le rêve rouge.

to be free, one must give up a little part of one’s self ...

When you linger through the city long enough, you hear the locals speak of urban legends in jovial, derisive tones. Often times, the myths are laughable: alligators in the sewers, mutant rats, harmless little stories that find no credence among many. There is one myth, however, that very few people speak about, out of fear that listeners may seek to verify the story for themselves.

In a nearby county, there is said to exist a ruined city, drowned and submerged by the waters of an artificial lake that took its place in the late 1800s. Within this particular city, a dazzling night club lies waiting for patrons, alluring in its promise to not only fulfill your wildest dreams, but to liberate you from your troubles and doubts. The name of the club? le rêve rouge, or the red dream.

The origin of this myth can be traced back to the post-WWI recession. In its prime, the story had captivated the imaginations of the weary and tired, unable to find work, get money or subsistence. The desire to be free from the afflictions that plagued them spread like a virus, leading to many taking their lives in pursuit of the night club at the bottom of the lake. Once the story had fallen out of circulation, however, it was quickly forgotten and supposedly lost in the annals of history.

Centuries later, a string of unexplained disappearances rocks the city. Lazare, the trusted detective of the city, becomes inundated with missing persons requests. He, however, remains baffled and finds himself with no leads: nothing seems to connect any of the disappearances, nor do their families or colleagues have any reason to believe that they would disappear without a trace.

Unbeknownst to most of the city, the myth of le rêve rouge has seeped back into the minds of many. What they discovered at the bottom of the lake, however, was a reality beyond the domain of death...

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le rêve rouge is a dark, seductive world that explores the lengths people will go to free themselves of their worries, and the consequences of doing so.

rules

given the mature themes of the world, members must be 18+ to join. if you are discovered to be 17 or younger, you will be banned from the server and the world.members must join the world's discord server, as much of the RP will occur in the discord.hate speech and discriminatory speech of any kind will not be tolerated.in general, please be kind, sensitive and respectful of others.the world owner reserves the discretion to remove individuals who they deem to be detrimental to the world.
this world is an extension of a personal world of the world owner's of the same name. this world is also being developed into a game with the same lore and themes.

however, characters and their respective stories that are not the world owner's will not be included in the game nor will they influence the game's development in any way.

★★★

information about the world itself

this world works best as an au for your character. there's no real rpg elements. your character exists in this world and live within it. how they came here, what they do here etc. (within the limits of the world) is totally up to you!

interactions with other members will most likely lean towards creating (or breaking) relationships with other characters in the world, brainstorming their stories, scenarios, etc.

there are currently two different dimensions that your characters can exist in:

le rêve rouge: your character will be one of the missing persons who have died to reach this underwater night club. whether they're content with staying and indulging themself in the club, or whether they're able to see how fake and hollow everything is is up to you. the world owner's characters act as npcs (in that they're "workers" of the club) will be here to guide you should you need it.lazare's agency: this is the world above the water. your character will be a part of lazare's detective agency, and are exposed to the rough circumstances currently causing many to buy into the allure of the club. your character will first be tasked with trying to "find" missing persons, but of course be met with dead ends.
as the world grows:

the mystery of le rêve rouge can be explored. characters, depending on what 'dimension' they're in, characters can play a role in determining what or who alerted these people to the existence of the club when the story's been buried for centuries. what was the catalyst of this new string of disappearance? what is this night club? how did it come to be?
lazare will come to realise that there must be something else going on. at that point, the role of your character will change. you won't just be trying to locate missing persons, but you'll work with lazare to figure out who or what is taking these people away, and whether the agency can stop whatever it is that's causing these disappearances, and whether they can bring the missing people home.
★★★

roleplaying style

there's no real roleplaying style for this world! some members like long-form RP, others like back and forth headcanon sharing. you're welcome to do whatever style of RP you'd like to do, as you'll find members who'll adapt to your preference!

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character requirements

Your character must be human or humanoid.

