[OOC] Lughaidh apartments

[TheIrishJJ]

Tucked away in the streets of Islington, London, somewhere between Angel station and Highbury & Islington station, sits the Lughaidh (pronounced LOO-ee) apartments. Most people don't even notice it's there, and even most black cab drivers will have a hard time recalling it from memory. However, you can go back a couple of hundred years, and it's always there on maps. However, for the people that live there, it most certainly plays a role in their lives. There have been tales of strange beings coming and going from the apartments. People of all ages, from young children, to people so old as to be on the verge of death, have also said that the owner of the block of flats has looked the same, from the 40s, the 60s, even still up to today. Unfortunately, nobody has ever seen a photograph of him. "Nonsense," say people who hear these stories, "it's just an old wives' tale."

Or is it?

Hello, and welcome to my RP! This RP is set in a block of flats in Islington, London in the present day. However, this is no normal block of flats. Whilst it is inhabited by humans, there are also talks of there being werewolves and vampires, and even a ghost or two in the flats. It is also run by the strange Mr Ó Muircheartach, who seems to have never aged.

Characters will be people who are living in the Lughaidh apartments, and I'll accept one or two groups who are just moving in at the start. You can have as many characters as you want, as long as they fit sensibly in one flat. The Lughaidh apartments are pet friendly!

Each RPer may claim one flat. There are currently two floors, with a total of 3 one bedroom flats, and seven two bedroom flats. If more than ten people want to apply, there are other floors that I'll add.

Supernaturals:
Humans are obviously humans. They live to about 80, maybe longer.

Werewolves live longer than humans, grow old slower once they reach 21, and heal faster. They can turn into werewolves when they want, but are forced to when they are hit by the light of a full moon. The child of two werewolf parents is always a werewolf. The child of a single werewolf parent has a fifty percent chance of being a werewolf. If someone is bitten by a werewolf (in their wolf form), there is a slim chance that they will become a werewolf from the next full moon.

Vampires live much longer than humans, and like werewolves, age slower than humans (although slower than werewolves too) from the age of 21. They drink the blood of animals and burn in the sunlight. However, rather than poof into flames, they have VERY sensitive skin, which is also paler than usual. Applying SPF 50 should do the trick to stop them from burning. Inheritance of vampirism works the same way as werewolves. To be turned into a vampire, however, all of your blood needs to be drained by a vampire, and they have to put some of their own blood into the wound.

Ghosts are people who have died. They can have been humans, werewolves, or vampires. A ghost looks like they did in real life, and can choose whether or not people and objects can see or touch them. They can also float in the air, getting about two feet off of the ground. Physical exercise does not tire ghosts. A ghost also retains their appearance as when they died. This means that they could have a hole in their chest, if they were stabbed, for example.

Schools (hopefully this isn't too much, but from my experience of RPing American characters, I know that this can be useful):

School system

In England, every child from age 5 to 16 is allowed to go to school for free. Nursery and reception places may be paid.
The school years starts in September, with a one week holiday in October (some schools are increasing this to two), a two week holiday over Christmas, a one week holiday in February, and two week holiday over Easter, a week long holiday in May, and then a six week holiday from mid/late July, the whole of August, and a couple of days in September, with the new school year then starting. In primary schools, there is reception, and years 1-6. These are for ages 4-11. Secondary schools are years 7-11, for ages 11-16. GCSEs are taken at the end of year 11, with some taken at the end of year 10. Students in the UK are required to take English/English Language and Maths GCSE by law, if they do not get at least a C, they must retake it until they get a C or turn 18. Schools will generally teach their GCSE students English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, and some options. Different schools have different requirements, e.g. taking a language, or Religious Studies. Most students end up with 10 or 11 GCSEs After year 11, students either go to sixth form, which comprises years 12 and 13, for ages 16-18, where they will do A levels, and some do BTECs. There are no compulsory A levels at sixth form. Students do 3 or 4 A levels of their choosing. Alternatively, they can go to college, and do vocational courses, such as fashion and cookery, but many also provide A levels and GCSEs. State run sixth form and colleges are free up to the age of 18, and some will allow 18-19 year olds to redo a year for free too. Some colleges will allow adults to enrol on courses, for a fee. Many sixth forms are within secondary schools, however there are sixth forms that are purely that. Students are required to wear a uniform are practically every, if not every, primary school, secondary school, and sixth form in the UK. They also require their students to go in every weekday. Colleges generally allow students to wear their own clothes, and only come in on days that they have lessons.

