[OOC] Kept In Mind - Arc X: it dont exist yet

[TruthHurts22]

Psychic powers exist. And they're terrifying.

Like with any powerful tool, accidents happen, and malicious people can do much worse. Your brain could be rewritten, the floor could catch fire right where you stood, or you'd suddenly find yourself fifty miles due north! The fact that anything could happen in the blink of an eye, and it was impossible to see coming, meant that the world of psychicstry was a dangerous one.

In an effort to combat the nebulous powder keg that was psy-crime, the Extrasensory Securement & Protection (ESP) Agency was formed, which picks up the slack the rest of the world's governments leave behind - they might be able to identify and watch over those who have psychic powers, but they can't realistically stop anything bad from happening. The ESP does that and more, from psychic clean-up to extrasensory protection.

People are complicated, though. The most dangerous psychics are the ones that fall through the cracks. The ones that can't overcome the problems in their own head. When an insecure mind gains phenomenal powers, there's no telling what could happen. So there's another, much more secretive facet to the ESP: projecting into a person's psyche and manipulating it from within. These operations are rare, however, as precious few psychics are truly able to do so.

Luckily, you're one of those psychics!

Unluckily, that fact just got you in a heap of trouble with the ESP.

Something big is happening, though, and your detainment might have come at the best possible time, both for them and for you. You new skills will be put to good use, for the greater good of course, and you might just learn how to use 'em right while you're at it.

It doesn't matter who you are, where you came from, or what you can't do. With the ESP, everyone will be...



~ ~ ~
P R E M I S E

Inspired by Mob Psycho 100, Psychonauts, AI: The Somnium Files and a smattering of Persona, Kept In Mind is a roleplay set in a world where people can possess psychic powers. One such power, a rarity among the psychic populace, is the ability to project themselves into another person's mind, a mental world to explore and manipulate. For obvious reasons, this kind of power is kept under wraps, most of the psychic community not knowing of its existence. Your characters will have this power, and because of it, are under the ESP's thumb - as a detainee for now, but eventually, as an agent.

It won't be all telekinetic sunshine and psychedelic rainbows, though. The shadows you're put up against are moving, schemes arising, problems forming, problems you might not have made but you will have to face. A mind's an awfully fragile thing, too. One wrong move could make things a whole lot worse...

I N F O

This section will have, well, info! About the setting, about rules, and about everything you'd need to know.

Note, this RP will most likely tackle topics that can be distressing, dreary, or sensitive. I have no way of knowing what, exactly, but its nature lends itself to representations and explorations of mental illness, trauma, and other similar areas. All I can do is assure everyone that I will try my best in keeping the overall tone light and showcasing such things with tact and empathy. Anyone wanting to join should do the same.

The Five Ws

WHO?
The Extrasensory Securement & Protection Agency, aka "The ESP", is an international organization tasked with handling issues involving psychics and psychic powers. While not having the authority to police citizens, the ESP has immediate jurisdiction over anything related to psychistry; civilian arrests of suspected mentalists, disasters caused by errant power usage, the protection of a prominent psychic, etc. The ESP actually operates separate from any government, an independent entity that's allowed to do what they do primarily because it needs to be done. However, this means that the ESP is always in friction with the world's governments, who can and will squash its presence if they ever step out of line. But, as any paramilitary organization will tell you, some lines need to be overstepped.
WHAT?
Entering another person's mind, to 'Dive' or 'Pscope' (the latter term used by the ESP to hide its real nature), is very, very bad. It's kept secret for a reason; psychics are already regarded as untrustworthy just on the off-chance they can read minds. If the general public found out they could do a lot more than read them, there's no telling what might happen. The saving grace is that the ability to Dive isn't something that you can learn or be born with. It requires a psychic to be broken. Most people, even ones with psychic powers, live their lives free of anything that could do that to them. Not all, though...
WHERE?
The ESP's main headquarters is located in the state of New Jersey, USA, not without reason. All those witch trials of the past were actually the result of psychic activity, before anyone was aware such a thing existed. There are also satellite offices scattered across the world to deal with issues in foreign continents. This RP will take mainly take place within the United States, as I'm an American and don't feel confidant in trying to represent other cultures accurately, though there may be times where the story takes characters to other parts of the globe. As a result, don't feel like you have to make solely American characters! Life's a melting pot, and psychics come from all walks of, uh, life.
WHEN?
Our story will take place in a vague 'Modern Day' with a soft sci-fi slant - there are smart phones, drones, and psychic computer uplinks for cross-country telepathy! The in-universe timeframe will span multiple months, perhaps even more than a year. Of course, we can't roleplay every single day, so there will be chunks of time skipped over for the sake of the story, with the focus being primarily on times when something big and bad is happening.
WHY?
At the start of the RP, your characters will be doing... not much of anything. They have all been arrested, all for the same reason: a Dive. Your characters have, at some point, used their gift to change the mind of others, and because of that have been detained by the ESP. As for how, well, that's up to you. Maybe the effects of your Dive were immediate, causing problems due to a mishandling of their mind. The Dive could've taken place in the past, perhaps successfully so, having only just been uncovered through one means or another. Or you could have simply turned yourself in because of it. Whatever the reason, you're all right here, right now, in the same room after some time in detention, unaware of the direction your life will take within the ESP.

