Paranoid Illusions (OOC/Signups)

[Ruko]

IC: https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/paranoid-illusions-ic.61929/

((Listening to this, or something similar should help get into the atmosphere. It's what I was listening to when I wrote this. If it gets to the end just click repeat. Alternatively, use the second link for auto-repeated youtube.



http://www.repeatmyvids.com/watch?v=Ybx-PYmAtso


If you couldn't already tell from the music, and possibly the title, this is going to be an extremely messed up horror RP. I cannot guarantee that you will participate, but if you do, you will not be the same. Even I do not yet know where I want to take the plot, I intend to cross that boundary when I come to it. Essentially the base concept is that it'll be a mystery-style thing in which the characters also have the ability to create illusions. Eventually they will be able to make these illusions completely real, and time and space will adjust according to the created illusion.))




In the winter of 1958, Japan constructed a prototype nuclear power plant deep in the wilderness of a small island. It was not intended to be able to generate any significant quantity of power, only enough to keep the village situated on the island running indefinitely. It was a small village and as such the power output could have been easily matched by stationing a couple of tidal generators on the coastline. On the other hand, everyone knows that nuclear power plants make great locations for horror stories so they decided to go with that so it'd still have a use when it was shut down.

On that note, they had originally planned that it ran for 2 years exactly, and that it be shut down on friday the 13th of november, 1960, at which point it would be decommissioned. The only problem was, when they arrived that evening to press the off switch and remove the fuel cells, they noticed something odd. Every part of the structure capable of indicating that it had already been shut down was doing just that, and the system was also under the firm belief that the fuel cells had been removed.

The technicians naturally had not planned for this and as such were unable to do anything to turn it off. It was a prototype after all, and they feared that a catastrophe could occur if they did anything. They stationed a few cameras to monitor the situation, and left again, intending to come back when the fuel cells ran out so they could dismantle it safely.

The only problem was, those fuel cells never ran out.

Until spring of 1983. At daybreak on April 5th, the fuel cells went from 1% remaining unstable material to 0%, and all the lights in the village went out. It was still early in the morning and a dew hung on the grass and in the leaves. The lack of artificial light gave the sky an eerie grey tint and the world was plunged into darkness, with shadows that dragged so long you would have trouble walking from one end to the other before you were late to wherever it is you needed to be at that time.

Then the sun rose over the small mountain in the centre of the island, and a beautiful golden light flooded onto the streets and the shadows were gone. Completely. There was not a single person left in that village and the only noise that could be heard was the ominous echoing of a briefcase falling onto the pavement. Given the village was so small, nobody was ever to know the fate that had befallen the area. The workmen who were going to go and dismantle the power plant were unable to reach the island. The engine of any vehicle that attempted to get there failed just over 10 minutes from the harbour.

On April 8th, a satellite happened to pass over the area taking photos at a very high zoom rate - high enough to be able to see individual people. It took a photo that captured a good area of the island, inside which the village was located, and on that photo, many humanoid figures could be seen walking, playing and doing any number of other normal day-to-day activities. The same people as the ones who disappeared.

In spring of 1984, the same thing happened to another village. This one was also very small and also in a remote location, however, this was on the mainland. The electric lights failed. Village plunged into darkness. Sun rises above a crest. People no longer there.

This time, people noticed though. Rumours began to spread of the mysterious village in the south that was found abandoned one day. Tourists began to arrive in small numbers, one or two people at a time. Many brought cameras with them. They took photos of what they thought was an eerily abandoned street, however, when they looked at their photos, they noticed a large number of people apparently going about their daily business featuring in them. This scared them, and the reputation of the village was lost.

Spring, 1988. After a 4 year break, a third town has been claimed by the mysterious occurance. This time, it was actually a town, and as such, interest was attracted by detectives and the like. It is now midsummer, during the time when the cicadas are really making their biggest assault on the ears, and you, along with your fellow detectives, must solve the mystery of the curse, before it claims another town.

Note, if you do not like chaotic undertones in your supernatural horror, or you refuse to play a character who develops severe paranoia, this RP isn't for you. I'll also be writing the story one way or another. If I only get one person interested it's going to be a One X One, and if I get no one interested then i guess I have the first few pages of my blog to write.

Oops completely forgot to mention that the events are in the spring because the sakura is significant.

