'Ere in Ol' Lu -- Reboot

RESTART! I now know a bit more about the setting and my characters, so it will hopefully be less confusing. I've changed a tiny bit. Let's see if this one can stay alive!

*So you don't have to go searching for what all I've changed, I'll say right here the the Bell Tower used to be on the far edge of the Lowlands. It's now just about center. If I spot any more changes that I need to correct, I'll let you know, but that's the main difference when it comes to culture and setting that I see here.

(Note! This is a chat based off of my book setting. So sorry for the monolith! There's just so much to include. If you're confused about anything, please, run a few questions by me! )

Here on the island of Luna Nuova, times are changing. The economy's split, leaving thieves, outcasts, and homeless to flourish in the slums like algae eating off a sunken ship. While the Mainlanders carry on with their carefree little lives in simple luxury, we're left to rot down here. Unwanted, cut off, and abandoned. See, there are many ways to get stuck in the Lowlands of Luna . . . but there are only two ways out: a gun or a noose. Where do you stand?


About the Setting


Lowlands

Imagine a knockoff of Venice: elaborate stone buildings decorated with lacey terraces and quirky bridges, mirrored by shimmery canals below. Imagine what might happen to said knockoff after being subject to erosion, flooding, and not-too-friendly storms for a couple of generations. Congratulations! You now have a perfect picture of the Lowlands. These parts were added to Luna after the Mainlands simply didn't have enough space to fit its population . . . but their plans failed, and the crumbling beauty was soon abandoned. Now, it's inhabited by people who don't have anywhere else to go.

Lowlanders have a few quirks that are uncommon in other parts of the island. For one, they've developed a language made up of whistles. It's unknown who started the language, but it sure grew. Their culture relies heavily on sound and music, therefore, it's not uncommon for someone to speak only in whistle or sing an improvised tune as they carry on through everyday life. Though it's easy to find a Lowlander by listening, most stay hidden in alleys and abandoned buildings until nightfall. In other words . . . if you're deaf, you're screwed.

What am I forgetting? Oh, right. Landmarks. Near the center of the Lowlands is the Bell Tower, the tallest building on the island. Seriously, the place is huge. It used to be a cathedral, theatre, library, and God-knows-what-else all in one. Now, it's said to be haunted. On one side of that are the Playgrounds, an area that used to be an outdoor market. It's now overrun by kids who managed to claim the area as their own. Around that are clusters of more slums, gang territories, ect ect. A few shops and hotels may have sprung up, and you can have a bit of fun with this area and create a landmark or two of your own.

Mainlands


Picture salty air, roof gardens, and tranquil knockoff-Italian-style houses piled on top of another until it all ends abruptly before a cliffside. Skinny walkways, fishing boats, ect ect. There you have it. This place is full of people happy just where they are, and most don't want anything to do with the Lowlands. In fact, the city is in progress of building a physical wall between the two areas. They also have a nice, big prison built off to the side, just in case any unwanted criminals wander too far past the wall. Being the old-fashioned people they are, they settle for the quick and easy method of hanging said criminals if the prison becomes too crowded.

Landmarks! There's a grand old theatre that stands tall, called The Bridge. It's still in use. Unfortunately, it stands right in the way of where the separating wall is meant to be built, and it's to be demolished soon enough. Other than that, there is of course, the prison, which is another man-made island just off the coast of Luna's North beach. Just like the buildings in the Lowlands, it's sinking. As more cells are flooded, there is less and less space to keep prisoners in. A mile or so to the right of that is one more small beach, occupied by fishing docks galore. You can add in shops, houses, apartments, ect ect as you see fit anywhere else in the Mainlands.

About the People

There are a few social branches to choose from.

--Gangster: These people are very territorial. They distinguish themselves with tattoos, colors, reputation, ect. It's common for them to only come out at night: thus, if you're super pale skinned with no sign of sun, it's a sign to intimidate. The popular clothes style is to take the richest, most antique and expensive clothes you can find and tear them to shreds. The style varies with each gang, but in the general populations torn-up rich clothes say "I'm rich AND I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. Fear me."