Children may also be home educated.

University:

Universities

At universities in the UK, students are only taught information relating to the course, unlike in the US. E.g. You can stop learning maths at 16 if you so choose. Courses are generally 3 years long, unless they are a Master's degree (4 years), or something particularly large, such as medicine, or veterinary medicine, which takes 5 years. There is no requirement to do a Bachelor's degree before taking a course such as medicine, dentistry, or law. Specific Master's subjects (e.g. Vulcanology) may require a related degree before going into that course.
There are many universities in London, both major and specific. To the best of my knowledge, all major universities on the list are located in London, with the exception of Royal Holloway. Birkbeck only does part-time courses. Other than that, feel free for your university age students go to any of those. Of course, not everyone goes to university. Currently, fees for students from the UK and EU are capped at £9000 a year, going up to £9250 a year in September 2017. Universities may set whatever fees they want for students outside of the UK and EU, and the fees may be different for every course. University students generally get much more holiday time than school student.

Floor plans:

Lughaidh apartments

Ground floor:


First floor:

Character sheets:

Human

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] (if possible, add a photo. One paragraph is enough for the description)
[b]Family:[/b]
[b]Flat:[/b]
[b]Bio:[/b] (one to two paragraphs should be enough. Include if they go to school and/or if they have a job)
[b]Personality:[/b] (again, one or two paragraphs is enough, unless you want more)
[b]Theme song:[/b]
[b]Extras/other:[/b]

Werewolf

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Born or turned werewolf:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] (if possible, add a photo. One paragraph is enough for the description)
[b]Family:[/b]
[b]Flat:[/b]
[b]Bio:[/b] (one to two paragraphs should be enough. Include if they go to school and/or if they have a job)
[b]Personality:[/b] (again, one or two paragraphs is enough, unless you want more)
[b]Theme song:[/b]
[b]Extras/other:[/b]

Vampire

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Born or turned vampire:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] (if possible, add a photo. One paragraph is enough for the description)
[b]Family:[/b]
[b]Flat:[/b]
[b]Bio:[/b] (one to two paragraphs should be enough. Include if they go to school and/or if they have a job)
[b]Personality:[/b] (again, one or two paragraphs is enough, unless you want more)
[b]Theme song:[/b]
[b]Extras/other:[/b]

Ghost

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age at death:[/b]
[b]Current age:[/b]
[b]Cause of death:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] (if possible, add a photo. One paragraph is enough for the description)
[b]Family:[/b]
[b]Flat:[/b]
[b]Bio:[/b] (one to two paragraphs should be enough. Include if they go to school and/or if they have a job)
[b]Personality:[/b] (again, one or two paragraphs is enough, unless you want more)
[b]Theme song:[/b]
[b]Extras/other:[/b]

If you need any help, feel free to ask!

To see what flats are taken/free, and who lives in each one, please refer to the characters section.

[Sazama]

Yay I'll have a character sheet up sometime today

[Sazama]

@TheIrishJJ

Would it matter whether or not we use a picture of a real person or an animated character?

[TheIrishJJ]

@TheIrishJJ

Would it matter whether or not we use a picture of a real person or an animated character?

@KimmiNinja

I'd prefer a real picture, but an animated character will certainly do!

[Oliver]

I'm in!

Linus Tripolis-Callaghan

Name: Linus Tripolis-Callaghan
Age at death: 9 and 4 months
Current age: 31
Cause of death: Homicide (blunt force trauma with claw hammer. Fatal injuries include cracked skull, crushed ribcage and damage to internal organs)
Gender: Male
Appearance:

Family:
.Liana Tripolis (Mother, alive, currently aged 50)
.Liam Callaghan (Father, alive, currently aged 52)
Flat: 4
Bio: The investigative case regarding the homicide of an unidentified male child has long since gone cold. The boy was found lying face-down in a narrow alleyway behind Lughaidh Apartments. He was found covered in wounds that indicate that he was beaten to death with a small blunt object, showing no signs of decay other than rigor mortis that had only just begun to set in. Though police searched for years to find the perpetrator of the crime, no clues were left other than a few hairs on the boy's clothing that might have been his own, as they shared color and thickness. This wasn't enough evidence to convict anyone, especially since nobody stepped forward to help identify the child.
In truth, the boy was not from the area at all, having spent his whole life in the town of Inverness, on the northeast coast of Scotland. His family was not rich, but they were well respected by those who knew them. Not many people new Linus, however. He rarely spoke to anyone directly, struggled academically and seemed to often be in poor health. When he went missing, the only person who stepped forward to offer information and assistance to the police was the boy's father, Liam Callaghan. Linus's mother, Liana Tripolis, was noted as being distant and dismissive when questioned by the authorities and was not at all helpful to the investigation. Though the police found her lack of care for her child suspicious, they had no evidence to search the house or question her further.
When a child bearing similarities to Linus Tripolis-Callaghan was found all the way across the border, nobody connected the two cases. Whoever murdered the soft-spoken boy has effectively gotten away with their crime.
Since his death, the ghost of Linus Tripolis-Callaghan has been roaming around the flats of Lughaidh Apartments.
Personality: Linus is -or was- a soft spoken boy who was never known to utter a single word unless directly spoken to. To all who knew him, he came across as skittish and anxious, acting as if danger was just around the corner. He never did well in any school subject, seeming to be especially bad at writing and maths. Following his death, he seems not to have changed much. If anything, he has more of a paranoid affect than he did before he was killed, being prone to panic attacks and nightmares. Despite being in his 30s now, he's just as childlike as ever as of course his brain is no longer developing. Though he rarely speaks, he has a habit of watching and observing people.
Theme song: Having difficulty thinking of one. Is this necessary?
Extras/other: I might add something to this later.

[Sazama]

Name: Valentine (Val) Wu
Age: 126
Born or turned vampire: Turned
Gender: Female

Appearance:

My Hider

Family: Ex-Husband (Deceased)
Parents (Deceased)

Flat: Ground floor 1 bedroom apartment (#2)
Bio: Born in 1890, she had been in Hong Kong all of her life until at the age of 19 she met and fell in love with a vampire from Great Britain who promised her a better life back in his home country. After being turned into a vampire, they eloped to England, leaving her old life and family behind. The next 30 years were bliss while they lived in Manchester, until one day he leaves her for another girl. Heartbroken and outraged, she kills him and the girl and escapes to London. There she finds and moves into the Lughaidh apartments. In order to hide her identity as a vampire and a murderer, every 15 years she switches jobs from being a nightclub hostess and a night shift nurse. (Currently a nightclub hostess)
Personality: Used to be warm and friendly but after having her heartbroken she became cold and distant. She thinks that people who are too lively and bubbly are annoying and tries her best to stay clear of them. If someone pisses her off, she’ll put in a lot of effort in making them regret it. She can be petty when things don’t go her way. A lot of times she’ll hide her true feelings on things to maintain her image (like hiding the fact that she loves sweets). Her positive traits however, can be described as reliable and charming. The people that manage to befriend her are the kind that trusts her and stay friends. She hides the fact that she murdered 2 people, but that has not come back to haunt her, yet.
Theme song: So Seductive (ft. Jeni Suk) – Kero One
Extras/other: She has a ghost cat named Kiki, her day-to-day regular schedule is work goes from 9pm - 4am, sleeps from 5am -1pm and spends the rest of the day doing whatever, drinks pig blood because it’s the easiest to obtain.

[TheIrishJJ]

@Oliver and @KimmiNinja, you're both accepted! Go on and put your sheets in the character section!

[Mog]

@TheIrishJJ I'm definitely interested... That is, if you are still accepting?

[Spinosaurus]

So are werewolves new school twilight metrosexuals or oldschool badass people who are simply cursed with an affliction that causes them to spontaneously transform into a wolfman? Same question goes for vampires. Can ghosts interact with physical objects a la American Horror Story or are they Scooby Doo style? Do humans know about the supernatural people?

EDIT: Nevermind, they pretty much are oldschool both ways. I'll definitely consider joining this. Thankss.

[TheIrishJJ]

@Cat Of course we are. I believe that there were seven including myself on the interest check, and there's ten flats. If more than ten want to join, I can add another floor or two :)

[Mog]

@TheIrishJJ Great, I'll try and create my character sometime soon!

