Roleplay / Rome In Ruins

A Play-by-Post RPG that takes place in the fictional small town of Casteville, Oregon, Rome in Ruins follows the lives of characters just trying to get by. There are three main plot lines at work: the high school rivalry between Felix Academy and Augustus High; the murder investigation of Katherine Bradbury, Felix Academy's it girl who died after last year's high school prom; and the growing crime population in Casteville, as criminals start to make their base of operations in this seemingly anonymous town.

So far, the site has been going for six months and features over one hundred characters.

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Rome in Ruins contains examples of:

• Action Girl:
  • Grace Pierce's first appearance involves her walking towards a loaded gun and calmly shooting her attacker.
  • Kit Wilder is a trained government spy who, naturally, had martial arts training.
• Afraid of Blood: Isaac Pierce.
• Afraid of Needles: Damen Henderson and Ivy Willard.
• Allergic to Routine: Cecily Reyes.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Victoria Chord seems to only date bad boys.
• Aloof Big Brother: Zane to his brother, Zach. It's implied that he wasn't always so aloof until he came back from college.
• Alpha Bitch:
  • Hanley Cooper at Felix Academy.
    • Lia Conners is Hanley's protege, so chances are, she'll be in charge next year.
  • Emily Rider at Augustus High.
• Always Identical Twins: Caleb and Joshua Wilkins.
• Amicable Exes: Cecily and Justin.
  • Arthur King also seems to be on good terms with his exes.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Averted for Nathan Allen. He clearly has ADHD and is impulsive, but not outlandishly so.
• Attention Whore: Lia Conners, Claudia Lincoln, and Zoey Chase.
• The Baroness: Scarlett Hale.
• The Beard: Damen agrees to be Sammy's beard while she works out her sexuality.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Victoria and Zane have this whenever they're working together.
• Big Brother Instinct: Max Flynn to everyone he meets.
• Big Brother Mentor:
  • Henri Chord acts as an elder brother to Zane.
  • Ian Snyder is also a big brother figure to Isaac Pierce.
• Big Brother Worship: Half the reason Zach is so angry at his elder brother is because of this.
• Blind Date: This is how Cecily and Lexi meet.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: Lia Conners, who really hates being in Casteville, will let everyone know this at every opportunity.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Rémy Louis, who could have been a child genius but chooses to waste his time gambling.
• Broken Bird: There comes a point where Vanessa gives up entirely and becomes this.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Isaac Pierce is stoic, brooding and prefers to be left alone. He ends up with Marina, who's gentle, patient and calm.
• Brutal Honesty: Rudi Soren specialises in this.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Esme de Luca does this but there's no word yet on what the outcome was.
• Cannot Talk to Women: Malcolm Donovan.
• Card Sharp: Rémy Louis.
  • Rudi Soren also counts, as a sleight of hand magician, but he's still learning.
• Childhood Friend Romance:
  • George Allen and Clyde Mears who've always been best friends.
  • Nina Everett and Elliot Hawthorne are something of an inversion, being childhood friends but not the most romantic pair, they don't realise it for a long time.
  • Esme de Luca and Will Clarke arguably count - they meet when they're ten.
• Circus Brat: Rudi Soren.
• Classy Cat-Burglar: Grace Pierce, of course.
• Claustrophobia: Ezra Blake suffers from this.
• Con Man: Harry Frost.
• Consummate Liar: Nick Steel has probably never told the truth in his life, not counting his name.
