader first and foremost, excelling at battlefield strategy and long-term planning.
-Holograms: While many Gems can construct new outfits for themselves pretty much at will, considering their bodies are constructs, there are far fewer ones that can extend that ability outwards. Moonstone is capable of projecting simple moving images from her gem or, if immobile, more complicated ones to better explain strategies or, in a pinch, create a distraction.
-Blast: All Gems can use magic with their weapon in some manner, from enlarging it, firing magical blasts, or using more than one of them at a time. Moonstone is able to focus energy between the bident's points that explode on contact, giving her melee capabilities an explosive punch.
-Robo-drones: Moonstone is rarely seen without the trio of security robo-drones that hover around her, capable of lashing out with disruptor pulses if she is threatened in an attempt to drive back attackers. Relatively harmless to humans (think a mild jolt) but more dangerous to Gems. Sadly, these are quite difficult to replace considering the circumstances.

Secrets: Moonstone's greatest secret, that she has destroyed other gems to protect, is that she is neither a Crystal Gem nor a loyalist, the only person Moonstone owes true allegiance to is to herself. She views her assignment to earth as a punishment and a way for those in charge back home to quietly get rid of her because of her ambition. If she has her way, she'll use the earth and everyone, gem and human alike, on it to install herself as the leader of the homeworld...

Gimme thoughts!

[Razade]

Moonstone seems very similar to Bloodstone

[Callos_DeTerran]

Moonstone seems very similar to Bloodstone

...Huh...for some reason I completely spaced on Bloodstone's ability to fly. Don't know why, I'll think up a more suitable power than hovering.

Changed Moonstone up a bit, everything look alright now Razade?

[Razade]

I meant more personality/backstory wise. I'm not upset or accusing you or anything. Perhaps we could work out some back story with them.

[Callos_DeTerran]

I meant more personality/backstory wise. I'm not upset or accusing you or anything. Perhaps we could work out some back story with them.

Ah! Misread your comment plus a combination of...well I can see the backstory relation but the personality one I think they're pretty distinct. Wouldn't mind figuring out some backstory though! Moonstone probably wasn't THAT important during the first war mind..

[Razade]

Ah! Misread your comment plus a combination of...well I can see the backstory relation but the personality one I think they're pretty distinct. Wouldn't mind figuring out some backstory though! Moonstone probably wasn't THAT important during the first war mind..

They're both cold hearted lone wolves who are actively not for the Crystal Gems I imagine Heliotrope was only important that it gave enemy information. The Homeworld Gems lost so who knows how helpful it was in the end.

[Regalus]

Color me interested. Seeing as Hemotite and Moonstone have been made out to be either turn coats or turn coats in potentia; I think I'll offer up a more straight forward Crystal Gem if you'll have me.

That said I am rather curious, how much of this world's history has changed? I mean was Rose still the one who started the civil war? Is she even still alive? And if not, how long has it been since she left them?

In the event that Rose isn't notably around in this canon we're using, I may make a Gem with healing abilities; if only because you should always have a healer around, especially with how rare healing seems to be. Seriously, I don't think Garnet and the others even had a backup plan in the event Rose's spring didn't work. n_n;

[Razade]

Color me interested. Seeing as Hemotite and Moonstone have been made out to be either turn coats or turn coats in potentia; I think I'll offer up a more straight forward Crystal Gem if you'll have me.;

I wouldn't say either of them are turn coats so much as they're loyal to their own cause which may have aligned with one side or the other during the war and now that it's over they've shed any real need to hide they're out for themselves. Moonstone, seems, to just want to be in control of the Homeworld. Heliotrope doesn't have nearly so lofty a goal.

Some good guys would probably be good though yes.

[Regalus]

Thus why I said turncoats in potentia. As in they're the most likely to change sides should a suitable temptation arise.

Ex: Moonstone subtly helping the Crystal Gems to make herself look good, or use the distractions to make a move against one of her political enemies on the Homeworld ship. Or Hemotite being called to sabatoge the crystal gems or otherwise formally return to Homeworld's side as an order from one of the higher ups.

[Razade]

It's Heliotrope, not Hemotite.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Color me interested. Seeing as Hemotite and Moonstone have been made out to be either turn coats or turn coats in potentia; I think I'll offer up a more straight forward Crystal Gem if you'll have me.

That said I am rather curious, how much of this world's history has changed? I mean was Rose still the one who started the civil war? Is she even still alive? And if not, how long has it been since she left them?

In the event that Rose isn't notably around in this canon we're using, I may make a Gem with healing abilities; if only because you should always have a healer around, especially with how rare healing seems to be. Seriously, I don't think Garnet and the others even had a backup plan in the event Rose's spring didn't work. n_n;

Well...the history that I was thinking of (but haven't fully thought out yet) and I was going to propose here to see what people thought of was that the war long ago still happened (obviously) but the end took a different course then what we know. That being that in the final push to get rid of the homeworlders, Rose Quartz sacrificed herself for that final victory but, in so doing, many more Crystal Gems survived. So Rose's Fountain could still be around and be a hotly contested location.

...Also sir, I would kindly thank you not to slander me. Moonstone is ambitious, not a traitor. She is fully behind the homeworld cause, she just believes she should be in charge of it.

[Razade]

So I guess this game'll never get off the ground huh? That's a shame, was looking forward to it.