Introduction

Trigger warning: Abuse, torture, medicalization, pathologization, compliance-based treatment, imprisonment, ableism, ageism (targeting youth), human rights abuses.

This is NOT a school roleplay or a typical "troubled teens" roleplay. The Expectations section has many more details about this.

Compliance.

It's a virtue. In fact, it's the only virtue that matters, at least when you're at Northern Star Academy.

You are a young adult. One night you were asleep in your bed, only to be woken by strange men in black t-shirts and cargo pants bursting into your room with bright lights shining in your eyes, hauling you from your bed without regard to your formerly sleeping state, and handcuffing you while pressing your face against the floor. Had you called or screamed or sobbed, no one else in your family was there to hear you. You were taken to a waiting car or van outside and driven to the nearest airport. When your flight landed in Portland, Oregon, you were hustled into another van for a good, six hour drive to the academy's grounds in the wilderness.

Welcome to Northern Star Academy.

You've been sent here because your parents believed unscrupulous marketing that warned them that you are a danger to yourself and a future menace to society. You've been labeled a "troubled teen," and you've fallen into the grasps of a multi-million dollar industry that preys on middle to upper class families and enacts months to years of violence and abuse on their children.

Some of the residents at Northern Star have been here for days or weeks. Others have been here for months or years. Some are gender or sexual minorities. Others are disabled or otherwise neurologically divergent. Some have experimented on occasion with alcohol, weed, other drugs, or smoking, and some have had previous encounters with the criminal justice system. Others have never run afoul of the law.

But that's not to worry. You're here at Northern Star, where you'll learn very quickly the one virtue that may allow you to leave one day at least somewhat better off than the others. You'll learn that what the staff and administrators really want from you is compliance.

Comply, and you might finish the program on time.

Toggle Rules

Expectations

This is not a school roleplay or a typical "troubled teen" roleplay. This roleplay is intended to use compelling characters, created by you, to explore the grim and disturbing realities of the troubled teen industry and its long history of abuse and torture of youth and people with disabilities trapped in it. I am not attempting to romanticize, sugarcoat, or downplay those realities, and I expect that writers should hold themselves to the same standards.

If you don't know a whole lot about the Troubled Teen Industry (TTI), that's okay. I'm happy to answer questions and provide resources. You can also ask MartianJusticiar any questions; they're an attorney with an extensive background in advocating for survivors of abusive residential treatment. You don't need to be an expert. If you're not comfortable or don't want to research a lot of information, it might be better to play the part of a resident, as your character would mostly be reacting to what is happening.

Respect each other's time. Some people can post all the time. Some people can only post occasionally. Some people can write a lot of posts in sudden flurries. Just make sure that if you're in a scene with someone else's character(s), you're on the same page about how often you can post until the scene is done. I have no requirements for how often you have to post, or for how long posts have to be. At least one post per month is a probably good baseline. More is great, though, too, and if you're extremely enthusiastic and excited, go for it! Just be careful of other folks who may be posting less frequently, and do attempt to avoid plot awkwardness. (i.e. You and another writer have written a fantastic ten pages worth of content in just one week, but someone else who is only posting once a month had their character in your scene, so no one actually knows what happened to that character or why that character hasn't actually said anything in the entire course of this scene. That's awkward.)

There is no minimum or maximum length or word count. If this is an access need, though, and you require more structure or specific, concrete guidelines, just let me know and I'd be happy to provide that structure for you.

It's okay to take from posting whenever you need to. If you have extenuating circumstances due to nature, family emergency, personal circumstances, work or school schedules, illness, spoon loss, prior engagements, or other reasonable excuses not to be posting for longer than that period, please simply let me know as soon as possible. I won't be upset as long as I know at least basically what's going on. (You don't need to go into detail if you're not comfortable doing that. For example, you could just say, "there are personal issues.")

Be artful and intentional in your writing. There may be sexual content (within the site's rules--click here to see Gateway's guidelines), romantic content, profanity, violence, and other potentially triggering, uncomfortable, unpleasant, or disturbing content. Be artful. Let events occur to develop character or plot, and not simply for the sake of including something racy or gory. Please use trigger warnings for rape/sexual violence. You can place a trigger warning at the beginning of any post that discusses or describes rape or other sexual violence in any way beyond just mentioning the word. If you are concerned about triggers because you are a survivor or because you have PTSD, anxiety, or phobias, but still want to participate, please contact me so we can talk about how to make this an accessible space for you and as safe as possible.

We'll be a small group of no more than five, most likely. I do expect people who are willing to commit to a very long-term writing process, that may stick around for months, or quite possibly, for years. That's why I'm not super concerned about the posting frequency. I also expect that all of us will grow both in our personal character and in our writing, as we stay together as a group. My goal is to conclude within two years once we've started, but it could stretch for longer. I'd like to write a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. Complexity is a plus. (And yes, it's possible I'll accept more people.)

Respect your fellow players. If you have a disagreement with someone else, try to work it out privately with them first. If you still can't work it out in private, talk to me about it. Whatever you do, remember that your fellow players are also people with their own feelings, experiences, and opinions.

Collaboration is key. Talking to other players to come up with connections between your characters in their backstories is completely and totally encouraged. Working with some players to develop a devious plot twist to surprise other players with is also awesome.

