No longer seeking writers for this roleplay

[Alice2015]

We are no longer seeking new writers for this roleplay: "Helping Out"

If you begin reading it and enjoy my writing:

• You are very welcome to continue reading along.
• You are encouraged to give the writers a "like" if you wanted to pat us on the back.
• And if you are looking for a writing partner, I am often looking for new partners for other roleplays, and I'm sure that my current writing partners are always looking for new RPs, too (though you'd have to PM them to find out).

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

Greetings. I am certainly in the mood for roleplay, and this looks like it could be ... interesting? I certainly appreciate the open nature of the play, and all the work you have put in to this, Alice.

To be honest, I feel a disclaimer is required at this point: my real world schedule vacillates between almost non-existent and crazy busy, and so I guess that results in what feels like ... commitment issues?

So, perhaps I could introduce a character - someone from out of town without many commitments - a relatively young military retiree - so with a small but steady source of income, looking for a cheap place to live while trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life, and perhaps work on the Great American Novel. But, being a bit of a loner, he won't be missed if he isn't heard from for a couple of days? So one week he might not be seen at all, and the next he's trying to involve himself in everyone else's business - which could be a reflection of my real world schedule.

If this doesn't sound like it will work for you and Toland, that's fine - I just thought I'd give it a shot.

 

[Alice2015]

Greetings. I am certainly in the mood for roleplay, and this looks like it could be ... interesting? I certainly appreciate the open nature of the play, and all the work you have put in to this, Alice.

To be honest, I feel a disclaimer is required at this point: my real world schedule vacillates between almost non-existent and crazy busy, and so I guess that results in what feels like ... commitment issues?

So, perhaps I could introduce a character - someone from out of town without many commitments - a relatively young military retiree - so with a small but steady source of income, looking for a cheap place to live while trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life, and perhaps work on the Great American Novel. But, being a bit of a loner, he won't be missed if he isn't heard from for a couple of days? So one week he might not be seen at all, and the next he's trying to involve himself in everyone else's business - which could be a reflection of my real world schedule.

If this doesn't sound like it will work for you and Toland, that's fine - I just thought I'd give it a shot.

No, this sounds fine. I've worked around haphazard schedules in the past.

We need to develop a character, a storyline for him, and an interaction with Viola and/or one of my other characters; it would be better if you wrote with me, not TiredFingers or the female friend that he says is joining us soon, since your disappearances are being "sanctioned" by me, not them.

I have a thought, but you need to ensure that it's something that you really like. Did you see the movie, "Love, Actually"? There was a storyline I loved about Jamie and Aurélia: he was an English writer staying in a French villa to finish his novel; she was a Portuguese housekeeper who took care of him and, in the end, fell in love with him as he did with her.

Anyway, what if your military retiree needed a housekeeper/cook/go-fer to help him while he writes his novel, and ... whatever develops develops. The relationship could be incited by Viola, who knows the woman needs work and knows the man needs help; it's a match made in Toland ... I mean, heaven.

Good thing about this is that if you couldn't post for a while, it wouldn't matter. The date of their interactions doesn't necessarily have to follow the main story's timeline; and when they do post, we can employ time jumps if we need.

Let me know.

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

Thank you for your response. At the mention of "Love Actually" my heart fluttered a bit - then when you spoke of the Jamie/Aurelia arc, I got all choked up. So yes, I've seen it, and actually, love it.

I figured he would stay at The Modern initially, while looking for a place of his own. I suspect anyone with money could buy a house very cheaply, but unless they had the cash they were out of luck, since it would be extremely difficult to find a bank willing to finance a house in or around Toland. At any rate, it should only take a few minutes to come up with a suitable character. I'm not in any hurry for him to meet the love of his life - will just concentrate on getting him settled and getting a feel for the town, involving himself here and there as opportunities arise. But that's all another post for another thread.

Again, thank you for your response, and for the Love Actually reference.

 

[CutiePie1997]

BTW, I'm trying to get one of my old writing partners to join up. She's been writing with me on Roleplayer's Guild for a couple of years after we both left Lit. I sent her an email. We'll see if she's up for it.

