Soul Strife | Freeform/Modern/Alt Reality/Heaven vs Hell

[Nyakuni]

Disclaimer: (just in case)
Though this game involves religiously themed content, the situations and characters described here are not intended in any way to be representative (realistically or otherwise) of existing religions or the events, people, or beliefs associated with them. Nor is it meant to create a negative view of them. The story described herein is entirely fictional in nature and intended for entertainment purposes only.
The Story:
In a world much like our own with a few key differences, a war takes place. This story isn't about demons and angels, though that may be where the war started. Despite what they may tell you, this war is not about good and evil, right and wrong, or order and chaos. This story is about humanity, caught in between two powerful forces and struggling to tread water. Since the day mankind first stepped foot on Earth, demons and angels have fought, but only since the great flood have they followed the rules of engagement: neither side may interfere with the world directly; only through human representatives. None who are uninvolved may know of the war or its sponsors. Each side has followed the letter of the rules, but also their own agendas. Any stories you’ve heard have been filled with omissions, exaggerations, or outright lies. Be careful who or what you trust. Learn all that you can. It may be all that keeps you alive.

Your story will be one of hard truths and harder choices. A new age is coming. There is no way to stop the coming paradigm shift. The question is what you will make of the new world when the opportunity arises.

The Game:
In this game, you will play a Soldier (human representing hell in the war) in a team of four. Upon being recruited, your character will be possessed by a demon (played by the GM unless player prefers otherwise; demons may be played by other players or the same player if they wish) and have access to the unfettered power of their soul (hereafter referred to as one’s Tap), which will present differently for each character based on their personality. You will work with the GM to determine a Tap that is fun for you and suits your character's personality according to the lore. This Tap will evolve over time with your character, depending on their actions in game, and by that I mean every post where your Tap is in use will have an impact. Your team of four Soldiers will work together (theoretically) to accomplish tasks set by your faction, which will need to be met by a deadline. Anything else you might do between one mission and another will be up to you.

All players will be welcome to take part in Home Base events to any extent they choose, and may start a thread of their own or request one made by GM to pursue individual goals aside from team tasks or events they choose to partake in. Who, if anyone, may join those side goals with you is entirely up to you! You may over time develop enough power that, should you choose, you may set out to work on your own instead of on a team, at which point you are welcome to use your side thread as a main thread for your own adventures and possibly even recruit new/other players to join you in a more advanced or smaller team.
[[Notes/FAQ]]
-Freeform, story-based game  with optional events/overarching plot
- Open to literate players willing to post at least once a week
- Category alterable by player group, but defaults to Exotic Non-Con
- Only Trigger Warning (TW) tags required in main game, please include time and location for side story material, other information is useful but unnecessary
- Years of slowly built up lore available
- Sandbox game with optional events/overarching plot

• Mortal world environments and generic characters will largely be available for players to make use of unless noted otherwise by GM, but please check with GM before making assumptions about environments in the Immortals' world

- Soldier or Guardian team possible
- Requires four players to start
- PvP available, but players decide outcome between themselves or results are voted on, I will tie-break
- Character death is possible, but will not be forced or a surprise
- Individual players can investigate personal interests for side stories with GM or each other

• For stories with GM please PM beforehand with where or how you would like to direct your character's personal time

- Team can split once individuals are sufficiently skilled, potentially allowing remaining team members to recruit new players/teammates
- Game is designed without smut in mind, but can accommodate moderate levels of smut, potentially more in side plot depending on direction of character actions/player interest
- Power growth and growth speed will vary depending on actions taken in game
- You can eventually expect the war to end, but what that ending looks like may depend on how or how much you and/or your fellows engage with the world you've been pulled into
- Not currently accepting more than 4 players
- Character Sheets will be added here once there are 4 potential players for either side

• Please send Character Sheet by PM to GM

- OOC thread will be created upon game start, discussion and questions will move there once game begins
- GM info:

• Open to any kind of PMs
• Enjoys world-building, brain-storming, sharing lore, and idle chatter
• Available most days, will attempt to post at least once a day when able

[OOC] is now open!

