Stern Algorithm

ＬＥＧＩＯＮ ＯＦ ＣＨＡＯＳ

Salem Vicarious, The Lord of Lost Things

Name: Salem Vicarious
Epithets: The Lord of Lost Things, Teracore's Magnum Opus

Age: 555 years old

Teracore:

In this plane, there is only one planet of note, Teracore, a magitech fantasy land governed by two fundamental forces, ether and codex. Ether is liquid magic, liquid energy, it can be distilled from light or extracted from any source of energy, including organic, and is often made from seed oils or mineral gases. Ether releases physical force when activated, and is used to power all sorts of punk-tech marvels in the world of Teracore. Ether can also be vaporized, and becomes an extension of the wielder's will, allowing telekinesis and manipulation of other physical forces and fundamental energies. Codex is the ability for a human to mentally and magically control a certain volume of ether. Codex has two parameters, capacity and complexity. A powerful machine would have a large ether chamber, requiring much high-capacity codex to control; conversely, a complicated machine would have many small ether chambers, and require high-complexity codex to control.

On Teracore, with the help of individuals with inherently high codex coefficients, humanity advanced rapidly in the field of technology, creating airships, skyscrapers, mecha, and other magnificently magical marvels of engineering. Of course, such power in the hands of so many inevitably led to violence, and a squad of peacekeepers were formed; mostly young girls with tremendously high codex aptitudes, who could control the most intricate and most powerful machines and wield the strongest spells. Under their watchful gaze, Teracore flourished, for a time...

After Salem was done with it though, the entire planet has been optimized into a factory world of forges and furnaces, extracting ether wherever it can be found and producing an endless stream of minions and parts for his enjoyment.

Description:

In his native form, Salem is an automaton, a ball-jointed doll in the shape of a small child. He dresses in Victorian/Gothic-esque dollwear and gives off a 'pretty and cute' demeanor. As something created initially in the form of a children's toy, Salem is vain and cares a great deal about his appearance and how he's perceived by others, and if he cannot make you love him, then he will make you fear him. This stems from a sense of abandonment he felt when his creator turned a new leaf and stopped producing evil toys, leaving Salem with a fragile mentality and a sadistic streak. His domination of Teracore was essentially one prolonged tantrum.

Backstory:

Salem's creator was one of Teracore's premier villains, and nemesis of the Peacekeepers. A disgruntled researcher who used his knowledge to create weapons in the form of toys, the Toymaker's primary advantage was that he had found Teracore's Shard, the Omnicodex, an artifact of infinite codex and infinite ether, allowing him to control weapons and devices of impossibly intricate design.

Throughout his entire arc of villainy, the Toymaker worked on Salem, teaching the budding sentient thing all his grudges and dreams of world domination. But fight after fight, defeat after defeat, the Toymaker began to doubt himself, until one day, through the power of 'love and friendship', the Peacekeepers convinced the Toymaker to abandon his villainous ways; yet Salem waited in the Toy Factory with what remained of the Toymaker's other creations. Salem was to be the Toymaker's Magnum Opus, his final weapon, but he needed to be powered by the Omnicodex, which lingered in the factory, just out of reach. Unable to move without it, all Salem could do was talk, and talk he did, trying over and over again to get one of the Toymaker's other, significantly dumber, creations to bring the Omnicodex to him so that he could no longer be paralyzed. Mind-numbing decades later, it finally happened, one of the other puppets brought Salem the Omnicodex and he broke free from the Factory, ready to exact his purpose upon the idyllic world of the Peacekeepers.

At first, he sought out his creator, believing that he had been captured. But when he tore through Teracore's capital city and found the Toymaker, all he saw was a placid old man who had found peace, and who pleaded with Salem to stop his rampage. Abandoned, disillusioned, and filled with rage, Salem snapped, and the Omnicodex 'spoke' to him, showing him a great vision and a renewed purpose, not confined by the weakness and limits of his creator, one that would elevate him above just a toy, just a creation. Salem did not stop until he had subjugated the entire planet and forced its population to provide him with an endless supply of ether, machine parts, and automaton minions. He had become the creator now, the watchmaker, the world ticked by according to his design. His first task complete, the plane of Teracore was 'invited back' into the fold of Chaos, where Salem hoped to meet his 'true' creator and his 'true' siblings.

