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Before joining this RP - Things you should know:You've got to be able to check your PMs. Since this RP's going to be rather open ended as far as where your characters go and what they do, a lot of information about what you find will come through PMs from me or conversations with me. For some characters it won't be as much - so if you're afraid you're not going to be able to keep up with many, play a character who has little focus in research or spiritual sense.
You can really play what you want, but make it reasonable. If you're a 12-year-old, it's not likely you'll be able to act autonomously in any country. If for some reason you'd like to play an autonomous 12 year old, give me a good reason why that's the case. If you don't want it on your CS because you want to reveal it in the roleplay - you can just PM me your reasoning.
That said:Because there's going to be a lot to manage in this RP - I need to limit how many people can be in at once. I'd love to open it up to everyone, but I'm just not going to be able to manage 30 people all PMing me on different topics. As such, I'm going to set a player limit at 10 for now. So:
Currently Accepting Character Sheets! Slots Taken: 5/10 Finished Characters: 5
PremiseThis is a modern fantasy mystery RP focused on the supernatural. Each player will be playing the role of a paranormal investigator who is well-known enough in the field to get called in on investigations throughout the world. This doesn't necessarily mean that
you, yourself have to be famous. If you aren't a well-known individual, however, it's likely you're part of a famous investigation team. This might seem restrictive, but the reason for this is to open the RP such that we can have cases located all over the world. The first case will have every investigator meeting each other (if they aren't already a team, you're certainly welcome to partner up while making your CS) and working to solve a case that has proven interesting to them. It's likely that by the next case, you'll all be getting called in and may as well be
considered a team because of your work on the first. It's up to you guys if you actually do form an official investigation team, though.
As the GM, I will not be part of the team. I will be playing the role of the client - any important NPCs, and the haunt itself.
Cases
With your reputation in the paranormal world, it's not uncommon that you receive letters in the mail asking for your assistance on a case. Many of them, even the promising ones, turn out to have no evidence of a supernatural presence at all. Normally, if you can't find anything significant about the sender or the location with a few minutes of research, it wouldn't be above you to have to brush the letter aside to set room for more important cases. But this letter was intriguing, even at your first glance. It was wax sealed, something not often seen these days, and right under the seal in big red letters:
Urgent
Normally, upon opening the letter it wasn't uncommon for people to be begging for help, but urgent? That was strong wording.
The letter contained a case that seemed more interesting than normal. It was a manor turned historical tourist destination - now a bed and breakfast, people can experience the history of the house first-hand. You're being offered not only your standard fee for the time, but free travel and board at the bed and breakfast itself. Even more intriguing were the other guests that were supposed to make their way there. You recognized some names, and they were all just as, if not more renowned than yourself, whether that was for good or for bad, it made the case much much more interesting. Who exactly would need that many people at once? And if they were offered the same amount, what kind of money did they have to spend?
The Location:
Altringham Manor
Initial Research:
Altringham manor is an incredibly large mansion built on top of a rocky cliff overlooking the beach in Cornwall, UK. It was built by Arthur Altringham in 1892, and he moved in with a wife, four daughters and a son. Arthur died in his bed in 1918. The house was vacated and boarded up. It remained so for 32 years until it was marked for demolition in 1950. Local families spoke out and saved the Mansion. It was preserved as a historical home, and eventually became part house museum part bed and breakfast.
Initial research doesn't turn up much when it comes to evidence of a haunting. Most stories are small claims such as bed sheets retaining the shape of a human body, or rooms giving off bad smells. The most serious of cases was very recent, however. A month ago, a field trip brought a class of Secondary School Students to view the house. One of these students mysteriously disappeared during the trip. More interesting is the fact that it wasn't a student known to wander off alone. You can find several articles on the missing student - but the case was never solved. Since then, the house has been closed off for visitors completely.
When I initially started this case up - I wrote a unique letter to each player. I then realized that it didn't really reveal anything that wouldn't be revealed in the first initial meeting anyhow.
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Rules + General flow of the roleplayGeneral way this roleplay will play out will be:
Each character brings their own expertise to the team. The tech guy might have cameras - emf readers - recorders - etc. The spiritualist might be able to sense spirits that aren't making themselves known yet. The researcher can gain far more knowledge on the history of the area/place/owner. The occultist knows about all kinds of rituals and curses that might be around, etc. Basically we're looking for a group of 6-8 people to play the main characters and to bring something unique. I myself will not be playing one of the team. Instead, I will be the clients and the spirits/whatever kind of haunt it is.
The flow will go something like:
-Characters meet each other + the client
-Client gives an overview of what's happening and a brief history
-Characters are given free reign of the area - I'm not going to force a linear path anywhere. You can talk to whoever whenever (so long as nobody else occupies the person/thing). I'll be making and putting maps in the OOC so you know the layout of the area - and you can choose to go wherever you want
-Characters (together or solo) work to solve the mystery of the area and get rid of whatever is there in one way or another
-Rinse/repeat for however long we want to go.
