Welcome to Charity Beach: Paradise Gone an RP that was made to satisfy a craving of mine somewhat inspired by the rise of Superhuman RPs. Apart of the Black Fall Universe, this RP will be a semi-sandbox RP where people create a character of any type and participate in a variety of different storylines that will all lead to the same place. I will attempt to give guidance to everyone, but I encourage everyone to come up with their own storylines and take initiative with the location and the lore. I will provide information on the setting and the city, but what's inside of it is completely up to the players to come up with.

Basically, the setting is a world where people are enhanced by crystals that emit a strange energy and have been granted superhuman abilities, being dubbed "Metahumans." These Metahumans have been exposed to the world at a very early age, and have been quite integrated into the minds of the world as their acts, whether good or bad, often pop up on the news. There are mixed thoughts on Metahumans, some hate them, some love them, and others are on the fence. But, the problem is that, following an incident known only as the Verthaven disaster, they are on the rise, and people are afraid.

Various cities hold high amounts of Metahumans, and one of them is a city in Florida on its west coast. Home to beautiful beaches, women, and weather, Charity Beach naturally draws all sorts of people to its locales. And why wouldn't it? It has plenty of fun activities just waiting for you, so even if you're visiting or living there, you have a near-perfect paradise. Though, there is, naturally, a dark cloud over the city that the pamphlets and brochures tell nothing about. The crime, the factions vying for control, and the law enforcement that's just as bad as the criminals. This formed a balance of sorts, with no faction getting a foothold on the other and keeping their activities under control... but, something else out there is going to throw everything out of wack.

If Superpowers/Superheros/Whatever isn't your fancy, then I suggest just closing the tab and going about your day. If it is, I promise to provide an interesting experience. A deep and complex tale of people getting caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time, with very rich and well-developed lore. Above all else; this won't be a standard superhero romp, but a character-centric look at how Superpowers and whatnot would function in real life. No capes, no gimmicks. The RP will be character driven, and somewhat sandbox-y. I will be providing a storyline, but I'll be giving people free rein on how their characters act within the storyline.

The theme of this story is, essentially, Balance.

And here is a link to our DISCORD SERVER.

Plucked in the middle of Western Florida is the near perfect paradise that is Charity City. It started out as a small resort town before it quickly expanded after World War II and became a major metropolis in the state. Geographically, the city has a variety of different rivers running through it that lead to lakes and beautiful waterfalls. The primary river of the city is known as the Dog River, which leads into the, you guessed, dog lake. The rivers and lakes have expensive and beautiful houses running alongside them with scenic palm trees and rocks. A majority of the communities are suburbs of some type, and the city is largely middle-class - but there's, of course, a sizable lower class area. Charity Beach has a variety of different activities from the beach the city is named after with a variety of different amusement parks, restaurants, and such and such. Thus, it is a huge tourist attraction. The city is, naturally, large enough to be split into a variety of different districts and communities, which is mainly because the city is quite diverse. It has a large Caucasian community, but an almost as big Spanish community (a majority of which is Cuban). It has plenty of African Americans, but a less than an ignorable amount of Asians and Native Americans.

Metahumans (sometimes called Deltahumans) are humans that were exposed to the Delta-Point Energy, or a Delta-Crystal, and had undergone a Manifestation Event. These Metahumans have gained abilities that defy the laws of nature, men with super strength, children that can control ice, and women that can teleport are the tip of the iceberg. This manifestation event only occurs after a human being has developed a sufficient amount of Delta-Point energy within their body. The rate which this energy develops depends on how much a person is exposed to (Codenamed their Exposure Event) and if a person touches a crystal for a prolonged amount of time their energy will develop at a much faster rate than somebody who was briefly exposed. In a lot of cases, exposure to this energy will not cause a manifestation to occur, but 15% of humans are compatible with the energy and can manifest a power. It's unknown what causes a person to manifest as anyone of any sex, of any gender, is capable of manifesting, it's widely believed to be just chance. After many of them were covered, destroyed, or drained of all of their energy, it's fairly difficult to get exposed to the crystals and most are exposed to it by other Metahumans. There are two ways to manifest: Naturally, or Under High-Stress. If manifesting naturally, it can take over years for a Metahuman to manifest their powers. There seems to be a correlation between high-stress situations and the rapid growth of powers as many Metahumans who manifested.

Upon manifesting the Delta-Point Energy will completely flow within a person's being from their skin, all the way to their bones. It is normally invisible to the regular human eye, but when a Metahuman is straining themselves or using their power a great deal, their energy will show. When a Metahuman uses their power on the outside world, a small amount of the meta-human energy gets projected and focused in that area. Such as a Water-Elemental controlling a cup of water will get some of the energy projected into it, allowing them to manipulate the water inside of it until they cease to control and the energy returns to their body. However, this still leaves the energy in the area and can possibly cause others to manifest who are compatible.

