The Year was 2035.

The world was at the pinnacle of its corrosion and decadence, and the suffering of its people and the ambitions of its rulers were signalling the end of days for it.

The fires of war spreads across even the most secure of countries, as chaos and anarchy topples even the finest of governments into a state of supreme disarray. The armies of the world fight even within the food sources of the world, without a care for the vegetable and livestock farms they burn in the crossfires of their battles, resulting in a mass famine. In the wake of this famine and the carelessness of man's armies, widespread disease and pestilence was all but inevitable. Finally, as if Mother Earth has finally had all she could take, natural disasters on a global scale began to arise, skyrocketing the toll of death in all the world.

The metaphorical horsemen all came down one by one to weaken and cast the earth in the brink of destruction. The humans of the world thought that by uniting together into a one world government, that they could keep things under control and they could fix their mistakes, but even that led to worse situations of misery for mankind as they are subjugated and massacred in the name of the greater good.

The world was simply beyond salvation at this point, and so came the Beast, the great demon, the bringer of judgement and destroyer of worlds, summoned forth by the pain and despair of the world and its people to finally bring an end to Mother Earth's misery.

The judgement was decided; staring down at the final stage of war, Armageddon, the beast swallowed the desires and evils of the world and manifested it into a great unholy cataclysm from the skies.

Fire rained from the skies, the rivers and oceans boiled to nothingness the earth quaked with fear as the sun was blacked out, and down came a giant comet of violet flames to deliver the final blow to this dying world. Only then did the people begin to stop fighting among each other and bear to see the monstrous wrath of heaven rain down upon them. Some prayed for salvation from their gods, others simply sat back and accepted their fate.

But none, not the hopeful, the despairing, not even the Beast itself, could have predicted what happened next.

The ground began to crack open and from out of it came a golden light, shooting up into the sky before raining down upon the world. The light parted the waves and calmed the violence of nature, it soothed the hearts of man and animal alike, revived the crops and livestock, rebuilt the cities of the world and made rich its resources once more. As final act of this miracle, a man, the source of this holy light, appeared in the capital of its one-world government before all the people and destroyed the great comet before it could ever impact the earth. The light he sent against it then reached the beast who brought it upon them and with a radiant might, erased its being from the world. As if because of this, the golden light grew and covered across the sky, across the cosmos, and eventually across the entire universe.

The light since faded from sight as night and day returned to the world, but its radiance the feeling of its warmth was all around them. Angels of immaculate golden wings descended from the heavens and encircled the man and praised him as the messiah, the king of kings who would rule all, and bring about an eternal era of paradise and perfection.

And brought it he did, but perfection always comes with a price.

The year is now 2300. 265 years after the incident which came to be known as the "Global Resurrection", and the world is now at peace. The cities are now laced with gold, silver and jewelry and further technology given to them by the angels to boot. The resources of the planet has refreshed themselves to before man has ever dug for them, places not given to humanity are now rich with more wildlife and plant life than it ever had in the past thousand years, and not since the dawn of time itself has the oceans, the rivers and lakes, and all the life within radiate with vitality as it has now.

To top it off, the people of the world are now collectively happy, peaceful even. Crime and war and disease is now virtually nonexistent, everyone has a job, everyone's health is excellent, to a point where the prime members of society are all, every last one, at their best condition for any task they may have. Nobody complains or hate or are upset, whenever one makes a mistake of some kind, they're apologetic and determined to fix it.

There are still weapons, officers of the law, and governments of the world, every country given back their government after the incident, but they're all for show, useless in this state of society, and only given to them by their messiah, who became the ruler and essentially center of the universe, and the angels watching over the domain of man for reasons man did not bother to ask.

There are still bizarre, sarcastic, or outright cynical personalities out there, but they are also only for show, merely serving as a proverbial spice of life for the people to be amused and entertained by, who in heart have no questions or lack of loyalty to their Messiah or the angels above.

Everything is perfect in this world...and that's the problem.

Immediately after the incident, after the descent of the angels, humanity's evils were expunged from their lives. But so too were there desires, their wants, their freedom, their will and ambitions. Not a human soul in this world, not a living soul in this universe has any desires to call their own. The universe has been "purified" of such corrosive things, and now all of their needs, their roles in life, even their personalities are not of their own, but simply "assigned" to them by the heavens above. Oh they "think" they have free will, that they choose for themselves whenever a choice arrives, but it is merely an illusion the angels concocted as their "consciences". A mere farce used only to amuse them.