The Rules:
- Some of the knowledge of each haunt will be delivered by PM. It is up to the player who recieves the PM what they divulge, whether it be everything or only parts. However, if the knowledge they withold is keeping up the RP, I will have it come out another way.
- If you can't keep up with PMs very easily, you might want to make a character that won't get them often (example: if you're strictly an exorcist, most information would have to be gained on your own, asking those who would have done the research)
- You CAN die in more violent haunts. I likely won't kill you on the spot super easily, but if your character does something incredibly risky without any form of attempting to protect themselves, I won't hesitate here. =P You can always alleviate risks by doing things like getting a charm made, or learning some spiritual stuff (albeit not as strong as someone who's been doing it their whole life) etc.
- Don't get sexual here. Feel free to have a romance on the side or even make love triangles if you wish; but if you want to go any further than kissing/embracing just do it in pms on your own time.
- Don't take control of another person's character, but feel free to if you've previously PM'd them and asked permission. Collaborative posts are encouraged, so don't be afraid to!
- Don't double post. I may PM you new information though, and if I give you permission in that PM to double post, go ahead.
- If you need to leave the RP for any reason, that's fine, just let me know so I can get someone else in! I'm totally fine with people dropping out, just don't disappear (however appropriate for the roleplay that would be).
Some notes about character roles/talentsResearcherThose who've based their character about researching the haunt and the people/places involved:
Step 1 - Decide what you want to actually research. Maybe you're looking for something about the location's history (preliminary research on the case will always give some background, but never all of it, so you can choose to dig deeper). Maybe you're looking into past reports of hauntings. Maybe you want to know about a specific person who lived/frequented the location, etc. You can choose to do any of these. Note, the more specific you get, obviously the more focused your research will be so you're likely to find more on the topic (Ex: researching paranormal events in the area might get you a decent list of paranormal incidents, but researching a specific incident will get you juicier details.
Step 2 - Get your character in a position that they can research this. A laptop is fine, even, to see what you can pull up on certain things (and this is probably your best bet). But you might choose to sit part of the day out researching the location at the city records. If you do this - I'll try my best not to bore you there.
Step 3 - PM me what you're looking for as far as research goes.
Obviously, if two people look for the same thing, you'll get very similar answers, but at least we'll break up monotony this way.
Note: Anyone can research, realistically, so I'm allowing all characters to. But people who make a character based mostly on research know better channels to get information. Whether that be good contacts, seedier bars, etc. They'll get far more mileage from what they research.
Spiritualists/PsychicsYour job is easy. You're going to just be posting, wandering around the location, interacting, etc. I'll be PMing you periodically letting you know what you might feel/see. It's your choice how you reveal this information in your posts, or if you even tell the rest of the characters. You also might know warding magics, ways to exorcise/etc. List these in your character sheet and know you're the only ones who can combat violent spirits outside the occultists or hunters.
Occultists/HuntersYou guys are basically experts on the occult. You combat spirits, you know how to break curses, etc. You generally use more conventional means (rock salt, etc). You might have some latent psychic powers, too, in which case you have the same role as the psychics up there when it comes to seeing things. When it comes to this role, you can kind of think of Sam and Dean Winchester from Supernatural when it comes to how they solve things. You have tons of knowledge when it comes to curses and such, but you might not know what kind of curse or spirit/etc it is until it's been revealed to you.
Tech Guys/GalsAt the start of each investigation I'll be giving everyone a floor plan. You guys will be the ones deciding what equipment you're leaving and where. If you just say a certain room, I'll assume you get a good vantage point to see the entire room. However, if one of the researchers says something like "this mirror has had a ton of activity in the past" and you want to focus a camera or something on it - go for it, just let me know you're doing it in character. You guys also will decide distribution of equipment. So, you decide if someone is going to walk off with a recorder for EVPs/etc. Finally, you decide where base camp is - and you decide if you want to man it/not, or if you want to go out with some other character and do some recording or something.
Base CampThis isn't entirely a role as much as it is something that anyone in the game can do at any point they feel like. There's gonna be a base camp set up somewhere and it's likely 2 people will be manning it at any given time. This will be somewhat like the spiritualist's job when it comes to play. When you see something on the monitors or any equipment you've left, I'll let you know. We're going to automatically assume you have temperature levels of each room as well, and that these cameras have sound pickup (which you can swap to with a headset to hear what's going on in a room if you wish). When a night ends - We'll just assume you go over the recordings/etc during the day and you can do it super fast (as to make sure you aren't occupied all day listening to recordings from the night before and thus bored in the RP). I'll let you know what you find on recordings around midday.
Any other kind of characterThis roleplay's about freedom so if you have another kind of character you want to bring in, go ahead! We'll make up some rules that allow you to do things.
The Character SheetTemplate:
Name:
Gender:
Age: (You can go with any age, but you do need to be known in the supernatural scene. So be warned that you're probably not a normal highschooler if you're 17.)
Appearance: (Picture, text or both, up to you.)