Hey, everyone. I'm the "old writing partner" about whom TiredFingers spoke. I only just now found his email. Sorry it took me a while to get back, but I couldn't remember by Literotica password.

Anyway, I already read all of the posts in your story -- I couldn't stop, it looks so fun.

I already asked TF if I can play the local prostitute, and he said okay. Is that okay with you, Alice. I'm thinking that she's always lived here. (Maybe she had family here and couldn't leave them, but now they're gone and she simply doesn't have the money to leave.)

She's not public about what she does. She has maybe six or seven regulars in the Toland area but makes most of her money as a masked online "sextress" and sometimes ventures to the largest city nearby to work conventions and ball games.

I would want her long-term storyline to include getting out of the sex business and opening her own business. I don't know what it would be yet. Maybe the other writers can come up with something?

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

I like it. Perhaps give him a chance to prove himself to Viola first, hopefully it won't take long.

It often feels a bit awkward being involved in a new roleplay, especially in a group roleplay. I have no intention of making my character "that guy" - the incredibly talented flawless ex-Navy SEAL and F-35 pilot who is a devastatingly handsome guy who went through college on a football scholarship and plays half a dozen instruments who turns out to be the lost great grandchild of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette - and heir to the French throne. However, he's no slouch - and kind of a community-minded guy, having come from a tradition of always trying to leave a place better than he found it.

So I was thinking, shortly after his arrival, he sees smoke coming from a house - goes in and rescues a couple of kids, then laments the fact it took the fire department 25 minutes to show up because the local fire truck wouldn't start. So he decides to revitalize the local volunteer fire department - knowing a "new" fire truck can be obtained for free through the state forestry agency, and talking to the guy representing the district Toland is in at the state capital can help expedite the arrival of the truck.

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

Thanks, TF - he will have a few things going for him, but I'll try to give him plenty of flaws to make up for it.

 

[Alice2015]

Hey, everyone. I'm the "old writing partner" about whom TiredFingers spoke.

Welcome, welcome.

Anyway, I already read all of the posts in your story -- I couldn't stop, it looks so fun.

It IS a fun story! And I'm not just saying that because I started it, haaa!

I already asked TF if I can play the local prostitute, and he said okay. Is that okay with you, Alice.

Most definitely.

I would want her long-term storyline to include getting out of the sex business and opening her own business. I don't know what it would be yet. Maybe the other writers can come up with something?

I love it. Viola is there to help the people of Toland, not just the town as a whole, so if she was able to help a woman out of prostitution -- as long as it was her choice to do so -- she would most definitely want to do that.

Anyway, I saw TF's comment about moving onto the next day. If the two of you are online now and want to write the sex scene taking place on this first day, go for it. Totally your call.

 

[CutiePie1997]

Welcome, welcome.

It IS a fun story! And I'm not just saying that because I started it, haaa!

Most definitely.

I love it. Viola is there to help the people of Toland, not just the town as a whole, so if she was able to help a woman out of prostitution -- as long as it was her choice to do so -- she would most definitely want to do that.

Anyway, I saw TF's comment about moving onto the next day. If the two of you are online now and want to write the sex scene taking place on this first day, go for it. Totally your call.

Sweet. I'm going to go ahead and post for my character. I'm going to call her Samantha, or Sammi. I "borrowed" an image from a Literotica thread: Sammi

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

Sweet. I'm going to go ahead and post for my character. I'm going to call her Samantha, or Sammi. I "borrowed" an image from a Literotica thread: Sammi

Damn. My guy wasn't planning on visiting her, but I might be able to change his mind.

 

[CutiePie1997]

Damn. My guy wasn't planning on visiting her, but I might be able to change his mind.

LOL! She just might have a slot open, DOME. (No, an actual "time" slot, you nasty boy. ) Oh, I sort of jumped on TF's nickname for you. Is that alright? I think it's cute, but I'll stop if you prefer "Dreaming" or something else.

We'll make sure that they meet somehow.

Okay, I posted. TF, as far as I am concerned, you can "god mode" Sammi through their sexual encounter. She's going to do for him what he likes, so there's no deep need for us to roleplay it back and forth for a dozen posts. Take it as far as you want, and I'll follow up. (She charges extra for sleepovers. But he'll know that by now.)