The Rules

- Standard Roleplayer Guild rules apply, of course
- Only one character per player, for the time being at least. I'm also keeping a soft player cap: up to 12 people can join, and if we start with less or we have drop-outs I'll accept later applications, though depending on when you apply you might be in the wings for a while.
- There will not be a strict schedule for posting. You can post as many times as you want or as often as once a week. However, when things start happening for real (action, fights, important events, etc), I expect everyone involved to be prompt and keep the pace of it going. If you fall behind, I will have to take your character's actions into my own hands to keep the ball rolling.
- Relating to that, if you're ever unable to post for a long period of time, for vacation or work or school or anything, please say so! I can write around your absence easier if I know it's happening.
- If you can, please join the Discord that I made for this roleplay! It'll help everyone keep in touch, allow for easier collaboration on posts or ideas, and be the quickest way to reach me. If you're unable to for whatever reason or are generally skeeved out by Discords, that's fine, won't force you into it or anything.
- Less of a "rule" rule, but I'm always, always willing to hear people out. If you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or just want to chew me out for being a dick or portraying a part of the RP in a way you don't like, hit me up! Either toss me a PM or blow up my Discord, I'll almost always be able to get to either relatively quick.

Dives: The Archetype and YOU

This part will go over two important details pertaining the "Dives" within the roleplay: what an Archetype is and means, and how we, both me as the GM and you as a player, will go about Dives.

First, the Archetype; personality is an important facet of life as a psychic. It's unknown whether a person's personality affects what powers they have access to or if naturally attuned powers affect how the brain develops, but regardless, the two are inextricably linked (severe changes in mood can cause surges of power, unstable psyches can cause unstable powers and vice versa, etc). As such, the ability to Dive is dependent on if a psychic has developed an "Archetype", a piece of their psyche that they can splinter out of themselves and into other minds.

To that end, an important part of character creation is determining your character's archetype - based off the 12 Jungian Archetypes (which you can get an overview of here), you should try to center your character's main personality traits around one of these, or pick the best fit for them. This is not me saying you HAVE to make a character who ONLY embodies what these archetypes are, just that the archetype should be related to how they act.

How does one gain an Archetype of their own? Simple: they break. A psychic who suffers extreme mental stress, encounters serious trauma, has a complete change in their worldview, even gets physically broken, will have their psyche fracture and end up with the ability to project their Archetype. It doesn't matter if this 'break' is recent or if you have properly healed from it or if it was actually a positive experience. So long as an event in your past has caused it, you can Dive.

Now, onto Dives themselves, namely, how they will function within the RP. Obviously, if I were to dictate exactly everything, this RP will feel like little more than a connect-the-dots that you follow along. To hopefully avoid too much railroading, I'm putting the possibility of a Dive in the hands of you, the players! There will be times where I have a set end in mind, something for the characters to achieve or get to, but the act of reaching that point will be (near) totally up to you. Want to get into the nightclub by Diving into the Bouncer's mind and making him more open to strangers? Do you think you should take a detour to help your friend get over the issues that keep piling up? Maybe, somewhere down the line, the most obvious brain to Dive into next is... yours!

Of course, if I gave y'all COMPLETE run of the place, then it'd leave me to flounder around trying to pick up the threads. "Uhh, uhmm, okay, so the bouncer's head is full of... spiders? That are on fire!" It'd just be frankly embarrassing, no fun to play, and cause the RP to drag. So to keep me ahead of the game still, Dives will need permission and "permission". Permission from me, the GM, letting me know of your intent beforehand so I can form an idea for you to get into. I'll probably write up a 'Dive Form' later on when we get to that point so to make it a smoother activity. And keep in mind that Dives should be climactic, or at least have decent build-up to it. Jumping into Jerry the Janitor's head just cuz he's a fun dude will sorta deflate any tension surrounding the act, y'know?

Then there's "permission"; your characters will not be acting just on their own, but in tandem with and underneath the ESP. And Dives are tricky, sticky, ooey gooey business, a misstep could make more problems, could worsen problems, could even get the whole operation demolished and agents killed. Characters won't be able to Dive into, say, the Head of the ESP's head right after meeting them. Clearance, consent, maybe just for someone to look the other way so you can do it - something needs to happen IC-ly to justify a Dive.

But even between both those assurances, your characters can still affect the plot. A Dive in the wrong, or right, spot, a complete blunder of a mission, even who you choose to Dive into and why will have consequences, good and bad. Be aware of your actions, if you can. You never know when a Dive could end up breaking your neck on the diving board.

C H A R A C T E R

And now, all the bits about Characters. You're free to fill this out however you want, the structure is more a guideline, the 'least' it should be. If you can make it fancier than me, go ahead! You can also work on it wherever you wish, can do it as a WIP in the OOC, PM it to me to keep it all secret hush-hush, or some other third thing that might not exist as an option!

Like I said before, the maximum cap for the RP (for now at any rate) is 12, which might already be too high but I'm willing to take that chance. If there's spots left open after we start for any reason, you can still apply to join, but may have to wait a bit to actually get in.

