~The World Complex~ (Still Recruiting! Apply Within!)

[Crovonovin]

Let's get the show on the road!

Please read the OOC Thread FIRST before making your post.

OOC Thread

The Game Thread

[Crovonovin]

Replied to you already via PM, but I'll repeat it here.

Recruitment for this game will never close unless we get a huge surge of interest, so anyone else wanting to join as a normal character may do so.  If enough normal characters end up being made, it might be interesting to make up another group of them to see how they all get on without abilities.

But until then, feel free to create a character sheet and send it to me for approval.

[Vergil1989]

Alrighty, I'll post here and then elsewhere, then I'm off to bed lol.

Even demons of lust and desire need sleep lol.

Or should i wait until you say otherwise Shihong?  I saw that you had in bold print Group A so I wasn't sure.

[Crovonovin]

Sorry if I was unclear!  People from Groups B and C can start posting at any time!  It's just that I want everyone from each group to have posted once before continuing.  I hope that's not what seemed to be delaying everyone. 

[Crovonovin]

No problem on the delay Vergil!  If you could just colour the text for your Group (using the change colour option above the text window), that'd be great.  And all of you, don't forget to repost your profiles in the OOC thread!  It just makes it a bit easier than scrounging through the pages of this thread.  Thanks!

[sinoraa]

Oh, no! i didn't know it had started :S im late! im unprofessional :( im off to write!

[Crovonovin]

And I do apologize if I wasn't clear enough, but the first few posts will be each member of the respective groups encountering one another for the first time.

[Crovonovin]

For those worrying about the possibility that things may lose direction, I will also be playing as the "GM" of sorts within each of the groups so that nobody is wandering aimlessly.  This means creating npcs, obstacles, and new areas for the Groups to encounter.

For those of you who haven't posted yet due to busy schedules and the like, do be sure to send me a PM so that I know you're still interested.  Thanks!

[Crovonovin]

Due to some lack of activity on the part of some members, I'm bumping this to the top to say that recruitment is still ongoing!  There are currently three groups, as outlined here in the OOC thread.  Each group is currently isolated from the other, and jumping into any one of them is no problem at all.  I'm still trying to figure out who is currently inactive, so any participants who want to chime in should do so.  Similarly, any players wishing to voice and questions or concerns should not feel at all hesitant about shooting me a PM!  That goes for anyone else reading this post.

Knowing everything that's happened thus far isn't really necessary due to the nature of the game, but I feel as though I might as well fill any possible newcomers in.  I understand that four pages of discussion might seem a bit intimidating, so I implore any interested parties to ask me questions.

----Plot Summary----

Game Thread

All three groups are currently situated over the Atlantic Ocean, which like the rest of the planet has been overtaken by the World Complex.  Specifically, they are in various parts of a "canopy" hanging hundreds of meters above the water's surface.  Several weeks remain until the next Shift, when yet another layer will be added to the Complex and the cycle will begin anew.

Group A is huddled in a ventilation shaft opening up into a series of twisted office buildings and apartments.  Thus far they are just getting their bearings, having climbed up an elevator shaft to reach the border between the First and Second Layers of the Complex.  Benjamin, my own character, seems adamant about uniting with a supposed group of individuals that are dedicated to finding a way to stop or reverse the Shifts, and believes that there is some sort of Eden within the Complex that this group is attempting to reach.

Group B is now holed up in what used to be a church, overlooking a fitness center that has been warped with an average suburban home.  After narrowly managing to avoid being fatally wounded by a woman possessed by a ghastly spirit (who left a cryptic warning of things to come), they returned to the Church to exchange pleasantries and decide what to do next.  There they discovered three unique books, each stranger and more mysterious than the last.

• The first was unmarked and nondescript, and no matter how much each of them pried the covers would not open.
• The second was an ugly, wretched thing that nevertheless did not seem actively malevolent, but was written in a strange and dangerous language that caused a demon to faint dead away at the sight of it.  There is a suggestion that it has something to do with the origins of these spirits, but is currently unreadable.
• The last was a very thick novel that seems to be in the process of writing itself.  Though Group B does not yet know it, this book is detailing events happening elsewhere within the Complex.  In addition to the actions of Group A and Group C, it mentioned the existence of a functional train that was still in operation.

Group C includes a number of refugees that are currently disjointed.  They've found a momentary haven in the shade of several buildings that have been melded together (along with a fair amount of debris) into a dome.  Both water and sunlight drip down from the upper reaches, allowing dozens of people to survive in something resembling a community.

