MTV Downtown RPG

MTV DOWNTOWN

SETTING: New York City, Manhattan, Late 1990s (1997-1999) Social Norms: Casual comments that could seem chauvinistic/misogynistic/misandrist/racist/stereotypical now were more easily dropped back then, although not usually out of malice. This will used for realism.

Alex Henson • Appearance: Lanky and lean (6’1), looks taller because he’s all limbs. He has fair skin, his brown hair was usually parted in an illusion of something mature, though it always had a few fly-aways. He has his iconic stubble in his chin. Alex has dark brown eyes, a long nose, and an angular face. He’s usually wearing rectangular glasses. When he’s not wearing his collared uniform, he’s wearing.. more collared polos and shirts. Looser jeans, this is the 90s after all. He tries to keep his shoes relatively clean. • Background: Caucasian. Speaks English, a little bit of Spanish from High School. • Personality: Alex is usually pretty chill. He doesn’t go looking for drama and would rather stay home with his comics, action figures, or just vibe than deal with most people’s bullshit. He’s the type who’ll sit back, observe, and throw in a dry or slightly mean comment when it feels right. He can be an ass though. Not in a loud, aggressive way — more in that quiet, judgmental, “I’m better than this” way. He gets passive-aggressive when he’s annoyed, especially with Chaka or when people drag him into their chaos. He’ll roll his eyes, make little digs, or just check out of the conversation. He’s also kinda selfish when it comes to his own comfort and routines; if something inconveniences him, he makes it known (even if it’s just under his breath). He’s not stupid, but he can be pretty dumb in the ways that matter. Overthinks the hell out of girls he likes, freezes up, says the wrong thing, or talks himself into weird decisions. He’s socially awkward in a way that sometimes comes off as clueless. Around people he’s not fully comfortable with, he gets stiff and tries too hard to seem mature or cool, which just makes it worse. The one place he drops most of that is with Jen. He’s way more relaxed, teasing, and honest around her. They can talk shit, sit in silence, or call each other out without it turning into a whole thing. He’s still capable of being a bit of a dick to her too, they’ve had some arguments. He works at a copy shop called Repro-Man. He has a few nerdy comic friends he hangs out with, though he’s painfully embarrassed of them and will flee when he’s caught with them. He’s still a chronic masturbator. He lives in a run-down apartment in the lower east side of Manhattan above a dive bar. It’s his first apartment. It’s not amazing, but he had to snatch it up quickly, it was New York!

Chaka Henson (Alex’s younger sister) • Appearance: Thin and spry (5’6). She’s slightly tanner than Alex. Her blonde hair was cut short and layered, the front strands usually clipped back with hair clips. She has dark brown eyes that match Alex’s. She has a slim face, and usually puts on natural makeup, unless she’s partying. She usually wears crop-tops, tank-tops, and any pants that are comfy enough to hang low on the hips. • Background: Caucasian. Only speaks English. • Personality: Chaka is loud, restless, and always looking for the next thing. She’s always going on “I do whatever the fuck I want,” and she treats most rules like suggestions. Clubs, parties, crashing at people’s places, sneaking into places she’s too young for — that’s her natural habitat. She gets bored easily and will drag whoever’s around into whatever scheme or night out she’s currently hyped about. She’s confident to the point of arrogance. She knows she’s cute and uses it when it benefits her, but she’s not soft or overly flirty in a desperate way — she’s more casually cocky. She talks a lot, talks fast, and talks shit. She’s quick to call people out, especially her brother Alex, and she has zero problem being mean when she’s annoyed. She can be selfish, impulsive, and pretty shitty about other people’s feelings if they get in the way of her having a good time. That said, she’s not pure chaos. She’s street-smart, knows how to move through the city, and is usually the one who actually makes shit happen when the group is just standing around. With Mecca she’s softer and more genuine — they bounce off each other easily and can go from talking nonsense to being real without it feeling forced. Around Alex she flips between needling him constantly and occasionally begging to crash at his place. She cares about him, even if she’d never admit it out loud. She’s not stupid, but she makes dumb decisions constantly because she prioritizes fun and impulse over consequences. Grades, responsibility, long-term thinking — none of that ranks high for her. Living in the moment is the whole point.