[Character Sheets]

Incomplete Character Sheets will not be accepted. Note that only *’d fields must be posted in the game thread for other players to see so that they know who/what they are interacting with. There is no min or max limit on responses. Send completed sheets to Nyakuni to start working on your Tap!

Code Select Expand

[color=#733ddf]Name*:[/color]
[color=#733ddf]Age*:[/color]
[color=#733ddf]Gender/Pronouns:[/color]
[color=#733ddf]Appearance/Picture*:[/color]
[color=#733ddf]Personality and Behaviors*:[/color] The more descriptive, the better.
[color=#733ddf]Skills*:[/color] Any talents of the natural or learned variety that are significant enough that they may set you apart or be useful.
[color=#733ddf]Flaws*:[/color] Anything that may cause you difficulty, annoy others, or draw the wrong kind of attention.
[color=#733ddf]Your Past:[/color] Tell me the story of how your character caught the attention of Hell's recruiters, or if they designed your circumstances to make you agree to the deal, what it took for them to get you there. Feel free to add more history or personal information for flavor and potential Tap options.
[color=#733ddf]Your Deal:[/color] Every Soldier is recruited with the same deal; a single selfish wish in exchange for service. No wishing things upon others, for good or ill. Any wish must be granted to and [i]upon [/i]the wisher. You can't wish to have someone killed, but you can have the resources to do it yourself granted to you.
[color=#733ddf]Your Sins:[/color] What are the worst transgressions your character has committed? Who have they hurt? Which of their actions have cost others the most, or been most self-indulgent?
[color=#733ddf]Additional Notes/Requests:[/color] Anything extra you might want to add, including preferences for your Tap.


[ThisOneGal]

I'm interested in playing a Soldier.

[Nyakuni]

I'm interested in playing a Soldier.

Hey, TOG! Thanks for the input. Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to know more about for that side. =) Would you like a PM if I get 3 more for it, or will you just be keeping tabs on the thread?

[ThisOneGal]

I'm keeping tabs on the thread, but a PM to remind me would not go unappreciated.

[Nyakuni]

Taps: The Power of the Soul

A Brief Formal Dissection Supporting Self-Reflection

     Taps, the current colloquial term referring to the power of one's soul which has been tapped/tapped into, can come in many forms. There are common, rare, and unique taps, but don't let these terms fool you. Though many a common tap is alike to others which can "do the same thing," it is more accurate to say that they come to the same result. Two people may display a talent which is to all practical and measurable standards the same, and yet the means by which that same effect is achieved vary drastically. Two souls which come to manipulate fire through the palms and rely upon the fuel of rage, which seem to have the same limits in terms of range, heat, and so forth, will not necessarily align in application. For example, if this tap were an expression of a volatile personality and selfish desires, it may be controlled more by emotion or instinct than intent, grow in power under circumstances with additional similar fuel such as fear, or alter the properties of its targets to make them more flammable. This may not be the case for one who finds themselves with the same powers as the result of a love for thrills and challenges who is typically more agreeable and compromising in nature.

     More often, powers will diverge far more significantly. Artificial categories have been created in order to make the education and training of more common taps simpler, but are far more general and not necessarily useful to guarding against or preparing one's expectations for how a tap may be applied. A common example of this is telepathy, which is a relatively rare tap, and yet often presents in recognizable patterns. Sensations, visualizations, and experiences related by the user or subject of this type of tap tend to be recognizable; the entrance into the mind being described as akin to finding cracks in a barrier or doors in a wall, the navigation of the mind like a building, cavern, or maze. However, there are records of far more foreign experiences of the same talents which were less tangible, wherein entrance to a mind was described as a series of frequencies that needed to be matched and brought into harmony with the user's own, or the target of telepathy experiencing the invasion as if they themselves were the one doing the invading, and the target's own mind and drives temporarily ceased to exist. In such cases, typical lessons or defenses which focus on mental visualization are useless, despite the majority of cases being based in just such circumstances.