Character Submissions

Develop compelling characters. As many or as few as you like. Well-developed characters have personalities, backstories, and relationships with other people in their lives. You don't need to know everything about a character right away, but we should be able to follow the character's development as the story continues.

You may choose to play the parts of any or all of the following:

Residents. Youth ages 13 to 25 currently at Northern Star. Older youth are more likely to have been here for longer. In keeping with the reality of the TTI, youth might have been sent here for anything from being suspected of using drugs/marijuana, being gay/otherwise queer/trans*, being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse or rape, having learning disabilities (like ADD), having psychosocial disabilities (like depression, bipolar, etc.), being "defiant," being involved with the criminal justice system (as a "diversion" or alternative to jail), or just about anything else under the sun.
Staff. Folks 18 and over working at Northern Star. Some may be former residents (a particularly bizarre practice in the TTI), but most are not. Some staff might be well-meaning and think that what they are doing is actually helpful to the students. A few staff might feel that at least some of the things going on at Northern Star aren't really right, but may be in over their heads. And some staff might be actively and intentionally abusive, emotionally, physically, sexually, verbally, or otherwise. Most staff probably do not have education beyond a high school diploma OR their education and experience aren't related at all to social work, therapy, or working with youth.
Family members, romantic/sexual partners at home, and friends. Folks outside of Northern Star who may or may not know the truth of what is happening there, and may or may not care enough to intervene. Most youth trapped in the TTI come from middle-class or upper-class backgrounds because that's how the TTI milks their families for money. Parents often believe completely in the TTI's marketing strategies.
Lawyers, advocates, activists, survivors. Folks who may or may not have current direct connections to Northern Star, but have a vested interest in identifying abuses that occur and rescuing residents, legally or otherwise. There may be a class action coming...
Journalists. Possibly investigative journalists interested in learning more about Northern Star.
Government investigators, social workers, etc. People who may be interested in the real story of what's going on here, or else who might be in the pockets of the Northern Star administrators, bribed or given other incentives to ignore the abuse.
Any other roles that you can conceive of playing. Literally, anyone.

You may have multiple characters, in the same or in different roles, but you will then be responsible for writing for all of them at least semi-regularly. You're also free to have only one, if you prefer.

Notice: If you like this idea and or this synopsis and or (future or present) in-character posts, please do not simply copy and paste, or copy and paste and make slight alterations, and post it (or any future in-character posts) either on this site or anywhere else without my explicit permission and consent (or that of the author of a particular in-character post). I can be reached by email at ohnoitsdark (at) gmail.com for such requests. Doing so without my permission or consent constitutes plagiarism and is a violation of U.S. federal law and an infringement of my intellectual property. If you choose to do so anyway, please expect nasty legal notes from me. This notice was posted on the original interest check page on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013, at 11:55PM Eastern Standard Time.

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Browse All » 17 Settings to roleplay in

Map

Northern Star Academy by Ylanne

The campus has several buildings that sit on a few hundred acres of land in the wilderness. Better known as Hell to the residents.

Portland, Oregon by Ylanne

Portland has been an excellent place for organizers trying to help victims of the TTI.

Eugene, Oregon by Ylanne

Eugene is another major city in Oregon.

The Dormitories by Ylanne

Four to six students are housed in each dormitory with a shared bathroom and live-in staff. They are always watching.

The Assembly Hall by Ylanne

This is where Northern Star holds their all-resident meetings and activities.

Salem, Oregon by Ylanne

Salem is the capital city of Oregon.

Youth Empowerment Project Headquarters by Ylanne

The building sits on a modest corner in Northwest Portland, and contains both a maze of crowded offices that are home to comic books and queer pride posters as they are to file folders and suits, as well as enough dormitory space for a good fifty people.

Blair(e)'s Place by MartianJusticiar

Blair/e Iverson's apartment, smack in the center of the Pearl District.

Powell's Books by Ylanne

Powell's Books is the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world, taking up an entire city block.

Dining Hall by Ylanne

Sit up straight, no talking, elbows off the table. Eat everything on your plate, or else there will be Consequences.

The White House by Ylanne

Not the one you're thinking of. This one is a manor home housing Isabelle Lancaster upstairs, and Northern Star's administrative offices and staff lounge downstairs.

The Workshop House by Ylanne

Otherwise known as Mindfuck Central, which in retrospect, is probably a significantly better name.

The Waterfront by Ylanne

This wide expanse of green lawns along the downtown Portland waterfront is a scenic slice of park land. Along the waterfront there are a number of fountains, memorials, and gardens.

Pioneer Courthouse Square by Ylanne

The central gathering place in downtown Portland.

Harney County by Ylanne

The vast countryside, sparsely populated, surrounding the campus of Northern Star Academy. Just another deterrent for runaways.

Harney County Circuit Court by Ylanne

Welcome to the Harney County Circuit Court, one of 36 state trial courts in the state court system, the Oregon Judicial Department.

Oregon State Penitentiary by Ylanne

Welcome to Oregon's only maximum security prison, located on a 26 acre property within the Salem city limits.

Create New » Browse All » 17 Characters with stories to follow

Character Portrait: Nkroma Anokye-Obirikomfuo

Character Portrait: Shravya Balasubramaniam

Character Portrait: Blair Iversen (aka Blaire Iversen)

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Northern Star Academy Staff

The administrators and staff of Northern Star Academy.

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