[OOC] Nightland

[Kino End]

@TheyraEngaging background and issues there. I'm a big confused about the actions, though. Could you put the values as you want them to be first before we get into the talents? There should be a +3 in there somewhere, also, which isn't there now - as far as I can see.

@MST3K 4everPlease.

[dreamingflowers]

@Kino End
Thanks for the feedback! I've changed the numbers for her actions as per your advice. Let me know if there is anything else you'd like differently. As for Mia's skill at pretending, I hadn't thought about it as an actual skill, even though she could use it in that way. It was more about keeping up appearances and pretending nothing is wrong. So she dresses nicely, speaks kindly. So it would be both of those, verbal and appearance wise.

[Theyra]

@Kino End Yeah misread the part about actions and it is edited now. Now, what about talents? Do I need to change stuff?

[Arkitekt]

Revised:

LT. SERENA GOMEZ

LT. Serena Gomez

MOOD MUSIC
NAME - Lt. Serena Gomez
AGE - 31 (1988-)
GENDER - Female
ETHNICITY - Hispanic
RELIGION - Catholic (Non-practicing)
APPEARANCE - 5'7, Dark hair and dark brown eyes. Fit and athletic. Fairly attractive.
DEMEANOR - Bare-Faced, Strong Willed, flagrant at times.
AFFILIATION - NYPD (On leave)
RANK - Lieutenant, NYPD
EDUCATION - CUNY/John Jay College of Criminal Justice (2007-2011), Bachelors' degree-Criminal Justice Administration (2011), Major- Criminology, Gangs and Adolescent Subcultures, NYPD Police Academy Graduate (2012)

AVOID HARM - +1
ENDURE INJURY - 0
KEEP IT TOGETHER - -1
ACT UNDER PRESSURE - +3
ENGAGE IN COMBAT - +2 (+1 to close quarters combat)
INFLUENCE OTHERS - +1 (+1 when engaging with gangs or cults)
SIXTH SENSE - -2 (+1 when engaging with gangs or cults)

LIKES - Black coffee, gun oil and loud music. Tequila. Cheap ethnic food and domestic beer, B-Rated grindhouse type films. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing. "Juicy Fruit" chewing gum and "Capri Suns", but she'll settle for some "Big Red" if she has to. Fast cars and motorcycles, shitty men and abusive relationships.

DISLIKES - People who talk too much and the smell of Brasso, especially when the two are paired. Recreational therapy. Yoga, "pumpkin spice", or anything "gluten-free" and IPA beers. Shitty men and abusive relationships (yes I know, its complicated..)

CLOTHING
Tight fitting jeans, comfortable tank top, or T-shirt. Sunglasses or ballcap, light Jacket or Hoodie when called for. Stylish boots, still of the utility kind. Nylon slimline CC holster, either on hip or back area. She can dress it up a notch when she has to, but when she isn't required to be professional she prefers utilitarian or casual wear.

PERSONAILITY
Serena is sarcastic and witty, and knows how to break the ice. She has tough shell and can hang with the fellas. She's extremely blunt, and generally expects the same in return, but she's frank enough to clear a table in record time. Serena is always up to the task whatever it is, and has a real chip on her shoulder when it comes to people telling her that she can't do something. Extremely persistent, often to a point that it becomes unbearable. She is very persuasive, and knows how to get what she wants. A real "go getter".
She had gotten a mortgage on a small townhome on the north side of Brooklyn after she graduated from the academy and has lived there since 2012. It is rather barren and she lacks in the decorative department. Her refrigerator is also mostly barren, save for an ever-present large jar of pickle spears, mayonnaise, and sixer or twelve pack of domestic beer, and the occasional pack of eggs. No less than two or three takeout containers that she will never eat. Freezer is mostly TV dinners, lots of Marie Calendar's and Bob Evan's, freezer burned bags of broccoli and tin foil packs of hamburger meat marked with only the best intentions. Usually A 5th of tequila shoved towards the back. In the cabinets there were saltines and several boxes of Hamburger Helper and a few cans of tuna. She also just started making payments on a black 2018 Dodge Charger with two fat red racing stripes. Figured she'd learn to work on it some, kind of like a side project. She hasn't done much with it yet, and probably wont be messing with it any time soon, but she did buy the extensive owner's manual holding down her cocktail table along with a few spent beer bottles.
Her social life is sparse, save for one night stands. There's only one friend whom she sees regularly outside of her unit, and that's because she's probably the only one who is shit-baggy enough to put up with her shit.. When she isn't being a total recluse in front of the TV or at the gym she can usually be found with her friend Cindy Chavez, taking full advantage of low effort night life bliss, usually some dive bar shithole dotting a street corner, with cheap drinks, and even cheaper men and women. Guess it made them both feel better about their selves in some form or other. They both seemed to suffer from the same social afflictions in the relationship department, so you know what they say, "birds of a feather". She spends a lot of time at the gym, perhaps more than her unit peers do. She does kickboxing regularly, and has a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class that she has enrolled in locally. She is active and works hard to stay fit for her unit, and also to maintain the shape of her ass..