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The Rules:
One: Naturally, Iwaku rules apply.
Two: No Mary Sues characters.
Three: No Metagaming whatsoever. Unless of course, I decide to do some, but it'll be for good reason.
Four: Powergaming isn't going to be an issue in this. Trust me, it'll become clear why soon enough.
Five: Please, write at least a short paragraph per post. Keep it nice to read.
Six: Please, please, please, use good grammar and spelling. I cannot tolerate people who use poor grammar and spelling. If you notify me that English is not your main language, then I can accommodate that, however, anyone who speaks English as a first language and is still unable to write correctly will be removed.

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Character Creation:
There are a few criteria that the character designs must follow, but most of these are for the sake of the plot and so make sense. While they may not for now, the reasons shall be revealed in due time.
One: Characters can be in no way related to anyone lost in any of the incidents. This includes but is not limited to being from the areas or having relatives who lived there.
Two: If you choose to use a picture in the appearance section, it must be of anime style. I've had 16 years of looking upon real life faces and let me tell you, I've gotten incredibly bored of them.
Three: It would be preferable if characters had some kind of trait or knowledge that would be useful in the upcoming plot, although so far I am unable to reveal anything to you other than that combat skills will be unnecessary and most likely a bane. Some level of intelligence could be incredibly valuable too, if not for your character, for your real self. It would make things easier to understand.
Four: Every character must have some kind of psychological trait that gave them a large disadvantage in their life before working on this case.
Five: The first half of the CS should be posted here. The second half should be sent to me via PM. It should be quite obvious where the second half starts.

CS:
Family name:
Given name:
Other names: (Be they acquired nicknames, given titles or something else.)

Appearance:

Age:
Height: (You do not need to use exact measurements. I myself do not know them. Just relative, in comparison to the average.)
Weight: (see height)
Build: (Basically, how much of their body weight is made up of muscle as opposed to fat.)

Personality: (be sure to include how they might react upon learning something they previously thought illogical.)
Brief Backstory:


Physical advantages: (This won't play much of a part, neither will disadvantages, however, it gives a feel for the character.)
Physical disadvantages:
Learnt/practised skills: (an example might be katana use, or computer hacking.)

--------- SECOND HALF STARTS HERE ---------

Name: (so I can link the two halves more easily.)
Psychological disadvantage: (Examples include tourette syndrome and multiple personality disorder. Please note that you should probably research the chosen trait, to give more authenticity to your posts. There's little worse than a bipolar character being roleplayed as if they just switched personalities occasionally.)

Mental Stability: (Will be the combination of childhood experience and how good they are at reacting to things.)

Greatest fears: (I'm sure you can see where this could be going)
Interests and related things: (Examples include an interest in pre-1980 war planes, or a deep love of anime. (Shh no I'm not referring to myself.))
Inspiring figure: (Should be simple enough. Who did they admire greatly, or currently still do? This does not have to be a real person, it can also be a fictional character. Trust me, I know from experience that it's valid.)

Most common theme of nightmares:
How often their dreams are "lucid": (for those of you who don't know what this means, it's the term used to refer to dreams in which the dreamer is conscious of the fact that they are dreaming and as such has a certain quantity of control over the dream's events. This will have a MASSIVE impact in the roleplay, though probably not for the reasons you are thinking.)
Common responses to danger, or strange situations: (For example, what do they do if a huge phantasmal spider suddenly appears and looms over them, fangs dripping with acidic magma? What do they do if 4 people walk into a train station they currently are in and start attacking people with swords?)

 

[Raimei]

Woah sounds good, reserve me.

 

[Razilin]

Norman Ebayan

Age: 40

Height: Shorter than average male (5'7")

Weight: Average (145 lb.)

Build: Lean

Personality: Clinical and detached, with a jaded attitude toward most things. When confronted by a stressful situation, he becomes very analytical and cold and will do nearly anything, whether it be nefarious or pleasant, to keep himself alive or ahead of the curve in such as situation.

Brief Backstory: Norman is an insurance investigator, employed by a firm that works in major corporations. The task of finding holes in people's stories in order to bilk insurance claims leaves him jaded, but also leaves him rather gifted in the field of discerning truth from lie as well as collating various data to find the truth within. His most recent assignment is to investigate the disappearances in Japan, as several insurance claims have been filed toward his corporation for emotional and property-related damages. Norman is not expecting much in this case. To him, its another day on the job.

Much of his cynicism comes from his job, but it began after the death of his wife five years ago. She was a successful, intelligent, and beautiful physician who inspired him to becomes the best at his own profession. He would take on the most challenging assignments and succeed no matter the cost, thus skyrocketing his career in terms of promotions. Many friends and acquaintances were thrown under the proverbial bus in his warpath to success, however. After his wife passed away from cancer, he became withdrawn into his work, which he began to lose passion for.