Alice, I think I want to write one more character if that's alright. I'm thinking a woman with kids who's on the verge of losing them, her house, her car, everything. I don't yet know what her storyline is and how Viola can help her, but I have an idea that that her fall from grace should be very directly related to what Viola's father had done. That would set them up for some serious drama WAY down the road if Viola is ever found out (which I haven't heard you say anything about, so I don't know if that's in your plan).

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

LOL! She just might have a slot open, DOME. (No, an actual "time" slot, you nasty boy. ) Oh, I sort of jumped on TF's nickname for you. Is that alright? I think it's cute, but I'll stop if you prefer "Dreaming" or something else.

We'll make sure that they meet somehow.

"Dome" is fine by me.

Actually, I'm thinking Randy might have something he wants to discuss with Sammi, but it won't happen right away. At the moment, he's not even in town yet.

 

[CutiePie1997]

"Dome" is fine by me.

Actually, I'm thinking Randy might have something he wants to discuss with Sammi, but it won't happen right away. At the moment, he's not even in town yet.

Absolutely. There is no rush. It is my impression that the story will take weeks, months, maybe even years...? And I think I heard mention of time jumps. Alice?

 

[Alice2015]

Absolutely. There is no rush. It is my impression that the story will take weeks, months, maybe even years...? And I think I heard mention of time jumps. Alice?

No, there is no rush at all. Occasionally, when I think it is a good time to do so, I will tell everyone that we are going to perform a time jump. Now, here are some things to remember about them:

• First, they are not a way to simply rush everyone to post more or to finish a current storyline or interaction between characters. If your character(s) need to post more replies in the current time frame, do it! You do not have to rush ahead and miss something.
• Second, not all characters have to be on the same day at the same time. That's why I like to put the time, day, and date at the top of my posts, so that you all know where my people are in the timeline.
• In fact, you can have the same character in two different interactions with two different characters in different times! I know, it sounds weird, but it really isn't. Example:
  • Sammi could be having sex with Vance at 10 pm on Thurday while simultaneously posting replies interacting with Viola at the Sunrise Cafe for Friday morning. I'm sure that we are all savvy enough to understand what's going on, right?
• Of course, we want to try to keep most of the characters as close together as we can, and we don't want to widen the different times any more than we have to. That's what I like about writing more than one character: if one of mine is what I think is too far ahead, I don't have to post for her but can instead move on to one of my others.

I promise you, we will figure this out and do just fine.

 

[CutiePie1997]

I'm moving to the next day as you suggested. I'm posting Sammi's first profile first. I'm basically ripping off and editing your profile for Viola to fit Sammi.

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

Since the "OOC" thread looked to be a little more formalized, this seems like the most logical place for this sort of discussion. At any rate, a brief comment about my own most recent post, Randy's arrival and observations.

I didn't want to bombard Alice or anyone else with a million questions about details - but I did do what I pictured he (and me?) would have done, take a look around. Describing the town as I pictured it (and having seen a few small towns in my day) - I didn't know if there would even be a place to get gas, or groceries - forgive me if I missed that somewhere. So anyway, I wrote it with the idea that the very small store with the gas pumps may or may not be in business. Same with the downtown cafe.

Because most towns happen for a reason, I figured the intersection of a couple of major roads going through the county. So I mentioned a "major" road intersecting with main street, which he did not explore. So, if there's something you want in Toland to be open, functioning, etc, there's that option. I was just trying to get a feel for the flavor of the town.

And I totally missed that Friday wasn't a school day, or I might have mentioned a surfeit of feral children roaming the streets.

In all the small towns with which I'm familiar, I can't think of one that doesn't have a railroad track going through it or beside it. The track may or may not be functional, but there is very little likelihood of a train stopping in Toland - just passing by. Railroads can be useful (in a story) because metal on metal causes sparks, which sometimes cause fires - so a lot of small town volunteer fire departments which might see one building burn in a year will respond to several grass fires per month - sometimes two or three at a time - worse in the Summers of course. Not that I'm obsessed with the fire department, but it's one of those things that if a town doesn't have one, there's always a few guys with some plumbing or welding or mechanical skills that will get together and build something that can carry water and squirt it onto fires, since it makes no sense to let a little grass fire spread out to burn everyone's homes.