They are slaves to their angels, to their savior who declares himself a King of the world...and so are you.

You are a student, a teen born in the divine captivity of the world, of which is all you've ever known. Your personalities may differ, your tastes for things may differ, but that is merely choices your "conscience" made for you, and led you to where you are now: A school bus on a field trip to a canyon (Not the Grand one) in the Nevada desert for the purpose of a research expedition, for you are all "Destined" to be archaeologists.

But upon reaching the canyon in question, and accidentally entering the caverns within as a result of the canyon roof you're standing on collapsing from under you, feelings you've never felt before begin to spark within your hearts, feelings of fear, of worry, ...of Curiosity.

An encounter with an enigmatic corpse, mummified within the cavern walls infects you with a dark and ominous power upon physical contact, power that breaks you free from the golden chains that bounded you, and from the "conscience" that controlled your every decision. What's more, the energy infecting your body does more than just freeing you, it manifested those desires you have, and turned them into extraordinary inhuman power.

Free and empowered, the collective class begins to realize how good this feels, how..."natural" it feels, in contrast with the rest of the world. So it is decided that the world as it is now, its order, must be undone. Need it be because it is the right thing to do, or simply for reasons of individual ambitions like wanting to rule, the world must be freed.

How? By playing the villain the world will think they are. Fear and curiosity is what broke you all from captivity, perhaps a more extreme form of that will break free everyone else.

They must terrorize, conquer, and Burn the world down in order to save it. Sure, people may die, but if it means breaking their souls free from divine captivity, whatever afterlife awaits them must be better than this eternal life of slavery.

And so these students, to help the world or simply to help their own ambitions, have vowed to burn this paradise down, freeing the world, and rebuilding the world with their own hands, by their own will.

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Without further adeu, here are the rules:

1. The GM's (and future Co-GMs') word is the word of god. We may not be perfect human beings, and as such, you have the right to appeal, but ultimately, if we decide to stand by our decision, then it is ultimately final.

2. No God-Modding: A no-brainer in a site like this, I'm sure. You may have become superhuman, but you are far from invulnerable in the wake of the challenges you will face. Likewise you are far from all-powerful, so no one-punch man-ing any situations.

One more thing before I move on: Time/Space powers are forbidden.

3. Regarding confrontation of the OOC kind: We all want to have fun in RPs, but one or two people having a gripe with someone or something is always a possibility. Normally, GMs would say to take it outside via PMs. But after reading a heated arguement from a certain RP on a different site, it's occured to me that we are ultimately a community, and if there's an elephant in the room that must be discussed, we should do so as a community. Therefore, Personal issues with posts or people should still be "taken outside" as it were, but if you feel there's an issue that must be addressed that could be an issue for everyone here, discuss it with us. Either way, no flaming rages please.

4. Since this is the Free Roleplay section, I only ask for three things: Good spelling, Good Grammar, and No one-liners. I ask for two lines minimum. Of course, this doesn't need to be said, but you are welcome to go beyond that if you desire.

5. D.S.G.S.: A signature rule I seem to always have in all of my RPs, it seems. The explanation for this rule is simple: "Causality", or to put it another way: "Do Shit, Get Shit". You are free to satiate your desire or fight and burn to your heart's content. But remember that all actions have consequences, be they good or terrible. You make wise decisions, such as retreating from a situation you know you can't win against (If you're able/in a position to, that is.), your characters will be fine. You make stupid or simply unwise decisions in your characters' lives, such as immediately charging head-first and guns ablazing to the capital of the world, wanting to kill off the King of the world immediately, and they will be punished. The consequences of your actions depends on the intensity of how wise/unwise the decision is. An effective strategy could put the enemy in disarray, a very bad move could prove disadvantageous, or even fatal for your character.

Ultimately though, as long as you follow your common sense, you'll be fine.

6. More rules may be added if it proves necessary.

7. Have fun! ^^

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Next up is the CS. But first there's something that must be clarified:

The powers you gain is your inner desires made manifest. Essentially mean that what powers you gain and their respective strength is dependent on your personality, and the depths of your desire and will respectively. Of course, you just broke out of the captivity of your mind, a captivity you were born and raised in for your whole life up to now. So the strength of your will and ambitions, are likely relatively weak right now. But the more you exercise your power, your mind, and your will, the stronger your abilities become.

