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Post by Krall on Jan 8, 2016 17:57:22 GMT
He awoke slowly, lifting his face from the cluttered desk where a fading orange lamp illuminated his night's work. Drool mixed with ink on the paper in front of him, blurring the scratchy, manic script. Gradually he became aware of a second light – blue and unnatural – streaming through the single window of his apartment, seeping in through the broken blinds. Sleepily he turned his head, and found that he was not alone. His eyes grew wide with sudden understanding. “I- I know why you've come,” he said to the figure silhouetted in front of the window, “I have it. I have it here...” he moved slowly, fearing every second that his actions might provoke the tall, slender thing that watched him with a hundred unseen eyes. Greasy hands fumbled with a key, then a lock. He pulled the drawer open and took out a black shape – a dark gem with a thousand triangular facets. He stood and edged closer, knocking over stacks of crumbling paper files and well-worn textbooks as he did so. “It's what you want... isn't it? What you need?” he held out the shape in an open hand. The thing's flat, disc-like head did not move, but an angular hand with uncountable fingers – each longer than his arm – raised and caressed the offering. It gripped it tightly, then relaxed and let it fall back into the man's shaking hand. For a moment he was frozen in shock, until a throbbing buzzing noise assaulted his ears. He fell, muscles seizing up as the noise invaded his skull and mind. Please, he thought, praying it could understand him as metallic tools shined in the darkness, please don't. A single, surgical slice – neck, to sternum, to navel – was first, though he barely felt anything as he was slowly and deliberately taken apart. *** Hello! Sorry this took so long - I didn't actually have a plot worked out when I posted the interest thread, and I wanted to start the sign-up thread with a teaser/cold open segment. Anyway, this roleplay takes place in an alternate world, one where conspiracies, New Age mysticism, esoteric occultism, UFO religions, urban legends, and various mythologies are all dangerously close to being true. The "game" (I intend for it to be more like a collaborative, creative writing project, though there will be challenges along the way) takes place in 1987 - publicly things are roughly identical to our world, but in the shadows numerous secret societies and clandestine government agencies interfere and experiment with psychic powers, alien intelligences, and divine beings. Some do so for their personal aims, but many work towards victory in the Cold War for one side or another. During these occult conflicts sometimes something goes wrong - something the secret masters of the world did not account for, and do not understand. Rogue agents, mysterious disappearances, disasters with no cause. Sometimes they become desperate, and in order to solve these issues an ad hoc team of investigators is created - that's where you come in. You are someone involved in this secret world, with some powers of your own, who has been called upon/threatened at gunpoint/bribed/tricked by the administrators of America's unseen agencies into joining an Anomalous Investigation Unit. Your job: Figure out what the heck is going on, because no one else has any idea. You have a large amount of leeway when it comes to character creation. As I said in the interest thread everything from a Druid to Cthulhu is acceptable, but I must ask that you keep your powers and their origins relatively weak (so you can't just solve every problem yourself - you're part of a group, not the sole focus) and relatively vague (just so it's possible to have aliens, occult mysticism, numerous different mythologies, and psychic powers all canonically in the universe without any major contradictions). This should be the basic layout for your character profile: Name: What are you called? Or, in some cases, what do humans generally call you? Powers: What can you do? Anything outside of the oridinary - superhuman strength, psychic powers, esoteric knowledge - all go in here. Physical description: What do you look like? (Note: Since it's entirely valid to play as, say, a ghost, this section may not apply to some players.) Background/personality: Where do you come from, and what are you like as a person? I mean, you may not actually be a person, and in a lot of cases you won't know the details of where you came from/how you acquired your powers exactly, but try your best. You may add sections - like Age:, Height:, Nationality:, Species/Race:, Original Plane of Existence:, etc. - as you wish, but those four should always be there. If you're stuck on character inspiration, here are some Wiki pages that might help: Article on UFO ReligionList of reported UFO sightingsList of alleged extreterrestrial beingsPages on mind controlPages on psychedelic drug researchPages on secret societiesArticle on esotericismArticle on New Age spiritual/religious movementList of conspiracy theoriesList of psychic abilitiesThat should be everything you need to start making your characters. If you have any questions at all, whether about the world, the game, or what's permitted as a character, please don't hesitate to ask in here or by PMing me!