BACKGROUND
Serena grew up in Brooklyn with her parents and her older brother, and one younger sister. Her brother, Alphonso was nine years older than her, and her sister Elena was two years younger. Her family life was often disrupted by gang activity. Her brother was constantly getting into trouble with the law, stealing cars and doing various other things like that. Several members of her family were involved with the Surenos gang, and it caused their lives to be anything but normal. Her older brother and two uncles would later be faced with hard murder charges in 1999, and her brother and eldest uncle were both sentenced to life in prison. Her brother will be eligible for parole in 2025. Serena made it a point then to be nothing like them and showed a strong interest in pursuing a career in law enforcement. She was well accustomed to seeing them at her home by the time she got out of high school.

She immediately enrolled in college at CUNY the following year in 2007. She obtained her Bachelors' degree-Criminal Justice Administration, majoring in Criminology, and more specifically in gangs and adolescent subcultures in 2011. She finished these studies at the top of her class and excelled notably in the Gang related course studies. She then went on to complete the NYPD Police Academy the very next year in 2012. 840 grueling hours of intense training and conditioning. It was all intensive and strenuous but Serena managed to persevere and push on. She was described as "tough as nails, that girl.." by nearly all the instructors. They gave her a hard time because they all knew that she definitely had it in her. That "Who told you you could be a cop" (Video link) type rhetoric, but she always took it standing up.

Not wanting to stop there she applied for the LAPD Gang Task Force Unit in 2017 after she spent five years with the NYPD. she did a lot for the task force in a short amount of time, and was recognized several times during these years. After applying, Serena underwent several tests during the selection process, totaling in nineteen weeks of hard training. She had to pass a rigorous physical fitness test and psychological evaluation, plus a firearms test to demonstrate her proficiency in firearm usage and knowledge of weapon mechanics. She was also interviewed by a review board several times, and underwent an extensive background check. It was obvious that her family's impact was her driving motivation and they deemed her an acceptable candidate. Her degree and specialized major were merited her as being a useful candidate who should be utilized. Her minors in Psychology were also noted as well as her being bilingual, and this would make her suitable for Negotiations. During her interview they asked her "Are you comfortable with this? Do you think you can handle this?" to which she replied "Absolutely. I’m doing it.”, they recalled. She even managed to do the hundred yard dummy pull in good time, and it was comparable to few of her male counterparts. "She's small but she packs a lotta heat.",
Since then her peers and unit members have gotten used to having a woman on the team, and said that she was often good to keep around. Her approaches to solving problems were "very unorthodox", but she sure knows how to think outside the box. She is a quick thinker and dedicated to the job, and she's "not afraid of trying something new". She is definitely determined to do whatever it takes to be there, that was for certain. "A real firecracker, that one. Don't let that smile fool ya." Unlike previous attempts for females to be incorporated into these roles Serena is generally accepted and thought fairly high of by her peers, deeming her to be an adequate asset and not just a pretty smile. She always pulls her weight and goes the extra mile. She'd stick her neck out for anybody on the unit.

However, things would eventually take a turn for the worst. While on a domestic call Serena was in a firefight with a man who had taken his family hostage. He ended up shooting his wife before the gunfight took place. During the crossfire Serena hit one of the two children in the home when he ran across the hallway. The bullet struck him in the ribs and killed him instantly. The father was also shot to death in the altercation. The boy was only four years old. His name was Carlton Thompson.

PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION
Serena has sense been put on extended leave with pay, and has been made to see a therapist indefinitely, until Serena shows signs of improvement. The ordeal was devastating to Serena, and she has taken to antidepressants an other medications, along with heavy bouts of alcohol consumption. She has often turned to self medication over prescribed efforts and therapy.
Serena has been an absolute wreck, a shell of her former self. She suffers from night terrors, panic attacks and has been diagnosed with a moderate to severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as Manic Depressive, Bipolar disorder. She has severe mood swings, extreme highs and devastating lows. Serena's diagnoses is a direct result of her traumatic experience, and was otherwise unafflicted prior to the incident.

WEAKNESSES/FEARS
"It's a man's world." - Serena is on the smaller side and isn't quite as strong physically as the other counterparts in her unit. She has a small frame and is equally limited by this but what she lacks in strength she makes up for with her extreme determination. She might fail, but she'll go down fighting. She's gotta lotta heart.
Serena also displays extremely detrimental behaviors, and often takes extreme risks. She is so strong-headed and persistent that it sometimes clouds her judgement. She also has an inferiority complex, and displays behavior patterns commonly referred to as Napoleonic in nature, characterized by overly-aggressive or domineering social behavior, such as lying about earnings, and carries the implication that such behavior is compensatory for the subject's physical or social shortcomings. In psychology, the Napoleon complex is regarded as a derogatory social stereotype.

FEARS - Not being "good enough". Obsolescence, inferiority. Serena has always felt like that if she fails it's because she didn't try hard enough, or do enough, and that all fault is always on her shoulders.

[Kino End]

@dreamingflowersGreat, I see. Can you indicate somehow that the +1 Act Under Pressure is only for when Mia pretends through appearance or speech? For example, I don't remember what your original distribution was for the actions. But, if Act Under Pressure is -1, then do a parenthesis for pretending: Act Under Pressure -1 (+1 pretending).

@TheyraNo, it seems like you already created a modifier for the boxing talent under "Engage In Combat". So, that's great. Move this to the character tab, if you'd like.

@ArkitektLet's put an additional modifier of +1 to Sixth Sense and Influence Others when engaging with gangs or cults. Make a note of this in your character sheet, somewhere. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing are listed as 'likes', but does she also practice these arts? If so, put a +1 Engage In Combat for close combat encounters, specifically. Make a note of this as well.

[Arkitekt]

Yes, she is an avid kickboxer. She doesn't really lift weights or anything at the gym, and she is kind of small, but she loves to do the Jiu, so I have added both and changed her to NYPD as well.

[Kino End]

The In-Character is started. It is still early in all our processes, so ease into it.

Note: Some of the player characters are mentioned, but not all. I currently wrote about those that are in the character tab, and will mention all of them whenever they appear.

[Prosaic]

Hey, is this still available for applications? It's been a hot minute since I've applied for something on the Guild but it looks neat as hell.

[Kino End]

@ProsaicYes, there is always room here. I'm glad you found something that's interesting to you.

[Prosaic]

Keandre Roux

I'll make it through this if it kills me and when it kills me, I'll come back. | And I'm gonna get on my knees. Would you kick me in the face, please? It'll make whatever I say sound like poetry.

FULL NAME

Keandre Artus Roux

NICKNAMES

Kea, Pyro

GENDER

Male

AGE

26

HEIGHT

6'0"

WEIGHT

164LBs

It started in Saint-Nazaire, France...

Keandre Roux was born to near-poverty, a family that had never been able to make ends meet. An absent set of parental figures played an important role in him growing up sort of off. While his mother was quite loving, she was also quite dedicated to the bottles of wine that would stack up under their counter in place of food that could have been bought with what little funds they did have.

His father was an angry man, quiet and unkind. He had learned quite early on that Clement Roux had little time for family and in turn had little time for him. He was quick to leave around Keandre's tenth birthday. This loss of a father figure early in his life set the tone for a lifetime of attention-seeking and reckless behavior. This included an affection for setting things on fire.

Keandre developed an addictive personality in his early teens, although it started with harmless experimentation and quickly spiraled into something nasty when it became clear that he lacked the ability to stop himself from going that extra mile. As a result of these issues, Keandre spent a lot of time in and out of therapy. This addiction to substances only got worse as he got older.