Character Sheet

• Name: Full name, nicknames, codename, monikers, whatever y'wanna give 'em, though if you are going for an "only known by their nickname" thing it would help to have the whole of it too.
• Appearance: If you're using a picture, please avoid faceclaims of Real Life people, it really just rubs me the wrong way. Even then, I would like a bit of writing, make the character your own!
• Age: Any age 16 or up is fine. Kids wouldn't really fit the narrative or the vibe, though if the case is compelling enough, I might allow it.
• Personality: How they like, act and think and shit! Try to make your characters interesting, complex, deep. Give them room to grow, even if you have an end in mind, they shouldn't be fully formed before their first post.
• Powers: The stuff they can do with their mind, yo. Remember, a psychic's Powers and Personality are tied together, however that manifests for your character. What you put here is the 'mundane' things that you can do, such as Telekinesis or Telepathy, but their range and strength is up to you. And, of course, every one of your characters can Dive. Try to avoid any huuuge powerful things - Masterful Pyrokinetic, can lift a whole building, etc - for their...
- Psychic Specialty: What your character can really do. We're playing this a little fast and loose; you could say your guy is great at levitating stuff, can remotely view locales and people, or can summon and control fire, but you can be creative with it! You can have your Psychic Specialty be anything, from duplicating yourself to converting yourself into goo to having a very specific but strong telekinesis that only works with cars. It's all up to you.
- Weak Link: Yet for all we're good at, there's things we're bad with, and the same is true for psychics. There's something your character is really bad with, abilities weaker than normal, avenues you're locked out of, or a gap in your existing range. This is also related to your character's personality, ie someone who's very open and extroverted may have horrible mental defense. Again, it's up to you how to interpret it all.
- Archetype: Both the name of the Archetype you've chosen, and how they both look and act like when projected. Because yes, when you're Diving, you're only a fraction of your full self - the most prominent fraction, but still only part of the picture. How this affects personality is dependent on you, though it should logically be closer to the actual archetype you've chosen. For the looks, think of it like this: if this is your character's regular self, then THIS is their Archetype. Your Archetype also has a better grasp of its Powers, both strong and weak, due to being a full-on psychic projection in a mental capacity. Physical barriers do not restrict it!
Skills: Regardless of how hard you can flex your noodle, you're still a person, and people learn stuff. This is for any and all ordinary skills or talents your character can do, or at least what you think is relevant. They can be anything - took up fencing? Got really into psychology? Maybe you eat good!
History:The big one, what everything up there has coalesced into and grown from. While, again, the specifics you include and how detailed you are is up to choice, but there's a few key notes that everyone should have in at least decent detail: the moment they Broke and gained the ability to Dive, the first time(s) they've used their Dive and how it went, and the when, why, and where of their detainment by the ESP. Outside of that, their History can be anything. You can even be an existing member of the ESP if you want.
Misc: I'm sure there's plenty of stuff up there to feed a whole antelope, but in case there's any fun tidbits or important facts you can't fit anywhere else, place 'em here.

Room to Grow

Characters will start out fairly weak, with only one thing they're good at and probably plenty they aren't. They won't have to stay that way the entire RP, though! There's plenty of opportunities to get strong, flex your strongest muscle, or even gain entirely new abilities.

This can come about in three different ways:

Experience
The more you do something the better you get at it. That's a fact of life. Whenever we switch Chapters you will be able to give your character's current powers a small boost, to range or effectiveness or control, etc. This way of getting stronger won't show bounds and leaps, but over time you'll be able to cultivate what you can do even better.

Training
Putting actual effort into yourself is the best way to get anywhere in life, so training is important! During larger timeskips in the story, you can have your character train their powers, either solo or with a trainer, letting them really beef up their skillset. When this happens you can give your existing powers substantial boosts or alternate uses that you couldn't before.

Diving
Wait, you can get cool stuff in people's heads? Kinda! Since Psychics and Personalities are pretty intermingled, exploring a can make some odd things happen. While in a Dive, you might stumble across something that causes a part of the Dive-ee's personality to literally rub off on you, granting you entirely new ranges of powers! Don't worry, this won't cause actually changes to your own personality, just affecting what you can do.

[Dead Cruiser]

So the working idea for a character I have so far is The Innocent, age 14, the subject of illegal eugenics and cloning experiments in Antarctica. The only one of the psi-cult's cloned psychics to survive, the ESP took him into custody as genetically enhanced powers far outstripped his sheltered existence and ability to control them. He may have been living at their facility for some time, and come to take some of its senior officers as parental figures.

Personality wise he'd be somewhere between Mobbu and Rei Ayanami. I have art ready as well, just gotta dredge it up. Thoughts?

[TruthHurts22]

Well I don't... love it. It sorta immediately goes against several points I made about characters, being too young and not seeming to have the important parts in their backstory as the rest. And, you know, eugenics was not what I was expecting to get into here, so that part is also kinda weirding me out a bit. I think it might be best to shelves the idea, or at least, tweak the aspects I mentioned.

[Dead Cruiser]

I realize he's below the 16 year old threshold, but you noted that you have some flexibility on that, so I'm being up front about it.

I don't know what this criticism means:

not seeming to have the important parts in their backstory as the rest.

@TruthHurts22

If you could rephrase that I'd appreciate it.

The eugenics thing was meant to show that in a world with psychics, there are people up to evil shit trying to use them to their own ends. My character was meant to demonstrate something like a human cost to the sort of psychic malfeasance the ESP exists to prevent. Evil psi-cult grows a psychic baby, but what happens to the baby after the cult members go to jail? That's the premise of the idea.

[TruthHurts22]

Like, what I meant was the parts about the Diving, being detained, etc. It's different if your character is already buddy buddy with the ESP and didn't do the big thing. Also, part of why I would rather not have less-than-young-adults like that is because the ESP wouldn't use children for their powers like that.

[Dead Cruiser]

My idea was that the potency of his powers means that he can't use his telepathy on anyone without Diving; his very existence is a dangerous psychic anomaly, and so the ESP has him detained for that reason. He didn't commit a psychic crime as much as his being born is a psychic crime. Just figured it would be a unique dynamic he could have with the ESP.

The stuff that he can use without much ill effect would be things like telemetry and clairvoyance, so I figured the ESP could use him in a support role, since they've taken over as his guardians. But if you insist he can't be 14 I can just bump him up two years; part of his characterization would be that physically he's very small and delicate, which just makes more sense in my mind with him being a little younger.

And I guess if you just hate the entire idea I have another one in the wings potentially.

[TruthHurts22]

Hmhmm... I don't wanna just squash your idea right off the bat, feels like a bad omen to me. How's about you write up your sheet with that idea in mind and if the end result still isn't fitting quite right, you can make some changes to it, while trying to keep the overall concept?

