Semideos OOC (Open, for now)

[Zarkenis Ultima]

It all sounds good to me, recent wounds would make sense if the Abyss' magic is what heals us. Maybe going in and out of the fissures, because we're strengthened by that magic anyway, would be like when you pass through a portal in the old videogame Spyro (or most videogames) and if we've been damaged in the real world, and we go into the Abyss, we're 'recharged', and vice versa fleeing back to Earth from crazy shit inside the Abyss. Perhaps the people who've already gone full on Abyssal could be helping evil normal people in Paris or something >.>

We do sorta need an antagonist, though I like the idea of one of the characters parents be aware of the Abyss.

Why don't we make a list of possible main antagonists? Off the top of my head, so far we've got:
1. Kid's parent
2. Powerful abyssal creature of some sort?
3. Empowered human(s)

Orcs? Gods? The Church? -Shrugs- I dunno, really. I don't think we need to limit ourselves to any single bigger threat either, personally. In a sense, the Abyss itself is the threat, unintentional as it might be.

It would do good to keep them that way, not all of them need to be evil. Some probably would, maybe acting as intermediaries for the Orcs (we need to decide their role) and the Gods, while others we could meet and they might be acting on their ow. A mentor dude who lives in the Abyss and we're just lucky to run into in the beginning (maybe he shows us how to get back out after sheltering us) would be a good character.

Well, the Orcs could either have an antagonistic or neutral role. Potentially both, since some could be serving the Gods or the turned Abyssals or perhaps their Orcish equivalents (techies or something? ), while others just don't care and pay the characters no mind.

Such a characters would inevitably have to die though, to make our characters' struggles just that much harder to deal with.
At least in my opinion.

Doesn't really have to die. Could just not show up again, or just not help them anymore.

[Unilisia]

Such a characters would inevitably have to die though, to make our characters' struggles just that much harder to deal with.
At least in my opinion.

Must we kill our Yoda?

[Britanania]

Such a characters would inevitably have to die though, to make our characters' struggles just that much harder to deal with.
At least in my opinion.

Must we kill our Yoda?

It's an archetype

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Sooo, what are we doing next then?

[Britanania]

Sooo, what are we doing next then?

Waiting for Thanksgiving break to end

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Sooo, what are we doing next then?

Waiting for Thanksgiving break to end

Ah, right.

[Unilisia]

Sooo, what are we doing next then?

That's what I'm wondering

[Nature-Spirits]

Sooo, what are we doing next then?

That's what I'm wondering

Maybe wait for someone else to give feedback? *glances around* Um... Guys? TIE? Someone?

...

Well, I guess we could work out the plot a bit better. *shrug*

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Sooo, what are we doing next then?

That's what I'm wondering

Well, I was going by what Brit said. I'd assumed that this would pick up again when the break ended for you white men. -Nods-

If you ask me, however, I think that we should organize what we have so far into a suitable OP.

I can try to put together the bits and pieces about the Abyss, if you guys want me to.

[Nature-Spirits]

That's what I'm wondering

Well, I was going by what Brit said. I'd assumed that this would pick up again when the break ended for you white men. -Nods-

If you ask me, however, I think that we should organize what we have so far into a suitable OP.

I can try to put together the bits and pieces about the Abyss, if you guys want me to.

... Well it's not Thanksgiving in Canada (that happened a month or two ago up here, and we don't get a shitload of time off for it like they seem to in the US -- I can't even remember if we get one day). However, I am completely bogged down with homework, so I can't devote a lot of time to NS atm.

But yes, I agree on the part about the OP. As far as I'm concerned you can go ahead.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Well, I was going by what Brit said. I'd assumed that this would pick up again when the break ended for you white men. -Nods-

If you ask me, however, I think that we should organize what we have so far into a suitable OP.

I can try to put together the bits and pieces about the Abyss, if you guys want me to.

... Well it's not Thanksgiving in Canada (that happened a month or two ago up here, and we don't get a shitload of time off for it like they seem to in the US -- I can't even remember if we get one day). However, I am completely bogged down with homework, so I can't devote a lot of time to NS atm.