     This is to say that while it may be useful to imagine an unlocked soul is like a superpower, the assertion lacks nuance which informs the general notion of how we interact with others who have the same power we do. We are not heroes nor villains whose greatest asset is the clever application of our powers in certain environments or situations, but rather individuals whose diversity and understanding of self may serve as the basis for our greatest advantages over one another. By exploiting the laziness and generalization of our enemies who expect typical and predictable approaches, we may entrap them while risking less powerful or unique abilities in the effort. To this end, I must advise that new education and training be considered for those entering recruitment stages emphasizing a deeper understanding of personal values and motivations.

-Jack Rivers

Superpowers: Shut Up, Jack

We Know You Have Like 6 PHDs, and We Do Not Care

We get that Jack is a workaholic, and that he doesn't get much of a break even if he wanted one working at the entry level. Shit's always busy there. That doesn't mean the rest of us don't work our asses off, too. You want to squeeze in even more of this hand-holding shit for the newbies? Piss off. It's not hard to work out that our powers directly match up with who we are as people on a basic level, and that sometimes we can spring a surprise on the bird-brains because they're too rigid in their thinking, but it's not a significant enough advantage to justify spending more time with these entitled assholes wasting more time on things these fuckers could be figuring out themselves on the job. Let nature and evolution do their thing, or whatever. The good ones know what's up and get their jobs done, and the dumb ones won't die less because they get another cram session before the final exam. End of discussion.

-Jonas

[Akagi]

what category will this game take place in?

[Nyakuni]

what category will this game take place in?

That depends heavily on the players.
Since the categories are arranged by what sort of sexual interactions are expected, it is most likely that if things go beyond Light, it will be because players want to. I'm comfortable from Light up to Non-Con, Human or Exotic, and some forms of Extreme, but being on one side or the other of this war doesn't necessitate characters being particularly tame/innocent or kinky/depraved. 

If I had to decide based on my opinion alone, I'd say better safe than sorry and drop it in Non-Con, due to the typical themes associated with working alongside demons, and Exotic because demons are mostly only vaguely humanoid, and some people may be into that.

[Akagi]

non con exotic sounds fun, ill mark myself as interested not sure to go with guardian or soldier, so I'm just happy with whichever the group forms around

[Nyakuni]