[Dead Cruiser]

Sounds fair, I can get to work on that in the next couple days or so. Maybe with all of the pieces in place it'll make as much sense to you as it does to me.

[artexercise]

For review... Up for editing and reinvention if this doesn't work out.

Name:
- Morris "Shaggy" Ginuac, Mister Myster

Character Sheet

Appearance:
- Dark purple and black paisley blazer with black pants and comfortable shoes all leisure suit style. Black T-shirt with a tarot card large in the center of the shirt. The card is the Biddy Tarot 7 of Cups but without any text. Morris is thin, and his clothes seem to hang off of him. He's 6'1" 152 lbs. Hard to believe based on how much he seems to eat. He used to keep a scraggly goatee but recently has switched it up to the thin line of a full beard and moustache. He doesn't usually do much with the hair on the top of his head except to pull his hair back and keep it in a ponytail that extends just past the base of his neck. He's just beginning to show white at the temples and into parts of his beard.

Age:
- 40

Personality:
- Modern day hippee, loving life. Usually pretty happy-go-lucky and what-may-come. Conspiracy theories are his bread and butter, but not the usual ones. The earth isn't flat. There is no deep state. Aliens are real. Those aren't conspiracies. One of the real conspiracies: "how green lights never allow you to go completely through town is how the local municipality is just trying to get you to stay and buy touristy stuff" is what you need to worry about. He is a dreamer, and an avid gambler, winning and losing seemingly an equal amount, but he always stops before he loses the big amount. Morris likes to give good news, and tries to put a positive spin on bad. That's part of the reason he became a professional Fortune Teller by the name of Mister Myster. He's self-conscious about his art skills, he dabbles in water color but only uses those sets that can be found in dollar store water color booklets for kids because "nobody is cruel enough to corrupt kids that way but regular water colors contain mind control substances". All his art is very poor representations of tarot imagery.

Powers:
- "The Dive": getting into the heads of others
- AuraReading: As a fortune teller, he's got a keen eye on seeing how someone usually is or what their current emotion is by taking a peek at their aura
- Precognition: More like an itch, a good or a bad sensation that comes as a result of a decision he is about to make. If it's an outcome that he is looking for then warm fuzzies, otherwise a taste like bitter 90% cacao
- Astral Projection: Popping himself out of his body, but on a short leash, no more than 5 feet.
- Dream Travel & Remote Viewing: Some people say they can see other places in their dreams. Morris can do it for real. When he falls asleep he can go around the world, seeing where you are going can be important, learning to concentrate and see for long periods of time instead of drifting back into the dream was the skill be honed.
-- Psychic Specialty:
- Dream Travel: the real reason I evaded ESP for so long. Morris can move physically into the place that he views in his dreams. As this is his specialty and he is generally been by himself. It is unknown if he could connect with others in the dream state and carry them with him. Morris has to fall asleep normally and visually his body just simply ceases to be in one place and suddenly appears in the other place fully awake but tired.
-- Weak Link: No TK at all, or anything not in the above list

Archetype:
- the Explorer Archetype
- Psyche/Avatar: Thin man with purple and black paisley leisure suit. Thick well trimmed beard with slicked back hair and a ponytail with a dark purple scrunchie. His expression is always like one who has just fallen asleep with eyes closed and a benign smile of a good dream. When he walks it looks like each step pops him forward a little extra space travelling a little extra distance.
- The Break:

Good Break, Lengthy

2001, Roadtrip to Burning Man. Psyche's Windows
When ridesharing across country was knowing a friend of a friend of a friend and so forth. Morris got in touch with two couples who were going to Burning Man in 2001. He paid for gas up front and didn't think about another thing as they went across country. He had a good feeling and everyone was cool. One duffle bag and him in the back seat of a minivan listening to tunes and chilling out.

When he got to Burning Man, he was on his own pretty quickly. He stayed with a group of people playing guitar late into the night. He stayed with an older couple who remembered Burning Man 86 who were roasting kale leaves and smoking weed and getting the two confused at times. He moved around Burning Man meeting people and enjoying himself a little at a time. The days were hot, the nights cool, and on night six he finally got around to Psyche’s Windows, the installation art, a tribute to Psyche and Eros.

Walking around the octagonal construction with different windows on each side, he peered in seeing people relaxing, writing, laughing. He bumped into a green haired goddess with warlike face paint and body paint. "Sorry, I thought I was the only one spying on fun."

"Not the only one," she laughed. "Let's go in to join the fun."

Morris followed her in and lie down on a bunch of pillows and rugs tossed on the ground. People inside left after a minute talking amongst themselves about what joy would come next. Morris and she were in there together looking out of the windows at the people all around in every direction. "Portals into the minds of men," the woman said and wrote it down. Morris wrote down, "The journey through the window's eyes, is always seen from the other side."

Morris stayed with her that night, his Psyche. They made love in a pup tent on the outskirts. There was a certain sense of bliss that spread through him, as though any other moment could not be as perfect. When he fell asleep, he felt like he was home. She was there beside him, and he had one thin arm draped across her frame. It was safe, exactly like his home. Like sitting in his little apartment after a warm shower, in his leisure suit watching tv with a glass of water and a deck of tarot on the side table. He could see it in his mind, and he was there. The sudden understanding of "Home is where the heart is," was like waking up with the sun to greet you for the first time. He woke up fully while still in his dream.