• Conveniently an Orphan: Alex Williams - this helps when he gets picked up by Olympus and doesn't need parental consent.
• Cool Big Sis: George Allen looks up to his elder sister, Genevieve.
• Daddy's Girl: Hanley Cooper, who's father, Foster, believes she can do no wrong.
• Dating Catwoman: Nick Steel, faux-FBI agent, dating Claudia Lincoln, con-artist and thief.
• Deadpan Snarker: Isaac Pierce.
• Desperately Craves Affection: Nina Everett, notably from her parents and Elliot.
• Disability as an Excuse for Jerkassery: Greyson Charm uses the fact he's blind to let himself make fun of other people.
  • On the other hand, Damen Henderson is kinder to make up for his disabilities.
• Disappeared Dad:
  • Leon Michaelson's father walked on out on his mother when he was a child.
  • Nick Steel's father has nothing to do with his son, and Nick has never met him.
  • Rudi Soren's father comes into the picture when he's seventeen, but previously counted.
• Distressed Dude: Jason Aston, when the art gallery he works at gets robbed. Despite the fact that it was robbed by a tiny woman, Jason pretends to have been beaten up by a terribly large thief. His girlfriend sees right through it.
• Doorstop Baby: According to Isaac Pierce, this is him.
• Double Date: A double date takes place with Sammy Zach and Damen Henderson (who are only pretending to date) and Sam Kramer and Zach Spencer (who have no idea). Most of the date revolves around the former couple trying to keep their secret from the latter.
• Escape Artist: Claudia's day job.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Rudi Soren, who manages to get Zach Spencer experimenting.
• Experimented in College: Victoria Chord and Vanessa Stewart.
• Fear of Thunder: Stephanie Pryce.
• Femme Fatale: Vanessa Stewart usually plays this role when she first meets someone. It doesn't always work.
• First Girl Wins: The first girl Elliot met when he moved to Casteville was Nina Everett.
• Freudian Trio: The 'terrible trio', as they're so-called. Nina is the Id, Elliot is the Superego; Art reconciles them both as the Ego.
• Friends with Benefits: Zach Spencer and Mia Donovan. It eventually leads to something more.
• Gentleman Thief: Rémy Louis is one and ends up dating his counterpart, Grace Pierce.
• Green-Eyed Epiphany: The reason Harry Sivers and Lia Conners don't like to see the other dating someone else is because they're clearly meant to be.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Rose Allen.
  • Greyson Charm lives with his two fathers.
• Hello, Attorney!: Scarlett Hale and Ian Snyder.
• Hippie Parents: Molly's stepfather, Ray.
  • Arthur's parents also count, although they are a modern version, who lived with the ideals, but not the stereotypical names.
• I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: Cindy's reason for not wanting to date Nathan is that they've been best friends for so long and she doesn't want to lose that over a crush.
• I Take Offense to That Last One: Zane Spencer when Victoria calls him unemployed. Apparently, insulting and slapping him is fine as long as you don't say he doesn't work.
• Incompatible Orientation: George believed that this was the reason he couldn't date Clyde.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Zane and Kit Wilder both have this.
  • Nina Everett shows it a little too.
• Intrepid Reporter: Damen Henderson, a seventeen-year-old trying to solve the town murder, considers himself nothing more than a journalist.
• Jerk Jock: Harrison Sivers has shades of this, being the Felix Academy quarterback and one of the popular kids.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Isaac Pierce and Zane Spencer, both of whom would never be mean to someone who is a genuinely good person.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Thomas Knight, of course, when it comes to Vanessa.