And he wound up in therapy again because...

It was maybe two years after he had finally left home, moved from France, tried to (unsuccessfully) get his life together. He had spent the night binge-drinking and Keandre made the bad decision to try to take his car to the corner store. While he had initially been under the impression that he was fine, he quickly proved this wrong by wheeling his car directly into his neighbor's mailbox. He was thrown directly into his steering wheel, alarmed and jolted to awareness, he had turned his head up to see--

-well, he still hasn't quite been able to explain it. With blood running down from his temple and his voice quietly, feverently murmuring, Keandre was later brought to a hospital for examination and diagnosed with a concussion. Healing was simple, quick even, but ever since that night he was plagued in nightmares.

His usual problems seemed to only get worse and his addictions were getting too dangerous to manage. He abruptly resigned himself to therapy again and they have been working with him on his BPD and pyromania.

Scrappy - Keandre is quite good in a scrap, a childhood filled with fistfights and tangling with other young men lead to a boy who can hold his own in a scrap.
Brave - Call it brave or call it reckless, Keandre isn't afraid to throw himself in harms way.
Survival - Keandre has a knack for general survival skills, a childhood of mostly taking care of himself has made him apt at doing so.
Stubborn - Keandre refuses to give up, no matter how much he gets beaten down.
Tactical - A good planner and strategizer, he tends to think on his feet.
Physically Strong - While no bodybuilder, Keandre can be quite useful when a strong hand is needed.

Stubborn - This virtue becomes a flaw just as easily, Keandre does not want to be lead, he does not want to follow anyone.
Emotionally Unstable - Keandre loses track of himself quite easily and is prone to rapid bursts of anger or depression as a result.
Impulse Control - Keandre lacks impulse control and tends to rush into things without thinking about it, this has lead him to shambles quite often in his life.
Team Work - Keandre is bad at working with a team unless he feels he has some kind of charge over that team.
Depth Perception - Keandre has pretty terrible depth perception due to his right eye being mostly blind.
Slow - Keandre is not very fast, he may lag in situations requiring speed.

AVOID HARM

-2

ENDURE INJURY

+3

KEEP IT TOGETHER

-1

ACT UNDER PRESSURE

+1

ENGAGE IN COMBAT

+2

INFLUENCE OTHERS

0

SIXTH SENSE

+1

Here you go!

[Kino End]

I've added an additional part to the OOC information called "Encounters". I'll put it in this post as well, in case you miss it.

Also in the OOC first post

E N C O U N T E R S
This plays into the hand of the old axiom of “you must see it for yourself.” Encounters with the Nightland are bizarre and unexpected. No entity seems to have any comprehensible association with the next. What you perceive as reality at any given time can suddenly shift into something completely forlorn. Worst of all is that many things are without explanation. Many things are experienced for the first time by any individual. The Nightland is a hostile labyrinth without beginning, end, or logic. There is no way to describe all these things without having seen it firsthand. However, one thing remains true for everyone — all complications in the Nightland lead to new complications ad infinitum.

There are survivors. There are madmen. There are awakened. They linger in the world after their journey has ended. Sometimes they leave sacred wisdom and valuable secrets behind in esoteric symbols, confusing riddles, and infused objects. Here are a few things that have been deemed ‘good to know’ by the hidden masters. These are not rules nor guidelines. They may help at times, other times not. “All is Vibration! Up is Down! Time is Circle! Doors Everywhere! Make Symbols!” There is no discernible reason within these phrases beyond the surface level comprehension. One must take the journey through the Nightland and experience all that one can endure in order to understand what is useful to know and not.

The exotic aspects of the Nightland are difficult to explain with words. There are many types of entities that appear unusual or even horrid in the eyes of people. Some of them can be perceived with human senses, others cannot. Some of them are corporeal, others are not. One thing that can be said with certainty is that whenever they do appear, these entities rarely present themselves as illusions. They can hurt and kill people. The hidden masters would advise one to treat them as wild animals that exert violence for a specific purpose. The issue is that these purposes are exceedingly difficult if not impossible to understand for human beings. Be cautious, be alert, and follow words of wisdom.