(It's not much, but if you need some help: Here's a link to a TVtrope page about Personality powers.)

However, it should be noted that the power of Desire can be a corrosive power to one's mind and heart. Desire is what gives rise to both Hope and Sin alike, and so there is a risk of corroding and decaying both your heart and your mind.

It should also be noted that the power of desire you possess, and the power of "Purity" that your enemies and original captors possess share a relationship similar to light and darkness: They are each other's weakness. Your attacks may be more effective on them, but in turn, they're attacks are more effective on you.

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance: (Can be an image of any kind, or a description)
Desire: (What is the goal you have immediately after waking from captivity, and manifests as your power?)
Ability: (The power your Desires manifest as.)
Weapon: (When you obtain a weapon, what will it be?)
Personality:
Backstory: (Optional)

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Any questions, feel free to PM me, and I'll answer them to the best of my ability.

I hope you enjoy. :D

So am I correct in assuming that our characters have to be teens? I was thinking of RPing as a teacher, grad student, or an old archaeologist. Would that be possible or would prefer that I not do it?

So am I correct in assuming that our characters have to be teens? I was thinking of RPing as a teacher, grad student, or an old archaeologist. Would that be possible or would prefer that I not do it?

Under normal circumstances, this would likely be the case. But this is far from normal. The world is essentially populated by living robots. While each having their own kinks and charms to them, they all have a role provided by the heavenly host and they all obey it to a tee. They are raised with this in mind, and are successfully educated for their occupation with this in mind.

Feeling there was no need to complicate anything with the education system, and what have you, have been streamlined for that purpose. Oh you could be given a choice to hop from one rail to another throughout your life, but you just "know" you've always felt like being a brain surgeon. Your conscience tells you it's the right job to be in, and it is never wrong.

"Continue school after learning what you need to? Why? You have the knowledge you need, and you found a job offering to boot. So why not just be the surgeon you strove to be?"

Because of this streamlined railway of life: Grad Students, at least technically, do not exist in this current world.

"College students" (More specifically, "Undergraduates"), on the other hand, as a "Mandatory fourth stage of education"? That's a different story. ;)

There IS a teacher who likely fell into the cavern with the class, but that's a position I am preserving for someone when he comes along here.

As for an old Archaeologist...I have considered that possibility before. Given how the world works, I suppose there's no reason NOT to accept one in this case. (Besides any obvious RPing reason, of course.)

Could I be a monk who achieved enlightenment when he turned 23 during one of his meditations?

Could I be a monk who achieved enlightenment when he turned 23 during one of his meditations?

Monks, regardless of their religion, are deemed as professional worshippers of the Angels, alongside priests, clerics, etc. (No pope though.) So you CAN technically make one. However, whether he achieves enlightenment depends on what you mean by enlightenment. If by enlightenment you mean breaking free of captivity by doing that, then no. These angels are ultimately spiritual beings, they can and likely will create their own form of enlightenment and Nirvana so as to keep them from doing.

Theoretically, if they ever did reach enlightenment in this world's current state, they'd probably suffer from spontaneous combustion.

That being said, considering hat progress will do to this world, having a monk that achieves "actual" enlightenment later on as the angels begin to lose their grip on the world, is not completely off the table. Still can't be one of the protagonists right now though.

Also, I believe I mentioned this beore, but in case it slipped my mind: Multiple characters per player IS allowed in this.

I am very much interested in joining and will work on a CS!

And joins does a little boy.

I am very much interested in joining and will work on a CS!

Excellent, I look forward to it.

As for you, @Windstormugly, Your character's accepted. ^_^

Also, I'd like to introduce him as one of my Co-GMs in this. The second spot is already taken by another...unless he decides to back out.

Monks, regardless of their religion, are deemed as professional worshippers of the Angels, alongside priests, clerics, etc.

"Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha was a man, a great teacher, and--of course--an enlightened being. They follow his teachings, they try to emulate him. They do not consider him a god and they do not worship him. Idolatry is not part of Buddhism"

"Buddhism doesn't fit neatly into either category of religion or philosophy. When people asked Buddha what he was teaching, he said he teaches "the way things are." He said nobody should believe his teachings out of faith, but instead they should examine for themselves to see if they are true or not."