Physical advantages: Relatively fit, but neither glaringly strong or agile.

Physical disadvantages: Neither glaringly strong or agile.

Learnt/practised skills: General computer use, investigation (insofar as collating paper and electronic data, not forensics), excellent observational skills, can reliably detect truth from lie by watching people. He also studies physics, mathematics, and chemistry on the side as a hobby.

 

[Ruko]

You have no idea just how perfect that character is for this situation, however, i'd appreciate a little more detail, especially on the second half. I need quite a lot of that. Without it I'm afraid this RP may be slightly less entertaining as I won't be able to do as much with your character.

 

[Razilin]

can't we just make it up as we go and converse about it via PM? that way its a more collaborative build?

 

[Ruko]

Oh a lot of it will be made up as I go along, but, I really am not going to tell you my plans so you'll just have to trust me. As we get further in you'll find that you'll be contributing quite a lot to what happens anyway, because the environment will become darker and darker based on what actions your characters take.

 

[Razilin]

expanded the bio a little, sent you an amended Second Half in PM

 

[Ruko]

And here's mine...

After the first part, I'll post everyone's second halves, so people can set up their own plot points.

Family name: Miyamoto
Given name: Yami

Appearance:

Age: 19
Height: Quite significantly shorter than average.
Weight: Again, below average.
Build: Barely any of her is fat. But then again, there is barely any of her.

Personality: Yami is quiet and reclusive. This is quite possibly due to her condition, which meant that she was unable to go outside on a sunny day without wearing something to cover her skin. This became a habit and she now wears her black hoodie almost constantly. She has adopted it as part of her own character and it is perhaps one of the reasons she feels able to hide from conversations. To compensate for her lack of social skills, she developed a very good brain, and she is able to logically think thing through quite successfully. Upon encountering something she couldn't comprehend, she would most likely be stunned for some time, brooding over a scientific explanation. While she favours doing this, she does enjoy supernatural stories and occasionally would like to believe that illogical things can exist.

Brief Backstory:
(I know i should put something here, given its my own RP and all, but I cba :P)

Physical advantages: She has a very low presence and as long as theres someone making a bigger fool of themselves than her, she usually gets away unseen.
Physical disadvantages: She has very little physical strength and endurance, and her perfect eyesight is very vulnerable to intense light.
Learnt/practised skills: She is a somewhat talented cook, and is also quite good at persuasion (when she speaks, which is rare.) She knows the theory behind katana wielding, however, has never had an opportunity to put it into practice.

Psychological disadvantage: Yami has a very interesting and peculiar condition. It could be seen as a form of multiple personality disorder, however, it is more detailed than the usual type. She has a hard time explaining it, so uses the concept of souls to explain it. The idea is that it is as if the one body is inhabited by two seperate but linked consciences, or "souls". In addition, the two are both fully aware of what is going on around them however, only one conscience is able to control the body at a time. Every 3 hours or so, some phenomenon occurs inside their brain that attempts to force the switching of whoever is in control, however, if one does not want the other to gain control or does not want control themselves then they are able to attempt to prevent the phenomenon from taking place, as if a battle of the wills.
The first personality is the one considered the "real" person, while the second is considered to be a peculiar form of bipolarity, at least by those who don't properly comprehend it. The second was nicknamed "Hikari", as it means almost the exact opposite of Yami. Hikari is a less dominating person, and is often content simply observing what Yami does, however, occasionally she does take control. She is much more volatile and unpredictable than Yami. It is as if the isolated background manifested as reclusiveness in Yami but as anger and slight sociopathy in Hikari. Despite this, they don't dislike each other and rarely disapprove of what the other does while in control.


Mental Stability: This is a complex topic when it comes to Yami and Hikari. Yami is relatively stable, as far as predictability goes. She isn't the kind of person who would fly off the handle or do something out of character out of confusion. Hikari is less stable, and much more sociopathic. She perhaps verges on sadism too, and would go completely out of control if she were to obtain a way to gain power over others, specifically in the form of control. She would only find it interesting if it were manipulative control however, explaining why she doesn't usually take control of the body much. Furthermore, the phenomenon that causes the switch can be forced, so there is no telling when she might invert personalities.

Greatest fears: Both Yami and Hikari fear the same things, despite their gap in personality. First, and foremost, they have a strong phobia of being exposed to something they cannot explain, even when taking into account supernatural ideas. Secondly, they both fear being trapped in a space filled with many people, especially if there are many conversations going on and merging into one blur of noise. Thirdly, like all normal people, they both fear spiders.