The Omnicodex:

Teracore's Shard of Chaos takes on the form of an intricate mechanical bauble, reflecting the technomagical nature of its native plane. A red glow emanates through the seams and filigrees of the Omnicodex. On Teracore, everything is finite, and there are laws of conservation in place concerning mass and energy that also apply to codex and ether. As a Shard of Chaos, the Omnicodex violates Teracore's ruling principles, and is a device of infinite codex and infinite ether. It's codex coefficient is so great, in fact, that it can be used to simulate sentient intelligence, and forms the core of Salem's 'soul' as the only true AI from Teracore.

The Omnicodex forms the basis for all of Salem's abilities. He primarily uses it to constantly emit gaseous ether, which has a hazy, blue-green glow, and allows him to manipulate physical forces within his vicinity. He mostly just uses this to telekinetically lift and throw a ludicrous number of objects, as well as to control any more-specialized piece of Teracore machinery that he brings from his homeworld, but it also allows him to cast spells, his favorite of which are lasers, gravity spells, and sound-based spells. As an arrogant display of his power, Salem prefers to hover instead of walk, telekinetically moving himself at just above eye-level, allowing him to look down on all around him.

The Omnicodex has been painted to resemble an eye with a red iris, and sits in Salem's right eye socket, where it provides him with his powers.

Powers:

• Telekinesis - Salem behaves like a poltergeist on steroids. Able to constantly spread gaseous ether, and with more than enough complex codex to control it all, Salem's preferred method of fighting is essentially an 'endless yeet', where anything and everything can be a projectile.
• Trick Weapons - As an evil toy, every part of Salem's doll body incorporates some hidden weapon or gadget: arm blades, finger guns, you name it. These parts can also separate and be telekinetically moved around, allowing Salem to attack from multiple angles, making it much harder to dodge and avoid his attacks.
• The Toy Chest - Salem often rides on or carries an oversized coffin that contains replacement parts for his bodies, as well as various different specialized weapons, allowing him versatility and a way to deal with unusual situations.
• Teracore Spells - Teracore is, at its heart, a magical world, though it is covered by a veneer of science and technology. Ether can be used as fuel to cast spells, and Teracore spells often have the hint of science, so their 'elements' are usually ones that more closely align with scientific fundamental forces, air becomes sound and electricity, fire becomes heat, light, and explosions, earth becomes gravity, and water becomes cold. Salem is adept at all these and will resort to them if just throwing shit doesn't cut it.
• Amalgam - Salem's body is modular, and once he's decided to drop the cutesy facade, he can keep adding additional doll parts and other machinery to keep growing his body into a large, grotesque, body horror creation, seemingly without limit. The monstrous "final form".

Assets:

• Factory World - Salem has converted Teracore into a factory world that constantly produces mechanical soldiers, replacement body parts, ether-based weapons, and whatever else might be needed.
• Toy Soldiers - Teracore is policed by a massive force of robotic mannequins and toy-like creations. The weakest among them are just slightly stronger than the average human. However, the soldiers follow a protocol of self-improvement, and are always seeking to scavenge for parts to add to their own bodies, while competing with each other to rise through the ranks in a simulated 'mechanical evolution'. So no two soldiers are alike, each sporting their own 'optimized' combination of different abilities.

The City of Lost Things:

Salem's corner of Gladius is a large chamber made to simulate an industrial-era city nightscape, the architecture being a grotesque mishmash of Victorian, Gothic, and Baroque. Toy soldiers mill about in the city's dark, cramped alleys. They simulate 'citizen life', living in homes with fake dysfunctional families, and heading to work to do nothing. In the center is an opulent Mansion, The House that Salem Built, where Salem resides. It is like Disneyland, where it's made to look larger than it actually is.

Themes:

Idling, scheming, and conniving

Ominous entrance

Memories of Teracore

Frantic fight of flying and flinging flechettes

Misc:

• Salem's faceclaim is Souseiseki from the anime/manga Rozen Maiden.