There are four types of Delta-Crystals/Delta-Point Energy that exist in the world: Type-Yellow (for those that have developed physical powers), Type-Red (for those who have gained an ability that pertains to manipulating the environment), Type-Blue (For those who have manifested a mental ability of some kind), Type-Green (for those who can alter the properties of other powers), and Type-White (those that have powers that don't fit the other categories). Depending on what kind of energy somebody is exposed to will dictate which type of power a Metahuman will develop. From either gaining the ability to manipulate the earth when exposed to red energy, read minds with Blue energy and so on. However, it's possible for these categories to blend together as it's also possible to get exposed to multiple different types of energy and will end up with a power that spans multiple categories. This is a rare type of Metahuman but these kinds of Metahumans are known as Type-Chromatic.

There is such a thing as powers being hereditary, but it is very rare within the Metahuman communities. When Metahumans have children, that child has a 95% higher chance to manifest an ability than anybody else. This is because, when a child is in the womb, the child is bathed with the energy and will grow and develop a similar power to their parents. However, the child will always take after the mother power-wise as they will be exposed to maternal energy more than paternal energy. This is why, if only one parent is a Metahuman, it's far more likely that the child will manifest if the mother possesses the powers. Even if the power is hereditary, the power will be different in certain ways, as nobody has the same one power. If the parents of a Metahuman are different types, there is a higher chance that the child will end up being a Type-Chromatic. Metahumans have a very particular effect attached to them: the Black Fall Effect. This has two main effects on the Metahuman population: firstly, all Meta-humans are subconsciously attracted to each other whether they want to or not. So subtly that it's next to impossible to even notice. It causes the shyest people to head out and interact or draws Metahuman to one location. The more Meta-humans that are around, the more intense this "flocking" effect will get.

Metahumans have an interesting relationship with the Delta-Crystals, as when in contact with a Delta-Crystal, a Metahuman receives a boost to their power as long as they remain in contact. This boost depends on which type of crystal a Metahuman is holding - as if they are a Type-Red holding a Type-Yellow, it'd be an incredibly minor boost to their ability. However, if the crystals are compatible, it'd be an insane upgrade to their powers. With one Metahuman being capable of doing city-changing feats while in contact with a crystal. Though, it will be an insane strain on the Metahuman and will increase their risk for ashing.

However, while powers are truly incredible, they come at a price, powers have a toll on the body and mind. Excessive and unrestrained use would cause what could be described as physical overexertion, and the Metahuman body gets strained from overuse. Pushing powers beyond their limits in high-stress situations cause even worse problems, and at it's most extreme, it may cause an effect known as "Ashing". This is basically an extremely deadly ailment where a Meta-human self-destructs, and their powers shut off, and all their cells will die at an alarmingly fast rate. Their cells will literally drop off their body like specs of ash, and this process will continue until there is absolutely nothing left of a Meta-human. This state is extremely deadly, and there's a mere 4% chance of survival - Even if an ashing victim does survive, there are some permanent physical damage (Amputation, Brain damage, loss of powers, etc, etc - Are a few to note) so it's considered a fate worse than death. Ashing is what Meta-humans truly fear, as any meta-human can ash if they are not careful.

It's possible for regular humans to ash if exposed to large amounts of Delta-Point Energy, and they are among the few that don't or can't manifest a power. This will largely occur if a person is in prolonged contact with the Delta-Point energy as it would take a large amount of energy for this to be possible. However, this can occur with the smallest amount of Delta-Point energy, and anyone who's not capable of manifesting can die from ashing.

Through the study of the crystals and the Delta-Point energy, there has been technology developed from them. They were noted to be a very potent energy source, and the energy can be harnessed in different ways. Most notably, by studying the energy, many organizations have created devices that can detect the energy within people and the crystals in the wild. Of course, these devices are considered to be a huge violation of privacy and are rarely employed. Then there are the simple Suppressant-Collars which are metal devices made to be wrapped around somebody's next that completely disables the usage of activation powers - for those whose powers are permanent changes, they have no effect on them. On the more insidious side, a shady organization has figured out means to give people powers: Serums. These serums are full of a glowing green liquid that infuses a person's body with the Metahuman energy and after the process is complete, they'll gain a superpower that corresponds with the color of the energy. These serums are usually sold to the highest bidder but are only capable of being purchased by those with a hefty chunk of change, but some people are just given the serums. It's unknown where these serums are coming from, or who are making them, but authorities are doing their best to find out.

In the summers of 1963, there was a sudden and abrupt meteor shower that wrought havoc over the skies of Earth, spreading bizarre crystals across the world wherever their debris made landfall. These crystals were infused with strange radiation that would "infect" living beings that either came in contact with the crystals themselves or were in proximity and got infected with the crystal's energy. This gave rise to the "First Generation" of Metahumans as the first of few individuals with such abilities found their place in the world. While this first generation proved to be relative unknowns, rumors or bogeymen to all but a handful of informed figures, their presence in the world would gradually increase over the coming decades, eventually causing mass hysteria as rumors were proven true and sightings impossible to cover up. By the 1980s, this had led to waves of rioting, protests and even mass displays of religious fervor as the public digested the knowledge of their existence in various ways. Eventually, the governments of the world attempted to manage their Metahuman populations through regulation and incorporation into newly established government agencies, but even so great unrest had and still continues to persist even to the modern day. This manifestation of Metahumans would eventually be known as the Delta-Storm and many theorize that it has happened before, and could happen again. After Delta-Storm, almost all the crystals were taken into government custody, but a few remained at large and it is theorized that they're growing in number.