The only event of note thus far is the appearance of a wizened old man, who seems quite intent on depressing anyone who will listen with nihilistic prophecies of man's place in this new and hostile world.  There is a chance that he might truly know more than he should.  Group C is currently the closest to the train mentioned in the book.

If there's anything else current players would like to add, you may do so.  Again, I am accepting any and all questions.  If you have any interest, please mention it here.

[Vergil1989]

You're not the only one having issues my friend, I myself am trying to get a Persona game going and having issues as well lol.  Anyway, I'm still in this for sure, just waiting on others to post in my own group.

[Esoteric Myobi]

You still have my interest Shihong =) Hopefully Group C will come back to life or newcomers will pop in to join us. =x

[Crovonovin]

I do have some nibbles, but in the event that interest slows I'm quite willing to shift things around a bit as necessary!  ;)

[JadeCore]

I would be interested! This is a pretty unique premise and it seems like there's quite the long term story to back it up.

[ChaoticSky]

hello! ive been quiet. and im posting to let you know where i stand.

i have busy life stuff for now, so i shant be around for a week or so, further more, in the gap ive.... lost the feel for my character, so im dumping them.

however, im not leaving! i am pondering a new character, and will return in a week or two. at which point i shall write them into the story. probably as a 'late arrival' to the group. if possible.

feel free to write my existing character out in the meantime.

[Crovonovin]

As I've said time and time again, The World Complex is what I like to call a fluid narrative.  Put simply, this means that characters can come and go at any point in time, as no one individual plays a truly crucial role.  The story can move on regardless of who drops out and who joins up, so no one should feel pressured to stay with a character that they do not enjoy writing!

[Danakir]

The sun sets, everything ends
From now on, the power of darkness
Sadness, loneliness, pain, despair, absolutely everything
Everything is about to be enwrapped in darkness! Look,
If your hope is weakening, just throw it all away, you'll feel better
If now you wish for light, everything will disappear

The sun sets, dreams disappear
The time is coming for the dark world, forget about light and come now, together with darkness. - The End of Daylight


Name: The Watcher
Age: 32
Gender: Hermaphrodite
Class: Touched
Concept: Dark Boddhisattva
Theme Song: Malicious




The Watcher, as came to be her name after she descended from the heights of the World Complex. No one remembers ever hearing about her or seeing her previous this serependitous day but with her easy and serene smile and the strange scent of incense clinging to her clothes, she brought an eerie sense of peace and quiet to those she met. And she spoke to them, of the virtuous man and the great destiny of man, of the future and the downfall and she spoke of the glory of a short yet kind life and the great sin of bringing more into this world of suffering and agony.

She stood glorious in her darkly lit resplendence, under the great glass tree which shines radiant as a raindow even as rain came for days odd and sun shone for days even, this young miracle worker spoke not a word. She brings hope and salvation in the growing desert that is the world and relieves the incredible desperation that eats away at the soul of man. She is a beacon of terrible hope, that which would quietly squeeze at the throat of the entire world and have the flame of life extinguished.

But still few would call her on that, for many have come to believe in her disturbing scripture, many have come to worship the prophet of The Eye That Sees.

Her third eye, the Eye of Ürd, is the blessing given to her by TETS, as many have come to call the cult, and her title is that of one who would allow herself become the vessel of a higher will who would cleanse and purify. Great, great, light of the world...

Her Third Eye that sees the truth.

Such a lie.

Her Third Eye which sees the world.

Closer.

Her Third Eye which sees only flaws.

That is the greater truth.

For she sees only the agony of man and the quiet dread. For she sees only every sin and every blasphemy. For she sees only the darkness brighter than the sun and scorns this illusionary light, for though her eyes yet see, she only believes in the one gifted to her by her great God. She is a true believer and she will deliver us from evil.

She will in time, perhaps in an eternity's perhaps tomorrow deliver man from life. But there is no hurry, and there is no violence and there is no need for strife, calmly and gently shall humanity be led into slumber. For that is the infinitely merciful glory of The Eye That Sees.

She is capable of creating small avatars, or at least so she pretends they are, of The Eye That Sees and they guard and protect her, their capabilities  are limited but they require no sleep, food or oxygen. They watch eternal until their destruction is made true, pale ivory construct of her own madness.

They are also her darkest secret, for she may only create one such creature by consuming the blood or flesh of another sentient being, which she subjects some of her most fanatical and closest followers to. At least, so she used to do.

Her followers are gone, delivered unto the will of her God and she is now without flock, but she travels in search of another community for there is yet more work to be done. There are so many souls to save.

