Lulu's
By Jennie Irelund

TYPE:

SLURL:

BACKGROUND: On the surface, I wouldn't want to change a lot. I'd work on encouraging events in the square, hosted by other businesses and catered by Lulu's, for example. I would try to get employees more involved in RP in sneaky and profitable ways. I've managed bars in other RP sims before and a big part of keeping the employees motivated is giving them something to do that's more fun than just pouring drinks. Since Lulu's isn't -- and in my opinion shouldn't be -- a hub of specific gang activity, the bar should cater to everyone. Make it seem like the place where everyone can go and hang out, relax and open up to your friendly, sympathetic bartender. Yes, bartender as therapist is a trope, but I would like to lean into that. Getting people to open up, is a natural way to make players -- new ones especially -- feel at home in Dead End. We can encourage them to tell their back-stories (most of them want to, anyway) which could help us point to the right group for them to seek out. Now, I know that sounds incredibly goody-goody of us, and not very Dead Endy, but please, read on. Jennie started in town as an Innocent. She comes off (I think) as open and approachable, but has a hidden, dark streak that has grown since she first arrived. Beyond simply being a sympathetic ear, Jennie has -- through blackmail -- recently acquired a doctorate in psychology. She plans to offer therapy services in the back office for customers who need a bit more help than a few glasses of booze can provide. She intends to use these sessions to gain people's trust and use the confidence she gains to her advantage. I would encourage the employees to be similarly sympathetic and try to coax people into talking about themselves, their lives and struggles. It's a fun way to get to know people annnnd (mwahahaha) set us up as something this city is lacking: information brokers. If we overhear a juicy bit of gossip about one gang planning a hit on another, we might sell that information to the other gang... or get paid for our silence. Someone's new to town and confides their life's savings is in their money belt? We could tip off a local thug for a percentage. Etc, etc. Obviously, it has to be carefully managed, and done with people's consent, or else people would be leery of a place known to sell their secrets, but if it can be done carefully, Lulu's could get the reputation of being a place you go to find out what's happening around town. As co-owner, she would be pretty easy going, unless her employees needed to be beaten into shape. For that, she's got a big cane.

UNIQUE: Lulu's already stands out. It is a staple of RP in Dead End. A centrally located public drinking space, in some ways, I see it as the heart of Dead End. It's one of the few places people naturally gravitate towards. The things I might want to do would be to make it seem, on the surface, to be one of the friendlier and welcoming bars to everyone in town. A lot of the other bars fit a particular niche clientele, bikers, cops, sado-machochists, gamblers, particular factions etc. Lulu's should be a place for everyone. From the most jaded killer, to the freshest hayseed off the bus. I'd like it to be a good place for the criminal element to identify and target victims for later crimes, for example. They might even pay the employees to tip them off when a particularly juicy target shows up. All done quietly, and for a price. Officially, we're still the friendly bar.

EXPERIENCE:As I said, Jennie's experience in managing the book shop, combined with my years of SL experience managing (RD and non-RP) clubs, shops and malls. Oocily, I'm easy going and approachable and always happy to work out issues that other players are having, either with my RP or with someone else's. My philosophy is to avoid OOC drama at all costs. This is a game, and if we're not all having fun, then what's the point? One bar I ran in another RP sim, I was also a co-owner with a player and character I didn't know very well at first. I found the interaction of dealing with a partner to be fun RP, we managed to hammer out our issues IC (I don't think there were any OOC issues). Kyo, I've really enjoyed the few times we've RP'ed together, and I think it would be a blast to RP this out with you. However you want to play it, I'm good.

IDEAS:As I said, Jennie's experience in managing the book shop (which many people know, specializes in welcoming new players), combined with my years of SL experience managing (RD and non-RP) clubs, shops and malls. Oocily, I'm easy going and approachable and always happy to work out issues that other players are having, either with my RP or with someone else's. My philosophy is to avoid OOC drama at all costs. This is a game, and if we're not all having fun, then what's the point? One bar I ran in another RP sim, I was also a co-owner with a player and character I didn't know very well at first. I found the interaction of dealing with a partner to be fun RP, we managed to hammer out our issues IC (I don't think there were any OOC issues). Kyo, I've really enjoyed the few times we've RP'ed together, and I think it would be a blast to RP this out with you. However you want to play it, I'm good.

OTHER:For a grand reopening, I'm thinking a big event, with free drinks, an updated menu and a DJ, if I can swing it. Depending on when it happens, I would theme it, for fall, or Halloween or something along those lines. I'm also open to suggestions.