But yes, I agree on the part about the OP. As far as I'm concerned you can go ahead.

Eh, I thought you guys did. Not that I know a lot about that.

Well, I'll work on it tomorrow, then, since it's almost time for me to sleep.

[Unilisia]

Organizing the OP it is then. It'll be for an interest thread first, but if nobody joins (though I assume people will), we could easily still do it ourselves. We just have to 'update' the casual reader who is interested in joining. Main points we'll need:

1) We'll need a character application, which we can easily copy from Semideos already.

2) A good explanation of what The Abyss is, and how our powers will work (our primary powers recharged by the Abyss, and our overall powers that we will share (more like traits)

3) A basic explanation of what the plot will be, which will also be how we establish the setting. Although we have done much ourselves to establish what time period/where the RP will take place, future applicants and their input may change the setting, and if its a better idea, we might go with it. Best not to get attached but for now we can work with what we have, since the necessary signs of the Abyss in our desired setting can be... a lot of different cities, really. The plot wouldn't need to change all too much, the aesthetics would.

4) I just sorta went on a tangent so I'll shut up.

[Britanania]

Organizing the OP it is then. It'll be for an interest thread first, but if nobody joins (though I assume people will), we could easily still do it ourselves. We just have to 'update' the casual reader who is interested in joining. Main points we'll need:

1) We'll need a character application, which we can easily copy from Semideos already.

2) A good explanation of what The Abyss is, and how our powers will work (our primary powers recharged by the Abyss, and our overall powers that we will share (more like traits)

3) A basic explanation of what the plot will be, which will also be how we establish the setting. Although we have done much ourselves to establish what time period/where the RP will take place, future applicants and their input may change the setting, and if its a better idea, we might go with it. Best not to get attached but for now we can work with what we have, since the necessary signs of the Abyss in our desired setting can be... a lot of different cities, really. The plot wouldn't need to change all too much, the aesthetics would.

4) I just sorta went on a tangent so I'll shut up.

Sounds good to me

[Unilisia]

Everyone is busy I take it?

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Everyone is busy I take it?

Sorta. Will still try to put together the info we got about the Abyss but it might not come so quickly

[Nature-Spirits]

Everyone is busy I take it?

Indeed.

[Britanania]

In any event, I'm excited for when this gets going

[Unilisia]

Likewise.

[Unilisia]

Since I've been thinking about it and don't wanna forget, I've come up with a character profile. Will probably repost it in the future thread. For now I'll be basing her age and history off of the RP being set in 1949, the era is starting to grow on me a bit

Name: Vivian Cahn

Age: 20 (Born August 6th, 1929)

Occupation: Headmasters secretary/independent artist

History: Born to a nominally Jewish, Alsatian bureaucrat couple, Vivian's life prior to the Second World War was relatively uneventful. Her early life was spent in Strasbourg, largely untouched by the Great Depression affecting the rest of the world, due to her parents stable careers.

Despite the fact that her and her three older brothers never went without what their hearts desired, and were well educated by tutors as soon as they were of age, they rarely saw their parents because of the couples career focus. It was because of this that they often got into trouble at their private school in Paris, and the majority of the time they did see their parents was when they were called to the school for punishment proceedings with the dean. Although Vivian more often then not wasn't the cause of the incidents, her rowdy brothers were older and thus more favored by her parents despite their attitudes, and they figured sending her to an all-girls school or otherwise condemning her to being watched by 'personal assistants' was better then spending their own valuable time bonding with her.

By the time Vivian was 10 years old, she had come to the conclusion that her family was a bunch of assholes, metaphorically speaking, and though she preferred to spend her time alone, she was often with the female children of her parents friends, existing more as a status symbol then as a child so far as her parents were concerned, and lingering in the background at family social events. Vivian was expected to never make a fuss about anything and to always respect her elders and peers, and she was sure to do this, at home. Her attitude when elsewhere was absolutely horrendous so far as 'sophisticated' society went, and she finally earned her time alone when her parents largely decided to leave her to her own devices. She was as happy as she thought she could possibly be.

Then the war came.