For a moment he was standing fully clothed, well groomed, with a deck of tarot in his pocket looking at himself and his green haired goddess in the tent at Burning Man. Then he was in front of Psyche's Windows looking in, except through the window was inside of her mind. She was an amazon dancer, naked and graceful and beautiful. Through another window, she was a chef in a fantastic kitchen. Through another she was a woman in a green dress in a ballroom dancing from partner to partner. In another window she was in a comfortable home wearing a green football jersey carrying snacks into a warm den.

He turned around for an instant, and when he looked back he saw his body in his chair in his boxers. The picture through the window in his mind was his safe space and suddenly reality matched it. Then he woke up, in New Jersey in his boxers wondering who she was and partially comprehending the dream that he didn't even dare call purely lucid but something else and something more. The dreams where he traveled, he always looked the same, it was a part of his safe space, always just on the other side of the window.

Skills:
* Small business license
* basic accounting
* Gambling and games of chance
* Starving Artist - water colors, Candle making
* Urban survival, like dumpster diving, finding the cheapest diner, etc.

History:

History, Lengthy

Sixties and Seventies culture played big into the childhood of Morris. It didn't matter that others around him were more current. The past spoke to him. Along with the counter culture of the past and all things that went with it, Morris invested his time in reading books about fortune telling, palmistry, tarot cards, and everything else that might get him a gig with the psychic friends network.

When he found out that the network operated out of the opposite side of the country, he was a little disappointed, but realized it opened up an opportunity to do something on his side. Needing funds, he thought it couldn't be that hard to win the money he would need to get started. Spending a little time in Atlantic City, he realized he had a kind of sixth sense for when to hold em and when to fold em. Morris got enough to open a small fortune telling shop and get a license to operate. A two bit card and palm reader didn't rank high on the radar of government authorities and still he hadn't dived yet nor did he think much about it.

Under the name of Mister Myster, Morris developed his own sense of style, attending Tarot Card Conventions and Maker's Fairs. Opened up a little shop on the strip not far from where he liked to gamble. Got a few regulars and a whole lot of tourists. Wore a woven poncho for the 'unknowns' to add to his mystery. Life was good.

"Life was, note the was, good, until I had a weird stream of good luck. Good luck! I have a theory about good luck. The universe, sentient right? The universe is getting ready to kick you in your spiritual balls when you get too much good luck. The universe is trying to get you to open your legs for the KO Whammo! I wasn't trying to win on the roulette, see? I wasn't trying and boom double zero's! Thought I was throwing out a wad of cash. I'd already had dinner money for a couple of days, but instead, instead I get thousands!

"I panicked. I said a little 'yay' and took the winnings. Then, someone recognized me from my shop, and wanted a reading. It was horrible. All that cash, then a paying customer. But, I was waiting for it. I knew the Universe didn't play dice. I read that in a book somewhere. I closed shop for a few days, gambled away half of it. When Wham! Blackjack! ... I'd had enough. I had to stop gambling for a few days and lose money like a normal person. So, I opened my shop back up and I spent it on Amazon.

"That's when she walked in. I was on the fence, just letting the sphincter loosen a little, y'know what I mean? She brought her own tarot, the Dragon Tarot. I shuffled, I cut, I talked, I refused to put on the poncho. And then, I flipped over that first card as I looked in her eyes. Strangest thing I ever saw."

Morris found himself in a grand ballroom. He was wearing his best leisure suit, brilliant rich purple and black paisley, buttoned in the front. A dark purple scrunchie held his pony tail tight as he checked his hair, slicked back and not one hair out of place. The woman sat at a piano in a gorgeous green dress playing something soft and melodic. She swayed side to side with the rhythm looking at him. "What does it all mean?" she asked smiling.

He turned to look at the opulence of the ballroom as he made his way close to her. Her song was pulling him in, when he realized that it was otherwise empty. "Your life is empty. You've built yourself up, and no matter how well you play, it is only for yourself." The music stopped and her smile faded. The brilliance of the ballroom dimmed and plaster started to fall. "Maybe you don't let anyone in because then they would see it was all a façade. That you are falling apart on the inside."

She faded smile turned to a hateful sneer, her skin taking on the qualities of a reptile as black ooze bubbled out of the piano and flowed out onto the cracked marble floor in echoing plops. Morris knew that Reptilian Conspiracy was a fake and was beginning to think he was somewhere he shouldn't be. He also regretted saying, "Perhaps it's because underneath, you are just a vile poisonous bitch that corrupts everything she touches in the long run." The ooze was rising fast and she hissed. He felt the end coming and astral projected himself out the back of his head in the hopes that he wouldn't have to experience his body being devoured by a snake woman whose piano gushed black acidic bile.

"Instead, I was staring at the back of my head in my shop, flipping over the last card in the spread in my shop. I saw my head dip and I plunged back inside just before she slapped me. I swear she could win one of those slap contests. She marched out after scooping up her cards. Only thing I really remember about the spread is that she was the Reversed Empress. Reversed Empress in the Dragon Tarot. Avoid that deck. Or at least avoid her.

"That's when I started seeing them. ESP agents. I thought I would take a week vaca in Tokyo to blow the rest of my cash. Dreamed myself there. Woke up in one of those Shinto temple thingees. Miss Nakiyama took me in that night like I was a good omen. She's a sweet lady, good kisser. I didn't understand a word she said though. Found a casino to convert dollar to yen, cleaned up my beard a little, shaved it down, less mountain man. You like it, right? Stayed longer than a week. Lived like that for a year until the Japanese division of ESP picked up on me. So, I dreamed myself over to a little town south of Paris.

"Kept the payments up on my shop in Atlantic City, got one of the regulars to go in for me and make sure it was fine. When the ESP found me in Chartres, France -- Only took them two months -- I dreamed myself to Kirov, Russia. Damn near in the middle of nowhere I thought. They Found me the next day. I said to myself, 'What the hell! Do they have ESP?'