Jen (Alex’s best friend) • Appearance: Dark, short, braided hair usually over her shoulders. She has more olive skin, and her eyes are dark and shiny. She has a slimmer face for her figure, but still had squishy cheeks. She had a soft, rounded build, curvy and chubby. She usually wears oversized clothes, and her sleeves are always long enough to go over her hands. • Background: Vietnamese-American. Bilingual, but more comfortable speaking English. Vietnamese is more-so reserved for her parents. • Personality: Jen is sarcastic by default. Almost everything that comes out of her mouth has some kind of dry, cutting, or self-deprecating edge to it. She’s not loud about it — she just delivers the comment flat and lets it land. She’s smart enough to see through most people’s bullshit, and she rarely bothers hiding that she sees it. She’s insecure in ways she doesn’t always admit out loud. Her weight, her lack of a romantic life, the fact that her roommate Leah is constantly getting laid while she isn’t — it bothers her more than she lets on. She covers it with sarcasm and by tearing other people down a little. She’s especially rough on Serena and on the idea of Alex actually getting somewhere with a girl. A lot of that comes from jealousy mixed with genuine protectiveness and the fear of losing the easy dynamic they have. With Alex she’s at her most comfortable and her most complicated. They can sit around doing nothing, talk shit for hours, or call each other out without it turning into a real fight. She’s also capable of being unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) cruel to him when he’s chasing someone else. She doesn’t always realize how much of her negativity is just her own frustration leaking out. She’s not mean for the sake of it, but she can be an asshole when she’s in a mood — dismissive, bitter, or just drained of patience. Most of the time she’s just low-key, a little cynical, and happier staying in her lane (working at the used clothing shop, hanging with Alex and Goat, complaining about everything). She doesn’t chase drama, but she also doesn’t go out of her way to make things easier for anyone, including herself. She’s a ‘one of the guys’ types because it’s easier than trying to fit in with most women surrounding downtown. She works at a kitschy, used clothing store called LORD OF HOARD.

Serena (Trademark Goth) • Appearance: Long, straight, dark purple hair. Her real hair is actually brown. She’s pale, and that’s what she likes. She has dark eyes, almost black, low-lidded and usually painted with purple eyeshadow that matches her purple lipstick. She’s thin and pretty fit, though her boots make her look taller than she is (5’6). She likes long skirts, chokers, crop-tops, and pretty jackets. • Background: Caucasian. Only speaks English. • Personality: Serena looks like the classic intimidating goth girl — all black, pale makeup, piercings, the whole aesthetic — but she’s actually one of the most well-adjusted and genuinely likable people in the group. She’s friendly, positive, and pretty easy to talk to once you get past the image. She’s creative in a scattered way: she writes poetry, designs clothes, makes jewelry, plays the zither, and works at Starbase 12 with Matt. She’s interested in a lot of things but doesn’t always follow through on any of them for long. She’s not pretentious about the goth stuff either — she knows how people project dark, mysterious, or “deep” traits onto her and finds it kind of funny/annoying. She’s attracted to bad boys and complicated guys (she’s admitted a prison record is a plus for her). She’s dated a string of junkies, posers, and manic-depressives, and while she claims she’s ready for a nice guy, she rarely notices them when they’re right in front of her. That includes Alex. She’s kind to him and doesn’t mind the attention, but she doesn’t really see him the way he sees her. She’s confident without being arrogant, and she doesn’t try hard to be cool. She just is what she is. Around the group she’s chill, a little dry, and more grounded than most of them expect from someone who looks like she crawled out of a Tim Burton movie.

Scott “Goat” (Neighborhood freakaleak) • Appearance: Goat has biker-long, shaggy black hair usually down. He has a macho mustache, long as his hair. He’s fair, maybe a little sun-kissed. He has dark hazel eyes, though they look brown from far away. He’s tall and lean (6’3), though always a little hunched. He usually wears a bandanna wrapped around his head, and anything casually swagger enough to throw on, like a leather jacket, or pointed shoes with boot-cut jeans. • Background: Caucasian with some sort of Salvadoran in him, though he’s disconnected from the culture. • Personality: Goat is the neighborhood freak and he knows it. He’s confident, crude, and completely unfiltered. He says whatever’s on his mind, does whatever feels good in the moment, and doesn’t really care how it lands. He’s sleazy in a shameless, almost cheerful way — always trying to get laid, always talking about getting laid, and weirdly successful at it more often than he should be given how he acts. He’s well-liked in that “everyone knows him and has a story about him” kind of way. People roll their eyes at him constantly, but he’s hard to actually hate for long. He can talk to almost anyone and somehow make it work. He’s comfortable in any room because he just doesn’t give a shit about looking cool or normal. He’s not stupid, but he lives by impulse. His philosophy is basically “try everything at least once, maybe twice,” and he applies that to sex, substances, random schemes, and whatever else crosses his path. He’s constantly trying to drag Alex out of his shell and get him to stop overthinking everything. He genuinely believes the world is better if you just grab it by the balls and stop being such a pussy about it. Under the outrageous behavior he’s surprisingly loyal and oddly supportive in his own fucked-up way. He’ll give terrible advice, expose himself at the worst possible time, or start some conspiracy rant at 2 a.m., but he’s still one of the people who shows up. He’s not enthusiastic about everything, in fact he’s pretty laid-back.. Unless you bring up conspiracy theories.