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ruth
New Member
pining for the fjords
Posts: 35
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Post by ruth on Jan 8, 2016 20:14:45 GMT
Yyyyesss! I didn't say anything in the other thread, as I was still trying to figure out where I'd fit myself in, but I've been looking forward to this and I think I've got a character that fits this universe quite nicely. Name: Marja Andrejevna Venäläinen (Маря Андреевна Веняляйнен) Age: 31. Born 15 July 1956. Nationality: Soviet. Species/race: Human. Powers: Skilled in Finnish forest magic and specifically in the manipulation of etiäinen, a power passed down by her Karelo-Finnish father. An etiäinen is a type of guardian spirit in Karelian and Finnish mythology that is somewhat like a doppelgänger. An etiäinen can manifest as a mirror image or reflection of a person, or alternatively as little as a shadow or even just an impression or feeling that a person gets that there is someone just ahead of you doing the things that you are about to do. Her ability allows her to blend in the crowd no matter where she is, to disappear without a trace, or even to take the face of another. Occupation: All of these things, of course, make her supremely qualified for spying. Noting her potential uses for reconnaissance, counterespionage, sabotage, character assassination, and literal assassination, Marja was plucked from an unassuming desk job in Vyborg and trained for a job in the KGB, a role to which she took an almost contemptuously cavalier shine. Without a particularly strong moral compass, Marja is more than satisfied by the pay raise and the opportunity to get out of the country frequently, even if the work can frequently get somewhat grisly and/or dangerous. She is most frequently stationed in Finland as part of the KGB's broader "illegals" program, but her ability to disappear and reappear at will mean she is sometimes recruited for missions throughout the rest of Europe. Physicality: All around plain; while some might term her "pretty", with a symmetrical, heart-shaped face, none would mistake her for being "beautiful". She blends in with the crowd with supreme ease, enough so that even her family might miss her if they aren’t looking closely. At 165 cm (5 feet, 5 inches), she is of average height, average weight, average build, with average brown hair, average brown eyes. A face for the name, more or less.
Background: Just a single generation removed from Finnish citizenship, her mother and father, unable to reach Finland during World War 2 and relocated to eastern Karelia by the USSR, which feared the effects of disloyal ethnic minorities on the border with Finland, spent most of 15 years trying to get back to their original home in Svetogorsk (known as Enso before the Soviet annexation) before finally being permitted to move into an apartment there in 1955. There Marja was born, where, apart from her father's instruction in the intricacies in both the Finnish language and the archaic branch of magic he refused to see die out, she grew into an otherwise model Soviet young adult, with a leadership role in the Young Pioneers and good marks in school. The need for certain psychedelic, hallucinogenic drugs to engage in some of the ritual and visions of Suomenusko lands her in legal trouble, but when the government discovers the abilities that they provide her, their tune changes and she is recruited. Personality: A hefty dose of the good and the bad alike. She's loyal and deeply cares for her family, is level-headed and systematizes her problems well enough to work through most crises; that said, she's largely amoral and proud of her work and its consequences, whether they are the repercussions of a good deed or the true scope of the terror that she's wrought. She's slow to develop grudges, but slow to forget them, too. And when she does hate things, it is with an all-consuming intensity, which has instilled in her a nasty case of intolerance and xenophobia. Above all, her pride breeds an arrogance: her ability to outfox many others without her skills has made her believe that nothing can stop her. Which, as she will find out someday, is plainly untrue. Marja's got strong likes and dislikes: she has a special fondness for the little things, especially the small comforts of living in the West. Good coffee, a stylish little apartment with its midcentury modern Scandinavian design, and a broader latitude in the law make her something of an insufferable agent to work with (her official partner in the illegals program, posing as her live-in boyfriend, was assigned to her posting as punishment); on the other hand, her dislikes, even the most petty and irrational of them, have often spiraled into full-blown hatred. She hates Moscow, hates Russia, hates Russian, and hates Russians. She hates that everyone in Finland thinks she's a Russian ("Venäläinen" means "Russian" in Finnish) and hates that everyone in Russia knows she's a Finn. Of course, this open hatred of what is ostensibly her own nation has landed her in trouble before, and it could yet again—but that's a story for another day. Competencies: Knows her way around a gun. Reliable, if uninspired shot, with experience in using handguns, sniper rifles, and automatic weaponry alike. Good with languages: fluent in Finnish and Russian, confident in English and Swedish, and some rusty childhood Karelian to boot. Somewhat absent-minded when it comes to everyday things—with so much of her brain devoted to trying to remember top secret information and runic spells, the little things like "parents' birthdays" and "how to boil water" and "basic social skills" tend to fall by the wayside; as a result she's something of a compulsive notetaker and has reams of notebooks that remind her all of the things she could/should be using her brain to remember, and she's become prodigious in the use of shorthand techniques to take down more information.
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Post by Krall on Jan 8, 2016 21:30:56 GMT
Yyyyesss! I didn't say anything in the other thread, as I was still trying to figure out where I'd fit myself in, but I've been looking forward to this and I think I've got a character that fits this universe quite nicely. I like her! Might be a little difficult explaining why she's working with secret US government agencies, but not impossible.