Talent: (Lots of freedom here. Anything you do when it comes to your role and what special things your character can do.)
Background:
Tidbits: (Any extra stuff you want to add to the character sheet like what kind of person you get along with, a theme song, whatever you want, feel free. No big deal to me, here.)
If you have any questions making your character sheet, let me know.
Accepted Characters
Name: Trinidad "Trini" Castell Blanco
Gender: Female
Age: 15
Appearance: Trini stands at a rather unremarkable 5'1'', with a frail, light figure and slightly round face. Her hair is long and somewhat wavy, reaching to her mid-back, and is chestnut-brown in color. Her eyes are large and blue, though they're often hidden behind a pair of sunglasses for her own comfort. The sunglasses have dark purple frames, with a small cross hanging from the right side rim. The cross is both a decoration and a protective charm, and has been blessed by the church she frequents.
A fan of loose clothes and especially animal hoodies, she can be most often found wearing something of the sort when not dressed in ritual robes. Her favorite hoodie is a fluffy, dark gray one with bunny ears on the hood and a small tail at the back, simply due to it feeling good to move around in and being warm. No matter the attire though, she always carries with her a rather large silver cross, usually seen hanging around her neck. Like the one hanging from the rim of her glasses, it, too, offers her protection, but also offensive power when it comes to ghosts.
Talent: Trini is effectively a priestess. She is able to weaken or completely exorcise spirits through citing the bible, rituals and the use of holy items, such as crosses and holy water. However, each exorcising - or even an attempt - is fairly taxing to her body, and considering she's still but a teenage girl (and a frail one at that), she needs her rest in between. In addition, she can see and sense ghosts and the like, though it would seem that her powers when it comes to that aren't quite what they used to be a few years back when she was at her peak. Her exorcising and spirit-sensing powers also seem to somewhat conflict with each other (most likely tied to her conflicting emotions when it comes to using said powers), and so when she's using one, she cannot use the other one effectively, leaving her completely defenseless during longer rituals, as she doesn't even have normal human sight to help her see around her. Still, her exorcism is powerful and for that alone, she's very renowned.
Background: For as long as she can remember, perhaps even from the very moment she was born, Trini has been able to see things others cannot. Of course, when young, she wasn't really aware of her talent; to her, there was no such thing as "supernatural" - the ghosts of the previous residents of her home, the spirits she could see play around the yard every night until dawn, and the colorful auras that alerted her to a person approaching far before any sound or sight ever could were always very much real to her. They were normal, things she assumed everyone saw but didn't just bother to talk about.
Her ability wasn't strong a first, and perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she "felt" rather than "saw" the things around her. They had no true physical form, after all. For example, instead of seeing the ghosts as something human shaped she saw them as distortions in the air, as light without source. Something she just knew was there. And, as their shapes and voiced grew clearer, Trini befriended them like she would any human living in her home. In fact, young Trini spent much of her childhood playing with her ghastly friends instead of going out to spend time with her own kind - after all, the kids outside already had people to play with, while her friends at home? They always did appear lonely to her. So, she would sit on the living room couch or the swing outside on the yard, gaze fixed somewhere beyond anything her parents could see for hours, just talking and laughing to (what appeared to be) herself. This worried her parents of course, and for years they thought their daughter suffered from schizophrenia, as did most of her peers - after all, what else would explain her nonsensical behaviour? It didn't help that she always kept insisting her friends were real and was very genuinely confused when she realized nobody else could neither see nor converse with them.
It was only a little after starting school however, that Trini once and for all learnt that the things she saw, heard and felt were not normal nor something to tell your friends about - the constant bullying she faced whenever she tried to introduce her classmates to her old friends convinced her of such. And so, despite her powers growing stronger as she aged, Trini did her best to ignore her otherworldly friends during class and recess, being close to tears every time she had to turn her back to them and pretend they weren't there. It was incredibly difficult at first, but she grew better at it gradually. She was forced to, after all, by her friends, parents and her psychiatrist. And yet, the more she ignored her old friends, the sadder they became. Even when she couldn't see them, she could feel as much. It was incredibly hard for young Trini. Painful, even, to the point she eventually tried to rid herself of her skill. She tried to ignore it, tried to blind herself from the truth and deny her friends when asked by her psychiatrist for the umpteenth time if she could still see these supposed ghosts of hers.
And as Trini grew, surely enough, she did grow blinder and blinder - but not the way she had intended. Perhaps it was due to her powers growing stronger and stronger and eventually being too much for her brain or eyes to handle, but by the time she was 10, Trini was completely blind in the eyes. But what she lost in regular sight, she gained back tenfold in her ability to see the supernatural. This did not help her cause the slightest, and while the bullying did lessen somewhat (perhaps the teachers were more motivated to protect a blind girl from such harm than they were a girl with perfect sight, she didn't know), it was increasingly difficult to make human friends. It didn't help that many started to consider her cursed - after all, she had started by saying she saw weird things, and now went blind without there being anything physically wrong with her eyes. So, Trini grew secluded, cut away from the real world and more and more tied to what lay beyond it. She was alone with the things others called her crazy for.