"Then it hit me. They were the ESP. I dreamed myself back to Jersey. A woman I'd never seen before was waiting in my shop for me. Introduced herself as Agent Beth, though it was probably code name, like Agent R or just R. I watched MIB. Her aura was as calm as could be. And Now I'm here, sitting in a waiting room, not quite sure what's going to happen next."

Misc:
- Nothing yet.

* NOTES: Updated as per Recommendation. Move to Char Section as per Directed.

[TruthHurts22]

@artexercise Really like the sheet, Morris seems like an interesting guy. Couple of things that need a bit of tweaking, though. For starters, he can only really have one Speciality - manipulation of fate and 'Dream Connection' don't feel, like, close enough to both be allowed. On that note, an explanation on what Dream Connection is, since you kind've dropped the name and never said what that actually entailed. I also feel like some of his standard Powers might be a bit much, though that depends on what you see them as being like, the procognition, remote viewing, etc.

Secondly is the Archetype. You really only need to say the big one, not all the ones that could feasibly be assigned to them, since that would end up muddling the waters. Also, a description of how the archetype would look and behave, the "simplified" version of Morris, is needed.

This last part isn't something that I think is a problem, exactly, but is the Agent Beth in your history meant to be the same person Morris had Dived, or a generic member of the ESP?

[WindsOfFate]

• Name: Jeim-Seu "Gem" Kang
• Appearance:

Beauty has a Price!

- Jeim stands at a decent five foot seven inches tall and has a gymnastic build, lean body, and very flexible. His skin is a beautiful light caramel tone and his hair color is changed depending on his mood. He is currently sporting long shoulder-length black hair with red and orange tips. Because of his mixed heritage, his eye color is slightly rare, a beautiful light blue. He wears tight-fitting pants but is always fashionable. He enjoys accessories because he feels like they bring a "look" to life. Sometimes he wears provocative clothing, but that's only when he wants to go against the grain of society. This can include shirts that reveal his chest and abs, or pants with tears in it that show a little too much skin.
• Age: 29
• Personality: Jeim is a blend of an extrovert and an introvert. He likes to have fun and enjoy life, but he also likes to keep to himself regarding certain things in life. He tends to be most excited when he gets to learn new things. His trust is hard to gain because of his past. He has a welcoming aura, but if tested it becomes pointed and dangerous. Jeim is a realist and sees the glass as half empty from time to time. Even still, talking to him is easy. Even though he has a high intellect, he adapts and is able to speak on the level of others. Jeim firmly believes that knowledge is power and works hard to ensure he understands something fully before engaging. He likes to make things happen, thus he focuses on mastering several things to cover all the bases of what he needs to get done, which can be a pain in the ass for those around him. Yes, he is the type to correct someone if they use improper grammar.
• Powers:
Dive - the very ability that got him into trouble with the ESP. Quite literally, Jeim can "dive" into the minds of others, manipulating and even controlling to gain something. Though frowned upon, it has become something he's rather good at.

Telepathic Absorption - Telepathy, but heightened to a degree. It is the absorption of the mind and certain knowledge it contains. This means that Jeim can dive into someone's mind and absorb the knowledge they have thereby learning what they have learned instantly.

Apportation - teleportation within a 30-foot radius. What can be teleported? Bodies, small items, himself, basically anything.

Psychic Energy - Energy of the mind that allows Jeim to create, shape, and manipulate psychic energy in various ways, including manifesting in material form. Such as shields, concussive blasts, etc. The color of his psionic energy is black.

- Psychic Specialty: Psychokinetic - it is shocking that the ESP didn't kill him on sight, but then again with his level of telekinetic power, it is more understood that he would be an asset. Telekinesis is the psychic ability to move things with one's mind. Jeim's case is different. In addition to his powerful control with telekinesis, he can change matter. This enhancement is new to him and he hasn't had enough practice with it to do anything on a grand scale. At most he can cause a metal ball to become soft and malleable. The biggest thing he's ever moved with his mind was a dump truck, which gave him a headache for 24 hours.
- Weak Link: Emotions are a no for him. Empathy is one skill he cannot grasp. Possibly due to his own emotional scars, but toying with the emotions of others is something he cannot seem to understand. He is a novice when it comes to Psychic Energy, as such he isn't as proficient as he would like to be.
- Archetype: The Magician - this projection stands at the same height as Jeim, but has purple irises instead of Jeim's light blue. The hair is silver, almost luminous, but the skin tone remains the same. The Archetype wears an amazing black outfit that resembles that of an actual magician. Long black coat with black pants and a tight shirt that caresses the abdominal region. Trinkets and chains keep the jacket from opening fully and the shirt is slightly revealing. The Archetype wears a Sun and Moon earring set.

Skills:
Martial Artist
Cook
Writer
Singer
Gardener
Dancer

History:

The Life of Jeim-Seu

Jeim-Seu Kang is the son of Jeremy David Kang and Leandra Rochelle Buckley. Jeremy Kang's father was of Korean and Caucasian descent and his mother was of Puerto Rican descent. Leandra Buckley's father was of African descent, and her mother was of Italian/Filipino descent. As such, Jeim-Seu has at least six different bloodlines in his family. His parents did not marry, in fact throughout his younger years they grew to hate one another, eventually separating to his discomfort.

Jeim joined ESP when he was 18 after meeting his boyfriend who is also a member of ESP. They trained together and were practically inseparable. Their love grew into something he'd never experienced and he was happy for a long time until the dive happened. The killer was a psychic and was targetting members of ESP. They couldn't get to Jeim so instead went after his parents. It was a blood bath when he arrived on the scene, and his psyche couldn't handle losing both of his parents at once. He broke, the sheer emotional strain causing dark thoughts to replace beautiful ones. When ESP caught the killer a few years later, Jeim did the very thing that was frowned upon. He went into the holding cell of the killer and dived into the man's mind. He tortured him for hours, messing around in the man's head and punishing him for all the pain he'd experienced. The ESP had attempted to intervene, but Jeim had was a man on a mission.