--Streetrat: These people are generally the homeless kids, before they become gangsters and drug dealers. They might stick in small gangs or go solo, running from place to place in order to find shelter and food. They don't usually last long. Hunger and disease gets to them quicker.

--Thief: Like gangsters, these people are all about competition and intimidation. However, most of them run solo rather than in a pack. Social rank in this area is established not by how rich you are, but by how many robberies you can pull off and how tough it was to do so. If you can steal another thief's knife or trademark item, it shoots you up in rank right quick. Why do people become thieves? Sometimes, they just need money. Other times, they just like competition.

--Gypsy/Minstrel: These people can exist in the Mainlands or the Lowlands. They travel on boats to entertain, but why they do what they do simply depends on the gypsy. Money? Fame? Art? Fun? Rebellion? Any reason at all to sing and dance and act. These people often have close ties to the local theatre. Some gypsie groups, however, dig a bit deeper than singing and dancing. Sketchy "magic", creepy freak shows, a corrupt and dangerous business.

--Homeless Person: pretty self explanatory. Lost your job, maybe, couldn't afford your house, so you wound up in the Lowlands.

--Outlander: If you're an outcast, you're an Outlander. There are many things that can make you an Outlander, but the number one is that you look different. See, nearly everyone in Luna has very light skin and light hair and light eyes. If you don't fit into that mold, you're an outcast. Most either fear these people, hate them, flat out don't trust them, or sometimes even have superstitions about them. Some are indifferent about them. Very few accept them.

--Runaway: Oftentimes, these people are the bratty kids that run away from Mum and Pop after a fight. They get trapped in the Lowlands, and oftentimes end up as Streetrats.

--Mainlander: Here's a broad term for you. Someone who lives on the Mainlands. Fisherman, Policeman/Prison guard, shopkeeper, ect ect ect. People there would be in an average city on a remote island with a split economy.

(Note! These are suggestions. Charries can be a mix of these things, or their own category altogether.)


Template

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Social branch / where they live:
Appearance: (remember: most are blonde or strawberry blonde, pale skin, blue or green eyes. All others are rare.)
Other:

Edit! Extra info.

There is an accent in Luna, more so in the Lowlands than in the Mainlands. It can vary slightly from person to person, but in general, it sounds cockney-ish. Here's my guide to how I portray the accent:

'H's at the beginnings of words are taken out. For example, 'have' is ''ave'.

To and The = t' and th'

Some vowels are just skipped altogether. Luna Nuovans talk pretty fast, so 'because' might become 'b'cause' and so on.

Yes/yeah = aye. This is often tacked onto the ends of sentences. "No real point t' that, aye?"

No = Nah, nonono. 'No' is reserved for more to-the-point occasions. For example: "Want t' go get food?" "Nah, I don't feel like it." "Can I 'ave that?" "Nonono, that's mine." "Want t' date my sister?" "No!"

A common curse is "Holy Hell" or " 'oly 'ell"

Keep in mind that Lowlanders have lost their written language, so to them, certain words sound the same. This shines through in some of their expressions, and you can have fun with this. For example, "hate" sounds like "ate", so it's not too uncommon to "eat someone to hell." Play around with the puns.

"Oi" is a common phrase. However, "Oi my my" is what I call a Cricketism, as well as "waitpardonwhat". These 'isms' are used by mainly one character, and feel free to make your own! *loves isms* Just keep in mind which 'isms' are general to the public and which is strictly one character's.



Other common phrases

"Raven's Crow" -- in a nutshell, it means "I'm just passing through, and don't want trouble. We're all Lowlanders, after all." Comes from an old folk song they have there:

"There's a place I used to know.
There we'd dance to the raven's crow.
We'd not mind if rats run through
'cause we're all streetrats, too."

"Blood river" -- means "Lookout, someone just got hurt! Run if you don't want the same happening to you." Can be used as a threat or a warning.