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Post by MinnesotaNationalist on Jan 8, 2016 22:21:21 GMT
I'm game, I'll join, at lest for a little bit. Names:1st Incarnation born name: Armin Schneer 4th Incarnation and current born name: Charles Favager Taken and preferred name: (the) Nobxing Often introduces himself as "the Nobxing Charles Favager" Age:1st Incarnation: Winter of 102 BC, along the Vistula river, Poland 4th and current Incarnation: January 3rd, 1964, 23 years old. Nationality:1st Incarnation: Gothic German 2nd: Cantonese Chinese (where he took the name Nobxing) 3rd: Seljuk Turk 4th and current: Breton French Species/Race: Human Powers: Toxic blood and sweat. Any normal (and most non-normal) lifeforms that come in direct contact with his skin, blood, or sweat instantly receives a large jolt of pain. Prolonged contacts (a second or longer) makes victims go into temporary paralysis, and even longer can be fatal. Diffusion in water seems to greatly reduce these effects. This forces him to cover almost his entire body in clothes. He's also been reborn several times, but with centuries in between lives. He knows of 4 lives (including his current), but there could be more. Occupations and hobbies: He has many jobs in the secret world, most importantly being an Assassin and interrogator, where he uses his power to kill enemies and cause them a lot of pain. He is a mercenary for hire often employed by the secret world gangs and mafias, but has also worked for AIU against the gangs. For hobbies, he often practices in chemistry, archery, and meditation. Physicality: He is quite tall, reaching at 190 cm (6 foot 3 inches), and quite slender. His face is palish with the oh-so slightest bit of color. His hair is dark brown and quite long and messy (it's rarely cut), but it's never seen, as he wears a large, dark cloak made or raven feathers that goes all the way down to his knees. On his person, he always carries a pistol, a sword, a rifle (with bayonet) and a hidden dagger. Background:2nd Incarnation: Born in Southern China, he was seen as a outcast since his birth, that caused the death of his mother (she had been very sick during the entire pregnancy, probably due to Nobxing's powers). He was threatened to killed many times, before finally he became a Buddhist monk at the age of 16 and fled his village. He would than spend a good amount of his life simply roaming around China (which was during the age of Sixteen Kingdoms), trying to avoid life as much as possible. At the age of 37 at the mouth of the Yangtze river during a session of mediation, he discovered that he's reincarnation of a fierce warlord far in the west (the 1st incarnation). From that point on, he would spend most of his energy trying to discover earlier incarnations (if there are any), possibly to discover a cure. He failed in this aspect, but he did secure the ability for all previous incarnations to know all the memories up to the 1st incarnation. 4th Incarnation: Born in Saint-Malo, France, once again killing his mother during birth, his father did everything he could to raise him well, although Nobxing views him to be uncaring. Nonetheless, he had a fairly normal childhood (being forced to never have skin contact though was hard on him.) After finishing school, he joined the army for a little bit, but would later desert for jobs in the secret world. Personality and Ideology: Growing up with a man he felt was cold and distant made Nob Xing cold and distant himself. He does things almost solely for himself (although there a few he does feel some loyalty to. To call them friends, though, would be a bit of an exaggeration). Constantly destroying life has made have little respect for it. But there is at least one good thing about him: He's blatant and honest, for he doesn't care if people's feelings get hurt, and willing to give away any secret for the right price (except for secrets of people he feels loyal to), although it might be hard for him to get them in the first place considering his personality. That said, his other incarnations do fuel some of his personality as well. His first incarnation makes him blunt and direct, his second adds some calmness, spirituality, and what little respect for life he has, and his third added ingenuity and curiosity (specifically scientific, but also a more general curiosity as well). He dislikes most things and likes very little. If asked, he wouldn't be able to and wouldn't want to tell what he does like. He follows a very Buddhist-like religion called Incarnationism, where it's believed that every single person and/or thing is an incarnation of a god of some sort (more conserative forms of Incatnationism, like he follows, believes only the occult people are incarnations), and uses himself to prove that the religion is true (although he fails to prove everyone is) Image:
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Post by tardis218 on Jan 8, 2016 23:20:34 GMT
Name: Mortz Bauer
Powers: Can see the results of immediate result of his own decisions before it happening, has retrocognition with living beings and inanimate objects. Has to be in a few feet radius of a living being to get info, has to touch inanimate object to get info. With both objects and living beings he can get clarity and detail of recent past, the further he goes back the past becomes less clear and vague.
Physical description: Around 5 foot 7 inches, semi-long brown hair, light blue eyes, slightly thin. He is also pale and is clean shaven. Not being the most notable person he easily blends into crowds.
Nationality: West German
Background/personality: Mortz was born to dockworkers in Bremen in 1957 and had always had a fascination with the sea. Early on he studied nautical charts and read books on the stories of legendary vessels. Once he graduated high school he applied and was accepted into the Naval Academy Mürwik in Flendsburg. While there he was seen as an exceptional student, getting high grades and completing tests easily. (Although, this is associated to his major drug problem he picked up when studying) With these factors, Mortz was given an invitation to U.S. Embassy in Bonn. Once there, U.S. agents gave him an opportunity of a life time: Become a U.S. spy. He accepted, and soon was sent to undisclosed base in the U.S. for spy training. Once having passed the lessons he went to the Soviet Union, and often was sent back and forth between Leningrad and Moscow. After several years of missions in the Soviet Union, in 1980, he was caught by Leningrad police while he was wiretapping a government building. He was eventually sent to be taken care by the military where he was tortured for a few years. The only thing that kept him going was drugs he managed to sneak in with him. And one day he was injected with several previously untested drugs, giving him his powers. Using the ability to see the results of decisions he escaped from the the Soviet military base and eventually found his way into Helsinki, Finland and went to the American embassy there. There, after convincing the embassy staff that he was a U.S. spy he called back his superiors about his experience and how he was in Helsinki. After a day he was sent to Washington D.C., where he was interviewed and soon was recruited.
Mortz himself is an energetic, intelligent, charming personality.