The Nazi invasion of Poland startled her parents into action, and their previous attitudes changed as they were thinking only of fight or flight, or rather, just flight, as quickly as possible. Arranging for an escape to Switzerland and having called back their children from Paris, the Cahn's were unable to get out of Strasbourg before the Nazis had already began to invade the Low Countries and France.

Caught in the general uproar as the Maginot Line fell and Alsace was occupied, they became refugees, and in the chaos of escaping west as the Nazis annexed their homeland, first her second eldest brother, and then her father were apprehended by the SS. Reduced to poverty and hiding in Tolouse, by 1941 Vivian's mother was reduced to giving up her body to a farmer in exchange for being allowed to hide and work on his land, and eventually it was this gruesome man who accepted a Nazi bribe and gave the family up. Barely a teenager, Vivian survived the trip to the concentration camp system, and luckily managed to survive with (and eventually outlive) her mother in the Dachau work camp until the end of the war.

Liberated by the Americans on April 29th, 1945 and near her own death from starvation, Vivian was in such critical condition that the occupation authorities brought her back to France for recuperation. After a year in the hospital regaining her health, Vivian was able to discover that both her remaining brothers survived the war as well, and after an awkward family reunion, split their parents estate betwixt themselves and went their separate ways.

As of 1949, Vivian is living in Paris, occupying her time with her occupation as a school secretary (for whatever school the other characters go to), and as an aspiring artist in her private time, trying to make up for her lack of a social childhood by getting to know the students where she works given they are not too far from her age, and her attitude is that, given the fact she has already survived so much, that she should take her talents and live life to the fullest.

Power: Aside from standard, shared physiological manifestations of the Abyss's power (regenerative healing factor, enhanced reflexes and strength, natural night vision, etcetera), her primary ability is pyrokinesis intensified by emotional distress and extreme willpower (essentially, focusing her mind)

Appearance: A tall, slender, somewhat muscular but not too much (lean would be a good description) adult female, with shoulder length blonde hair and hazel eyes, and a somewhat paler then usual skin tone given her partially agoraphobic attitude. A good description of her personality is studious, cautious, but otherwise capable of holding her own, be it a fight or a simple word debate.

[Britanania]

Sounds good to me. I'll probably come up with the profile of my characters tonight, time willing

[Zarkenis Ultima]

That's pretty cool, Uni. Good job.

Anyway, as promied, here's what I could put together about the Abyss. I tried to put in everyone's suggestions and everything we'd agreed upon, and I added a few stuff of my own (like the eyes in the sky, the auroras, the moving fissures or what happens in Abyss non-equivalence zones, since we'd only discussed what happens in Earth ones). I think I accounted for everything, but by all means look and tell me if something needs to be changed.

The Abyss is another world, separate from our own and yet very much connected to it, a world very different and at the same very similar to our own. The Abyss is a chaotic world where magic and monsters are born, and sometimes, they leak into our own world through cracks called 'fissures' which connect the Abyss with Earth, allowing creatures from the Abyss to wander into our world and cause havoc. However, just as the existence of these fissures can have catastrophic effects depending on what goes through, sometimes it benefits the human race as well. There are those who, through destiny or simple chance, have an affinity, a connection with the Abyss. These people are able to absorb the magic of the Abyss and acquire powers beyond the capabilities of human beings. Those touched by the Abyss become faster. Stronger. Harder to wound. Quicker to heal. They become all this and more, gaining extraordinary powers, but alas, he who gazes into the Abyss should see to it that he does not become a monster, for the Abyss is dark and its influence strong, and those who absorb too much of its magic may find themselves changing into something else, adopting traits from the creatures of the dark Abyss as their physical humanity slowly fades away. These changes would be subtle at first, not readily noticeable without extensive analysis and perhaps even unnoticed by those changed, but as the chosen pass more and more time exposed to the magic of the Abyss, either by being near the fissures or within the Abyss itself, the changes will begin to grow in intensity. This means that the change can be stopped by staying away from the fissures, though the powers granted by the Abyss grow weaker the further away one moves from it, and the fissures themselves will remain in their place unless closed somehow. Of course, not only those with an affinity can be touched by the Abyss, though if such a thing happens, the results are far uglier and the person tends to suffer from many negative effects that come along with the powers attained.