Generally speaking, humanoid creatures like vampires, elves, werewolves, kemonomimis are allowed as long as they appear mostly human. Your character, however, is, for all intents and purposes, human. As such, a werewolf wouldn't be able to shapeshift into a wolf, and vampires wouldn't be able to drink blood, and so forth. They can aesthetically look slightly different from a human, but they must act like one in either world.if your character has large, inhuman appendages (like wings, tails and horns), they will not be accepted. if they are small and/or can be hidden somehow (like a large tail being hidden under a coat), they'll be accepted, but a human reference will be greatly preferred in the future.non-human skin tones are not allowed.
Your character must have red in its design somewhere.

Your whole character doesn't have to be saturated in red! there has to be a red element in their design that is very evident. red ties, belts, lanyards, for example, would be enough. red earrings or red rings, however, would be too small and would need to be accompanied with another red component. red body features (like eyes and hair) will also be accepted even if your character's clothes aren't!
Your character doesn't have to aesthetically match the world (being a jazz club or a detective agency), but it'd be nice if they did!

You must be okay with your character having a story that fits within the lore and the heavy themes of the world.

This can be an AU specifically for the world, which many members have done.For this reason, characters who are 18+ are the most appropriate for the world. this is a hard restriction for LRR, but this may be waved for the agency (presuming that you're okay with a minor being around alcohol and cigarettes).
There's no limit as to how many characters you can have, but please make sure to fill out a character introduction for each.

websites such as picrew can be used to make a temporary design for your character, but there is the expectation that a drawn piece for them will be provided to the world owner in the near future.

if you have a character in mind that fits with these requirements, along with a general story for them that fits within the lore of the world, you're ready to submit them!

★★★

submitting a character

you can submit your character through the discord!

under the 'important information' category, you'll find a channel called #character-submissionsimply react on the emoji, which will take you to a private channel where you can submit your characterthe bot will then open up a private channel between you and the world owner, and they can discuss your character with you, or approve them if they're good to go.

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your character in le rêve rouge.

your character finds themself in the middle of a ruined city, their body moving against their will until they reach the entrance of le rêve rouge. here, your character must make the choice to step into the club and 'lose' themself in its luxuries. as the city and the club are fully drowned, waiting at the bottom of the lake, reaching the city itself means that your character has decided to plunge into the lake, dying in the process. however, your character does not recognise that they are dead. whether or not they recognise their (lack of) mortality, and what happens after that, is yet to be explored.

the door closes upon your entry. in fact, you'll start to forget how you came here, why you came here, and whether a door existed in the first place.

what drove your character to come to the club is totally up to you! each individual has their own reason for coming here, even if, at the time, they thought it was just fiction. what, in their life, made pursuing this club seem like something worth pursuing?

it's generally advised that you consult with the world owner about your character's story within the world!
the main tension for a character in the night club is that since they're very much dead and drowned once they reach the club, their perception of what the club is influences how they'll react to their existence within the club.

will they fully believe in what the club offers and find contentment?will they realise something's off and panic? will they know that they're dead and spiral? will they remember what happened to them?
your character can react to their situation in any way you choose! the npcs, all of which take different stances on this topic, can help you/your character determine their place and their thoughts about the club.

each character in this dimension will get a 'table' where other characters can interact with them in depth.

each character in this dimension will be investigated by a detective from the agency, and will need to provide clues to guide their investigation write-up.

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your character in lazare's agency.

lazare's agency is above the water, in a city near the (as of yet unknown) lake. his agency has been swamped by missing persons requests, and he needs more people to help him investigate what the fuck is happening.

at first, your character will work for lazare to help him try and simply locate these missing persons. surely, there'll be clues somewhere, right?

as the world grows, however, lazare will come to realise that there must be something else going on. at that point, the role of your character will change. you won't just be trying to locate missing persons, but you'll work with lazare to figure out who or what is taking these people away, and whether the agency can stop whatever it is that's causing these disappearances, and whether they can bring the missing people home.

each character in this dimension will get a 'desk' where other characters can interact with them in depth.

each character in this dimension will be tasked with investigating a patron in le rêve rouge.