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Post by Krall on Jan 9, 2016 0:11:59 GMT
I'm game, I'll join, at lest for a little bit. Nice! Though I should note two things: 1. The AIU isn't a permanent organisation - it's an ad hoc investigative unit formed for a specific purpose. You may have worked with the secret agencies of various governments though - they'd all be willing to hire someone of your talents. 2. There aren't really gangs and mafias in the secret world - cults and conspiracies would be more appropriate. Powers: In addition to having regular seeing he can see the 4th through 9th dimensions. Can see the results of decisions before it happening, can review the entire life of a person in his vision. I'm afraid this is not clear enough - there need to be more definite boundaries on your powers. Firstly, what does "seeing the 4th through 9th dimensions" entail? What decisions can you see the results of before they happen - your own decisions, or anyone else's? And how far can you see of the results - just the immediate results or all long-term consequences? What exactly do you mean when you say he can review the entire life of a person in his vision? Does he have to be in contact with the person or know of the person? What elements of their life can he see - just what they saw, or everything about them whether they were aware of it or not?
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Post by tardis218 on Jan 9, 2016 0:24:16 GMT
Powers: In addition to having regular seeing he can see the 4th through 9th dimensions. Can see the results of decisions before it happening, can review the entire life of a person in his vision. I'm afraid this is not clear enough - there need to be more definite boundaries on your powers. Firstly, what does "seeing the 4th through 9th dimensions" entail? What decisions can you see the results of before they happen - your own decisions, or anyone else's? And how far can you see of the results - just the immediate results or all long-term consequences? What exactly do you mean when you say he can review the entire life of a person in his vision? Does he have to be in contact with the person or know of the person? What elements of their life can he see - just what they saw, or everything about them whether they were aware of it or not? Ok, thanks for the help. I'll edit mine.
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Post by AnachronistRocketeer on Jan 9, 2016 3:08:34 GMT
Name: Miriam Asch Age: 23 Powers: Aside from an uncanny ability to recite any works of Abrahamic scripture, she generally seems almost normal. However, when the light starts to effect her, she has demonstrated the ability to understand and speak every known language simultaneously, s well as the ability to sense deceitful language or sinful behavior from other individuals. As the Seraph trapped within Miriam becomes more dominant, her form begins to shift, and she becomes able to manipulate brilliant white flames. Physical description:Around 5' 5", fairly lean and athletic. She has short black hair and dark brown eyes, and is often found wearing some kind of brightly colored sweater or jacket with jeans. Shoes are optional. Personality: An energetic and excitable person, Miriam can oftentimes be brash in trying to accomplish a goal, her frustration and optimism causing her to single-mindedly pursue something without considering "unnecessary detail" during times of trouble. She is very intelligent however, capable of processing information rather quickly when she chooses to. She is nearly constantly active, always attempting something or another while helping anyone she can with even the smallest things for weeks before falling from exhaustion. Background: The proud daughter of a career government family, who would grow up as an optimist and who loved the classical myths in which great heroes and brave knights who were needed to fight and win against the evil monsters which tried to take advantage of good people and hurt them. Her Families work, her Shul, and the return of some of her family from the Soviet Union as she grew up would only hone this belief within herself, wanting to be someone who could help stop the great evil of her time, and it's ruthless destruction of anyone who did not do what the State wanted. Excitable, outgoing, and caring, those traits also translated in her into brash dogmatism, knowing something needed to be done regardless of if she knew how to solve it or if something had to be done in the first place.
She would grow up, enter college, and become an intern in the CIA. Quickly she would lose her contentment in the job she saw as simply moving papers, trying her best to try and do everything right so that she could get a position actually helping people. She didn't need to be James Bond, but she at least wanted to be able to help people like her third-cousins to freedom, or stop an attack in another European City which was blamed on "general radicals". Of course, her minor position and interest in pleasing made her very useful for her superiors.
A Prime Candidate for Midnight Blue, a quick test to see if they could issue some simple commands. With promises of getting a spot in the Agent Training program, they brought her into a secluded room with a few simple bottles of water. It proceeded like most trial sessions did, the chemical agents working through her bloodstream causing severe side effects. Hallucinations, a sense that time had stopped, animate objects, loss of personal identity, feeling some contact with otherworldly beings; that was all standard and expected. Seemingly melting through the restraints as her body was surrounded by dancing, flickering white light was something new entirely. She began to leave as the room seemed to fill with a quiet whisper coming from every direction, "Holy Holy Holy, Holy Holy Holy" before finally the seditive which the doctor managed to inject began to take effect. As he was absorbed by the light which had formed into a cover made of six wings, the constant voice seemed to dissapate, the light losing it's form before disappearing altogether.
She would spend the next few years under Government Supervision, first in an Emergency Care Facility, before being transferred to the care of a Handler who would give her a small apartment and a small stipend for doing several tasks. Now, she has "Volunteered" for ome new assignment, which will hopefully at least get her out of the local papers and give her something to do.