For that is the Will of the Holiest of Holies.

They key here is that she's deceitful and nihilistic, but she hides it well behind the veil of being an holy woman. Her dark enlightenment doesn't come to the fore all at once, it takes time for her to reveal the whole of her 'scripture' and the true 'Will of God'. That is, she won't blabber to someone she doesn't consider converted and faithful.

Perhaps she is yet human.

Perhaps she is now just a crude mockery, nothing more than the twisted puppet of a distorted abomination that dwells in the highest parts of the World Complex.

None can tell, for her past is of no importance and truth be told, she was remade into something else by The Eye That Sees. This form is that which has been chosen for her and that too is the wage of the great honor which has been bestowed unto her.


The Path of Ascension

Let it be clear, the goal of the Path of Ascension is the liberation of every soul in existence from suffering.

By the standards of modern ethos, her beliefs are abhorrent and immoral. She can only be described as a cancerous tumor upon society and though beautiful to behold, she still remains little more than the monstrous incarnation of the worst excesses of ascetism and mysticism and the incarnation in flesh of man's worst nihilistic impulses.

However, that is from the perspective of the layman. From her perspective, it is an entirely different story. These are the guiding principles of her faith.

Violence is abhorrent. Murder is unthinkable. To bring more suffering into this world is nothing short of blasphemy against The Eye That Sees. You will not shed the blood of your fellow man without necessity, you will do so only when your hand is forced. For each and every soul will in time learn of their place in this world.

And then, they shall see at least this baleful yet inviting and comforting darkness that coils innumerable tendrils around the withering remnants of the world and they shall willingly give themselves unto this darkness.

In doing so, they will receive bliss everlasting, they will reach transcendental perfection of being and will break the vicious cycle of suffering.

For existence itself is suffering, and thus existince is an abomination unto The Eye That Sees for tis the truth above all else, The Eye That Sees doth love all children of the earth and sky and so wish for their suffering to come to an end, however it is only their minds which can awaken they and their hands which can save they.

Salvation is there, it is for humanity to seize it.

In short, she is a technical pacifist and believes honestly in the value of virtue, compassion and wisdom. Hers is perhaps dark enlightenment and many may believe it madness, yet especially in these forebodding times can any truthfully say that all she speak is nothing but lies?

If it is that some would follow her and acknowledge her spiritual supremacy, it is that her words move them and it is that the world she presents resonates with their experiences.

She is a mystic. She is a prophet. She is a priestess.

She does not lie, not from her perspective, and even in her immense disgust for her fellow man, she does not let it seeth and corrupt her purpose. For she is the Watcher and her love is unconditional. She will deliver us from evil. She will deliver us from life.

For that is her holy mission, that in time all of the world shall sing one last hymn and for one singular instant reach for purity.

And then life extinguished, the world will be cleansed, then and only then...

Will the way to Paradise be shown.

For thus spoke The Eye That Sees to the great Watcher.

For thus shall it be.

Fear, despair, pain and sorrow shall be purged in the holy fire of death.

This cycle that has wrought only suffering upon mortal souls since times immemorial shall be at last be shattered and all will see.

Yes, every last one shall see the brightest truth of them all.

Love shall be the ultimate end of suffering.


Of A Woman Who Gave Herself to God Personality:  Few people could really fathom the depths of bitterness and cynicism which have taken hold inside the heart of the Watcher. Venomous twin snakes coiling in coordination around her chest, their poison withers away at her sanity as surely as the horrors of the World Complex may. Only flaws can be perceived, everything is sinful and nothing is pure, there is no grace or virtue and purity is just another lie. Humanity cannot better itself or hope to truly escape the bestial nature that is theirs, perhaps with the help of spirits they may escape those bonds, but that is another thing entirely.

The world is disgusting and above all else... wrong.

That is the cold hatred that is hers. However, this is not to say that she cannot stand her fellow man or that she is without compassion, on the contrary. She is gentle and attentive, suffering within others moves her to great lengths to relieve it and she is capable of stunning feats of interpersonal deftness. She is an excellent communicator and a naturally spiritual individual from whom hope and higher ideals spring forth. Though she constantly sees her works dashed by the inherently flawed humanity, she does not reject or loathe them.

She loves them unconditionally, and she embraces them fully. For she is no longer with sorrow or despair, she cannot be. She is a prophet who brings the word of The Eye That Sees which shall absolve man of sin.

And she dearly wishes to better this world, to cleanse and purify it so that they may open the way of the Heavenly Gates beyond the vicious cycle of death and rebirth. She is with great vested interest in this goal, to say the least. That is, despite how many may feel about her religious beliefs, it is hard to imagine that this kindly and passionate preacher of a woman could possibly be a devil in sheep's clothing.