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le rêve rouge itself.

le rêve rouge seems like a normal cabaret at face value. patrons can eat, drink, sleep (although, you have no bedroom unless you wish to find one in the hallways [your bed is your table]) and socialise with other patrons as they wish. servers will be around, catering to their every need.

le rêve rouge comprises of several areas:

the lobby - this is where patrons are asked to wait until they're permitted entrance into the clubthe club itselfonce you enter the club portion, to the left, you'll see the bar. although servers can serve you drinks from your table, sometimes patrons like to drink and chat with cyrus (an npc, the bartender).near the bar is the bathrooms. what happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom.in the centre, which takes up a large portion of the club, is the table area. in lieu of rooms, each patron has their own table, where they can eat, sleep, drink, smoke, and do whatever the hell they want.at the front is the stage. sebastian (an npc, the master of ceremonies) will always be there, keeping people entertained. eliza (an npc, the chanteuse) may perform every so often, and it is usually worth listening to what she sings. near the stage is irene's table (an npc, the pianist), which is conveniently located next to the piano.to the right, you'll find two hallways (left and right). you can't see very far into them. when you walk into a hallway, you will find a room that gives you what you desire at that moment. however, it may not be exactly what you expect it to be.
the fictional city that contains le rêve rouge was drowned in the 1800s and the club was established after post-1920s. however, the club itself is timeless. both of these eras influence very little about the club itself, and is more so a problem for certain npcs. your character won't be cognisant of how long they've been at the club as time is no longer a consideration where they are. thus, your character won't age. however they were after they died (their clothes, their physique etc.) is precisely how they'll be during their stay the club. it is also possible for characters to have different sets of clothing/change clothes, but they cannot move aesthetically "backwards" from the era in which they died. if your character dies in modern day, they cannot be dressed in something like victorian-era outfits.

the city itself is unimportant, as your character will be unable to explore it outside of their walking to the club. however, it is not an aquatic city despite the water-damaged ruins. your character can walk and breathe in the city as if the city is encased in an air bubble. water, however, does seep through this divide. the persistent sound of dripping water can be heard in the background, but is unnoticeable due to the grandeur of the club. should this illusion be shattered, however...

★★★

the lake itself.

though the city and the club themselves are located in one, specific lake - that has yet to be located - the concept of the 'lake' where characters meet their watery graves is locationless. obscure, unknown/unmarked bodies of water (like straits, streams, rivers, creeks etc.) around the world have the same effect as the original, but your character will always make their way back to the club regardless of where and when they may have died.

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the world above the water.

lazare's agency deals primarily with missing persons cases. though most of the cases are local, the agency sometimes deals with cold cases that need a fresh pair of eyes, or missing persons cases from another city or country that was given to lazare by other authorities, who believe they may be of interest to him.

the agency is located in a strange, fictional city on modern-day earth.

it seems as if citizens are stuck in a state of apathy, completely aware of how terrible the state of their city is, but not motivated enough to do anything about it.

the city is economically trouble. despite being centuries after the post-WWI recession, establishing a stable economy continues to be a challenge, especially when the city is led by an inept (but not actively malicious) administration. unemployment rates are incredibly high, hospitals are under-funded and under-staffed - there is simply not enough resources to go around to help everybody.

much of the city's budget is being used by the city's police force, even though the city does not need an extensive police presence. despite being so prominent, they do very little to help the city, being especially slow when it comes to responding to smaller issues like missing persons requests. this is where lazare's agency finds its importance in the city. people can rely on him to help them, and they know he'll at least try his best.

what complicates the situation, however, is that the city's police department has an active distaste for lazare's agency, despite lazare doing what the police force should be. though they have done nothing thus far to sabotage lazare and his business, lazare is cautious about his position in the city, and is hoping that they'll be able to find these missing folks sooner rather than later.

given the current state of the city, people keep sane by indulging (perhaps too excessively) in what comforts them. the two most common panaceas are entertainment and religion. music, cinema, literature, stage productions, all of these forms of art are dear to everyone's hearts, giving people something to talk about and look forward to.

entertainment, however, barely holds a candle to the effect religion has on keeping people's spirits up. many of the popular 'religious groups' lean heavily on giving people hope that there exists something greater for them, a world better than the one they're living...