Recruitment

OLI: Well, firstly, I'd like to say that I understand there are policies in place, and for good reason, concerning the amount and type of information you can share with non G-6 personnel. That being said, I was hoping you could share what is reasonable and allowable with me for the sake of attempting to standardize the procedure, or provide insights into where it might be improved.
G-6: I appreciate your desire to help, and can recognize that making the practice more accessible might make recruitment efforts more successful or efficient. My concern with your suggestion is that these procedures are, by their nature, more dependent on experience and skills that take time to hone, and less on practices which can simply be passed on.
OLI: Could you give me an example, perhaps?
G-6: [brief pause while agent considers] I think that would defeat the purpose of confidentiality, unfortunately. I will still tell you what I can, but most of it may be what you could already put together from the experience of your own recruitment or interactions with our fellow Guardians.
OLI: By all means, I need to start somewhere.
G-6: Very well. To begin with, recruitment begins with choosing a candidate. We only take from two pools: those who are already significantly involved, usually by blood relation or with common ties of community and duty, and those who have recently passed under acceptable terms.
OLI: If I could stop you there, I know we have members who have been brought back from death, but could you expand on that? Why can we recruit people back from death, but not revive those who die in the field, and what terms do they need to satisfy?
G-6: I'm sorry, Oliver, but those terms are some of the factors I cannot disclose. I can, however, explain that the process of revival is possible because the soul is still intact and sealed upon death for mortals. One of the risks of accepting recruitment is that we become immortal. Harder to kill and longer lived, but also vulnerable to permanent death. Ceasing to exist all together. You should have been warned of this when you were recruited, correct?
OLI: [nod]
G-6: When a mortal dies, they are returned to the Soul Well. There, the sum of their soul's experiences and growth which makes them individual, or the essence, is parted from their core and allowed passage through the gates of the Beyond, the place where most humans think of as the true Heaven. The core of the soul then awaits an appropriate new vessel - a mortal body - in which to be born again. By releasing your Tap, you are essentially damaging your core to connect better with your current vessel. This allows your essence to infuse the vessel, strengthening it and giving it unique power, but also means the core cannot be recycled into a new vessel. So, you see, we can revive those recently deceased from the Soul Well by healing their previous vessel and returning the core before the essence escapes, but once that core is broken, there is no turning back.
OLI: I see. In that case, let's return to your explanation. You were saying [checks notes] that our recruitment candidates came from two categories. What else can you tell me?
G-6: Yes. After determining a candidate is eligible, we arrange a meeting between them and a G-6. Usually not the same one who determined their eligibility, in order to prevent bias.
OLI: How is eligibility determined? What are the criteria?
G-6: Of the criteria, all I am at liberty to disclose is that we do not accept those who sin heavily. For obvious reasons, such candidates would not be considered a good match for the kind of work we do.
OLI: [nods, gestures for G-6 to continue]
G-6: During the meeting of candidate and G-6, a simple interview takes place. The candidate is informed of their position, allowed to ask questions and assessed for signs of inappropriate behavior, and if no issues are found they are offered options.
OLI: To join, forget, or move on.
G-6: Precisely. You should have been given all the warnings any recruit would be: the risk involved including "permadeath" and the possibility of torture, the standard and tasks that would be required under your duties, and the facts of possession as well as how your angel partner would be determined. Should the candidate choose, they are accepted as a recruit and redirected to training while their partnership is prepared. Otherwise, their memories are removed and they are returned to their proper places. At that point, our task is complete.
OLI: That’s all you can say on the matter?
G-6: I’m afraid so. Anything more would require you to be G-6 yourself.

OLI: Let's get right to business, then. Please, tell me everything you feel comfortable sharing about your experience being recruited into the ranks of Hell's Soldiers.
JOE: Sure, why not. It's your cash, your hour. So, I had a lot of gambling debts. Just the worst stream of bad luck you've ever seen. Some guys didn't like that I was just digging myself a deeper hole, but they wouldn't give me the chance to earn it back! So I head home all covered in bruises and threats, and I know Bert’s goons are gonna be at my door next, but low and behold it's not. It's some other goon lookin like more shit than I do, and he says he's got an offer for me-
OLI: Sorry, you said he looked worse than you? What do you mean, how did he look?
JOE: Oh, I didn't know it at the time, but the bastard was slipping his demon’s reins a bit, giving a bit of a show, ya know? Had a face like a burn victim and these kinda, like, popped out veins and shit on his arms. It was dark, but he had a smoke, so it wasn't real hard to see, I just wasn't sure what to make of him. But he's at my house, right, and I don't have much left to my name but that place for a little longer, and my shit is in there, so I gotta go in-
OLI: He was just hanging around in the open like that without hiding his nature?
JOE: Well, it's like I say, it's dark out, right? There's, like, private fencing and whatever in these places, and I can see fine, but Jack All from the street isn't seeing shit. Anyway, I tell him to just out with it and let me have it so I can bleed out in peace in my own bed tonight, and this fucking guy. This guy tells me, “Oh, no, Mr. March, we’ve got better uses for you.”