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Post by ToixStory on Jan 9, 2016 20:54:23 GMT
Name: Mary Jane (official name Jane Doe, though no one calls her that anymore) Gender: Female Age: 30 Powers: Able to stick to walls via her suction cups, incredibly high metabolism, limited telekinetic powers, ability to apparently breed with humans (don't ask how she found out), enhanced healing ability, ability to grasp advanced scientific and mathematical concepts with ease, psychedelic and otherwise recreation drugs have little effect on her, ability to change colors for camouflage or aesthetics at will Physical description: A nearly 6-foot tall creature with a human woman's torso from the navel up (though with hair seemingly made of small tentacles rather than hair follicles), but compromised of a writhing mass of tentacles on the lower half of her body. Essentially a very large tentacle woman who normally prefers to be a soft magenta color, though can change colors to human "flesh" as the need arises. Each of her tentacles contains suction cups that allow her to move surprisingly quickly. For her human torso, she appears to be a fairly normal human woman in her early 30s. Nationality: American Species/Race:Unknown, nicknamed tentacula Background: Little is known of Mary's origins, save for the fact that she was found in the wreckage of a UFO that crashed outside Edwards Air Force Base in 1957. The craft was mostly destroyed, and any parents on board must have been killed in the subsequent fire. Thus, the only thing left was Mary herself, who was quickly taken in by the US government. For the next twenty years, Mary spent her life being shuffled from agency to agency, passed around to the various government organs for education, experimentation, and training of all sorts. She has been, at various times, part of the USAF, FBI, CIA, USN, and other agencies whose very names are classified. While in them, she received an education of sorts, mostly through experimenting with what she could learn; much of it was heavy on American nationalism, naturally.
At times, she managed to befriend soldiers and staff working with her, but was kept mostly isolated. She was the center of a proposed Project Serpo in the late 70s and early 80s that attempted to make contact with planet Serpo and hopefully exchange her, a CIA-trained alien, with the Serpians, but the project fell through. Since turning 20, however, Mary has managed to make something of a living for herself within the various government bodies that know about her. Due to her voluminous knowledge in just about every subject, and particularly in math and science, and her ability to understand alien languages, she has worked closely with the USAF, NASA, and CIA to make contact with any and all alien anomalies that come near Earth. Through this work, Mary has managed to meet several real aliens that made their way to Earth in the 70s and 80s.
Through them, however, she managed to make a shocking discovery about herself: Mary isn't really an alien at all. At least, not completely. Rather, she seems to be the product of an alien and human mating, producing a hybrid of the best of the two species. Further...invasive...testing revealed that Mary has this same ability when it comes to mating. Trust us, you don't want to know how they found it out. Trust. Us. Now, in the present day of 1987, Mary Jane is a regular face around the paranormal and alien-focused US agencies, making her way through life and trying to figure out where exactly she fits in the universe, the child of two planets and not quite belonging to either.
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Mathuen
Junior Member
马萨诸塞州, 中华人民共和国 (Trapped Yo)
Posts: 70
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Post by Mathuen on Jan 10, 2016 16:21:55 GMT
Name: Joshua Williams
Age: Unknown, physical appearance depends upon person, median percieved age is 30 Gender: Demiboy (Generally gendervoid but reports occasional bouts of male association)
Species: Generally believed/perceived Human
Nationality: N/A (Currently resides in the USA)
Physical Description: A relatively unassuming human male around 5 foot 7 inches. Often appears to be of Irish descent, but others have perceived them/him as being Galician, Sicilian, Dutch, and a one point Moroccan.
Powers: Negation. Joshua is able to negate the effects of magical and otherworldly entities upon themself/himself. Often this negation is also audiovisual, so Joshua is often unable to perceive the paranormal entities they/he are negating. This negation is not area of effect and so is not spread to people near them/him, though Joshua does exhibit a limited ability to heal wounds in others caused by the paranormal by digging their/his hands into the wound. The reason why is unknown but the leading hypothesis is that physical contact causes the subject in contact with Joshua to also exhibit negation. This contact has to be under at least one layer of skin however or in some other way be "inside" the subject.
Negation sometimes manifests as an area of effect harm done on paranormal entities, especially those of European, North African, and Abrahamic origin. Such entities perceive Joshua as a void that is painful to look at or be near, this effect increases with closeness to Joshua, and when making direct contact with Joshua can lead to said entities losing consciousness.
Negation has one notable exception. Various Dharmic and Sinitic paranormal beings can perceive Joshua, though for the latter Joshua's appearance is blurred. More tangentially related paranormal beings, such as the spirits of Indonesia and the Philippines, are aware of Joshua's presence as a silhouette. In regards to the first sort of entity Joshua demonstrates limited summoning ability for Dharmic entities and can manifest minor feats often associated with Dharmic religions.
Background: Largely unknown, and Joshua themself/himself makes no attempt to explain his backgrounds, but the general consensus among investigators is that Joshua was born in 1849 near Ardfert, Ireland. One of a group of Irish dissidents from the area that left for Southeast Asia in the 1860s, Joshua (presumed to be an alias), became part of a militant Buddhist sect that engaged in guerrilla warfare against the British authority in Burma. From writings that the sect left behind around 1879-1880 they reported incidents of their fighters experiencing "nirvana-then-paranirvana" during battles with the British and then somehow returning to re-inhabit their bodies after death. These people subsequently manifested minor miracles and were described as "undying".