Interests and related things: Yami and Hikari share interests almost as much as fears. They both enjoy literature, particularly books that involve strange fantasy-style fiction, and ancient cultures. This probably stems from their fascination with the supernatural, and ancient culture's abundance of supernatural philosophies and creatures.

Most common theme of nightmares: Yami/Hikari share a nightmare than occurs quite frequently. One in four of their nightmares will be a variation of it. It involves a huge, victorian-style mansion. In particular, a huge victorian style mansion that is on fire. Each time they have the nightmare, each of them are seeing it from different points of view from both each other and the viewpoints they saw it from the last time they were there. It is also incredibly realistic, even down to feeling the searing heat.

How often their dreams are "lucid": Yami/Hikari's dreams are almost always lucid, however, it is questionable whether or not they are actually dreams. Many of them involve the two of them in some kind of situation. Lucid dreams are also the only time when Yami and Hikari can talk to each other. They have developed ways of communicating outside of them, but it requires the repetitive swapping of control, a pen, and a pad of paper. Given the control swapping is somewhat tiring they tend to use this method very little. They tend to get on very well, even though they are both psychologically disturbed, and they are forced to be bystanders even when they don't want to be. This is probably because they share the same problems and they understand each other better than anyone else ever could.

Common responses to danger, or strange situations: If Yami is in control, she will probably fall silent and desperately try to figure out how the situation can be explained. Unfortunately, this means she often lacks the natural flight response and gets herself into danger more often than is healthy. On the other hand, Hikari is able to maintain a certain amount of common sense, and will usually deal with the situation at hand before later pondering over what it could have been, probably while Yami is in control so she doesn't have to waste brainpower keeping the body in check.

 

[Razilin]

so when you putting up the ic?

still waiting on raimei?

 

[Ruko]

Soon as @Raimei has made her character. *Glares intently*

 

[Raimei]

Sorry for taking so long but as @Raitoningu already knows I'm lazy as fuck. (No other excuses really) I'll post soon, sorry.

 

[Raimei]

Family name: Sherin
Given name: Kosuke
Other names: /

Appearance:

(Okay originally I was going to have a male char, my char is now female but genderfluid.)

Age: 27
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 120 lb
Build: Quite scrawny

Personality: Kosuke is relatively quiet during stressful situations, often avoiding conflict and staying out of fights if any arise. Though whilst in her comfort zone her outlooks often change, rendering her to come across as smug and confident often preferring to be a leader.
Brief Backstory: Kosuke was born into a relatively wealthy family consisting of her younger twin sisters and parents. She went to private school and maintained many hobbies including learning to hunt in the forests with her father and his friends as well as gymnastics - a sport she disliked but her mother pressured her to do. At the age of nineteen she came out as pansexual, though to her misfortune her parents weren't supportive of her choices and forced her to move away, dropping contact with her altogether. She still had had a good education so she managed to get a job with the detective side of the police force like she'd wanted to prior to being kicked out. She kept and pursued a career in investigation but had almost been dropped many times due to the fact she'd became an alcoholic, after awhile shs managed to sober and became enthusiastic towards her job again.


Physical advantages: Agility (she had a hobby of gymnastics as a child)
Physical disadvantages: she smokes, so has somewhat damaged lungs/lung capacity which give her low endurance along with cravings/addiction.
Learnt/practised skills: Hunting, guitar.

Part 2:

Spoiler

Psychological disadvantage: Manic Depression disorder, Gender identity disorder

Mental Stability: Sherin is very down to earth and not often shocked often, she doesn't miss people once dead and doesn't get sad when people die. She played a game of Hitori Kakurenbo as a teen resulting in a crippling fear of dolls, fearing the dark, looking behind her and being chased
Greatest fears: Dolls, large spaces, heights, being chased, the dark, looking behind her
Interests and related things: Animals, forests and nature, music, playing the violin
Inspiring figure:

Most common theme of nightmares: As a teen and young adult she had recurring dreams about dolls, more specifically reflecting on her own experience of Hitori Kakurenbo which she played at the age of fourteen, as well as being chased, having to look behind her to find something or someone there and being chased in general, she often dies in her dreams.
How often their dreams are "lucid": Kosuke has a very hard time lucid dreaming and has only had a few lucid dreams on occasion but even these were with prior preparation.
Common responses to danger, or strange situations: Generally she tries her best to escape danger, so fleeing is often the case.