Now, being in the kind of place I was, that was my sign to bolt, right, cause I know what it means to be more use alive than dead, and it ain't pleasant. Except this guy, he just holds up a hand, and like that- [he snaps his fingers] -I feel like I’ve just been grabbed by some mucho grande asshole, and I panic, start flailing around, and lots more when my brain catches up cause ain't nobody actually holding me.
OLI: So now you're saying he was not only clearly possessed, but using his power in an open display?
JOE: Man, you don't know my neighbourhood. Crazy shit happens all the time, nobody's gonna question a guy dangling in the air in the dark. Odds are you just don't see the rope or cord or whatever they're stringing him up with, and nobody wants to get involved in that kind of violence in the middle of the night for a stranger.
OLI: … Right. Carry on, I suppose.
JOE: [he shrugs] So at this point, I'm like, look man, everything I've got, I've got up in my… uh, well, I tell him where I've got my stash at, anyway, and I tell him it'll just go up if I don't open it right, and he says “thanks I'll keep that in mind” cool as you please, but he doesn't let up. Then he tells me he's got a job offer. That if I accept, I'll not only walk free with a new life and ID, but with some real power to turn my life around. Of course it sounds too good to be true. So I ask the catch. He says “if you fail your job training you go to hell, and if you die on the job you don't get to go anywhere after, you just die” and I'm thinking this guy has got to be nuts before he starts saying “you’ll get to make a wish, just one wish for yourself - nobody else - and it'll come true.”

At that point he'd lost me entirely to my loony bin theory, so I just go “yeah, man, of course, who would pass up on a deal like that. Sounds cool, bro, where do I sign?” Fucker pulls out a contract like from thin air and tells me to read it over, and we’ll go meet the guy who'll make the deal. I get my feet under me again and I glance at the paper, to pretend like I just read it real fast, and it's an actual honest to fuck contract! I go to take a better look at what the fuck this noise is once I'm sure there's no hidden wires around ready to strangle me or some shit and BAM!

Like I got dragged through my asshole by the nose, and I bend over to hold my face like “Jesus, what just hit me?!” Then I realize there's all this noise around us, and people, and I'm in this whole other place, just some open-air market type shit with this guy sitting at a desk shaking hands and directing folks any which way.
OLI: And of course anyone who might've seen you disappear would be more likely to just doubt what they'd seen in the dark… [disgusted]
JOE: Yeah… uh, so… these people around me are all looking like they just ate their own entrails, and some of them just keel right the fuck over there when he shakes their hand… so I'm all thinking like holy shit, what did I just sign up for? Am I drugged? Am I the crazy one? But this guy, my recruiter, he just slaps me on the back and says “welcome to the job, if you survive you’ll live better than you ever did before,” like that was the kind of gamble anybody would kill for… and, I mean, I'm that kind of guy. It's literally what I do, so I stopped and thought about it, and went like, “Okay, what are the rules, how do I win?”

“Just show them you can hold it together. You stay standing for that shake and you're in, hardest part is done. It's gonna suck, but it’ll pass. Just hold on.” He says, and then it's like practically my turn already and I'm trying to wipe all the sweat from my hands in case I lose my grip or some shit… and then this guy just holds out his hand, takes the contract from me, asks me permission to sign for me, and I agree, so we shake. And it really was like picking the meat out from between my own spine with my bare teeth. Like, deep and wrong, hard as fuck and the worst kind of pressure, and pain… and then like that gristle or whatever just came loose, and all of a sudden I'm fucking feeling like I'm floating.
OLI: …that was how they did it. That was when they opened your soul, just like that, no preparation or warning?
JOE: Uh. Yeah. What, like you can really prepare somebody for the worst trauma of their life? I don't think so. Anyway, I'm almost done. So, this desk jockey, he says welcome to the team, thumbs me in a direction, and just calls up the next guy without looking at me twice. We ended up in training after that, so that's the end of the recruitment pitch.
OLI: I see. Well… thank you again, Joey. It's been very enlightening.