• Ladykiller in Love: Zach Spencer when he realises he likes his best friend.
• Law of Inverse Fertility: Tilly Wheeler wants nothing more than to settle down and have babies, only to find out she's unable to. Conversely, Thalia Wilde never wants children and ends up pregnant.
• Lipstick Lesbian: Hanley Cooper, Jia Song, Sammy Zach, Cecily Reyes and Lexi Grace are all this.
• Literally Loving Thy Neighbor: Nathan and Cindy are next-door neighbours and can actually see one another from their bedroom windows.
  • Vanessa and Thomas Knight live next door to one another in their apartment block.
• Living Lie Detector: Nick Steel, a skilled coldreader.
  • Kit Wilder and Alex Williams also count, having been trained in it, but they're less likely to see through every lie.
• Long-Lost Relative: William Clarke and Bella Duncan - neither of them are aware of it yet, though Bella knows she has a brother and Will knows he's adopted.
• Love Triangle: There are two love triangles, so far, that have been resolved.
  • Victoria Chord is dating Ian Snyder, while Scarlett also has a crush on Ian. This is resolved when Victoria breaks up with Ian.
  • Vanessa Stewart has a mild crush on Zane Spencer who, in turn, has a crush on Victoria Chord. This is resolved when Victoria returns Zane's feelings, leaving Vanessa to date Thomas.
• Manipulative Bastard: Nick Steel is on no one's side but his own.
• The Matchmaker: Caleb Wilkins and Ivy Willard both enjoy setting up their friends on dates. Coincidentally, they also end up dating each other.
• The Medic: Raahi Mallick who was trained as the medic for Olympus.
• Military Brat: Damen Henderson.
  • Alex Williams, Kit Wilder and Raahi Mallick also count.
• Missing Mom:
  • Annie Jones' mother leaves her when she's young - she comes back into the picture when Annie's an adult.
  • Lydia Monday's mother walked out on her.
  • Mia Donovan's mother died when she was two.
• Motor Mouth: Nathan Allen.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: Nathan is highly protective of his little sister. The other two brothers, David and James, also feel the same way, though they're not currently in the picture.
• Neat Freak: Zane Spencer to a terrifying degree.
• Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Nina Everett.
• Office Romance:
  • Scarlett Hale and Ian Snyder both work in the same law office.
  • Max and Nattie also work in the newspaper offices together.
• Operation: Jealousy: A lot of Harrison and Lia's romance plots center around making one another jealous when they're in school and not talking.
• Parental Neglect: Ezra Blake and Scarlett Hale who's parents are either in jail or dead.
  • Katy Gray's parents generally ignore her.
  • Eleonore Pasternack's parents spend more time fighting rather looking after their children.
• Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Stefan and Violet Hastings, who got married for wealth and power, end up living quite happily together.
• Platonic Life-Partners: Alex Williams and Kit Wilder would do anything for each other.
• Playing Sick: Every time George Allen is trying to avoid school because of bullying, he suddenly manages to get ill.
• Portmanteau Couple Name: Nearly every couple has one. Notable aversions are Perks (Damen Henderson/Sam Kramer, due to their face claims appearing in the movie together), and Hoebagels (Nathan Allen/Cindy Spencan, who both sleep around).
• The Prankster: Caleb Wilkins, when he's in the mood for it.
  • Nathan Allen also takes part in a few pranks sometimes.
• The Prima Donna: Claudia Lincoln.
• Pretty Boy: Jacob Silver, who gets comments on it from Lydia.
• Purple Is Powerful: Violet Hastings.
• The Quiet One: Annie and Blake are both unassuming, quiet people who suffer from social anxiety. They're generally very sweet people, nonetheless.
• One of the Boys: Mia Donovan, a self-confessed tomboy.
• Raised by Grandparents: Damen Henderson currently lives with his grandparents.
  • Scarlett Hale also spent some time with her grandmother.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The Monday clan, a group of adopted kids who live in the trailer park, who found a home with one another.
• Romantic False Lead: Elise Conaway to Elliot Hawthorne; they get on great for a couple, but they don't end up together.
• Sarcastic Confession: Zane Spencer to Victoria Chord.
  Victoria: You think I'm a beauty?
  Zane: Yeah. Absolutely. Even drunk and sleepy in my arms, Victoria, you’re look wonderful; let’s go get married immediately, we’re meant to be, I’m sure of it.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Christopher and Tilly Wheeler, happily married and everyone knows it.
• Single Girl Seeks Most Popular Guy: Lia Conners, new girl, seeks Harrison Sivers, captain of the football team.
• Snow Means Love: Stephanie Pryce and Kevin Leeroy share a kiss after ice skating together.
  • William Clarke and Esme de Luca have a snow fight, but this is averted: neither of them are aware of their love.
• Socialite: Nattie Nightingale.
• Sole Survivor: Noah Dominick, in a car crash when he was six. It's part of the reason he moved away from his hometown to Casteville.
• Spin the Bottle: This is how Clyde and George's first kiss happens.
• Stepford Snarker: Zane Spencer.
• The Stoic: Good luck getting a smile out of Isaac.
• The Stoner: Kayden Rodrick, who spends most of his time getting high.
• Stoic Woobie: Isaac Pierce and Zane Spencer have this in common.
• Straight Gay: Joshua Wilkins and Henri Chord.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: George Allen, when asked about Clyde by his sister.
  George: I swear I didn’t say anything related or not related maybe to Clyde or not to Clyde that may or may not have involved the removal or non-removal of… things.
• Team Mom: Victoria Chord and Elise Conaway possess the uncanny ability to mother anyone they can.
• Teen Pregnancy: Thalia gets pregnant at the age of nineteen and chooses to give up the baby for adoption.
  • Stephanie Pryce got pregnant at the start of her senior year but keeps the baby and names her Lacey.
• The Teetotaler: Nick Steel, a recovering alcoholic, chooses not to drink alcohol at all.
  • Landon Orr is this until he falls off the wagon after his break-up with Jenny.
• Theme Twin Naming: Caleb and Joshua's names are both Hebrew.
• Under the Mistletoe: Rémy and Grace's first kiss.
• Uptown Girl:
  • Isaac Pierce, who comes from a criminal family, dating Marina St. Martin, who comes from an upper class family.
  • Max Flynn, local everyman, dates Natasha Nightingale, local socialite. Both sets of parents disapprove.
  • Leon Michaelson, a murder suspect and student at Augustus High, dates Genevieve Allen, who attends Felix Academy.
• With Friends Like These...: The Heathers, a clique of bitchy girls, consisting of Lia Conners, Ivy Willard and Olive Collins. They're lovely to one another, but also prone to bouts of jealousy and are queen bees at their respective schools.
• Workaholic: Avery Kennedy and Scarlett Hale are either always in the office or always taking work home. In Avery's case, this is justified; she's often working on other people's timezones.