It has been explained by various Buddhist attaches that these reports are "nonsensical" and "contradict the very concept of paranirvana" and so it is believed that some sort of paranormal force or entity began to either inhabit or revive the bodies of these fighters upon death. The general consensus is that Joshua is either one of these revived men or inhabiting entities and exists in some sort of phenomenological grey zone between life and death, human and non-human.
It has been noted that this explanation has some discrepancies and does not account for things such as their/his physical appearance varying beyond Irish, but for now this explanation is believed to be the "closest to truth".
Personality: Like much else Joshua's personality appears different to people perceiving them/him. However Joshua does, when all reports about them/him are put together, display some "average" traits. Joshua is believed to be well read and enjoys absorbing information as often as possible. As such Joshua tends to flip rapidly from solitary absorption of multimedia information to extrovertedly conversing with others about their lives and interests. Joshua appears to be very helpful and is naturally attracted to people who want to correct perceived wrongs in the world. Joshua appears to be anti-authoritarian and is extremely skeptical of governments, though will easily associate with "groups", even government agencies. Joshua does not appear to see a contradiction in this. Joshua has little love for Europe and often refers to them as "Imperialists" (This includes the Soviets), but appears completely neutral and occasionally sympathetic to European descended states and cultures, such as Anglo America, Latin America, and Australia - New Zealand. Joshua is extremely hesitant to talk on matters referring to Abrahamic and European spirituality, with the noted exceptions of the Church of England and the Russian Orthodox Church, both of which they/he appears to despise. Joshua has no qualms talking about religions east of the Indus, though will often refer to East Asian and Tibetan religions as "heresies" and "mistakes".
Joshua also has an obsession with mango and guava flavored foods. It is unknown if this is at all relevant.
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Post by lightninglynx89 on Jan 11, 2016 2:35:10 GMT
Name: Laurence Fowler Age: 25 Gender: Male Species: Human Nationality: American, half-Russian in ancestry. Physical description: Roughly 6'5", blonde hair, very lanky in appearance (not by choice by you, he's just lanky), pale skin, nose is hooked near the ridge. Powers: As he would describe a Class-4 Pyrokenetic (Class-5, being the best). After years of training, and being taught by one the best, Laurence has become an incredible Pyrokenesis. A Class-3 Swordsman, no where near a trainee, but he could always look forward to becoming better. Awkward, in the sense that he is very unsuspecting of ever causing trouble (his personality helps add to that as well). Background: Laurence Fowler was born in upstate New York, living a very simple life. The weirdest thing that had ever happened too him before where he is now, was his grandfather's obsession with old Russian artifacts. Laurence always believed his grandfather was just weird or crazy. Though at the age of six he stumbled upon something strange in his grandfather's attic. He found a mirror, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until a strange being seemingly walked out of the mirror. The first words that came to Laurence's mind when he saw the being was "bird-like." However, the being was very kind, shy, and docile to Laurence. Laurence and the being's first encounter turned into hours of talking and playing with one another. Laurence was no longer uninterested or weirded out by visiting his crazy grandfather's house.
Though at the age of 18 Laurence's grandfather had sadly passed away. And Laurence's visits to his grandfather's house become more infrequent. Though, in his grandfather's will, Laurence was given his household, and all the items that were housed in it. Laurence himself was shocked at the revelation at what his grandfather had entrusted him with. But, Laurence accepted his responsibility. When Laurence first returned back to his grandfather's household he was reminded of how long ago it was that he visited, three long years. Laurence was seemingly drawn to the attic, he once spent many hours in, with the strange bird-like being that was housed in the attic. Laurence never knew if his knew about the being's presence in the attic, but it seemed like the being that would cause no harm.
When Laurence reached the attic he saw a white blanket that covered the mirror. When Laurence pulled at the white blanket, it simply revealed his own reflection, but it quickly melted away. What came out of the mirror was a feathered hand. Though the hand was more human-like then he remembered. What walked out of the mirror was a girl around his age, with nothing but tall feathered ears, arms, legs, and a long tail with the same feathers. Laurence knew immediately what the white blanket was meant for, and he quickly covered the nearly naked girl in his arms.
After a few awkward minutes, Laurence immediately knew who it was. It was the bird-like being he had spent so many hours talking with. When she began talking to him he immediately noticed the thick Russian accent that graced her voice. She told Laurence that she was a Kikimora. A bird-like being meant to serve their masters for as long as they lived. She talked about how long she waited for Laurence to return and how long she had talked to Laurence's grandfather. Laurence was shocked at the "servant for life and knowing your grandfather prior" reveals. But, all things considered he took it likely. When she told him her full name, Kasimir, he immediately remembered the nickname he used to call her. Kasi.
In the following years, Kasi and Laurence would become even greater friends then they were as children. Laurence never treating her as a servant. Kasi, was even a teacher to Laurence in the way of magic. Specifically of Pyrokensis, in which she was a master of, Laurence was lucky to have a teacher as good as her. Though Laurence learned that the way of magic was not the only way to protect. He self-taught himself over the years, through text his grandfather had in his household.
Through the years, Laurence and Kasi have had to dealt with many of the shady and dark things that inhabited the area around the household. Many, strange and monstrous and ways. They were lucky to inhabit upstate New York, and not have neighbors.