The first one to bring her hope, to light up the darkness she was engulfed in, was a relatively young, local priest. Trini's family had never been that religious, but after overhearing a few girls talking about how finding God had made their life better, she had, in her desperation to find someone to accept her, ended up wandering to the local church (a task made possible by the holy aura the place emitted, easy to follow even from far away). There, the priest told her that rather than a curse, he considered her ability a gift from God. It was something she could use to rid the word of evil spirits and help those lost on earth find their light.
The concept of "evil" spirits was foreign to Trini at first. The ones she had seen so far had all been benevolent. The reason, which she didn't know back then, was that her power was what had kept evil spirits at bay the whole time. See, it turned out that she had a natural knack for exorcism, which was where her ability to see also stemmed from. As such, she learned how to exorcise ghosts, spirits and the like in a relatively short time under the church's teachings, and while at first, Trini was very reluctant to make disappear a creature her old friends so much resembled... in time she started to change her views. After getting rid of a few evil spirits, she actually started to like it. Enjoy it, even. It felt like she could finally let out all ten years of frustration she'd felt while unwillingly seeing things she didn't want to, things that labeled her a freak and eventually stripped her from her sight. It was like getting revenge on an old adversary. And yet, it was not. A part of her, the little girl in her still considered all ghosts her friends, and their painful removal from this world - often against their will - was not something she could do without suffering along with them. And knowing that part of her actually enjoyed it, she couldn't help but feel guilty, and sometimes even be found crying after an exorcising job was done. She felt like she used a power meant to communicate for fighting. She felt it unfair. Felt herself unworthy of her power to see.
Perhaps that was why said power has started to weaken as of late.
Either way, Trini is a famous exorcist and a priestess, often called in to get rid of malevolent ghosts or guide lost souls to light and the like. Naturally, she no longer attends school. Nobody knows how she spends her free time (if any), as she tends to stay inside behind a locked door when not out performing her duties, something that hasn't changed from her childhood years.
Name: David Kenneth
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Appearance: Kenneth is not a pleasant man to behold. His figure is tall and thin, giving his silhouette the impression of a scarecrow. His face is frankly that of a man a fair bit older than himself. Dark bags under beady, brown eyes, a wide, thin mouth, and a generally haggard and melancholy expression do nothing to improve his long, angular features. Aside from his gangling build, his skin is also unhealthily pale; one could not be faulted for thinking him to be some sort of walking dead. His dress sense does not improve his figure. Thick, dark hair worn in a vague up-do, concealing none of his slightly-receding hairline, a dark suit that one would think would be reserved for funerals, and the only notable color on his entire person being a red tie-clip in the shape of the suit of clubs.
Talent: To put it simply, Kenneth is a fake. A fraud, a sham, an impostor, an imitation. He possesses no special traits nor marketable abilities. In fact, he does not even believe in the supernatural. However, it is this skepticism that is his "talent," if one were to call it that. By knowing for certain that the supernatural is not real, he can impose upon it characteristics that he finds more suitable. However, his interpretation is only valid if generally similar to the common interpretation of such phenomena, and his viewpoint must either be shared among those witness to the entity, or be the only one. His skepticism also holds most supernatural beings at bay; they hold no power over him because he does not allow them to. This is nothing as fanciful as a magical ward or anything like it; they merely find him repulsive and make efforts to avoid him. In matters unrelated to the paranormal, Kenneth is a consummate liar. Deception is his specialty, expertise, profession and passion. As a deceiver, he is especially keen to deception itself, and the many forms it takes. Imitations such as himself are clear as day to him, and he has particular insight into their machinations.
Background: David Kenneth is a man known world-wide in the Paranormal community for his reliability in dealing with complex and often dangerous phenomena, though he prices his work highly. What is far less known is that David Kenneth is a con-man. In any assignment he undertakes, his foremost priority is profit, most frequently at the expense of his client's mental and physical well-being. However, in this he is truly a professional. The majority of his victims are so utterly bamboozled that they have no idea that they were ever scammed. He is not opposed to taking straightforward jobs nor working in teams, as long as the price is right. And as many can attest, he can be quite the negotiator.
His background is truly nothing notable. No great tragedies, prophecies, mysteries or anything of that like occurred. The whole world isn't like the theater, you know. Rather, he grew up in Dorset, attended university in London, learned his trade from some of his classmates, and then decided that this was how he would make his living. There was no higher calling or hidden meaning. He always was and always will be in it for the money. Though his personal philosophies are quite strange and often confusing to the common man, this much rings clear: money is a very valuable thing.
Tidbits:
A leitmotif, for fun.