Within the Abyss, many similarities with our world can be found, yet there are many things that behave in a different manner. On the skies, a black sun casts darkness upon the Abyss, accompanied by frequent auroras. Objects that block the black sun's darkness cast shadows of light on the ground, which are harder for the creatures to see in, but give them a respite from the cold. During the night, the darkness relents, with a plain white sky from which eyes peek at the things below. All kinds of things are said to inhabit the Abyss, from monsters said on Earth to be simple stories, to a race that rules over the Abyss as we rule over Earth. Most animals in the Abyss feed off the darkness, though some still feed off of each other. The trees, on the other hand, lure living creatures in with the warmth of their shadows in order to devour them with their roots, which stick out of the surface, with the rest of the tree safe underground. Perhaps the most notable thing, however, is the non-consistency of the creatures of the Abyss, for the above is what can be seen most frequently, but not an absolute norm, just like with the landscapes. Speaking of landscapes, they are, generally, similar to Earth's, but with different colors that are more appropiate to the Abyss, in which one may find blue grasslands and red rivers flowing uphill.

Time and space are distorted within the Abyss. The flow of time is both different from that of our own world, and inconsistent with itself. If one were to go into the Abyss and then back into our world after only a day, one might come after ten years have passed, or find that they have returned to a time long before they left for the Abyss in the first place. Similarly, if someone in the Abyss were to come to our world and then return to the Abyss, the same temporal discrepancies might manifest, though this time in the Abyss instead. This does not mean that it is impossible to return to one's own time, but it is unlikely for someone untouched by the Abyss to manage this. Those touched by the Abyss tend to be returned to a time near their moment of departure, and they can even achieve a conscious control of this temporal flux with practice. As mentioned, however, space is also distorted within the Abyss in regards to our own world. Fissures that are close by in our world could connect to points that are several kilometres apart from each other in the Abyss and vice-versa, and some of these fissures may even move within the Abyss. In addition to that, as the worlds don't perfectly line up with one another, there are areas both in our world and in the Abyss that have no equivalent in the other world. These non-equivalence zones have various anomalous effects. Non-equivalence zones on Earth deny entrance to creatures from the other world and suppress the powers of those touched by the Abyss, while similar zones on the Abyss cause the powers of those touched by it to get out of control and greatly empower creatures from the Abyss, driving them berserk.

[Unilisia]

Me gusta

Another thing I thought about, since we could each RP different characters (our primary and then family and shiz) we could make the story last longer, since its unlikely all of our characters would be close friends, more likely acquaintances, and we'd have to interweave the small plotlines into the larger one. If we're going for a team-up thing like last time, that is. We could have little developed sub-units within the larger group of empowered characters.

[Nature-Spirits]

@Zark: I like it a lot.

@Uni: That would be really interesting. Were you thinking we would work these out beforehand, or as we go along?

[Unilisia]

@Zark: I like it a lot.

@Uni: That would be really interesting. Were you thinking we would work these out beforehand, or as we go along?

I was assuming we would develop them as we go along. Maybe your character and mine see each other every day, or you see my characters brother or something in whatever neighborhood of the city your character lives, and then somehow find out when you're in school that he's related to her, thus, 'connecting' the dots in a way

What I was trying to get at is that we could develop our family members and stuff a little bit so maybe someone dates someone else's non-superhuman brother or something, and we'd develop them as contrasts to the members of their family who are now superhuman.

[Nature-Spirits]

@Zark: I like it a lot.

@Uni: That would be really interesting. Were you thinking we would work these out beforehand, or as we go along?

I was assuming we would develop them as we go along. Maybe your character and mine see each other every day, or you see my characters brother or something in whatever neighborhood of the city your character lives, and then somehow find out when you're in school that he's related to her, thus, 'connecting' the dots in a way

What I was trying to get at is that we could develop our family members and stuff a little bit so maybe someone dates someone else's non-superhuman brother or something, and we'd develop them as contrasts to the members of their family who are now superhuman.

Amazing. Perhaps we should have a part of the app, then, that talks a little bit about the character's family.