OLI: It seems that not only is my process yielding unhelpful results, but that there may be even more interference and hidden influences than initially expected taking place during existing recruitment efforts. I will have to be less direct in my methods going forward if I wish to learn more about the goals and results being achieved by these practices.

[DioCarmine]

Planting a flag of interest ^_^

[DioCarmine]

@Nyakuni Love the recruitment interviews btw, couldn't help but read the Soldier recruit like he was some italian mafia member 😂

[Nyakuni]

@Nyakuni Love the recruitment interviews btw, couldn't help but read the Soldier recruit like he was some italian mafia member 😂

lol thanks, I try to vary speech patterns a bit where reasonable, and there is a legitimate schism between most Guardians and Soldiers regarding their backgrounds that leads to much more regulated vs sloppy/slang mannerisms. I figured if I'm trying to drum up enough interest for a game I should present information in a more fun/immersive way to give people an idea of what they could expect. I hope it's working. =)

[DioCarmine]

lol thanks, I try to vary speech patterns a bit where reasonable, and there is a legitimate schism between most Guardians and Soldiers regarding their backgrounds that leads to much more regulated vs sloppy/slang mannerisms. I figured if I'm trying to drum up enough interest for a game I should present information in a more fun/immersive way to give people an idea of what they could expect. I hope it's working. =)

It worked to get my interest😋 I hope we find a 4th player for this game ^^

Out of curiosity, will you yourself be playing a character in the team?

[Nyakuni]

It worked to get my interest😋 I hope we find a 4th player for this game ^^

Out of curiosity, will you yourself be playing a character in the team?

I am clearly biased but would also love to see us get enough players for me to run the game~

I don't plan to play a member of the team, though. I have so much meta knowledge that I might unintentionally influence the party direction. I'd rather it be entirely fresh minds going in. I'll mostly be running NPCs, giving descriptions of locations/events/consequences, or offering info as requested/required, including changes to your powers and things you pick up/notice while away from the mortal world.

...however. I'm very much expecting to be playing the demons/angels your characters are possessed by, unless players are interested in doing that themselves.

[DioCarmine]

I am clearly biased but would also love to see us get enough players for me to run the game~

I don't plan to play a member of the team, though. I have so much meta knowledge that I might unintentionally influence the party direction. I'd rather it be entirely fresh minds going in. I'll mostly be running NPCs, giving descriptions of locations/events/consequences, or offering info as requested/required, including changes to your powers and things you pick up/notice while away from the mortal world.

...however. I'm very much expecting to be playing the demons/angels your characters are possessed by, unless players are interested in doing that themselves.

That makes sense xD and it sounds like you'll have plenty to do even without playing a character of the team ^^ Fingers crossed this gets off the ground!

I would absolutely love for you to play the demon/angel my character is possessed by! Since TOG mentioned wanting to play a Soldier and Akagi seemed fine with going down either path, I'm also more inclined to go down the Soldier route 😊

[CurvyKitten]

Well I’ve been introduced to this lovely idea. And my idea is running along with the groups. So it may work out well. Color me interested 

[Nyakuni]

Well I’ve been introduced to this lovely idea. And my idea is running along with the groups. So it may work out well. Color me interested

Am I correctly interpreting that one or more of the other interested players brought the game to your attention so we could get started? Or were you introduced in some other mysterious way~? =o

In either case, I believe this is enough interest to warrant opening up the game! ^^ *pops a party cracker*

I've been away from my computer so far today, but once I'm able to sit down I'll set up a proper thread to get applications/character sheet guides down and more info on Soldier side clarified so that people can begin hearing up to play. ^^ I'll post here with a link once it's ready to go.

[Nyakuni]

The OOC thread is now open, and character sheets are available in the first post here or in the Archives! I'll be adding more as I go, if something says "Setting Up" please don't post there. =)

[ThisOneGal]

Now I need to actually figure out a character.

[Nyakuni]

Now I need to actually figure out a character.

Not the worst problem to have, at least.