Name: Sally Williams
Gender: Female
Age: 27 Years Old
Appearance: A frumpy but slim woman who often dons an over-sized blouse tucked into a long skirt with black tights and Mary Janes. There is something almost distinctly neotenic about her face however masked behind thick framed glasses and unkempt bangs. Although her hair is almost always a mess that sticks which way and that, she generally has the back of it pulled into a (unintentionally) side-swept bun. Despite her bedraggled appearance, Sally is a person of extreme normality; nothing about her stands out—dull brown hair and eyes, a figure hidden under heavy clothes, and a quiet untempered voice.
Talent: Although well-trained in a variety of ghost tracking equipment, Sally has never actually seen any kind of paranormal activity via said equipment and thus doesn't have any experience with such occurrences even though she can set up, monitor, and understand the jumbled mess of information that is recorded on her complicated machines. Perhaps not ghost savvy but definitely technically skilled, Sally has various odd skills that she has assembled over the years including basic paramedic/EMT knowledge, polysomnography, abnormal psychology, and the unfortunate ability to edit video feeds and photography (*see history below).
Background: A blocked memory or perhaps there was nothing for her to remember, an inordinate trauma at a young age has caused Sally a lifetime of obsession, seeking answers where there are none to be found. When she was but nine years old several children including herself had been whisked away by some unknown entity in broad daylight. It caused a panic among the community; police and search dogs had been sent all around town, locals tried to help in any way they could, but after a month of looking the search was called off. However, three months afterwards, some of the children were returned to their homes, standing at the front doors in the middle of the night crying and/or confused, Sally was one of those children. Three of the kids were never found. While none remember what happened (or if it even happened but the news articles are still documented both online and archived in the local libraries to prove it did) all the returning children ended up with some sort of trauma. Some were unlucky, no longer able to function in reality anymore but Sally managed to come out with her sanity intact...Although becoming introverted and obsessed with the supernatural.
Soon after her return home her family decided to move; Sally had become obsessed, following paths and imitating events she had thought had happened and her parents no longer wanted to live in a place with such bad memories, especially one that was effecting the mental health of their only daughter. They ended up moving into the city but Sally didn't change, if anything her obsession progressively got worse and once she graduated from high school she refused to further her education or find a steady job instead spending her time wandering places that were rumored to be haunted with nothing but the disposable cameras she could afford on her own and surfing the web for information about capturing the paranormal on film. Her parents were aware of her strange hobby but not to the extent it was. Sally wanted to prove something, but she didn't know what exactly.
Unable to maintain a job and dedicate as much time to her "hobby" as she would like, Sally eventually came into the company of a phony ghost hunting "reality" TV show aptly titled Haunted. Unfortunately her passions for filming ghosts was mistaken as a very convincing audition and while given the part, she soon realized that her fellow cast members were all frauds with little interest in actually finding spirits but promoting their image and soon-to-follow product line. Rarely on screen and mostly in the background, she had learned how to handle the equipment given to her but at the same time was expected to make the staged hauntings look as "real as possible". However soul-crushing she found the whole experience to be, Sally held out in the hope that she would experience a genuine haunting some day, it never happened. By the second season the show had become popular but she was replaced by season three for someone more eye catching and sociable.
She took the money from her time on TV to buy her own equipment and truly dedicate herself to studying the paranormal though even with said high-tech equipment she has never had an experience with any kind of paranormal activity. She adapted her own methods for using the equipment and mostly spent her time going from one place to another monitoring locations that were rumored to be haunted and logging all and every bit of data she recorded, ultimately with no proof or success on her end. But it couldn't last forever and her money has almost dwindled into obscurity, making her desperate to find another gig.
Tidbits:
Equipment: EMF Meter, EVP Recorders, Electric Thermometers and Mercury Thermometer, Laser Grids, Infrared Lights, Digital and Non-Digital Photography Camera, Assortment of Video Cameras (All equip; Waterproof, night vision, high definition, and infrared), DVR Systems, Headsets, Radio, Walkie-talkies
Medical Equipment; EEG, EOG, EMG, EKG
Name: Zachariah West
Gender: Male
Age: 66 years old
Appearance:
Talent(s):
Zachariah is a demonologist, as well as a practicing exorcist. His preferred style of exorcism relies on precise quotations from scripture, specifically a copy of the Geneva Bible he is always seen carrying around inside his coat pocket. He generally prefers this version due to the forcefulness of its material, adding a much needed edge in his verbal combat against spirits. A quick skim through the bible reveals that its language is of old outdated English, dating back to the 16th century. There are six languages in all that Zachariah has proficiency in (Latin, French, English of course, Hebrew, Italian and Greek). He also keeps on him copies of the Apocrypha as well as the Book of Enoch. He has attended as well as given a number of lectures concerning the names of demons and the nature of demons, often citing The Lesser Key of Solomon as his primary source of information. In the 1970s he took his exorcism course at a seminary school in the Vatican, exchanging notes with a number of acquaintances he still works with today, a number of them priests within the Roman Catholic Church. While he doesn't consider himself Catholic, he finds that he respects their methods. Sometimes he might team up with a priest, shouting the scripture while the priest beside him performs a rite. What he lacks in sophistication Zachariah makes up in force of tongue, having an extremely boastful voice that demands the utmost attention.