Personality: A kind soul through and through. Especially towards Kasi. Never treating her as a servant, and even trying to break her natural habit of calling him "master" or "lord." Though when it comes to his life or Kasi's being threatened he does not take to kindly to that, and will stop at nothing for his or Kasi's protection.
How'd I do?
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Post by theyellowpath on Jan 12, 2016 14:02:30 GMT
I missed this thread being made. Hope theirs still room for little old Death.
Name: Mortimer Martin, or Death itself. Age: Timeless or 70 depending on which name you use. Born March 16, 1917 Species: Technically Human? Really a Mortal Avatar of Death
Powers: As an incarnation of the Death of everything, Mortimer can understand and make himself understood to anyone. He is as immune to the effects of aging as he wants to be. Mortimer can sense when a death happens, and can look at the scene of someone's death or at their corpse and determine how they died. He can also pick up flashes of emotion at the death, mirroring the emotions of the killer, such as rage when a man beats his cheating wife to death, or satisfaction when a professional assassin gets his mark. Mortimer can touch a person to instantly kill him, sending his soul directly to whatever afterlife is most appropriate, though if asked Mortimer will confess that he does not actually know if there is an Afterlife. This touch only affects creatures who can actually die due to old age. He cannot cause the 'death of a door' and make a door rot to nothingness, unless that door were shaped from and still connected to living tree, and he cannot kill those who are unaging or outright immortal. Indeed, this was a necessary restriction his Greater Self put in to prevent Death from killing himself accidentally. And finally, Mortimer can collapse his physical body to summon the full power of his greater self, for a brief moment extending his death touch ability to miles around, and amplifying it to apply it to even that which may not die, but killing himself in the process. He's prefer to never use that one though.
Physical description: A tall thin man with tanned skin, messy but short white hair, and piercing grey white eyes. When not in uniform, Mortimer has a tendency to wear clothes that are bright and vivid, and often in clashing colors His favorite color is rainbow.
Background/personality:
When Death realized that life had somehow evolved sentience around the medieval period, he was more than a little surprised. At first, he tried to talk to people as he was, a formless entity that covered the universe. This caused the Black Plague.
It took him awhile to realize it wasn't working, and he went to his second plan. To craft a mortal body for a small part of him, and switch himself with a baby of the species, and live and learn among them.
When the abnormally large white rat that was Death got killed by a concerned mother in downtown New York, he then realized that Rats were not the most intelligent species on the planet.
So he repeated his second plan as a human.
Mortimer Martin was born on March 19, 1917. A precocious child from birth, his parents saw him as their little genius. He was bright, cheerful, and curious, though he had an unsettling ability to know when things died, and how they died.
When the Second World War ended, Mortimer was working as a crime scene investigator, specializing in murders. On one such case, a criminal stayed hidden at the scene, hoping to threaten the investigators into covering for him.
Unluckily for him, Mortimer can kill with just a touch.
Unluckily for Mortimer, his partner saw him kill with just a touch.
Records are sketchy on what happened after that, but what is known is that Mortimer left the police force and joined the CIA. Eventually, Mortimer would vanish utterly from public awareness, existing only as one of many agents who vanished under mysterious circumstances.
Outside of his bosses in his new organization, the only one who has seen Mortimer consistently is Michael Johnston, owner of a small bar in downtown New York called the White Rat, named after the impressive specimen Johnston's grandmother killed when his father was a baby, which in a fit of silliness she had stuffed and mounted. Between assignments, Mortimer visits the bar to have a drink and catch up with his friend, who is blissfully unaware of most of his oldest customer's life.
Personality:
Mortimer enjoys life to the utmost. He's not likely to take things seriously, and does not show any real respect for the dead, and often offers the same disrespect to the living. However, he is not without tact, and he is well aware of the effect death has on people, especially his friends, and will act to prevent large and senseless loss of life. He is a loyal friend, but prone to forgetting how time affects people, and disappearing for months at a time on a whim. As a young boy, Mortimer began to smoke, and promptly got addicted. He's quite happy he can't actually die from it, though from the outside it is concerning how he has often gone through 30 or more cigarettes in a day.
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Post by Krall on Jan 12, 2016 20:27:25 GMT
Pretty good! Though, there's no indication of how Laurence Fowler and/or Kasimir are involved with/known to the USA's secret paranormal agencies, which is a must really as the players in this RP are meant to all be members of an ad hoc unit of investigators formed by said agencies. I have some ideas how they could become involved though - do you want to discuss them via PM? I missed this thread being made. Hope theirs still room for little old Death. Don't worry - there's still room! However, I think Death's powers are rather OP here. I intend this RP to be partially a murder mystery/investigation game, so having the ability to figure out the cause of death, the killer's intent, and all information relevant to the death essentially means you could solve any murder mystery instantly. Could you trim that back, possibly just to knowing the cause of death? Also the section that reads "This death touch can apply to ghosts, demons, and other things, so long as they are have not broke reality and made themselves untouched by death." is rather confusing and ambiguous to me, and if your power has limitations they really ought to be clear. What beings are immune to Mort's death touch, and how might beings protect themselves from the death touch?