Savage Beast Wars

Septishock

Septishock awoke, and only in the act of doing so, realized that he had been temporarily unconscious. Looking around, he confirmed that he was still in the bridge of the ship, so they had at least not burned up upon reentry. Despite the damage that the ship was now reporting, they seemed to have made it mostly in one piece. Checking the scanners, Septishock could see from the readings that lifeforms were highly probable. As spacefarers, Cybertronians had a non-interference protocol in place so they would need to disguise themselves from the local wildlife.

"Scan for suitable organisms and make their beast modes available for everyone in the ship," Septishock ordered the computer before getting up to assess the damage. He scrounged around on the bridge checking for survivors, helping those who could help themselves, and then telling them to take care of those who couldn't. Returning to his console, Septishock made an announcement, "All able-bodied personnel, report to the bridge or to the med bay. Priority is setting up the med bay. The highest-ranking surviving medical personnel is in charge of the med bay."

He turned back to the sensors to check for locations of the ejected stasis pods, which would be their mission to retrieve lest they fall into Predacon hands. But his eye wandered over to the growing library of native creatures, and one in particular caught his attention.

ＬＥＧＩＯＮ ＯＦ ＣＨＡＯＳ

Hi, came into this a bit late, but I'd like to join if you'll have me. I don't have a CS written up yet, but my current idea is that my character comes from a magically-technological world (think steampunk magical girls).

He is a ball-jointed doll automaton given life, so kind of an evil Pinocchio/cursed doll on a rampage. His creator actually finds the shard first, but unwittingly uses it as the doll's power source, giving the doll the ability to consume his plane's particular brand of magic and technology, and continue to add more and more parts to his body to feed the emptiness he feels from his negligent creator, until he's turned his entire world into a factory to keep making replacement parts for himself. He would see Chaos as his true creator and 'Father', and the other archons as his true 'siblings'. He would be cute, precocious, and sociopathic.

Savage Beast Wars

In the original Beast Wars, the cybertronians had to take beast forms because it protected them from 'energon radiation' or something. Is that going to be what prompts our characters to take on beast forms as well?

(NOW CLOSED:) Marvel RE: Imagine - A Marvel Comics Roleplay

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M R S. F A N T A S T I C
M R S. F A N T A S T I C

_{Location: The Baxter Building, Top Floor, Future Foundation Headquarters}

Post #2: Innovation and Intervention

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Sue sat at her desk, having returned from her little 'meeting' with the dictator of Latveria to remember her late husband, Reed Richards, on the anniversary of his death and to renew their conviction to bring about a better world. Victor would be secretly returning to the Latverian embassy to take a magical portal back to his country, where he would probably continue to work on his pet projects. Sue often joked that Victor must be the descendant of vampires, since she's rarely ever seen that man sleep. On that note, Sue looked in the small mirror she had on her desk. She wasn't getting much sleep either and she could feel the years catching up with her. As Reed Richard's widow, Sue had inherited his wealth, generated from the royalties and patents of technologies he had invented in his all-too-short, but highly-productive, life. On retrospect, he seemed far too young to have had such a detailed will, almost as if he had expected to die on that space mission. Of course, Sue knew that wasn't the case, Reed was just such an intelligent and forward-thinking man, always planning for every possible eventuality and outcome. Yet if that were true, shouldn't he have been able to prevent his own death? Sue shook herself out of that reverie. They had only been married for a few short years, but she cherished those years greatly. The fact that he had so quickly and so readily left everything he had to hear spoke to the love and trust that he had for her. At first, the wealth was something of a comfort, but Sue came from a poor background and had few extravagant wants. Her drive to honor the future her husband wanted pushed her to use his wealth to found the Fantastic Four, building the infrastructure upon which their superhero team would rely on. A portion of that wealth had initially been budgeted to Victor, the only man who would be able to continue anything even remotely close to the kind of research Reed was pushing forward. But with Victor's departure from the team, it had become difficult, if not impossible to continue with scientific research, and the Future Foundation, as their organization was now called, eventually moved to supporting social programs, local experiments to uplift the poorer population of New York City. Victor railed against capitalism, and quite frankly, some of it went over Sue's head, but she was definitely willing to test how different charitable projects could change peoples' lives for the better.