Background:
Zachariah was born and grew up in French Quarter of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. He is more than familiar with the St. Louis Cathedral, and spent his childhood being rushed on Sundays to church in a smart little suit that his mama thought made him look terribly handsome. His mama and papa were poor as dirt. Mama worked as a nanny while papa would work the night shift at banks on janitorial duty. Being in such an artistic district, Zachariah would find himself drawn to artists and musicians allike, despising his parent's deep faith for a more down to earth philosophy of "me, myself, and I". He especially clicked with the musical crowd. As a teenager, Zachariah would sneak out from school during lunch, have a couple of smokes with the guys, before tugging at a bass cello string. They had called him the life of the party then. He was also a gambling boy, eventually becoming a gambling man.
He dropped out of high school, causing his parents to become incredibly disappointed, wondering what had happened to their "little angel". Not that it mattered to Zachariah, who only wanted to spend the rest of his life making music and maybe even get a record deal. However, things looked slim for him. The civil rights movement was just starting, and many men his age had decided to boycott the shopping services off of Canal Street. He was invited to join by many of his parent's friends, but he found the movement to be pathetic and not worth the trouble. He doubted that much would change, and frankly wanted to stay as far away from his parents and their friends as possible, before they tried to match him up with a good looking girl or something even sillier like convincing him to study to become a pastor. He went to work at a grocery store as usual, ignoring his friends and their scrambles with authorities. He spent his off days practicing with the cello, determined to impress, and started saving up his money for a decent apartment. He knew he was at a disadvantage, and he knew how people looked at him. He just felt it didn't warrant any sort of trouble. He was almost like an old man; comfortable and unaffected, but young in his disregard. He had enough smarts to stay out of people's way, and he wanted to do nothing but live a comfortable life free of others breathing down his neck. Eventually he would disappear from other people's lives altogether, buying an apartment in the bad part of town, and losing to himself to his music. Around him, his friends were trying to get into college, or boycotting businesses. Some of his friends joined the Black Panther movement, while others moved north. Without a band to aid him, Zachariah had no choice but to audition solo, which he tried to do plenty of times. Yet, nobody would take him. It bittered him, how focused everyone was on this movement when all he wanted to do was play his instrument. He took to the streets, making pocket change money from his performances. Some days he made a decent amount of money, where as other days somebody was in a rotten mood and would roughen him up a bit, He continued playing regardless, even when his cello had gone totaled. He just made makeshift instruments, things that produced sound but had no value. One day during one of his performances he was arrested, presumably for "disturbing the peace".
He didn't understand it, why he was being punished for something he wanted to be no part of. In his jail he was met with the faces of peers who looked so angry it frightened him. Four months in, Zachariah had no strength to be angry, he could only think about his dreams and wept, finally finding the strength to pray for forgiveness. For what, he had no clue.
He was released on bail, by an anonymous donor. He would never know anything about the man other than the fact that he was white, and apparently rich. He had arranged for him to meet with a record dealership, intending to cash in on something young, new and hip. It was the turn of the century, and people's perspectives were beginning to change. It wasn't to say that the old ideas were dead, some ideas die hard, but nobody looked at him like he wasn't even there anymore. They looked at him, and they saw talent. It filled him with hope.
He was hitched with a group, who called themselves "The Voodoo Men". It was one of those New Age Jazz groups. Not exactly old school, but not new school either. It was something for the Bohemian crowd that still lingered from the fifties to enjoy. They lived the scene, dropping acid and taking other hallucinogenic drugs, Eventually one of them suggested they started actually practicing voodoo, to which none of them objected. It wasn't real voodoo after all, just some harmless fun. It wasn't until one of the members of the band fell incredibly ill that Zachariah began to worry. It wasn't the average sort of ill, although it began that way; with him vomiting up stomach fluids and his skin turning cold and slimy. It was during winter season, so naturally it was assumed he was running a fever. Then, he started claiming to see things, but that was written off as a more of a drug effect than anything. It wasn't until Zachariah began noticing that things like his keys were starting to turn up missing that things took a turn for the worse. They all shared a small apartment together, so naturally they slept in the same room. Zachariah awoke to the sound of nails against wood, followed by a scream that he would never forget ever in his life. He awoke seeing his friend dead, with the sick friend standing over it with a knife in hand. When asked about it in court, the lad claimed that a god had ordered him to kill, saying that the admittedly out of tune musician was holding the group back. After the murderer was jailed the group disbanded, and once again Zachariah was left out of a home. While he still worked for the company, doing random gigs with random artists, he still couldn't help but worry about his former friend turned monster. Everywhere else there had been accounts of murders influenced by hallucinogenic drugs, yet somehow this felt bigger than that. He visited his former friend regularly, and each time he seemed less and less like a friend and more like a stranger. He was even told by his jailers strange tales about how the man spoke in tongues and performed seemingly impossible physical feats. The man had become nearly superhuman.