There are many names for another distinct aspect of the Nightland. This is one that human beings can learn to master with enough time and devotion. An overwhelming part of it is concerned with the internal workings of consciousness. It is about control over the mind, body, and spirit. This part would be considered the easy part. The hard part is the outward influence. It only works when the first part has been completely trained and mastered. The axiom “as you will so shall it be” perfectly describes this phenomena. This is the part of occult practice where the wishes of the consciousness extends beyond the physical body. Many spectacular things can be achieved once the seeker has perfected his or her craft.

@ProsaicLooks well put together. Let's put +2 to Act Under Pressure from multiple talents combined: Brave, Survival, Stubborn, Physically Strong. This additional +2 is only when something is related to these talents. Otherwise it's the default +1 as per your setting. Make a note of this in the character sheet and post it in the character tab.

[Prosaic]

@Kino End Awesome, will do!! I'm very glad he's been approved. :)

[Zoey Boey]

I expressed interest a while ago. Here is my character, sorry I'm late. Let me know if there's anything I should change or add.

Emily Dawson

Name: Emily Dawson

Age: 20

Height and Weight: 5'4, 110 lbs

Appearance: A blonde girl with unusual, striking features. Her hair is curvy and unkempt, coming down to about chin height. She has a long face, with small eyes and a big, uneven smile. She is almost underweight, but she has been on a diet to eat more recently so her slender frame is looking more healthy than it ever has. She has blue eyes and fair skin. Her outfit usually involves a skirt and billowy, loose blouses. Her favorite color is blue and this reflects in her aesthetic.

The Issue: Schizophrenia

Emily was always a weirdo and would have been regardless of her diagnosis in her late teens. However mental illness certainly wasn't helping her case. Before the symptoms could be fully catalogued she had a couple of breaks and witnessed things that seemed utterly real. She briefly dropped out of college due to bouts of paranoia. She was convinced there was some kind of 13 foot tall tree monster stalking her. Emily began taking antipyschotics and anti-tremor medicine and wanted to go to therapy, where she's been a dilligent member ever since.

Before:

Emily was the notorious weird girl in the small town she grew up in. She has two loving parents, two brothers, and a sister, still living out there in the Midwest. Emily was always interested in the supernatural, "investigating" town curses and urban legends. She wanted to start a journalism club and find real evidence of ghosts. Failing that, actual news stories would do. Failing even that, she always liked math so maybe she could be a math person or something, she never really thought about it too much. She was an ambitious and ironically ambitious young girl. She wanted to do something, she just couldn't tell what.

The thing Emily became known for during her childhood and beyond was her talkativeness. She just doesn't shut up. Period. She always needs to have something, anything, to talk about. When there's no one to talk too, she talks to herself. Factoids, song lyrics, just describing things around her. She can also become fixated on random things and make them the primary subject of her ramblings. Needless to say this was quite ostracising, but oddly enough she never experienced much bullying for it. She never had any particularly close friends but people tolerated her harmless existence. She didn't seem very receptive to insults or teasing anyway. It was like insulting a window for being clear. No point. Emily has a favorite notebook she writes things in. Things she notices, thoughts, helpful nonsense. If she really does have to be totally quiet, she'll funnel her talkativeness into the notebook instead. The notebook helps her think.

Journalism became her passion, as well as trying to find ghosts. Or monsters. Anything, really. She moved out early, at 18, finding herself a dormitory at a college. Around this time was when schizophrenia reared it's ugly head. The Tree Thing, she called it, became a fixation for her. It just seemed so real. It wanted to get her. It wanted to get her dormmate and it ate dogs and cats and kids that went too far into the treeline surrounding the city. Was there a treeline surrounding the city? Sure felt like there was. This was a scary time for everyone, but Emily found herself returning to normalcy. She was taken care of. Medication and therapy. It wouldn't be so bad. The Tree Thing's existence was disproved by the pills she took. And the shaking stopped, too. It became hard to write things down when she was shaking.

But Emily's belief in the super natural only became stronger after experiencing this loss over her own mental faculties. She began to interview the people society called crazy. She became even more wrapped up in whatever strange forces lay at the edges of perception. It's so fascinating. She felt like she could talk about it forever. But she kept this part a secret- people would think she was being schizophrenic again. Sometimes she felt like it really was all fake. But the medicine was working, right? Right? Anything else she saw...it had to be real. She knows what it's like to see things that aren't real so if she takes the pills the anything else IS REAL. SUPER REAL.

