"We sure are in for a show tonight"

Superficially, the Players are nothing but some of the more popular kids in school(with a few exceptions) who unite under a common theme which is a love of the arts. Primarily they draw in actors, singers, dancers and musicians, as well as anyone else who had a stage talent, though it isn’t uncommon to see photographers, writers and artists join the ranks. They are known for being more than willing to have a good time and add a dramatic flare to events that they attend, taking anything that they hold above and beyond and sometimes doing the same thing when it is uninvited but not necessarily unwelcome. In a public, superficial way, The Players are a very well liked, social and personable faculty.

However internally The Players are much darker and much more clever than openly given credit for. Manipulators, extortionists and with a cold philosophy on who gets the guillotine and who doesn’t, other Faculties and people seeking a private job come to The Players and can commission them. From getting someone a date to the prom to destroying someone’s live to the point of making them consider suicide, The Players specialize in controlling people and are frighteningly good at it. They double cross people, they feed lies and they point people in the directions they wish them to go in, all for the right price. Smaller jobs tend to be handled by the newer members and the bigger ones reach Christine, Hoot and even Simon, but the higher up the ranks you move, the more expensive the commission. However the better quality and efficiency.

The integral part of The Players is that they remain utterly neutral. They favor no one and are out to get no one. Only when a member is hurt in such a way that is unforgivable, Simon himself is angered or if he is particularly bored is the only time The Players attack of their own accord. They are like messengers who do more than deliver a message, even though they may be the ones turning a person’s life to hell, it is understood that they are not the ones who wanted the act done to the point that they came to The Players, so thus any attacks on them for this reason are redirected towards whoever paid for the production. It costs extra for The Players not to sell out those who asked them to do it.

Purple, green, occasionally silver and most importantly drama masks are the sign of the Players. Simon wears his purple jacket with the drama masks on the back as his mark as a Player and the leader, though other members are free to incorporate it however they want. It is a faculty full of artists, after all. Generally the fact that a person is a Player is made clear by word of mouth more so than what they wear, but The Players do tend to make it a little more obvious they are a united faculty at social events that they attend together.

Entertainment is the main function of The Players, though one must view that through the eyes of someone so unfeeling as Simon Walsh to fully understand that. They entertain through art forms, whether it is drama, painting, music or literature which is the public side that everyone sees. However The Players also entertain by way of social drama. They are known for being gossipers and will create issues for everyone to watch and those involved to feel passionate about like free form, unscripted plays that The Players cleverly design.

There is no official headquarters of The Players though there are a few more common hot spots for them. First and most notable is the backstage area of the auditorium. When there isn’t a play or other production going on, Simon or at least one of the Players can be found here and they even have a locked purple mailbox next to the backstage entrance door with the two drama masks painted on it in green where visitors might leave notes, payment or anything else should they not happen to catch one of the members there. When there is something going on and the backstage area is no longer private, The Players then relocate to Simon’s grandfather’s home, mostly the pool house, which is Simon’s base of operations. Anything for Simon’s eyes and Simon only is taken to the pool house and Christine and Hoot are the only others who have a key. However should someone new make themselves important enough, that can be changed though it has never happened before.

The Players were founded three years ago by Simon Walsh and Hoot Rushton, though was in the making while Simon was still in middle school and Hoot was in his freshman year. Almost the exact day that Simon came to Alliance as a freshman, the Players began with only the two members, Simon as leader and best friend Hoot. They grew rapidly, the first official member who was not involved in the founding being Christine Princeton, who has remained in the high, inner circle of the Players. Jokingly, Simon has been referred to as the Joker, Hoot as the Jack of Spades and Christine as the Queen of Diamonds, all other members considered something like the less significant numbered playing cards, though the terms are not official. Simon himself has also been known as a ringleader and the Players often times referred to as his circus.

Ever since their founding The Players have been known for ruling the theatrical arts, drama classes and drama club, as well as many of the art forms. Even when Simon was a freshman, he swiftly butted upper classmen out of the limelight, claimed it as his own and directed it to his close group of friends. Simon quickly became popular, well liked and respected, and soon to follow The Player’s real function was revealed. They excelled in putting on shows and making themselves believable, as the three original members were all aspiring actors along with having a magic act, but that was not their only talent. Very early on, Simon and his Players started accomplishing tasks for other faculty leaders, ones that required manipulation and extortion to do. It was very secretive and the second nature of the Players is not a well known one, though it can be found if a person really needs them. The Players have a habit of finding out when someone is in need of their services and letting them know that the faculty’s true purpose, one way or another.