Buddhism is more like a philosophy but instead of using just words and idea to form that philosophy, they meditate on it. When we have arguments about philosophy, in the end of the day nothing changes, our ideas and convictions might be a little more formed but in the end we are the same. In Buddhism they realize that philosophy and try to change through meditation.

These angels are ultimately spiritual beings, they can and likely will create their own form of enlightenment and Nirvana so as to keep them from doing.

Enlightenment and Nirvana are concepts and states of being. If you mean that they can meddle with the spirit of the person meditating to mislead them from the right path then you have a point. But that just makes the way longer, it doesn't change the end of the finish line which remains the same. They can't "change" the concept since it has a definitive definition.

Let's see an example.
"You are trying to get an eagle egg on top of a mountain. You climb and climb but before reaching the top you see a nest with an egg inside it. It is fake, a decoy but you don't know and you think you have reached Nirvana. But the real egg still remains on top of the mountain."

"You catch a glimpse, a vision, a sudden realization of how things truly are but that is just a false sense given by the angels and it still doesn't feel right. Upon more mediation you break through that false sense and catch a glimpse of the true way things are, real enlightenment."

Name: Phillipe Renton
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Appearance: 68.media.tumblr.com/54b39d772295d5307…
Desire: To run a very powerful buisness that will get him the riches he wants.
Ability: To be able to Replicate items.
Weapon: Rapier.
Personality: Friendly and light hearted. One of those people that was rather happy go lucky however once the new thoughts entered his mind he's now become a little bit greedy and a more of an Aloof personality.
Backstory: (IU like to reveal this in more character when asked about it :D if that's ok :)

"Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha was a man, a great teacher, and--of course--an enlightened being. They follow his teachings, they try to emulate him. They do not consider him a god and they do not worship him. Idolatry is not part of Buddhism"

"Buddhism doesn't fit neatly into either category of religion or philosophy. When people asked Buddha what he was teaching, he said he teaches "the way things are." He said nobody should believe his teachings out of faith, but instead they should examine for themselves to see if they are true or not."

Buddhism is more like a philosophy but instead of using just words and idea to form that philosophy, they meditate on it. When we have arguments about philosophy, in the end of the day nothing changes, our ideas and convictions might be a little more formed but in the end we are the same. In Buddhism they realize that philosophy and try to change through meditation.

Enlightenment and Nirvana are concepts and states of being. If you mean that they can meddle with the spirit of the person meditating to mislead them from the right path then you have a point. But that just makes the way longer, it doesn't change the end of the finish line which remains the same. They can't "change" the concept since it has a definitive definition.

Let's see an example.
"You are trying to get an eagle egg on top of a mountain. You climb and climb but before reaching the top you see a nest with an egg inside it. It is fake, a decoy but you don't know and you think you have reached Nirvana. But the real egg still remains on top of the mountain."

"You catch a glimpse, a vision, a sudden realization of how things truly are but that is just a false sense given by the angels and it still doesn't feel right. Upon more mediation you break through that false sense and catch a glimpse of the true way things are, real enlightenment."

If the definitive definition is derived from thoughts or philosophies of purity, I think you'll find they can change them, or rather, they can make Enlightenment and Nirvana suit their needs.

It sounds to me that enlightenment comes from purity, purity of the mind more than anything. The thing is, your captors are Masters of Purity. Purity of the heart, mind, soul, and purity of the world itself is their domain.

Contrary to my constant comparison to slavery and chains, what happened to the world was a result of nothing more than the taint of desire being completely wiped off of our hearts, achieving whole and complete perfection as a result. That's generally the antagonist's moral ideology on the matter, that the state of the world now is how it should have been upon creation: an untainted world from which all life knows peace, happiness, and prosperity. A way to think of it is to imagine positive energy, Purity made manifest, or "goodwill" if you will, as a radiation, much like Desire was for that cavern. The entire world, nay the universe, is completely enveloped in such radiation.