But Reed was a man of science, and it didn't feel right for the Future Foundation to not have a science department. Looking out over the city, Sue knew that the Baxter Building, and the Fantastic Four, stood as a beacon in a sea of despair. But crime lords and corrupt business magnates truly ruled this city, while superheroes provided a false sense of hope and could be publicly recognized and supported, so long as they 'stayed in their lane' and did not disrupt the status quo. Of course, fighting foreign or extra-terrestrial threats was easier than dealing with the quagmire of business and politics; she had seen firsthand the price Victor had to pay for changing lanes. But Victor was terrible at playing nice with others, he was 'too honest'. The trick was to change things within the system without painting a target on your back. Of course, that may just be Victor's ploy, to draw attention to himself to make Sue's work easier to conceal. She was the 'Invisible Woman' after all. Turning back to her computer, Sue closed the article she had been reading about Parker Industries; her mind had been made. She wanted to budget some of the Foundation towards science, but needed someone who's work she believed in, a company that wasn't just about maximizing profits, one that gave back to the people and offered opportunities for social mobility. She began typing.

Dear Dr. Parker,

I am going to cut out the formalities. You seem like an honest man, and I'm sure you recognize how rare that is, especially in business. The Fantastic Four has always sought to protect people, at first it was from external threats, like Atlantis and Attilan, then from extraterrestrial ones. But there came a time when we had to ask if protection is enough? In the absence of such threats, people still suffer and struggle, whether that be from societal factors or resource scarcity depends on who you ask. But my late husband, Reed Richards, who is the inspiration for The Future Foundation, wasn't a fighter, he was an innovator. He sought to improve the human condition, and he believed that the answer lay in science. The Future Foundation's research has been non-existent for quite a while since our falling out with our chief scientist, but it has always been my dream to revive The Foundation's science department. But as I'm sure you are aware, greed has run rampart in our society, and technology is, more often than not, turned against people; advancements always find military applications first, automation is dangled over people's heads as a threat to take away their livelihoods, communication becomes surveillance. To fall into bed with this type of scientist, with this type of businessman, would be to dishonor the name of Richards. I am looking for a scientific partner, a research collaborator with high ethical standards and unshakeable morals, someone willing to turn away corruption and serve humanity. I find that you, Dr. Parker, fit the bill. And as such, I am offering several floors of the Baxter Building for Parker Industries to open a satellite lab, as well as investment from The Future Foundation, so that our two organizations can work more closely together for the betterment of mankind.

Susan Richards, Director of The Future Foundation

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T H E T H I N G
T H E T H I N G

_{Location: Larroca and Milligan's Deli and Grocery - Brooklyn, NY}

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Ben was out on the streets of New York getting a bagel, or at least, that was his excuse. He had a massive trench coat and hat on, but anyone who gave him even a cursory glance would immediately see past the poor disguise. He was keeping an eye on the demonstration. Unfortunately, the First Amendment protected even such hateful people's right to peaceably assemble. But 'peaceably' was the operative word. He would intervene if things got violent. Despite looking the way he did, The Thing was a celebrity, an honored superhero, unlike the mutants who the crowd hated so much. And why? For no other reason than the fact that Ben was not 'born' with his powers, but 'acquired' them in an accident. The double-standard boggled his mind, but then again, hate has never been rational. As he leaned lightly against a light post, chewing on his thoughts and his bagel, he heard some running and yelling in the alley behind him.

Running over, Ben catches a glimpse of a threatening young man being 'disappeared' by a blue-furred mutant. While the display was unsettling, Ben didn't particularly care for the whereabouts of the bat-wielding thug. He assumed (hoped) that this mutant was one of the X-men, and that whatever he had done to the blonde was a safe and non-violent procedure. Then he saw the girl, skin covered in sparkling diamond. "She's prettier than I am, but I'm treated like a hero, and she's treated like garbage?" Ben thought to himself, shaking his head.

"Alright you creeps, break it up. You can protest all you like, but the moment you threaten this poor girl, you're committing assault," Ben roared, advancing slowly on the group, trying to get between them and the girl. He knew that he could shrug off anything they threw at him, so he just needed to be a shield. He looked at Nightcrawler and asked, "I hope that guy you 'poofed' is safe?" Ben hated this. The mutants had every reason to fight back, but their cause was only hampered if they showed themselves to be dangerous, thus 'proving' their enemies' case. He didn't want to have to lecture them on how they should treat their open aggressors, but hurting people was counterproductive. Optics. PR. He hated those words. It was the reason Victor had to leave.