"Moon's Lullaby" -- (just thought I'd put this in here, but the meaning has flexed over the years. Bear with my spastic definitions please xD) the "Moon's Lullaby" is the sound of the whistles and cricket chirps that can be heard all night long in the lowlands.

"Keykeeper" -- cop. This one is hardly ever actually voiced, because...well, it's a warning that a policeman is nearby, and whistling the warning is much less conspicuous if the copper happens to overhear.

"Easy hunt" -- it means "Oh, look, a naive and uncannily rich passerby. We should mug them." or "This guy caves easily. We can get anything we want from 'em.".

Alright! So, instead of having huge charrie sheets, let's just list the information that would be immediately noticeable about your character, like appearences and such. All other things like personality can be determined through writing. Have at it!

Well... I have two characters, so...

1.
Gender~ Male
Hair~ Blonde, slightly shaggy, messy
Eye color~ Blue
Height~ Long and lanky arms and legs which add a great deal to his height... but still, with his age... he's probably... 5'1"ish?
Apparent age~ Well, he looks a little taller than average, but his face and overall look appears about 11-12.
Skin tone~ Pale like the average
Clothing~ Baggy jeans that are super torn up at the bottom and a little too long for him, so he rolls them up. And a white shirt with sleeves a little too short for him, which he also rolls up. AND A VEST...
Other~ Has an overall very dirty apprentice, with mud smeared across the part of his face, hair covered in dust, etc

2.
Gender~ Female
Hair~ Light brown, reaching just past her shoulders with a slight curl
Eye color~ Covered by veil
Height~ Eh... 5'4"?
Apparent age~ Hard to judge by the veil covering her face, but looks like late teens, early twenties... mayyybe mid twenties at the most. Like I said, hard to judge.
Skin tone~ Pale, as per Luna usual
Clothing~ A partly see through, loose, fashionably torn up blue dress (not super torn up, just gashes in some places), with a visible black shirt under it. Also the veil. Silver bangles on her wrist.
Other~ Wears a veil, covering her face, that's tied in the back. It's mainly purple with accents of gold and blue, and a touch of silver.

Can I join?

Gender~ Female
Hair~ White blonde dreads with an assortment of beads and feathers and crap worked into them.
Eye color~ PALEPALEPALE Blue, I believe.
Height~ Er... some?
Apparent age~ Late teens.
Skin tone~ A few shades less white than her hair.
Clothing~ Ripped up stuff... some kind of piratey jacket thing, Pants that have seen better days...Mostly stolen goods so they don't go together particularly well... though they aren't exactly ridiculously mismatched either...
Other~ ...er... uh... Get back to me on that?

Unnamed Gypsy Girl
Around Sixteen. A fairly pretty girl with a round face that often sports a coy closed-lipped smile, framed with honey waves that thin to her waist. She always wears long skirts, in green, if she can find it, along with plenty of collected rings and charms on her toes and fingers.

Other Unnamed Gypsy -- Boy
Around ten or eleven. Freckles cover every sun-hit inch of him. His hair is very light and wild, ending in a stubby little braid at the back of his neck. Not much jewelry or charms that one could see without searching his sleeves and pockets.

Skelet
Everything about him is icy and lanky, harsh and weatherworn. Probably in his mid to late 20's, but the lines etched in his face make him look older. He has a tattoo of an open eye on one eyelid.

Swain
Has that same tattoo, and around the same age. He also has a pastey, icy appearence. The difference is, this guy is both tall and visibly strong. He always keeps a black metal cane with him, which has a couple dents in it.

The Pawn Shop Man
Picture a huge guy with a shaved head and fists the size of cement blocks. A few pastey scars dotted here and there . . . and wearing a work apron. This guy makes aprons look manly.

(Until I can think of another name) Random Walking Temptation To Sin Number Anonymous
Lean and somewhat handsome, if you happen to take a close look . . . but some don't look past the fact that he looks broke, and blends in with the crowd. His clothes are genuinely ripped, not for fashion. Chiseled features and deep blue eyes. Short cropped blonde hair. Keeps guns concealed and with him at all times, for safety purposes.

I might and will think of an introduce more, sorry xP