 

[Ambre]

Is there room for one more?? If so, consider this post a reserve.

 

[Ruko]

If Raimei hasn't finished by tonight then yeah, consider there being a space free.

 

[Razilin]

still watching the thread for updates :)

 

[Ruko]

Yeah Raimei's starting to get on my nerves a bit. I've told her that if she doesn't have her char done by tonight I'm giving the spot to Ambre.

 

[Raimei]

Trying to finish via phone since I have no laptop access temporarily

 

[loviebeest]

Uhm how many spots are there? Because this is the kind of story I really like, can I join anyway?

 

[Ruko]

Hah sure. @Ambre you can join too if you want. Also, I'd like everyone to post their second halves along with their first halves in this topic. Originally, I intended to spend the first few days manipulating the plot alone but I fear I don't have the required internet connection to do so reliably, so it would be nice if you were all able to move the plot along by yourself if I'm not available.

 

[Razilin]

Char Sheet

Norman Ebayan

Age: 40

Height: Shorter than average male (5'7")

Weight: Average (145 lb.)

Build: Lean

Personality: Clinical and detached, with a jaded attitude toward most things. When confronted by a stressful situation, he becomes very analytical and cold and will do nearly anything, whether it be nefarious or pleasant, to keep himself alive or ahead of the curve in such as situation.

Brief Backstory: Norman is an insurance investigator, employed by a firm that works in major corporations. The task of finding holes in people's stories in order to bilk insurance claims leaves him jaded, but also leaves him rather gifted in the field of discerning truth from lie as well as collating various data to find the truth within. His most recent assignment is to investigate the disappearances in Japan, as several insurance claims have been filed toward his corporation for emotional and property-related damages. Norman is not expecting much in this case. To him, its another day on the job.

Much of his cynicism comes from his job, but it began after the death of his wife five years ago. She was a successful, intelligent, and beautiful physician who inspired him to becomes the best at his own profession. He would take on the most challenging assignments and succeed no matter the cost, thus skyrocketing his career in terms of promotions. Many friends and acquaintances were thrown under the proverbial bus in his warpath to success, however. After his wife passed away from cancer, he became withdrawn into his work, which he began to lose passion for.

Physical advantages: Relatively fit, but neither glaringly strong or agile.

Physical disadvantages: Neither glaringly strong or agile.

Learnt/practised skills: General computer use, investigation (insofar as collating paper and electronic data, not forensics), excellent observational skills, can reliably detect truth from lie by watching people. He also studies physics, mathematics, and chemistry on the side as a hobby.



SECOND HALF, AMENDED 2.0
Name: Norman Ebayan

Psychological Disadvantage: Depression from losing his wife, manifesting in a withdrawn and callous demeanor, general cynicism, and a hidden sense of misanthropy (which in turn manifests as being coldly analytical when in a stress situation). Other factors into his psychological disadvantage is his fear of being alone, which is already starting with the death of his wife, and only made worse by his tendency to step over people in order to benefit himself.

Mental Stability: If a normal psyche is rated at a 1 and Batman's Joker is rated a 10, he sits at a 7. His highest point in life was his marriage and his subsequent rise in his career. However, the things he did to make it that far in his job snowballed into severing most of his friendships, capped off by the death of his wife. At the start of the story, he has few close acquaintances, no meaningful family, and no professional allies. While he does not realize it yet, he is already at the state he desperately fears: being alone.

Greatest fears: Being Alone

Interests and related things: Chemistry, physics, mathematics

Inspiring figure: His deceased wife, whose success in her profession as a physician made him want to push himself in his own career.

Most common theme of nightmares: Wandering alone in his own house, only to hear his wife asking him to join her. Commonly, apparitions of friends and acquaintances he has betrayed or other relationships that he has severed in order to advance in his career show up in his nightmares.

How often their dreams are "lucid": He never knows he is dreaming while in his dream, but when he wakes up they leave him very perturbed afterward.

Common responses to danger, or strange situations: When a stressor is present, he becomes coldly analytical and willing to take unpleasant or even nefarious actions if they will benefit him or improve his chances of success or survival. This includes throwing someone under the bus in order to obtain a promotion, choose escape over saving an ally if it means saving his own skin, or instructing an ally to tank a hit if it means he can strike an enemy's weakness safely. Sometimes, this analytical mindset provides himself and his allies a mutually beneficial outcome through superior strategy; more often than not, however, it usually leaves him on top of someone he just stepped over.