[Vashonn]

Theo

Name: Theodore "Theo" Wellington

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Born or turned werewolf: Born

Appearance:

Picture

Werewolf

Family: Parents (father born werewolf, mother human), father deceased

I'll add more details for his appearance later.

Flat: Apt. 6, 1st floor

Bio: Theo grew up in southern London, in the northern half of Croydon with his mother in a small, 18th century apartment that had been recently renovated. His father, also born werewolf, died shortly after Theo's birth, which left the child to be raised alone by his mother. Learning about his condition from quite a young age, Theodore has learned to take better handle of it, but still becomes quite dangerous and truly feral during full moons, however.

His mother stayed at home during most of the child's youth, 'til he has finished primary schooling, just to help Theo pacify his condition. She now lives alone out in Wales, and contacts Theodore every once in a while. Theo himself tries his best to work 'normally' amongst his human coworkers and most people around him, and struggles quite a bit with loneliness due to the secrecy he must keep from the outside world. That is, until his mother had told him a few months ago about the lore of a strange apartment complex in Islington.

Theo has just finished his moving into his apartment, and tried to get it fairly placed away from everyone else - not because he wanted to be antisocial, but because he did mind a bit of privacy - maybe that was due to his upbringing.

Personality: Theodore tries his best to fit into the croud but constantly feels this off-puttingness about everyone he interacts with. Almost like they don't want to associate with him. He's very critical of himself, and dismissive of his own successes. This makes him prone to depression and a bit of anxiety when things are going a bit haywire. Otherwise, Theodore truly does enjoy the company of others, and tries his best to interact with people around him. His lack of forming friendships in schooling hasn't really effected him, but he still wants to try to become relatively good acquaintances.

Full moons awaken the fierce animosity of his werewolf blood, which can rip at his mind and leave him practically delirious for the next couple of days. He tries to control himself as much as he can, and has had to detain himself in handcuffs that he keeps, but this has only happened a few times. He's noticed these extremely dangerous occurances have been happening more often recently, however, and he does worry that it might become too frequent - he surely doesn't want to have to tie himself down each full moon.

Theme song: youtube.com/watch?v=w71N7MX9HcQ (still trying to find the best kind of song for this, but I'm strugglin' here)

Extras/other: Theo is currently working as a late night bartender at a local club, and is struggling to find something for him to enjoy. He has not attended university as of yet, but he is planning on it soon... So long as he knows what he wants to do, first. He has also tried chatting up a fellow coworker waitress, but to little avail so far. He also speaks with an estuary accent.

[Mog]

Lily Ecclestone

Name: Lily Ecclestone
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Appearance:
Family: Father (Alive), Mother (Deceased)
Flat: 8, 1st Floor

Bio: Lily's fondest memories were that of the mundane moments she spent with her mother, looking through fairy tale books together, only for them both to be lovingly chastised by her father when he caught them awake past bedtime. Being a simple child, she cherished this simplicity in which life had to offer. Lily spent most of her years at home, where she was schooled and groomed to be a proper lady; not knowing the many wonders of the world. Just like her mother, she had an undying interest with "otherworldly" things. It fascinated her knowing that the world everyone had come to know, was not entirely as it seemed. Lily’s "little world" expanded when her mother was rushed to hospital one evening. For being a shelter girl all her life, she didn’t understand the sad smile on her mother’s face; not realizing that her mother was terminally ill. As soon as she was informed by the doctors of what was to be expected, Lily broke down.

Fifteen years had passed since then; she still isn't completely over the loss of her mother. Though now, she is more able in masking her heartbreak with a bright smile. Lily currently attends university, studying in animal management.

Personality: Lily is an enigmatic and friendly individual, who makes an effort in trying to befriend others. Seemingly having a reality of her own, she sees things differently, often saying or doing random things to the people around her. Despite being an oddball, she is a dreamer with the strong determination of making her dreams into reality no matter how ridiculous it sounds. Although, her cheerfulness isn't entirely genuine; rather a façade she had taken in as she prefers no one knowing how she truly feels. She purposely projects herself "weaker" than most—when in truth, she is much more smarter than she looks. Overall, Lily is someone who becomes easily attached to those who would accept her hand of friendship.

Theme Song: Florence + The Machine - No Light, No Light
Extras/Other: Lily suffers from albinism.

[TheIrishJJ]

@Vashonn and @Cat, you're accepted!

Note to all: Don't worry about the theme song if you can't find one :)