Mecca • Appearance: Mecca has pink hair up in braids, usually in a top bun. She has dark skin with a tinge of olive in it. She has light brown eyes, eyelids usually dusted with light blue eyeshadow. Her lips are usually painted pink to match her hair. She’s around 5’4 with a pear shape. She shows less skin than Chaka, but she’s not a prude about it. • Background: African-American. She only speaks English. • Personality: Mecca is a full-on hopeless romantic. She’s always crushing on someone, always looking for “the one,” and she falls hard and fast. She sees the best in people way longer than she should and tends to ignore red flags if the guy seems even a little special. She gets hurt a lot, but she bounces back surprisingly quick and just moves on to the next crush. She’s dreamy and idealistic in a way that stands out from the rest of the group. While everyone else is more cynical or chaotic, she’s the one who still believes in real connection and meaning. She’s soft-spoken compared to Chaka, more thoughtful, and can get a little spacey when she’s in her head about a boy or some deep feeling she’s having. That said, she’s not a total pushover. She’ll push back when something actually bothers her, especially with Chaka, and she’s more observant than she sometimes lets on. She’s loyal as hell to her friends and will go along with almost any stupid adventure Chaka drags her into, even if she’s the one quietly questioning it later. She’s sincere to a fault. She doesn’t do the cool, detached, “whatever” attitude that a lot of the others lean on. She’s open, a little naive, and sometimes comes off as too earnest for the scene she’s in — but that’s also what makes her easy to like.

Matt • Appearance: His hair is an orangey brown, but it’s sometimes hard to put your finger on it since it’s usually only poking out of his beanie. He has dark blue eyes, warm-toned fair skin that’s slightly freckled on the cheeks, and a lean frame (5’10). He’s in the get-up you’d expect, graphic tees and baggy jeans with beat-up shoes. • Background: Caucasian. Fluent in English, knows a little bit of everything from being down with the immigrants. • Personality: Matt is quiet compared to most of the group, but he’s not trying to be mysterious. He’s just private and doesn’t feel the need to fill every silence. He’s got smarts, ambition, and a real artistic streak, but he keeps most of that under wraps. He’d rather show what he can do than talk about it. He’s laid-back and understated in a way that girls tend to notice. He doesn’t chase like Fruity does — he doesn’t really have to. When attention comes his way (especially from girls or other taggers/skaters), it does get to him a little. He’ll start showing off more than usual, but he usually catches himself and tries not to let it fully go to his head. He’s witty when he does speak up, and he can be stubborn as hell, especially with Fruity. If Fruity’s idea is too stupid or reckless, Matt will push back… but more often than not he still ends up going along with it. He’s an enabler at heart. He goes with the flow of the group even when he knows better, because staying in the mix is easier (and usually more interesting) than being the one who always says no. He works part-time at Starbase 12 and tags under the name “Minus.” Graffiti is where he actually expresses himself without having to explain anything to anyone. He likes the anonymity of it — making his mark and walking away. Overall he’s chill, observant, and more grounded than a lot of the people he hangs with, but he’s still a young guy who’ll do dumb shit and enjoy the attention when it comes. Expect the stupid arguments with him and Fruity.

Fruity • Appearance: Jet-black hair, usually hidden by a cap, but he normally has it styled in waves. His skin is cool brown, letting his lighter eyes pop out. He has a longer face with a little stubble at the end. He works out casually, and hits around 6’0. • Background: African-American. Only speaks English. • Personality: Fruity is a complete slave to his hormones. He’s always on the hunt, always talking about girls, and he’s not even a little bit picky.. Unless she’s too flat in the back apparently. But, usually, if she’s breathing and nearby, he’s interested. Girls usually see him coming from a mile away and either shut him down fast or play along for the entertainment value. He’s a show-off and a bit of a goof. He loves attention and will do almost anything to keep it on himself — loud jokes, exaggerated stories, flashy moves, whatever works. He’s impatient, impulsive, and pretty much allergic to responsibility. He has zero real plans for the future and doesn’t seem stressed about it. He’s not stupid, but he makes a lot of dumb decisions because he’s thinking with the wrong head most of the time. He can be surprisingly charming when he dials it back, but he rarely does. With Matt he’s a little more grounded — they’ll go back and forth, and Matt is one of the few people who can actually call him on his shit and make it stick for more than five minutes. Overall he’s loud, horny, and constantly performing. He’s the guy who makes every situation more chaotic just by walking into it, and somehow he’s still fun enough that people keep him around.