Also, churches. Even after the town is officially dead, there will be a few people still attending church on Sunday. Generally a town like that - depending on where it is in the country - will have at least three decent size churches in town - though one will be bigger than the rest. In the South, that means a Baptist church. Maybe the next largest is Catholic, depending on how far south- and west, or east. And then smaller churches spread out in the more rural areas, like that one that was started by three farmers 150 years ago because they were all from Germany and there were no Lutheran churches in town but there was one 50 miles away and the pastor could come conduct services there once a month as well as the occasional christening or funeral.

Anyway, quite possibly way too much detail than what many of you were wondering about, but ... that's just me.

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

She just might have a slot open, DOME. (No, an actual "time" slot, you nasty boy. )

You know, I was just thinking - that and a smile could get you a free doughnut at The Modern if you make it to the lobby on a Friday morning before all the hungry kids get there.

 

[Alice2015]

Okay, I gotta say, great post in the IC and great explanation here, too. Love both.

First, I want to say that the IC post was right on. I know that between TF, Cutie, and me we have posted a lot of "little details" in a lot of posts, and sometimes it's hard for yet another writer to come in and "fit" with what's already been posted. But I gotta say, you hit the nail right on the head. I'm impressed; there wasn't a single thing in your post that was contradictory to what had already been posted, and my experience with multi-writer RPs says that doesn't happen often. Congrats!

Anyway, I wanted to answer/respond to some of the things you said below, just so everyone knows my feelings.

Since the "OOC" thread looked to be a little more formalized, this seems like the most logical place for this sort of discussion.

Yes, I decided from the start that I would prefer that this "Seeking" thread be more for conversation than the OOC. That's for two main reasons:

• First, it's hard to keep an OOC organized if it turns into a chat. So yeah, you caught that perfectly. Thanks.
• Second, every time one of us posts in the "Seeking", it acts as a "bump", which might catch the attention of another writer looking for a story to join. I would be tickled pink if one day we had 20 writers posting for 100 characters. Okay, okay, I know: too much. But can you imagine???

I didn't want to bombard Alice or anyone else with a million questions about details...

Never fear asking me questions, either here or in PM. I'm always willing to answer questions, even the stupid ones. (I was taught that the only stupid question was the one that didn't get asked and then led to complications afterward.)

Describing the town as I pictured it (and having seen a few small towns in my day) - I didn't know if there would even be a place to get gas, or groceries - forgive me if I missed that somewhere.

I didn't realize that I hadn't spoken of gas stations until you yourself did. Thanks for catching that.

Yes, I think we need to have one gas station. It will probably do repairs, too, because most of the day there won't be a lot of gas buying customers. Is anyone interested in writing a mechanic? Maybe TiredFinger's "Mark" might put in some hours here; I know he has other jobs. (I'll leave this decision to you two men, unless CutiePie wants to write a girl with grease under her fingernails. I always liked a girl who was a gearhead. Oh man, tight tits inside a red or black bra underneath a dirty wife-beaters tee shirt. Makes me wet just thinking about it.

So anyway, I wrote it with the idea that the very small store with the gas pumps may or may not be in business.

I think I did mention a grocery store at some point, so we do have one of those. Lots of shelves with few offerings. Lots of products beyond their "sell by" dates. I'm sure you've all seen one of those kinds of places. I have.

Same with the downtown cafe.

Yes, there are 2 open cafes:

• The Sunrise, which is open from before dawn to after lunch.
• Roxanne's, which opens in time for lunch and closes after dinner.
• If you do a search for "Sunrise" and "Roxanne's", you'll find descriptions.

Because most towns happen for a reason, I figured the intersection of a couple of major roads going through the county. So I mentioned a "major" road intersecting with main street, which he did not explore.

Yes, the primary roads are:

• Main Street, running north and south. I think I also said that Magnus was to the south (15 miles) and Carlson's Creek was to the north (20 miles).
• Toland Avenue, running east and west.
• I think these should be 2 lane roads (one each direction) with parking on both sides. Toland isn't really big enough to have 4 lane roads.
• But you know how lots of old towns and cities had very wide main thoroughfares? Maybe Toland and Main could actually be wide enough that -- if the Town/County/State ever decided to do it -- they would actually host a center turn lane. (Just thinking ahead a few years, when the town returns to prosperity.)