It is not her wish to cause more suffering, and though some of her methods may be questionable, she justifies them to herself as necessary and done for the good of humanity. What is a man were The Eye That Sees to be lost unto humanity? That is what she tells herself. Still, she does feel some guilt late at night when she cannot sleep, for the dull yet raucous voice of her God does echo inside her mind.

For she made one grievious mistake in all of this, for which she will never be able to forgive herself, let alone love herself.

She looked in the mirror.

Mercy! Mercy for sinful humanity, oh great Almighty!

Mercy! Mercy for the sinful Watcher...


And so she cannot fail. She cannot allow herself to, she cannot afford to. Otherwise, she will be left with only her thoughts and forced to face her own inner-demons. Something that this seemingly unflappable woman of steel cannot do, for even her resolve would not suffice. That which lurks the darkest parts of her mind is a haunting beast that... cannot... be.... defeated.


Taken Spirit (History): The Eye That Sees

Little is of enough importance to mention in this day and age, however let it be known that there was a time where the Watcher was one Meiling. That she was part of the tiny Catholic minority in bright Honk Kong, jewel in the sea. That when the world changed irrevocably and shuddered alive under the first Shift, she stood in her home only to awake in a small 7-11 with the interior now that of a chapel. That she took it as a sign from up above and prayed fervently, perhaps this was the End of Days after all.

That no answer came and that in solitude her sanity was brought low and that in starvation her body was cleansed.

So was it that she survived, strangely enough, despair eating away bit by bit at her soul and faith until nothing was left.

Until the Second Shift, that is when she first saw them, those elegant and deadly spirits foolishly dancing the hallways of the World Complex. She felt they oddly familiar and as if under no volition of her own she set away from the wreck she ended up in without direction, yet always further she found herself, higher and higher did she ascend in the World Complex and none of the spirits dwelling there would bring her cause to stop.

For they could tell when they saw a dead woman walking, who's will lay broken and who's piety lay bleeding at her feet, such a woman held no interest to they, it was as if she were invisible to their eyes. That is except for the one.

The Eye That Sees.

In a spire of steel and glass that would pierce the heavens themselves and in the highest room filled with strangely fragrant flowers and sweet divine maddening music, in this great apocalyptic cathedral did they collide as comet and star are wont to do.

By the blinding light was she consumed and in rapture did she willingly give of herself for salvation.

In darkness was she remade and in it did she see with painful clarity the vision of her holy duty. This epiphany changed her spiritually as it had physically and as her third eye opened, as she looked upon the world with the mystical Eye of Ürd she rose from a deep slumber.

Cleansed of despair and suffering, reborn and forged into the elegant prophet of a merciful God.

She gave her name to the great Darkness Beyond Darkness, for such was the Will of Heaven.

Now, she is the Watcher.

She who shall liberate the soul of mankind itself, one individual at a time. Until they are all free, every last one.

Praise be to The Eye That Sees, Mercy of the World.


Powers:

The holy Eye of Ürd, symbol of her status as an envoy of the Heavens and her oath of servitude to The Eye That Sees, grants her powers twofold. For one, it allows her to witness any flaw. They cannot be hidden from her if she bothers to look, however nothing else than flaws apply to this power and it cannot be turned off. All she ever sees is someone's worst flaws, the smaller ones drowned out over their greatest failings. From her perspective, the world is an endless cavalcade of sin, depravity, hatred and suffering. The psychological toll of such a critical flaw in the design of the Eye of Ürd cannot be understated. This ability can certainly be used to great effect, however it requires great skill to do so and in the end, one is only left bitter at the sight of countless flaws, none of which are particularly useful.

Flaws here could apply as much to someone's secret weakness as it could to a building's lack of aesthetic as it could to someone's tendency to be stingy. It can be in character, architecture, physique or anything else. It is at once shallow and extremely wide, leading to the afore-mentioned problem of 'white noise' making it hard to exploit unless one is already looking specifically in one direction, so to speak.

The second ability of the Eye of Ürd is more directly practical but suffers from limitations all its own. Using the Eye of Ürd, the Watcher is able to stun someone, which may arguably leave them helpless. However this ability is rather restrictive in that it will only work as long as the Watcher looks upon her victim while being less than 10 feet away from them. Furthermore, this ability may only work against one individual at a time. Although it certainly holds tremendous potential in singular combat, anything else such as for instance a swarm of weaker foes would prove the capacity rather useless. Lastly, should anything manage to obstruct, blind or wound the Eye of Ürd, this capacity would cease to function.