Simon Walsh is the unquestionable ringleader of the group, no one is above him and he is the mastermind behind the Players and all their more devious schemes. He can be marked by the purple jacket with the drama masks in silver on the back that he often times wears, though not always. He aids his Players into getting stage time and whatever roles they may want, nurturing them and helping them to grow in their respective artistic fields in whatever way that he can. He is the definition of charismatic and likeable. Drawing attention to himself is something that he does effortlessly, yet he harnesses that attention to direct to at his Players, just like the ring master in a circus might do.

Even though it is somewhat difficult for him to care about anyone, he does care about his Players, but they are not immune to being double crossed and cut loose if Simon needs to do so. However upon admission into the faculty, every Player is made aware of this and also told that this is something they should keep to themselves. However it has yet to come to a point where he needs to injure one of his own Players. They are all Simon’s friends, the best of which being his inner circle of Hoot and Christine.

• Simon Walsh – The Ringmaster
  
• Hoot Rushton – Jack of Spades
  
• Christine Princeton – Queen of Diamonds
  
• Jagger Arlington – The Wild Card
  

• None (if you’d like an NPC or someone else included here PM Simon Walsh)

Simon Walsh – The Ringleader and an infamous entertainer. A magician taking after the legacy of his famous grandfather and quite the actor as well, Simon is the brains behind The Players. He is an extraordinary extortionist and can manipulate almost anyone with a graceful, almost artistic ease. He loves to make people happy, as well as make them smile and laugh. He is very personable, but also a bit insane, though brilliant in his own way.

Hoot Rushton – Hoot is the kindness of The Players as well as being second in command and quite the actor. Hoot is a genuinely good person who a year ago suffered the tragedy of loosing his fiancé and young son in a car crash that shook the school, as his fiancé was also an Alliance student and their relationship was a strong, well known one. Now Hoot devotes himself heavily to The Players and as well as drugs to appear the same silly, happy person he was before. Even though Hoot is a good person, he is Simon’s best friend and willingly does anything the other boy asks of him, even manipulating and extorting people.

Christine Princeton – One of the three original members of The Players, Christine started out her interest in the arts as a dancer, but since then has expanded her horizons to pretty much any aspect of performing and the arts. She's the resident seductress and sees it as just another art form, even if it involves being extra careful not to let her feelings mix with business. She prides herself in being an expert extortionist and is always ready to follow Simon's lead, while throwing in a few twists of her own. If you ever get mixed up with her, you might just want to watch out for her wicked temper.

Jagger Arlington – The newest member of The Players, Jagger is a musician, though is mostly a member for strategic reasons. Easy to manipulate, troubled, violent, dangerous, unable to define right from wrong, yet tender hearted and gullible, Jagger acts as the guard dog for The Players. Simon was quick to enlist him as soon as the boy transferred to Alliance before the Guns or any other Faculty could move in on the infinitely useful boy. Jagger is the physical threat in Simon’s pocket and also the person he uses to defend himself and his beloved Players from the physical dangers of people who refuse to understand that they are neutral.

Playing Cards – Members who play no active role in extorting and are merely sources of information or are otherwise easily manipulated to perform small tasks.

None

Becoming a Player is a fairly simple task, really, though moving up the ranks can be much more challenging. Due to the need for sources of information and having people at the disposal of higher ranking members, all a person has to do is publicly voice a desire to become a member and wait for this news to travel the grape vine. It does not take long as The Players have an ear in every corner. Very rarely does Simon himself come to recruit members and it is usually Hoot, who is the most personable and the one who is easiest to become attached to, that courts possible new recruits. Only if a recruit is particularly interesting or has strategic value might Christine or Simon bother themselves with meeting them. However once recruited Simon is always very eager to meet his new members, even if they play a small role.

PM Simon for questions about The Players.

ALSO: Someone is desperately needed to play Hoot Rushton. PM Simon or the White Butterfly about rping him.