When it happened, the ESP had no choice but to detain Jeim for breaking the law. To make matters worse, the strain of being a criminal caused a break in his relationship. His boyfriend of nearly ten years couldn't understand why Jeim was pushing him away and tried his best to be there for him even with him being imprisoned by the ESP, but Jeim shut him out like all the others as if he were simply a stranger on the street. Dominique still has hope that Jeim will see the light again and come back to him, but for now he is trying to move on.

Misc: Sometimes he gets mistaken for a woman. It does get annoying. Jeim keeps a set of three decks of cards. Each deck has 52 cards in it, made of special metal and given to him by one of the higher-ups in the ESP. They are not ordinary playing cards, they are actually throwing blades. At all times he has a deck on his person in a special pouch on his waist. The bladed cards are made of a unique mixture of Tungston, Carbon Steel and Titanium, forged in the laboratories of ESP.

^^^^IF ANYONE WANTS TO BE FRIENDS WITH JEIM OR ALREADY KNOW HIM LET ME KNOW AND I WILL WRITE IT IN ^^^^^^

[TruthHurts22]

Added a new section at the bottom of the Character tab! Your characters will be able to get fun new tools as things progress, so go give it a peek.

[Raylah]

Application withdrawn

[TruthHurts22]

@Raylah Looks good for the most part! I would like to discuss her powers a touch, though. Knowing when someone is lying and if they're about to lie seems like a bit much, especially since she can't directly read minds. You could say she's got an intuitiveness (not a psychic one but a real one) to it since her time as an "interrogator". Also might want a bit of clarification on the Desires/Fears thing. By 'instinctively' do you mean that it all comes to her no matter what she's doing, or will she still need to but a bit of concentrated effort into probing them? I'm not sure if this is what you were already going for but I think it'd be nice if, seeing how you're going for a "feel, don't think" vibe, that she doesn't get clear desires or fears, just, well, the feelings for it. Share a craving for ice-cream or get hairs on the back of her neck when a topic comes up, that sorta stuff.

Adding to that, the way that power would work when in a Dive might need some changing, depending on how you mean to use it. How would manipulating fears and desires work, exactly? The manifesting might play out differently, since Dives take place in the person's materialized psyches already, but I wanna get your thoughts on that too before making changes.

[Mintz]

Oooh, this looks interesting! As a sucker for Psychonauts, this kind of premise pushes all my buttons. With any luck, I could see about an OC within the next few days. I'll be looking forward to this! :D

[TruthHurts22]

@WindsOfFate Jeim looks good, got put 'im over into the characters tab. Though you do still need to get the details on the archetype down, it's not so pressing to stop it from being accepted.

[WindsOfFate]

@WindsOfFate Jeim looks good, got put 'im over into the characters tab. Though you do still need to get the details on the archetype down, it's not so pressing to stop it from being accepted.

@TruthHurts22

I edited and added the Archetype description.

[canaryrose]

Meredith Li

Name: Meredith Li

Gender/Pronouns: Female; she/her

Appearance: Meredith is a young woman of fairly average appearance. She isn't noted for being especially beautiful or ugly, but she has been called pretty. Her height clocks in at around 5'6", although a bad habit of slouching makes her appear shorter most of the time. She weighs around 145 pounds and is not particularly curvy or skinny. She appears to be some sort of East Asian, having nearly black eyes with a monolid. Her shoulder-length, thick hair is naturally black, but she regularly dyes it orange-red. She needs glasses but can often be found wearing contacts. When not in any sort of uniform, she wears whatever she finds most comfortable- she's never been one to dress up.

Age: 27

Personality: Meredith's core desire is to be helpful. She dearly believes in the Golden Rule- 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'- and genuinely wants to make the world a better place. She's altruistic, although not naive or short-sighted. However, despite being so selfless, Meredith could not be described as an optimist. She'd say she's a realist, as she refuses to let her wishes to be the best person she could cloud her judgment. In her realist point of view, even the Golden Rule, which she holds true to her heart, doesn't always necessarily hold up. People are assholes. She just would prefer not to be one of those assholes. She prefers truth over lofty expectations, even if that truth is terrible. She's not one to sugarcoat and can even be quite snappy.

Despite her tough exterior, Meredith has a bleeding heart. Her kindness and desire to care for others are easily taken advantage of. She's easily let down by those closest to her, as her investments in relationships are often far greater than theirs. She might move mountains for someone dear to her, but they wouldn't for her. She has issues maintaining meaningful long-term relationships and issues with trust. She's more than willing to help others, but letting someone help her is nearly impossible. She's largely self-reliant and expects that she'll be left on her own.

Powers:
-The ‘Dive’: Physically transporting herself into the minds of others and altering them from within.
-Telekinesis: Can lift objects no more than 25 pounds and no more than 10 feet away no more than 5 feet in the air. Not particularly strong, but comes in hand.
-Flash-step: Can use an extremely weak form of teleportation to teleport no more than 10 feet away every 5 minutes.
--Psychic Specialty:

-Hyperempathy: Meredith is extremely good at reading the emotions of those around her. She can sense the minutiae of someone’s emotions when someone is merely feet away, and it grows stronger with touch and closeness. She can also learn how someone is feeling with simply a touch or a bit of concentration. Pain is more easily felt than symptoms of sickness. With a bit of experimentation, she’s learned that she can ease pain and bad emotions, even changing emotions. However, she’s largely blocked out these sensations and has explored it little.