And I totally missed that Friday wasn't a school day, or I might have mentioned a surfeit of feral children roaming the streets.

I added that for two reasons:

• First, my hometown now does 4-day school weeks as a cost-cutting measure.
• Second, if the kids are being bussed, no one wants them to sit on buses 5 days a week. Plus, it reduces bussing costs by 25%.

One other note, I had to look up "surfeit". I had never seen that word before! Nice! Keep growing my vocabulary.

...railroad track going through it or beside it ... metal on metal causes sparks, which sometimes cause fires...

Most definitely!! Toland had once been a major timber, lumber, commercial, manufacturing, etc., hub, so it most definitely had a major railroad and plenty of sidetracks; spurs, right?

So, how about this:

• There is still a major track cutting through town. Let's make it an east-west running track about 6 blocks north of Toland Avenue, unless someone has a better idea.
• This track still has cross-country trains passing over it, what, twice a day? Twice each direction? (I'm trying to think of the trains coming through my own hometown; I think there are at least 4 a day.)
• And there will be passenger trains, let's say 1 each direction? There is a passenger station, but the trains never stop here. Oh! I think I'm seeing a storyline here??
• And there would be a dozen or more spurs to old, abandoned buildings or where there had once been buildings that have sense been demolished (or were victims of fire, since DOME likes fires, heehee. I'll tell you a short story later about going to Fire School when I was in the navy. Yes, I was a Squid. A guy once called me a Squit. I asked what that meant, and he said "A Squid with tits". I punched him. Later, I fucked him. But that's a whole nother story. )
• I can see some broke guys sneaking out at night to removed railroad ties to sell them for scrap. Anyone ever see "October Skies"?

...small town volunteer fire departments... Not that I'm obsessed with the fire department, but it's one of those things that if a town doesn't have one, there's always a few guys with some plumbing or welding or mechanical skills that will get together and build something that can carry water and squirt it onto fires, since it makes no sense to let a little grass fire spread out to burn everyone's homes.

I posted (or meant to, I don't remember now) that Toland had kept one of its old fire trucks. Maybe we should talk about an unofficial, unsanctioned volunteer fire department? If DOME wants to speak more on that, I'd love to hear it. I could write a female character who used to be a shot putter and is now part of the team. Girls with muscles and tits. Delicious, huh? Okay, okay, settle down boys. There's enough of me to go around.

Also, churches.

Yeah, I didn't really talk about that either, did I? I'll be honest: I'm not a church goer. However, I have all the respect in the world for those who are. (Maxine is religious, and I think I read about Mark that he'd "...grown up with a Bible-thumping mother", so we have the beginnings of some storylines there.)

We have options here as I see it:

• All of the churches closed, and the church goers drive to Magnus or Carlson Creek on Sundays.
• The last church slowly became a non-denominational to accommodate anyone who wanted to come (even though that's not going to totally please those people who are dedicated to their particular religion's unique facets).
• One last church offers more than one service each weekend: Saturdays for Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists; Sundays for the rest; weeknights for various bible studies and youth groups. (Like I said, I'm not religious, so I honestly don't know who goes where, when, or why. Help!)

...pastor could come conduct services there once a month as well as the occasional christening or funeral.

We would definitely need christenings and funerals and weddings and such. Oh course, there won't be as many as with other towns with larger populations, but hey, people still die and fuck (meaning births even in a small town).

So, did that help at all?

I plan on putting ALL of this in a page in the OOC titled "A Description of Toland". I'll get it done tomorrow; I have a family dinner tonight for which I must get ready, and I want to get my IC posts up so ya'll can post more.

I'm having fun, people!! I hope you are.

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

I'm sorry for missing/forgetting the cafe/restaurant situation, now I remember reading something when I was sleepy.