Essentially speaking, This world has become the Garden of Eden. Again, contrary to how I made it appear to be, this isn't like the Matrix where you take the Red Pill and wake up to see a desolate wasteland in place of the city. By logic of any philosophy that seeks peace, need it be actual or peace of mind, This world IS the end goal they all had in mind, a literal heaven on earth; an absolute peace for the world and the mind. The only problem technically speaking is that this form of Peace is essentially shoved down the world's throat and forcing it to swallow, as oppose to the world and its people "earning" it.

If the focus of meditation is to clear the mind, make it "pure". You'll find the Angels and their leader both have many ways to shape it to their way of thinking, and because of that, they would let it be.

If you feel Nirvana and Enlightenment somehow ascends beyond Purity however, if meditation somehow reaches beyond the concept of purity and desire, and steps into the other foundations of reality itself...somehow, then yes, it goes beyond the jurisdiction of the Angels and is therefore beyond their control. But in that case, the angels and their leader would see such teachings as a threat to their paradise, and completely erase Buddhism from the world the second they learn of it by making the world and possibly the universe never be taught Buddha's philosophy, never practice his teachings, or even simply never teach them about Buddha's existence altogether, pretty much erasing him from memory. Again, whatever free will they have before the awakening is an illusion only serving to amuse them; the Angels can remove that illusion with the snap of their fingers if they felt like it. If they say there is no Buddha, that Buddhism does not exist, the world will believe it and obey.

That being said, however...If you still intend, despite this, to make a buddhist monk, and make him "meditate" to learn the truth through enlightenment...Ok, I DO have an idea of how to make it work, but the downside is that he'll be at a disadvantage compared to everyone else.

@Mercury, I'll have a word with you about your CS a little later. For the most part though, it's good. ^_^

That's fine @TheJest I thought i'd change it a little due to the first character >> xD

Name: Alyssa Caine
Age: 38
Gender: Female
Appearance: Alyssa has auburn, shoulder-length hair and blue eyes with greenish tint. She usually dons herself in very casual clothing, like sweaters and jeans.
Desire: Alyssa thinks its her purpose to continue protecting the students she has seen as her wards, but her powers reflect another desire entirely, one she vehemently denies: The desire to rage out against the heavens and bring them crashing down.
Ability: The ability to morph parts of her body into a more feral appearance for boosts in strength and speed.
Weapon: None
Personality: Before awakening, Alyssa saw herself a shepherd for the young. Kind, caring, understanding and protective. Even after awakening, she claims she has not changed. Though a rage unlike any other has been kindled within her.
Backstory: Alyssa was the teacher accompanying the students.

Name: Black Knight
Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Appearance: A massive knight clad in pitch black armour. A red light in seen glowing beneath his visor.

More details on the latter will be revealed as the RP progresses. For now, know that he is an outsider to this world.

The characters are accepted. When the CSes, (or declination of interest) of the rest of the folk here is done, I shall start the IC.

@Bishop @John Humphreys @Force and Fury

I'll have a sheet up soon.

Name: Jane Coldstream
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Appearance:
Desire: To fight with determination against impossible odds and surpass the overwhelming darkness.
Ability: Becomes stronger, tougher, and faster the more damage she takes in a fight.
Weapon: Sniper/assault rifle hybrid
Personality: Before the awakening, Jane was a shy girl who was quick to buckle to peer pressure and fall in-line with whatever was expected from her. Afterwards, she became a rebellious and rowdy girl who has a fiery attitude.

Excellent work, @Red Helix. ^_^

Thanks!

Hey sorry. I've just been really busy lately and probably will be for a while. I'm going to have to drop out unfortunately. Good luck and enjoy!

hm interesting i guess i can take a chance and join in?

Name: Greg Hendrickson
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Appearance:
Desire: The freedom to spread out and evolve to discover more about the world and the universe.
Ability: Technopathy- the ability to control and alter technology. The better the understanding, the deeper and more complicated the control of it.
Weapon: large caliber pistol
Personality: Explorer – Greg has deep hunger to discover, something that has been unleashed now that his mind is free to desire. Before he simply was another content person studying to become some type of researcher. Whatever was the logical choice based on his skills. Now he wants to know and learn it all.
Backstory: What is there to tell about a person without desire. A normal family life mostly living a sufficient and efficient life in this stale society. He was a natural att science and worked his way trough school aiming to become a researcher or engineer depending on where his skills and knowledge flourished the most.