By Care

While our chatters are the heart and soul of roleplay, rooms are what give their characters a place to become incarnate. Managing rooms can be a difficult but ultimately rewarding task, and each leader has taken their own road to the “top”. In this issue, Care parts the shadows around DC Noir.

This quarter we have the pleasure of sitting down with Christian, owner of DC Noir, Sex Arcade, and Marvel United. However, for this article, we are only featuring his DC Comics room, DC Noir. DC Noir is one of those rooms that started on another site and moved to Roleplay Evolution. They have been a real staple of the Fantasy Envisioned realm since opening. They are always busy and if you don’t see them in one room, they are in another. So lets get started!

Thank you, Christian, for taking a moment to get with me about this article. Tell the readers exactly how you came up with the idea for DC Noir, besides it being a DC room?

Thank you, Care, it’s a pleasure. As for DC Noir, well, that started as a joint effort from lots of different people. I was sitting in another Marvel RP room on another site, paying attention to a public conversation between two other players – one happens to be our very own CK from DC Noir, and both were wishing there was a DC option for RP rooms. So that sort of sprung the idea in my mind. It was on a site which for years did not permit another comic room so it was a bit touch and go at first.

What kind of storylines sets DC Noir apart from the other comic book rooms?

Well, first off, sole DC rooms have always been rare. I can think of two or three others and most of them are no longer open. What DC Noir does with stories is we sort of branch out. We have a centered Batman centered RP, then we have a focus on the Green Lanterns in space and the Teen Titans. We’ve seen all manners of characters and some darker, horror type stories due to the nature of DC and magic and the supernatural. You can really do anything in DC, whereas Marvel’s universe is more focused on bright, full-color superheroes. DC has diversity at its best. We do slow burn stories, that build and build until we reach a perfect opportunity for a climax.

Can you tell us what the difference is between Marvel and DC? I know many people don’t understand that there is a slight difference, as it may be, for the comics, thus the roleplay too.

Just as I touched on above, the difference is the diversity. Marvel’s universe in any form is more centered around classic superheroes. Now, that’s not to say DC doesn’t cater to this – they are home to some of the first superheroes in the genre – but DC’s universe is more team oriented. Marvel has teams, too, but those teams have more often than not been segregated: You have Avengers and you have X-Men, you have street level and mutants and cosmic levels, and sometimes it’s hard to have those various types intermingle. DC is more user friendly – it affords for all types to interlock, be it under the banner of the Justice League or the Justice Society or perhaps even the Teen Titans. Batman characters and Superman characters can interact and it’s not far fetched. We can have Batman on Themyscira or Green Lantern in Gotham, and it can make sense without reaching! Also, the magic and occult aspect of DC is amazing with the works of Constantine and Zatanna, DC Vertigo, and other properties like Preacher and Sandman. The limits are imaginary.

What is the favorite style of play done within DC Noir?

We’re free form. I would have to say free form. People toss dice into the mix to settle disputes here and there but we’re basically a free form room. I hope that’s what you meant by ‘style of play’ [laughs]

Are there any ideas or plans for any events for DC Noir? Like we see many rooms hosting like trivia nights and paint nights? Anything of that nature, or is it all just storyline based events?

I like to keep my rooms grounded in story line based events. I’ve been known to have a trivia night or two. I’m not a fan of AV auctions or paint nights, basically because I don’t make avatars, so it’s not my bag. If gennifairy wanted to use the rooms to host one of those things, I guess I would have to allow it. [laughs] Seriously, though, I like the idea of rooms that generate activity from their merits and not one shot promotions – not that there is anything wrong with auctions, paint nights, and even trivia nights. They certainly have their place. I’ve just never seen people return to rooms based on those things after said event is over. We have some ideas in the works for DC, especially now that the comics have mirrored an idea I ran with a few years ago. We’re going to revisit that story and expand upon it.

What is one of the funniest storylines you can recall that has been in play in DC Noir?

One of the funniest DC Noir RPs – [thinks on this a bit] Two spring to mind. I love when I get to play Bruce Wayne as opposed to Batman. The reasons to use Wayne are very seldom in the room. One night I had players show up because thre was a Wayne Foundation event. As many might know, it’s no secret gennifairy and I ship Batman and Wonder Woman as a couple. Well Diana (Wonder Woman) shows up to the function with Steve Trevor; who is the government liaison between the Justice League and the United States government. Well, Bruce’s little green monster of jealousy came out to play, and it was just hilarious to have the two try to out do one another. The second was more recent. I was able to play Penguin for a night to help our Catwoman forward a story. It was a different character from the type I usually play, and fun. Catwoman and Poison Ivy robbed him blind!

Have there ever been a moment within the room, within stories, that you and your players have gone “What the Fuck”?

I can’t say that I have. Nothing really surprises me anymore. However, I can say that sometimes my one liners with John Constantine can be a room stopper. Although, all things aside, recently we had a player play a created character from an alternate future timeline. The kicker was she ends up being the daughter of Starfire and Superboy. That was a bit of a shocker in the room as Superboy and Starfire have just hooked up together and now they are shown the could-be possible fruits of that union. Long ago, we once had a Superman whose players would do some really ridiculous things that would make us all stop and think, “What the hell did I just read?”

Have there been any steamy storylines in DC Noir or is that all saved for when you go up to the Sex Arcade?

[laughs] The Sex Arcade always comes up in conversation, people really like that room. I can’t speak for others as I’m not privy to their private moments. I know our Superman and Lois Lane are starting their relationship but Superman’s player can be a bit goofy with not realizing Lois wants him. Kru-El, another Kryptonian has been keeping company with Catwoman, and I think the room is pulling for those two hooking up. [waves a hand] You know how RP romance goes but for myself, I love superheroes and I love my sex. My Batman and gennifairy’s Wonder Woman have a really underlined D/s relationship in DC Noir. If you pay attention and read between the lines, it’s there. Of course it drops when they have to be heroes and go beat up the bad guys, but it’s always there. John Constantine and Zatanna have a more playful romance as opposed to their Sex Arcade romps. However, Superboy and Starfire have a pretty steamy thing going on in DC Noir – not as explicit as their Sex Arcade adventures, but still hot none the less. We’ve kicked around having some stories from the Sex Arcade cross over into the other rooms. The Sex Arcade is still cooling. It can really become anything and be used as a stepping stone if that’s your sort of RP bag.

Tell us something you would like the readers to know about DC Noir?

I want readers to be aware of a few things. First, we don’t use character sheets, claiming a character is easy! Second, you don’t need a long understanding of DC history to play. If you watch the TV shows or follow the movies or some of the cartoons like the old Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, you’re good to go! The one thing I constantly hear is Comic RP is like this incomprehensible form of RP, and it’s really not. It’s fun, interactive fan fiction at its best!

And any last words for the readers?

Yeah, some last words. If you’ve seen Batman vs Superman, watch the Flash and Arrow or Legends of Tomorrow; if you go and see Suicide Squad in August; and if you like these things and want to experience them or give your hand to them, come and check us out! DC Noir is it’s own universe. It’s not the comics, it’s the not the cartoons, TV, or even the movies. It’s become it’s own monster and we would like you to come be a part of this!

And with that I have to say, I’ve learned a bit more about DC Noir that I did not know before. I don’t know about you, but part of me wants to go to DC Noir and try the roleplay there. I bet you would make a good superhero or a rather bad, bad guy.