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silas's splendor.

you didn't notice him before, but now, you can't help but see how frequently he lingers around in the club, waiting in the wings, watching over everyone with his gentle eyes.

it's as if he's everywhere at once.

strangely, he doesn't seem to interact with you first, but something about him makes you want to approach him, talk to him, thank him as if some part of you feels this sense of gratitude towards him.

be wary, however, for silas is not who you think he is.

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there's a certain peace that comes when the curtain rises and she steps out onto the stage.

she takes her place in front of the microphone stand.

a hush falls over the dazzled audience – the show's about to begin.

• Le rêve Rouge NPCs
• Lazare's Agency NPCs
• Le rêve rouge characters
• Lazare's Agency characters
• Silas's Splendor NPCs
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investigations in lazare's agency

each patron within le rêve rouge will be investigated by a detective in the agency. lazare will assign each investigator with a "missing persons" case, and each investigator will work through the leads present in the case files and try to find some clues as to where they could've gone, but it will always lead to a dead end.

lazare will always be there to assist your character with your investigation, and will be the one to guide your investigation as he points out new leads.

information written in the guidelines should be read by and is applicable to both patrons and investigators.

• Guidelines for investigations
• Example investigation
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guidelines for investigations

the purpose of the initial investigations in the agency is to gain insights as to why a patron eventually ends up in le rêve rouge.

the patron's owner, therefore, will be tasked with providing 'clues' and 'leads' to the world owner. this will be used to guide the investigators as they look into each clue and lead, which will be written up by the investigator's owner. there's a bit of creative freedom when it comes to the clues and leads you can provide, as long as it's clear what the outcome of that clue/lead is.

most likely, clues and leads will come from those who knew the patron (i.e. family, friends, enemies, acquaintances, bosses, lovers, etc.)the investigator will be given the contact details of the persons whose relationship with the patron you wish to explorewhat is revealed about the patron and their relationship with the other person is up to you! however, what is to be learnt must be clearfor example, did the acquaintance get along well with the patron? what was their dynamic? did they think well of the patron? would they have known where the patron could've gone? were they aware of any struggles the patron was facing? could they tell the investigator more about the patron? do they know why the patron could've run off and left?it's entirely possible that these persons don't know anything. it's entirely possible that they do know something, but something that reveals a part of the patron's backstory must be learnt in each lead.
★★★

investigators, on the other hand, will come to discover that all of their initial investigations lead to a dead end.

the investigator will not truly know where they have gone. what the investigator will do is try to piece together who the missing person was, where they could have gone, and why they could have have disappeared. In doing so, your investigator will learn more about the person, their relationships and their circumstances - things that shed light on why the patron decided to pursue the club that will inform future investigations.

lazare (the world owner) will give your investigator contact details to someone they can speak to regarding the missing person. you, as the detective, will role-play their investigative process. the world owner will give you clues provided to them by the patron's owner, detailing who the person is that your investigator will be contacting, their relationship with the patron and other related information (as written above), and what the outcome of that lead will be.

how you role-play this section is up to you! whether it be long-form, short-form, script, headcanons etc. there's creative freedom as long as the clue is explored! this can be done in a group chat, a private server, or an in-channel server (private or public)!

once you think you've explored as much as you can for that lead, your investigator can ask lazare for a new lead. if there are no more leads, then lazare will speak to your investigator about the case and their conclusions (i.e. lack thereof) before assigning them to a different case.