Suspicious, Zachariah consulted the woman they had been buying their voodoo supplies from, believing that she might have some helpful information on the matter. What he heard from her terrified him, for according to her the spirit that had overtaken his friend was no god, but a dark and terrible demon that latched onto the souls of the creatively inclined. What really frightened him was the suggestion that he might be next. So, in an effort to free both himself and his friends from what he perceived to be a terrible curse, he asked the woman what he must do, only to get absolutely nothing in response. Agitated, fearful, and incredibly depressed, Zachariah scoured whatever library he could get into for information on the "unknown". As expected, nothing came up, and he was going to give up until he saw an ad for an exorcist in the local newspaper. With little to no options left, Zachariah gave the exorcist a call.
From the day he picked up the phone and made that call, to the present period, Zachariah had begun his journey into the world of demonology.
The man he called was a Lawrence Chance, his ministry being The Second Chance Ministry. It was a terrible and not so subtle gimmick, but it worked. And Lawrence had connections, oh he had so many connections. He decided to settle his business of exorcisms in New Orleans, due to him hearing that it was a cesspool for spiritual anomalies including voodoo and witchcraft. The day he received the disjointed call from young Zachariah was the day he received his first "apprentice" for lack of a better word. In spite of his comedic gimmick, Lawrence was strict, and a no-nonsense sort of guy. To him, exorcism was a serious business, as such was any business that dealt with demons. He informed Zachariah that his friend could very well be a lost cause. Frankly he sounded surprised that the man wasn't dead.
He agreed to exorcise the man free of charge, as long as Zachariah would aid him in the exorcism. Zachariah didn't ask why, only agreeing due to the fact that such an act of kindness could not be overlooked. He had his doubts, not believing fully that an exorcism would ever work. He only hoped, and even prayed that his friend would get better.His prayers felt so weird to him, especially after all that he'd done since the last time he asked a favor from his parents' god. Somehow, he felt as though he was intruding. And so, the exorcist came, and Zachariah stood beside him and watched as the man commanded a demon out from his friend's body. The experience was exhilarating. Never before had Zachariah seen so much energy, not even in his performances. Somehow it was scary, yet calming at the same time. Just seeing his friend free from the illness that ailed him put tears in his eyes. He wasn't sure what to say, his friend was free from the chains that bound him spiritually and for the first time in months they could embrace without any fear. Zachariah wasn't sure how to thank the priest, and tried offering him money, which the priest had promptly turned down. Lawrence explained that knowing that the man was safe was reward enough, and that somehow God had told him that what he had done was necessary and important. Still, Zachariah would not give up. He found out what church the man attended and started attending the church himself. At first he sat far away as to not draw attention to himself, later choosing to sit closer and closer until the exorcist had no choice but notice him. Finally Lawrence got fed up with the boy and pulled him aside, asking him just what he wanted to do in life. Zachariah explained that he wanted to save lives, just like he had done with his friend. He wanted to fight against the demons of the world.
Lawrence offered to teach him, on account that he goes back to school, and does excellent in his grades. He also demanded that Zachariah got into a good seminary school. Determined, Zachariah did as he was told, and even exceeded expectations. He got top marks in his classes, and got a scholarship to Centenary College of Louisiana for Religious studies, after submitting a paper on spiritual warfare and his experiences with it. He studied there for four years, working up a good enough academic record to place him in a seminary school where he could learn how to dispel spirits in the same way Lawrence could. During his time at the college he took an interest in occultism, and demonology, and he would ask Lawrence about it often. Lawrence often warned about such things, calling such matters "dangeous". The priest was kind but hard on the boy, knowing exactly what kind of trouble he was capable of getting into. For the last few years, he had allowed Zachariah to stay at his large home, so long as he didn't mind acting as a cleaning boy for pay. Sometimes Zachariah would invite his friend who was studying to become a psychologist over for a quick little jig, for old time's sake. It was Lawrence's idea to send Zachariah to the Vatican. He had good connections there, and knew of a man who was interested in the subject of Voodoo. Zachariah would be able to take a course on exorcism there, and could continue if he so wished. The college he attended would allow for such a feat to occur. All Zachariah had to do was work for it.
Eventually Zachariah would study for two months in the Vatican, before going returning to Louisiana to attend the Notre Dame Seminary Graduate School of Theology, earning a Masters Degree in Pastoral Studies and continuing his vocation in France. From there, he would move to Boston where he began forming connections with fellow spiritualists, as well as rebuilding former connections with the priests-in-training he had met at the Vatican. Eventually he would become a brilliant scholar on the subject of demons, having extensively studied them in college and forming an intense interest in the subject matter in particular. He had been approached by many spiritualist groups and industries, including a couple members of the Freemasonry. However, Zachariah prefers not to belong to any one group, and would rather work alone. His reasoning is simple; exorcism is a dangerous field of practice. Anything can happen.