ENCOUNTERS:

Emily has seen and written down strange occult markings in the forgotten underpasses and tunnels of the city. She has many things written down but among them are indeed "All is Vibration, Up is Down, Time is Circle, Doors Everywhere, Make Symbols." The symbols she sees are kept within her notebook, or notebooks, and she finds herself drawing them over and over and over again.

Even today she sometimes feels like something is watching her from the trees. She's gone into the woods several times to try and find that monster. Why? She's not quite sure. But she's seen dead animals and what look like offerings.

Sometimes her notebook and the drawings within are not how she remembered them.

Talents:

Note taker: Emily is ridiculously fast at writing things down and taking notes. She does it habitually at all times, it helps her focus.

Fast memory: She's got a sharp mind and a good memory.

Sketch artist: To add onto this, after years of practice she is a talented pencil artist.

Mental math: She's good at math.

Miscellaneous esoteric knowledge: Knows random trivia about random things.

Botanist: Has done a suspicious amount of research into plants.

Actions:

Avoid Harm
0
She's not particularly slow or cumbersome.

Endure Injury
-2
Fragile.

Keep It Together
+3
Has been pushed to the limits of reality and come away unscathed. Wants to see more, and wants to be validated.

Act Under Pressure
+1 (+1 when subjects related to sketching, math, and botany.)
Has experience being stressed. As long as she has her medicine she should be okay.

Engage In Combat
-1
Has never been in a fight before.

Influence Other
+2 (+1 because of studying)
Not so much good with people, but has some experience with seeing the occult. Has written down many things she thinks might be related to rituals. Normal people are usually weirded out by her or disregard her, but that's not the type of "Other" she's trying to influence.

Sixth Sense
+1
Dampened by her medicine..? Sometimes she feels like things are reaching out to her but she's just too blind to see.

[Arkitekt]

I will post when I get home from work tomorrow. Been a late day at work today. Reading everything now and if anyone needs to mention Serena she has been by the monument, she got there early but she hates group things, and being social. She'll be coming over after everyone gets the awkward informalities out of the way while she finishes her smoke. Will definitely post after work. I'm on US EST so it'll be about 8 before I get home.

[Kino End]

@Zoey BoeyNo problem. Any time is a good time to join in. Interesting pursuits this character of yours has. Lets put +1 to Act Under Pressure when things involve math, sketching, and botany. Those things specifically. And then a general +1 to Influence Other because of the interest and knowledge of the occult/esoteric subjects. Make a note of these things in your character sheet somehow, and then post it in the character tab.

[Zoey Boey]

@Kino End Sweet, good to hear, will do! Will probably get a post up tomorrow since it's past midnight here.

[Prosaic]

I'll be able to drop a Kea response after work if I'm not too exhausted. Eight hours to go!

Also, y'all are some great writers.

[Lucky]

I'll be able to drop a Kea response after work if I'm not too exhausted. Eight hours to go!

Also, y'all are some great writers.

@Prosaic

Agreed! The intro posts were well written, and I'm excited to see what everyone comes up with next. Very thoughtful posts.

[Prosaic]

Okay, I am, in fact, exhausted so I'm probably going to nap but I'll try to post Kea tonight.

[Kino End]

▅▅▅▅▅ ▅▅▅▅▅ ▅▅▅▅▅ _{G M - t h i n g s}

@LuckyBernard keeps his cool for now. The man's mind is made of steel.

@Zoey BoeyEven if Emily has seen a couple of things already, it doesn't mean that she is immune. The sight of the Doctor leaves a mark on her. In your next post, describe how Emily feels strangely attracted to the black powder on the floor around the Doctor's corpse. She will feel an urge to taste it. She will be able to reason with herself, and her approach might be slow enough for someone to stop her, but the desire is there.

@ProsaicKeandre seems to be a proper bastille, able to handle the sight of the Doctor without more complications.

@MST3K 4everThe surge of adrenaline in the experienced man seems to defy any complications regarding the sight of the Doctor. Also, I believe Arkitekt's character is named "Serena" while it was spelt "Selena" in the post.