Not trying to be that guy that dictates everything, but I have lived in a few small towns of around 1000 population (or less), and so I recognize that a town with two thousand that in its heyday had twice the population is still going to be a relatively sizeable town compared to Mayberry, with enough of a population to support more than one business in town. However, with other towns 15 to 20 miles away, it wouldn't be a big deal for people to make that drive once every week or two for groceries and to fill up on gas - so I think in light of the circumstances of the town's near- demise, it isn't unreasonable to say one little independent store (something a bit larger than the standard convenience store, but far smaller than a small grocery store) would be sufficient for someone needing a loaf of bread and some peanut butter, or who is craving a candy bar or bag of chips. I imagine they would make most of their money selling beer. It's crazy the number of people who "need" beer, and will be rushing to a convenience store at the last minute (in places where the hours for buying alcohol are restricted) running up to the counter to get checked out before Mickey's big hand hits the 12.

You did mention one old fire truck (60 years old, I think?) which nobody wanted. Depending on who manufactured it, there could be a collector of antique fire apparatus who wants to buy and restore it - but now I'm really going down the rabbit hole here. I don't know about other states, but in Texas a municipality (an "actual" incorporated town, rather than just an unincorporated community) had to own at least one fire truck - even if it didn't have a municipal fire department. I once joined a volunteer fire department in a very small town that was surprisingly large and well equipped. There was one very old fire engine which belonged to the town and not the VFD. I drove it once, it got up to maybe 35 or 40 mph - and there was a policy that it couldn't respond to calls outside the city limits.

Anyway ...

I found a map of a town (Marfa, Texas) which I think would fit our needs - though I'm not trying to dictate anything. I've downloaded the map and begun making a few changes.

As for churches, if you like I will "take care" of determining what and where - in case anyone other than my character is interested... and of course that is subject to change if anyone wants to change anything.

As for the word "surfeit" - it was on my mind because I just re-watched a British television series I like - Lost in Austen - in which a character from Pride and Prejudice comes to modern day London and commented aloud on the "surfeit of (persons of color)" while on the bus. His modern-day companion then loudly announced her friend had Tourette's syndrome, apologized, then informed him that gentlemen don't speak in public.

 

[Alice2015]

I'm sorry for missing/forgetting the cafe/restaurant situation, now I remember reading something when I was sleepy.

No worries, whatsoever! We're all tossing around a lot of information about Toland. It's easy to miss stuff. And if we do contradict each other at times, no worries! We'll roll with it.

Not trying to be that guy...

OMG, you're THAT guy. I knew it! (heeheehee)

...it isn't unreasonable to say one little independent store (something a bit larger than the standard convenience store, but far smaller than a small grocery store) would be sufficient for someone needing a loaf of bread and some peanut butter, or who is craving a candy bar or bag of chips. I imagine they would make most of their money selling beer. It's crazy the number of people who "need" beer, and will be rushing to a convenience store at the last minute (in places where the hours for buying alcohol are restricted) running up to the counter to get checked out before Mickey's big hand hits the 12.

Again, I say OMG. You are so right. I once worked a convenience store in a town of about 800, and we lived on the sales of beer, wine, cigarettes, and lottery tickets. And two or three minutes before closing, we'd get more customers than the during the two hours before that.

You did mention one old fire truck (60 years old, I think?) which nobody wanted. Depending on who manufactured it, there could be a collector of antique fire apparatus ... in Texas a municipality (an "actual" incorporated town, rather than just an unincorporated community) had to own at least one fire truck...

I just came up with a storyline. CutiePie mentioned the Mayor being a Regular of her prostitute, Sammi. What if the Town of Toland was having to make a big decision because of issues such as no longer having a fire department: dissolution of the Town's incorporation. It could present an opportunity for Viola to get money directly into the hands of Town leaders, either as investment, bribes, political donations, whatever. I'm just thinking off the top of my head here, but ya'll think about it.

I found a map of a town (Marfa, Texas) which I think would fit our needs - though I'm not trying to dictate anything. I've downloaded the map and begun making a few changes.

I'd be interested, but don't go to too much effort if you don't want to. I love images -- I think ya'll have noticed that about me -- so pics are great, and I can imagine a map would be a neat twist, too. I've used Google Maps links in past roleplays, particularly post-apocalyptic/zombie/etc. stories. (Unfortunately, I couldn't keep any writers interested.)