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example investigation

missing person: milton

person to contact: an old lover of milton's who raised his disappearance to lazare, jairoit's clear that jairo really adored milton, and still speaks about him with fondness, and hopes he's okayjairo will reveal that milton was a dancer and a model in his primehe has, for a long portion of his life, suffered chronic pain, and was generally a sickly personhe, however, kept trying to pretend he wasn't sick at all, partying wildly. he actually met milton at a club jairo was aware that there was definitely something off with him once he stopped working, and especially when he cut jairo off from his lifejairo, however, doesn't know much more than that. he doesn't know why milton stopped working, but he knows that whatever it was must've been really bad, because he loved dancing and modelling more than anything in the world
★★★ - long-form

i'll see you soon.

lazare's eyes flew open as he jolted awake. he realised that, once again, he had fallen asleep at his desk. he felt around for his phone and turned it on. when he went to look at the time, he winced at the screen's brightness, despite being on the lowest setting. it was already morning.

'shit, i slept too much.' as he chastised himself internally, he grabbed a folder from his ever-growing pile. milton was scribbled on the front, slightly smudged. not that it worsened the legibility of the name; his handwriting was notoriously shit. flipping open the cover, he perused through the general details provided to him:

name: milton. no last name providedage: 25last spotted: no date providedfiled by: jairo medina
thankfully, this jairo person provided their phone number, saving lazare some time by not having to track that information down too. phone in one hand and folder in another, he stood up from his desk, dialling jairo's number as he rushed out the door, foregoing food as he had the tendency to do.

'hey, is this jairo?' he said as jairo answered his call. a dulcet voice responded with a pleasant greeting. 'great. would you be free to talk about' - he quickly consulted his folder for the missing person's name - 'milton in person?'

'i am, yes.'

'great. let's meet in an hour.'

★★★ - script form

lazare (30) meets up with jairo (26) at a small cafe suggested by jairo. a waitress comes over to serve them, taking jairo's order with an animated air she does not extend to lazare. he politely orders two coffees.

lazare: you come here often?
jairo: too much, i think.

lazare waits for their orders to arrive. he takes a sip of one coffee before beginning his interview.

lazare: it was you who submitted milton's disappearance to me, yes?
jairo: yes, sir.
lazare: you must've cared about him enough to do so, huh.

jairo flushes red.

jairo: you could say that, sir. we... were close once.
lazare: how long were you together for?
jairo: we were never together, per se, but i was around him long enough to care too much about him.
lazare: can you tell me more about him?
jairo: he used to be a dancer and a model. i don't know how he did it, but he was always so busy. and yet, he still managed to find some time to be with me...

jairo's words trail off. lazare coughs to get his attention back.

★★★ - short-form

jairo apologised to lazare, 'sorry. i don't know why i get so sentimental.'

'it's okay,' lazare said. 'was there something in his life that made him... want to just disappear?'

jairo sighed, 'he told me once that he was just in pain a lot of the time. he used to get sick a lot too.'

lazare took a sip of his coffee, 'mhmm.'

'but he would always pretend that he wasn't sick. most of the time, when he wasn't working, he was partying, and god knows what happened during those nights...' jairo lifted his cup to his lips. 'hell, i even met him at a club.'

lazare fished through his pockets for a pen, but found a cigarette instead. he clenched his fist around it and forced himself to remember what jairo was saying. 'and when did you see him last? how did you know he was missing?'

jairo's hands began shaking slightly, 'milton just... cut me out of his life. i noticed that he'd stopped working, he stopped leaving his apartment, and he wasn't really talking to me any more. by that point, i knew something was wrong, but i knew it was serious when it turned out he wasn't talking to anyone at all.'

lazare sculled the last of his coffees down before asking, 'do you know where he could've gone?'

'i don't really know much more than what i've already said,' jairo responded. 'i just know that he wouldn't stop working unless it got really bad. he loved his jobs more than anything in the world, maybe more than the people who cared about him.'

★★★

lazare knew it was best not to pry any further. he paid for their orders, thanked jairo, and went back to the agency...

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longer writings

here's a compilation of longer writings related to the world, which include the world owner's extended write-up about the world and its npcs, as well as other longer pieces written by other members.

always crashing in the same car., a lore piece by belle (the world owner)

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