He often comes back home every now and then; sometimes to give lectures, sometimes to visit prisoners who are in need of spiritual guidance, sometimes to give advice to teens who are at a crossroads. Zachariah simply does not wish to see anyone repeat the same mistakes he once made. He still has nightmares about the time his friend had been possessed by demons, terrible dreams where the demons would return, and this time they were after him.
Tidbits:
ThemeAlternative Theme
Name: John Merrick
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Appearance:
Joshua is a fairly good-looking man, although he himself denies it. He is of average height and weight, somewhat athletic, but really it’s just because he doesn’t want to get out of shape and unhealthy like when he was a kid. His facial features aren’t quite sharp and his face is soft, reminiscent of a puppy, but the lines on his face are straight and give off a certain edge to his face. If he’s not smiling in the distance he’s almost always looking like he’s deep in thought. His oak shade of hair is quite long and wavy, but always swept to one side or the other. His eyes, much like his hair are deep brown like the oak tree but with tiny specks of gold like an autumn leaf. And much like his face they are soft to look at, but matched with the right facial expression his eyes have been told to appear similar to those of a canine, adorable young pup or ferocious wolf. In terms of style, he wears what is comfortable, and if the weather permits it a plain white shirt, jeans, and sneakers is his go to style.
Talent: Joshua has a degree in folklore studies from a good university. He’s a very smart man, and a lot of thing came easy to him, especially school. Much of what he learned in college he used as a foundation for what he would do in life. He didn’t know at first, but eventually he became a writer, well that’s calling it a stretch since writing isn’t his main goal. His main goal is knowing more about the unknowable. To him the paranormal world is a mystery and something that he can’t solve…yet. In the short few years, he has been gaining more and more knowledge about the paranormal world and shows no signs of ever stopping.
John has a sort of sixth sense, not that he relies or uses it willingly. While in no means he can be called, a psychic or an exorcist in the few years he’s been dealing with paranormal phenomenon he’s been lucky enough to hear a sort of voice or have vibes when it comes to the paranormal. He’s sure that it’s not going to develop into anything more than a cold air in his personal space and a voice in his head, but he’s thankful that “it”, or rather “she” since it’s a female voice warns him of the things he doesn’t fully understand yet.
Background: Joshua’s had a fairly normal childhood. Normal for him is that of broken one. His father turned out to be gay and decided to run away with some drug dealer from New Jersey. His mother decided that a life of drunkenness was what suited her the most and as soon as stuff became too depressing for her to handle. And a sister that beside hi. He didn’t really take a lot of this to heart since his so called parents didn’t raise him, paid no attention to him when they had him, and weren’t exactly good parents when they were “trying”. For the most part, he’s blocked that ugly and unnecessarily complicated part of his life. If there was anything that he sort-of-kind-of feels slightly reminiscent about it’s the sister he should have had, it would probably have made his childhood a bit better. Then again, he’d rather not share that childhood with anyone.
The people that properly raised him were the various uncles and aunts who let him stay at their house so long as he didn’t cause any trouble. He rarely did cause people problems, but every now and then he’d do something stupid, often dangerous and life threatening. This was his rebellious phase. He got bored at high school a lot. Once he was out of high school and over eighteen, he immediately went to university. At the time he just wanted to get a business degree since he could have probably gotten a job in stocks or something with it. It was about a semester in when his roommate, and then best friend introduced him to a panel being held in their university by some so called exorcist. It was about some weird paranormal stuff that invoked the belief that annoying lies made up to make children hopeful that there was someone over there watching them. He remained skeptical and cynical about the whole thing, but after being intrigued, and annoyed at not knowing, he finally accepted the fact that he rather liked not knowing about certain stuff. He changed his course and decided on a new kind of life. Something that was a lot more…chilling.
Years went by and he graduated with a degree in folklore studies. He had the option to pursue a doctorate, but that would have been a waste of time on his part since filed work was more interesting. It took a while for things to pick up, but after a while the word got around that a new guy was “looking for some real weird shit”. Eventually he got around to writing a single book with thirteen stories; he thought it was funny to have thirteen stories. Of those thirteen that he published, he’s 90% sure that nine were the real deal, the fake one’s were just there for their insight value. Most of his other cases wound being fakes or just paranoia, but he still helps out when he can even if they were. For the most part he does so because he’d hate himself if he turned back on people. He didn't want to be like that kind of person.
Every now and then, he’d experience the real thing which is what he’s really looking for and get lots of info. There’s really no purpose to this or maybe there is and only he knows. A friend of his told him it’s somewhat of an obsession, but he’s told him he’s fine. The real things are often dangerous and cause problems for him, but really even the frauds do. He’s been lucky enough to get out of the bad stuff safely thanks to a certain voice in his head, but even though he can get out of the situation freely that doesn’t those involved can. In those situations, he give them his personal advice and hopes they take it.
Tidbits: He owns a small flat in above a bookshop. The bookshop is his day job, where he gets his money for his traveling expenses. The store is co owned by his best friend former roommate, who luckily enough is both rich and a big fan of his stories.
And yeah for kicks his theme
this.