(NOW CLOSED:) Marvel RE: Imagine - A Marvel Comics Roleplay

Now that the Future Foundation/Fantastic Four has been accepted, I did want to point out that my intention for dropping the name "Fantastic Four" in favor of a 'numberless' name is so that the team can be 'fluid' in number. The FF are looking to have affiliate members, mostly young heroes that may require training by established veterans, but older members are also welcome. So if you want your character(s) to have been former affiliate members, or would like to apply for affiliate membership, please let me know and we can collaborate.

I also wanted to point out that the FF are public superheroes and do not have secret identities, so feel free to just call them by their actual names.

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@mattmanganon

As I was researching the Fantastic Four, I found out that their headquarters, the Baxter Building, had, at one point, been occupied by Parker Industries, during one of the FF's disbandments/hiatuses. Given that one of the FF's current stated goals is to 'invest in the future', I was wondering if you would be okay with Sue sending Peter a business correspondence, offering several floors of the Baxter Building to Parker Industries to open a satellite lab, so that the two organizations can collaborate more closely. On that note, how public is the fact that Parker Industries is hiring former supervillains? This may influence Sue's decision, as she may not yet trust allowing former villains so close to the FF.

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@ErsatzEmpress

I also want to have Ben intervene in the ongoing anti-mutant riot, but I wanted to ask permission first before I have the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing butt-in.

(NOW CLOSED:) Marvel RE: Imagine - A Marvel Comics Roleplay

T H E F U T U R E F O U N D A T I O N
T H E F U T U R E F O U N D A T I O N

^{"Some say my late husband was an idealist, that his dream was a 'fantasy'. Maybe this world needs something 'fantastic'."}