As for churches, if you like I will "take care" of determining what and where ...

Go for it; I leave the town's Soul and its salvation to you.

That's not supposed to sound sacrilegious or anything. It was meant to be funny.

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

Okay and okay. Doing the map is no problem, and actually the sort of thing that keeps me occupied when I don't feel like doing anything else.

The reason I mention the town, Marfa, is because it is about the right size, and is mostly contained within the city limits -- but the best part is that one can access the town's map online, and zoom in to see the name of a specific street - IF anyone besides me is anal enough to want to know the name of a specific street. Otherwise, I can just put letters and numbers along the edges, but not superimpose a grid or anything like that. Just saying "it's in the vicinity of C-9" for instance.

I know I'm not keeping track of everything in this conversation because I'm just not very organized at the moment, but another thing we might address (or might just skip over it for the sake of having an enjoyable roleplay instead of dealing with real world issues) is CRIME. Specifically, illicit drug use. It seems when an area becomes economically depressed such as Toland, about a third of the town, representing a large portion of the dirtbag demographic, starts cooking meth. Another third, representing the rest of the dirtbag demographic, start stealing shit from that third of the population who are gainfully employed and take care of their stuff - to pawn or trade for meth.

Or maybe I'm dating myself now.

I know there are other drugs which have become popular - I'm just going with the popular stereotypes (which became stereotypes for a reason). Crack cocaine in government- subsidized housing, and meth in the more rural areas.

So, what do y'all think? I'm perfectly okay with pretending it's not a problem in this particular town - like maybe it's too far to the pawn shops?

--

Also, that post about the kids roaming around town -- shouldn't that have been a surfeit of doughnuts?

--

Also, thanks TF - I'm happy to help with the worldbuilding, for me that can be as much fun as the roleplay. And all the decisions I'm getting to make! I just wish I had this kind of influence in the real world.

 

[DreamingOfMyEx]

Okay, I am now officially an idiot who can't read. I was thinking the population was still around 2000, from a high of 5000 in the 1980's? Now I'm not sure where I got all that, but I just read the population (in town and the surrounding area) is more like 800. That's a LOT of unoccupied buildings - reminds me a little of Detroit, but on a much smaller scale.

It's a lot easier for everyone to know everyone's business when you have 800 to worry about than when you have 2000, some of whom you don't even know their names. I think that would make the crime issue less serious, not just because there are fewer people to commit the crimes, but also because it would be more difficult to get away with it. 15 suspects instead of 300. The good guys can't retaliate against 300 prospective thieves, but they can sure put the pressure on a dozen or so.

Also, doing a little research and crunching a few numbers, a population of 800 people would mean about 150 school-age children, which would also mean an average of 12 students per grade level.

So, anyway ...

 

[Alice2015]

I don't mind having a bit of crime in Toland, but I'd rather stay away from a bunch of meth cook houses and nightly break-ins. If any of you have any specific storylines you want to offer, definitely bring them up here or PM them to me; here in this thread means that all the writers see your idea, of course, which means you will get feedback and possible collaborators.

But ya'll are correct about one thing: towns on the downfall suffer crime; small towns have more eyes watching; and the two combined could make for some interesting situations, so they are definitely worth discussing.

I just saw that TF put up some profiles. I will do all the links tomorrow. Right now, I need sleep.

 

[CutiePie1997]

Two Things:

First, thanks for all the detail, folks. I really like how we are building a town together. I've been in RPs here on Lit and on other sites (RPG, in particular) where sometimes there was no background and it was all about action, action, action. I like this.

Second, Alice2015 has given me writing control over Claudia. I wanted to write a teenage girl, and she says she has so many other characters she wants to include, so she gave her to me. THANKS!

Alice, don't forget to change the link from the profile I duped so that people will find the new one that I will add to over time. You're a doll.

 

[Alice2015]

Hey, so, DOME, I know you were contemplating a map for the city, but I don't really think it's necessary. I'm writing an OOC post right now that lays out a simple grid on which we can place some of the businesses. I'm only going to describe about 6 north-south streets, another east-west streets, the railroad, and the river.