--Weak Link:

-Overextension: Due to her caring nature, Meredith has a tendency to overextend her psychic energy and wear it out quickly.
-Inexperience: Meredith has never shown anything but a passing interest in her psychic abilities. She uses them rarely and knows little about them, preferring to pretend they don’t even exist. She’s more akin to a regular person than a psychic.

--Archetype:

-The Caregiver: A black-haired, angular and geometric woman in blue scrubs. Her features are simplistic, her clothes and skin having little color. She appears to be sadly contemplative, but with a comforting smile on her face. She wears a stethoscope over her neck and carries a pair of scissors.

Skills:
-Healthcare (stitches, CPR, medical knowledge, etc.)
-Vegan cooking
-Comforting others
-Caring for cats
-Soccer
-Keeping secrets

History: Meredith Li had a rough childhood. Her father was never in the picture and her mother was a drug addict, perpetually in and out of jail. She lived with her maternal grandparents, elderly Chinese immigrants, in California for some years until they eventually became too old and infirm to care for a rambunctious preschooler. So began Meredith’s endless cycle through the foster care system. When her mother lost her shit, she would go to a foster home, stay for a while… then, when her mom got her shit back together, she’d go back for a few months. But her mom would inevitably lose her shit again, and so began the cycle yet again. This instability created a girl with trust issues, a girl who always knew that she could never truly be loved. Even the most stable of her homes kept her at arm’s length- mostly due to her psychic abilities, which always caused reservations.

Despite all this, Meredith was actually a good kid. She never got into trouble at school (at least not on purpose) and always had good grades. She didn’t touch drugs or alcohol, didn’t have boyfriends or girlfriends. Still, she was never enough. Even when she tried her best, no one really loved her. So she responded by throwing all her love at them. She helped around the house, kept a lid on her abilities, and cared for everyone she could think of. Friends got handmade gifts. Foster siblings and parents got hugs and endless affection. She was constantly worried about others- not herself. Never herself.

Her Break, however, came when she was scarcely 15. Her foster parents at the time had announced their intent to adopt her and a few of her foster siblings months ago, but sat her down one night and explained that they were going to adopt her siblings… just not her. Meredith shattered. She felt a dizzying panic come on, tears fall, and then she was inside of her foster mother’s head. Confused, she found herself in a home much like the one she lived in, but… strange. Furniture floated about, and the rooms were different. They were made up of her foster mother’s hopes, dreams, past, present, her relationships… endless patterns, fracturing themselves. She found an image of herself inside, and… maybe she tweaked a few things. Moved some things around. It was her instinct, to repair.

When she exited her foster mother’s mind, she had changed. Her foster mother doted on her, loved her, begged her husband to keep Meredith, and they did. Meredith, now with a family all her own, buried what she had done deep inside her- enough to forget about the incident almost completely. If anyone noticed changes, they didn’t remark on it, and she got to be in a happy family. A win-win.

Three years later, Meredith departed for college. She dyed her hair orange, picked up a revolving door of boyfriends and girlfriends, and majored in nursing. Those four years were some of the most fantastic of her life. She loved her major, her school, and her friends. But all good things must come to an end, and she eventually finished the program and got a job as a registered nurse in a hospital in Los Angeles. Her psychic abilities were, for once, a boon- she helped people and loved every second of it. She was a notorious workaholic, never taking a day off, and was excellent at her job. Despite the stress, the long hours, and the little respect, she was passionate about her work.

Her personal life, however, was lacking. Meredith could never keep a boyfriend or girlfriend for long and, while she did have two cats, had few friends. She never had much time to herself, always throwing herself into work or into her various responsibilities. Her most consistent allies were her adopted family. She would occasionally speak to her biological mother, but that would always grow frustrating quickly.

Two years out of college, however, she met the man for her. Even Meredith, previously skeptical of true romantic love, would’ve described what they had as true love. They dated for three years, and Meredith was sure they would marry. Have children. Buy a house. The whole gamut. But eventually her boyfriend began to drift away. He was unhappy, miserable. Meredith, anguished, searched for her any sort of reason why. One day, desperate, she remembered what she had done 12 years ago, and Dived yet again while he slept.

The problem was her. Meredith had finally opened up, and the problem was her. She couldn’t see what she had done wrong- he just didn’t love her anymore. She made him unhappy. Anguished, Meredith decided upon what she thought was the best thing for him- no more her. She erased every trace of her from his mind. When the morning broke, she told him they had had a one-night stand and dismissed him from their home.

She didn’t do it right, though. It had been 12 years since she had attempted a Dive, and although this time she knew what she was doing, she didn’t know it well enough. Scarcely 6 hours later, her ex-boyfriend presented to the ER where she worked with no memory of the past three years. She lied to her coworkers, told them she didn’t know what was going on with him, but it wasn’t convincing enough. He showed clear signs of a psychic break and the only psychic in his life was Meredith.

Soon enough, ESP officers came for a guilt-ridden Meredith in her apartment. It was unexpected. She hadn’t expected to be caught, much less for what she had done to be such a serious crime. They took her into custody quite roughly, where she readily confessed to both Dives and was put into a cell shortly after. She’s now been there for a few weeks, awaiting what’s to come.

Misc:
Has a mild cigarette habit.
Is ethnically Chinese, a third-generation immigrant.
Has two rescue cats named Clementine and Cosmo.
Is a committed vegan.

[TruthHurts22]

@canaryrose Looks good! Put her on over to the Character tab. Welcome to the team, Meredith.

[Zoey Boey]

hi there! I just figured I'd let you know I'm working on a CS.