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C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ M R S. F A N T A S T I C M R S. F A N T A S T I C _________________________________________________________	C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y ________________________________________________________________________________________ Mrs. Fantastic | Susan Richards née Storm | 46 American | Mutated Human | Leader of The Future Foundation Manhattan | New York | USA ________________________________________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T ________________________________________________________________________________________ Mrs. Fantastic (Sue Richards) is the leader of the Future Foundation and has the ability to turn herself and other nearby objects invisible, as well as project invisible force fields of any shape. She is a charismatic leader though decades of fighting crime, battling otherworldly forces, and dealing with international politics have left her grizzled and slightly jaded. Sue obtained her powers when she was bombarded with cosmic rays during a freak spaceflight accident. In this continuity, Sue's late husband, Reed Richards, sacrificed himself during the space mission so that the other crew members could return to Earth safely, leaving Sue to become the leader of the Fantastic Four along with the other founding members: her brother Johnny, Reed's best friend Ben, and Reed's close colleague Victor. A lot of her major canonical conflicts center around her 'womanhood' especially when it comes to her pregnancies and raising her and Reed's overpowered and unstable son, Franklin. I wanted to write a Sue who is allowed to step out of Reed's shadow and become a leader in her own right, unburdened by the existence of her children.
C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ T H E T H I N G T H E T H I N G _________________________________________________________	C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y ________________________________________________________________________________________ The Thing | Benjamin Jacob Grimm | 48 American | Mutated Human | Member of The Future Foundation / Pilot Manhattan | New York | USA ________________________________________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T ________________________________________________________________________________________ The Thing (Ben Grimm) is a member of the Future Foundation and their pilot. He was onboard the spaceship during the cosmic ray incident which mutated him into a rock-like humanoid with incredible strength and endurance. Ben is tough, friendly, and the stable foundation for the team. Canonically, due to his transformation warping his appearance, Ben saw his powers as a curse, so I wanted to play with the idea that, due to Reed's sacrifice, Ben sees his power instead as a gift and a responsibility, and throws himself wholeheartedly into superhero work. As someone who's 'stuck' looking the way he does, Ben has become a strong advocate for mutant rights.
C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ T H E H U M A N T O R C H T H E H U M A N T O R C H _________________________________________________________	C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y ________________________________________________________________________________________ The Human Torch | Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm | 41 American | Mutated Human | Member of The Future Foundation Manhattan | New York | USA ________________________________________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T ________________________________________________________________________________________ The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) has the ability to wreath his entire body in fire, fly, and shoot flames from himself. Johnny was present on the mission that gave Sue and Ben their powers, and obtained his own powers similarly. Canonically, Johnny is a bit of a cocksure diva and his youth and immaturity were always front and center in his personality and conflicts, so I wanted to write a Johnny Storm who was somewhat humbled and matured by the untimely death and sacrifice of Reed, his brother-in-law, while being given the opportunity to age up a bit, becoming more responsible, and even starting a healthy family as Reed and Sue never had the opportunity to start theirs.
C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ C R Y S T A L C R Y S T A L _________________________________________________________	C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y ________________________________________________________________________________________ Crystal | Crystalia Amaquelin-Storm | 39 House of Agon | Inhuman | Member of The Future Foundation / Princess of the Inhuman Royal Family Manhattan | New York | USA ________________________________________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T ________________________________________________________________________________________ Crystal (Crystalia Storm) is a member of the Inhuman Royal Family (also known as the House of Agon) who was exposed to terrigen mist at a young age and developed elemental powers, able to control and manipulate water, fire, earth, and air. The Inhuman Royal Family started out as enemies of the Fantastic Four, but after discovering an internal, inhuman plot to pit the royal family against the Fantastic Four and seize power, the Fantastic Four helped the Royal Family foil this plot, and have been close allies ever since. Canonically, Crystal and Johnny have had a relationship, and Crystal has been a temporary member of the Fantastic Four. In this reimagining, Johnny and Crystal are married and Crystal is a permanent member, replacing Dr. Doom.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S _________________________________________________________ [+] - P R E V I O U S R O S T E R S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ The Fantastic Four Founding Roster (1999 - 2006) ►Mrs. Fantastic (Sue Richards) ►Dr. Iron (Victor Von Doom) ►The Thing (Ben Grimm) ►The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) The Fantastic Four Core Members (2007 - 2010) ►Mrs. Fantastic (Sue Richards) ►The Thing (Ben Grimm) ►The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) The Fantastic Four Affiliate Members (2007 - 2010) ►Medusa (Medusalith Amaquelin) ►Crystal (Crystalia Amaquelin) - - C U R R E N T R O S T E R ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ The Future Foundation Current Roster: (2011 - Present) ►Mrs. Fantastic (Sue Richards) ([color=00aeef][/color]) ►The Thing (Ben Grimm) ([color=orange][/color]) ►The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) ([color=red][/color]) ►Crystal (Crystalia Amaquelin-Storm) ([color=yellow][/color]) - - S U P P O R T I N G C A S T ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► Dr. Doom (Victor Von Doom) - Old friend, former member of the team, and dictator of Latveria ► The House of Agon (Inhuman Royal Family) - Various members of the Inhuman Royal Family, based out of the hidden city-state of Attilan located in the North Atlantic ► Cynthia Storm - Daughter of Johnny and Crystal - - E N E M I E S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► Namor (The Submariner) - King of Atlantis. Wishes to marry Sue Richards ► Galactus - Cosmic entity ► The Silver Surfer - Herald of Galactus ► Skrulls - Space empire of shape-shifters K E Y E V E N T S K E Y E V E N T S _________________________________________________________ [+] - K E Y E V E N T S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ◼ Birth of Victor Von Doom (1971) ◼ Birth of Reed Richards and Ben Grimm (1975) ◼ Birth of Sue Storm (1977) ◼ Birth of Johnny Storm (1982) ◼ Reed, Ben, and Victor meet at State University, New York, becoming fast friends (1993) ◼ Victor's experiment results in an accident, scarring his face. Reed consoles him. Victor leaves the US to do some soul-searching (1995) ◼ Reed and Sue marry (1997) ◼ Reed's experimental spaceflight with his wife Sue, best friend Ben, and brother-in-law Johnny results in them getting bombarded with cosmic rays and obtaining their powers. Reed sacrifices himself to ensure his family and friends return to Earth safely (1998) ◼ With their newfound powers, Sue founds the Fantastic Four alongside Victor, who has returned to mourn Reed's death (1999) ◼ Victor takes a hiatus to resolve the instability of his homeland, Latveria (2006) ◼ Victor becomes dictator of Latveria, is labeled an enemy to world peace by NATO (2010) ◼ The Fantastic Four is renamed to The Future Foundation, reflecting a shift in intent and policy (2011) ◼ Johnny and Crystal marry (2017) ◼ Cynthia is born (2019) -