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Post by lightninglynx89 on Jan 12, 2016 20:30:54 GMT
Pretty good! Though, there's no indication of how Laurence Fowler and/or Kasimir are involved with/known to the USA's secret paranormal agencies, which is a must really as the players in this RP are meant to all be members of an ad hoc unit of investigators formed by said agencies. I have some ideas how they could become involved though - do you want to discuss them via PM? Sure we can. My whole thing was they'd get dragged in as well. As the agencies were bound to notice the weird paranormal business going down in upstate New York at some point.
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Post by theyellowpath on Jan 12, 2016 21:19:48 GMT
Pretty good! Though, there's no indication of how Laurence Fowler and/or Kasimir are involved with/known to the USA's secret paranormal agencies, which is a must really as the players in this RP are meant to all be members of an ad hoc unit of investigators formed by said agencies. I have some ideas how they could become involved though - do you want to discuss them via PM? I missed this thread being made. Hope theirs still room for little old Death. Don't worry - there's still room! However, I think Death's powers are rather OP here. I intend this RP to be partially a murder mystery/investigation game, so having the ability to figure out the cause of death, the killer's intent, and all information relevant to the death essentially means you could solve any murder mystery instantly. Could you trim that back, possibly just to knowing the cause of death? Also the section that reads "This death touch can apply to ghosts, demons, and other things, so long as they are have not broke reality and made themselves untouched by death." is rather confusing and ambiguous to me, and if your power has limitations they really ought to be clear. What beings are immune to Mort's death touch, and how might beings protect themselves from the death touch? I'll amend it to only knowing the cause of death, and getting a glimpse of the emotions involved. Such as seeing rage and fury when a man kills his wife after learning she cheated on him, or seeing happiness and contentment when a serial killer gets his newest mark. And the best way to protect yourself from the Death Touch is to not get touched. All jokes aside, I'm going to change that to 'Anyone who he touches instantly dies. This touch only affects creatures who can actually die due to old age. He cannot cause the 'death of a door' and make a door rot to nothingness, unless that door were shaped from and still connected to living tree, and he cannot kill those who are unaging or outright immortal. Indeed, this was a necessary restriction his Greater Self put in to prevent Death from killing himself accidentally. Of course, this restriction vanishes when he calls upon the powers of his Greater Self, allowing him in that brief moment before his own death to kill even that which may not die.'
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Post by Krall on Jan 12, 2016 22:36:51 GMT
I'll amend it to only knowing the cause of death, and getting a glimpse of the emotions involved. Such as seeing rage and fury when a man kills his wife after learning she cheated on him, or seeing happiness and contentment when a serial killer gets his newest mark. And the best way to protect yourself from the Death Touch is to not get touched. All jokes aside, I'm going to change that to 'Anyone who he touches instantly dies. This touch only affects creatures who can actually die due to old age. He cannot cause the 'death of a door' and make a door rot to nothingness, unless that door were shaped from and still connected to living tree, and he cannot kill those who are unaging or outright immortal. Indeed, this was a necessary restriction his Greater Self put in to prevent Death from killing himself accidentally. Of course, this restriction vanishes when he calls upon the powers of his Greater Self, allowing him in that brief moment before his own death to kill even that which may not die.' Okay, that works great. One question though: Is the Death Touch a thing he can turn on and off, or it is just any touching at all will kill a mortal being?
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Post by theyellowpath on Jan 13, 2016 0:26:59 GMT
I'll amend it to only knowing the cause of death, and getting a glimpse of the emotions involved. Such as seeing rage and fury when a man kills his wife after learning she cheated on him, or seeing happiness and contentment when a serial killer gets his newest mark. And the best way to protect yourself from the Death Touch is to not get touched. All jokes aside, I'm going to change that to 'Anyone who he touches instantly dies. This touch only affects creatures who can actually die due to old age. He cannot cause the 'death of a door' and make a door rot to nothingness, unless that door were shaped from and still connected to living tree, and he cannot kill those who are unaging or outright immortal. Indeed, this was a necessary restriction his Greater Self put in to prevent Death from killing himself accidentally. Of course, this restriction vanishes when he calls upon the powers of his Greater Self, allowing him in that brief moment before his own death to kill even that which may not die.' Okay, that works great. One question though: Is the Death Touch a thing he can turn on and off, or it is just any touching at all will kill a mortal being? He can turn it on and off. It'd be too much of a hassle to have to wear specially made gloves, and he'd probably have accidentally killed his parents, and any other caretakers that would have tried to help him when he was young. Don't really want to change his backstory, so he has control over who dies under his touch.
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Post by Krall on Jan 13, 2016 0:28:40 GMT
He can turn it on and off. It'd be too much of a hassle to have to wear specially made gloves, and he'd probably have accidentally killed his parents, and any other caretakers that would have tried to help him when he was young. Don't really want to change his backstory, so he has control over who dies under his touch. Okay, fair enough.
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Post by theyellowpath on Jan 13, 2016 15:43:29 GMT
Finally got around to editing Mortimer's powers section. Implemented the changes I mentioned, but is here anything I missed or that I should change?
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Post by Krall on Jan 13, 2016 19:58:24 GMT
Finally got around to editing Mortimer's powers section. Implemented the changes I mentioned, but is here anything I missed or that I should change? Looks good to me!
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