Arguably, this capacity plays into The Eye That Sees' technical pacifism, as it allows the Watcher to bypass obstacles without resorting to lethal violence, which she abhors and would vastly prefer to avoid if at all possible.

Lastly she received one last bizzare gift from her patron, the ability to create Pearl Guardians, small creatures that are avatars of the Eye which have mediocre offensive capabilities and would mostly act as living shields for their creator. Sadly, to create one requires the Watcher to consume the flesh and blood of another sentient being, most likely a felllow human, greatly limiting her use of this gift. At the moment, she only holds a single Pearl Guardian. The seashell-like body of the Pearl Guardian is rather solid, however though they look rather frightening they are of little threat to most of the horrors lurking in the World Complex in these end days. The social consequences of enacting this ritual, even should she use the corpses of the recently deceased is especially prevalent in the Watcher's sparse use of it, as being caught taking part in such seemingly unholy and infernal behavior would likely ruin her reputation as an holy woman. She would avoid such at all cost.


----------------------

Greetings everyone, I've decided to try and join this delightful RP at Darkling's behest. <3

I've tried to catch you on AIM Shihong to discuss the specifics of her powers but I couldn't manage. ^^; So if anything's wrong with her, then I'm really sorry about that. I went and tried to make her sound awesome and interesting, if anything was made unbalanced in the process, just let me know. :)

With that said, I really hope that everyone thinks she's interesting, even if I've decided to have fun with some bits of 'alien' ethics. ^_^

[elfguy]

Nice to see this still going. Any group is still pretty active? I could bring up a character idea.

[Crovonovin]

Hello Danakir and elfguy!  Danakir, it's probably better if you just send me a PM in the future.  I'm not on AIM nearly enough to discuss things at any length.  Your sheet here is impressive, but I would like to discuss it privately before approving it and letting you post in the Character Thread.  Just shoot me a PM with your ideas for how you believe The Watcher might fit into this story, and I would be more than happy to try and accommodate you.

Elfguy, all the groups are currently in a slight lull, which is why I'm eager to recruit more members.  I may actually be cooking up an entirely new group in the near future, or otherwise shifting players around.  If you have any ideas I'd be more than happy to hear them over PMs!  I currently have no preferences for Powered or Normal humans.  I'm currently brainstorming with a few other potential players as well.

[Danakir]

This may be a bit redundant, but I've sent you that PM you requested. >.>

[JadeCore]

Here's my character. As always, it's a continual WIP and I've probably forgotten to mention things I have in mind since, as you all can relate to, we could spend forever making a character. :)

Name: Katrina Stark
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Class: Ordinary

Katrina was just your ordinary college girl when the World Complex turned everything upside down. She opened her dorm room door to find that her room was riding the streets as if a river. Buildings warped and turned. Cars twisted into alien shapes before concrete swallowed them up. By the time everything settled, she might as well have been on another planet. People speaking languages she could not even identify ended up gathering at what had once been a supermarket. For a time, they managed an existence.

The Shifts came. Katrina knew then that the world would not be content to let everyone rebuild. This time, she would not be so fortunate as to find herself near food and people. If the World Complex had turned everything upside down, the Shifts had turned them inside out. When she awoke from the turbulent quakes, she found herself in a cross between a brothel and a convent. Gathering what little she had, Katrina headed into the mysterious tunnels.

She would spend many months alone. What few people that seemed to have survived the first Shift seemed gone completely by the second. All that remained were supplies. Katrina would learn quickly the skills of survival. It was either that or perish; if not from starvation than from the creatures she could only call monsters and demons. Time seemed a forgotten thing. How long she eventually travelled, she couldn’t say. Even if she knew where she was, did it matter any more?

[Danakir]

So um... is this game still happening? >_>

[Crovonovin]

Yes, it is.  I'm sorry to have to ask for some patience, as I just got back from vacation two days ago and am also having relatives fly in for part of the week.  As such I have a lot on my plate and am having a bit of trouble finding the time to get all of my games in order, not even including this one.  I assure you that I have no intentions of abandoning this roleplay or its participants.

[Danakir]

Being that I'm left with nothing to do and hopelessly bored, I've fetched a theme song for the Watcher.

It's worth listening to, if you're intrigued by the character in the least. ^^

[JadeCore]

Just a small bump; Shihong is working on things. :)

[Danakir]

Don't mind the cobwebs and layers of dust, this thread is still kind of homely. ;p