P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) ________________________________________________________________________________________ As one of marvel's oldest IPs, The Fantastic Four are burdened with a lot of outdated story tropes that are difficult to resolve in the modern age, part of why it's been so difficult to create a good Fantastic Four movie. Reed Richards has always been the 'main character' whose genius and importance overshadow the others. So I wanted to reimagine a Fantastic Four without a Mr. Fantastic, giving the other members the chance to shine in his absence. I noticed an unusual throughline with The Fantastic Four and the threats they faced. Their enemies are often political entities. Namor is a king, Doom is a dictator, The Inhumans are royalty, and the Skrull are a space empire. it makes sense for Captain America to fight the Red Skull, but the Fantastic Four are not themselves seen as a political entity, so I wanted to imagine what it would be like if they got more involved with changing the world not just through fighting but through activism and altruism. Such activities would create an additional sort of drama as they start to aggravate existing power structures. Canonically, Reed Richards did found the Future Foundation to explore ways in which science can benefit all of humanity, so this idea isn't completely out of left field. Due to the rising tension with mutants which seems to be the current major plot point in this RP, I would like to set up the Future Foundation as a place to which young, superpowered individuals, mutant and non-mutant alike, can apply to become affiliate members. Sue believes that mutants need non-mutant allies to stand up for them and provide them with opportunities or else the divide will only widen. I am also reimagining a world in which the relationship between Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom had become one of friendship instead of rivalry. I feel that a touch of empathy and love might be enough to turn Doom's trajectory completely around. However, Doom still becomes dictator of Latveria, and is labeled a threat to global peace by NATO, who consider his methods counter to "Democracy", ie. capitalism. Doom still supports the Future Foundation under the table with his considerable resources and knowledge, but on paper, the Future Foundation has been forced to disavow Doom to maintain their public image. Given that my theme is to make things 'political', the continuing secret relationship between the Future Foundation and Latveria could jeopardize the Future Foundation's legitimacy in the eyes of Western Nations. S A M P L E P O S T S A M P L E P O S T ________________________________________________________________________________________ T H E F F T H E F F Location: A bar in Manhattan Post #1: A toast to the future "A superhero and a supervillain walk into a bar..." The beginning of a joke Johnny had told her passed through Sue's mind. Of course, that was the whole joke; there was no punchline. It was simply a statement made in jest at this little ritual that she participated in every year of the anniversary of the accident. She sat down at the bar next to a man in a trench coat, a hat, and a scar on his face. "A 'Storm' approaches," the man says, chuckling quietly to himself. "Very funny, 'Vic'," Sue shot back, gesturing to the barkeep, who knew the usual and began preparing her drink. "Ugh, I hate that shorthand, it lacks...gravitas." "Would you prefer Dr. V.D.? Sorry, Johnny came up with that," Sue smirked. Dr. Victor Von Doom spat out some of his drink, choking in laughter, "Tell your brother to never change!" Sue smiled wistfully. Whenever Victor was on television making some announcement related to his country, his thick Latverian accent was always front and center, but he could speak in a perfectly good American accent if he wanted to. He only did the accent out of solidarity with his countrymen, who were understandably wary of American interventionism. Similarly, he always appeared in public with his iron mask. But while most superheroes and supervillains wore masks to hide their true selves, 'Victor' was the persona, and Dr. Doom was who he really was. He was a man robed in deception, but Sue knew that beneath the layers of lies was a man who was dramatically and bombastically sincere with himself. "How's Cynthia?" Victor asked about his god-daughter, and Sue's niece. "She's healthy. No powers yet, so here's hoping it stays that way," Sue replied. Johnny just wanted their daughter to live a normal life, fearful that if she developed powers, she would be labeled a mutant and persecuted. Of course, Crystal was a bit more open-minded about it, offering to raise Cynthia with her family should Cynthia reveal her abilities. "How's Namor?" "Victor, please..." Sue rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Her drink arrived so she took a sip; the bartender left without another word. "I'm serious," Victor insisted, "Despite his repeated, unwanted advances, the king is intelligent, handsome, wealthy... you could do worse." "I could do better." "But think about it, between you and Johnny, you would have Atlantis in one hand, and Attilan in the other," Doom gestured dramatically, as if embracing the sun. "You're doing it again," Sue teased, referring to Victor's unfortunate penchant towards megalomania. "He doesn't respect me, Victor. And if you think he's such a catch, maybe you should marry him." "Maybe... maybe..." Victor swished his drink around wistfully reminiscing about the past, and a future that was never meant to be. A silence fell between them as the topic inevitably arrived at Sue's late husband, Reed Richards. "We're opening up the FF affiliates program to mutants," Sue declared, avoiding the subject, "Bring some young mutants under the FF banner, train them up as superheroes, garner some public respect and support... Sure, it's basically the same thing Dr. Xavier is doing at his school, but it's not enough if it's just mutants helping mutants, right? Us non-mutants need to step up and show solidarity. Show the world that cooperation and coexistence is not only possible, but also beneficial." Victor nodded, "Latveria will also be granting our mutants full citizenship and protection under the law. Additionally, our embassies the world over will be offering political asylum to mutants who are not known supervillains." "It could be dangerous. The Brotherhood might try to infiltrate your country." "Let them come, and face the might of Doom!" Sue looked at Victor and admired his honesty and single-minded dedication. "How long can we keep doing this?" she asked in a moment of vulnerability. "As long as it takes," Victor replied with an uncharacteristic gentleness, "It's what Reed would have wanted." Sue looked at her drink, then lifted it up, "To Reed." "To... the future." Sample Post

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(NOW CLOSED:) Marvel RE: Imagine - A Marvel Comics Roleplay

Yeah Skrulls would be fine, but I'd like to refrain from having had a large secret-invasion scale event revolving around them prior to the start of the game. For clarity, if you want the FF to have faced Galactus off-world, or any of the other larger scale threats I have no problem with that at all. I don’t want to restrict your use of FF enemies, just trying to use common sense in terms of where we are as a game. It's not "Year One" but it's still season one.

If you would like to implement a Galactus style invasion at a later date, would love to discuss and coordinate that with you as that could be a fun cross-player event.

@ErsatzEmpress

OK, I also agree that it's probably too early in the RP to bring alien threats directly to Earth's doorstep, so I'll say that one of the FF's prior missions was space exploration (a second attempt at Reed's experiment, which was to test a form of FTL propulsion) that sends them on a short trek through space where they encounter Skrull, Kree, and 'hear rumors' of the "Planet Eater".

Since returning, preparing Earth to stand strong on the galactic stage has been a constant nagging at the back of Mrs. Fantastic's mind. The FF have since fought off a few Skrull scouting parties, but nothing full-scale yet.

(NOW CLOSED:) Marvel RE: Imagine - A Marvel Comics Roleplay

The 48 hour competition timer has now begun for the FF! If you're accepted I would just like to clarify the extent to which you would be attempting to involve Galactus, as him arriving on Earth for instance would obviously be quite a large development for the game as a whole, at least at this stage.

@ErsatzEmpress

Ah, given that the FF are really old as an IP, there is definitely some anachronism. I wasn't sure how many omega-level threats the world has yet encountered up to this point in the RP, so if you think the world isn't ready for Galactus' arrival to have happened yet, I can definitely exclude it. On that note, what about skrulls?

(NOW CLOSED:) Marvel RE: Imagine - A Marvel Comics Roleplay

OK, here's my Fantastic Four AKA The Future Foundation application:

FF

T H E F U T U R E F O U N D A T I O N
T H E F U T U R E F O U N D A T I O N

^{"Some say my late husband was an idealist, that his dream was a 'fantasy'. Maybe this world needs something 'fantastic'."}

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C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ M R S. F A N T A S T I C M R S. F A N T A S T I C _________________________________________________________	C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y ________________________________________________________________________________________ Mrs. Fantastic | Susan Richards née Storm | 46 American | Mutated Human | Leader of The Future Foundation Manhattan | New York | USA ________________________________________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T ________________________________________________________________________________________ Mrs. Fantastic (Sue Richards) is the leader of the Future Foundation and has the ability to turn herself and other nearby objects invisible, as well as project invisible force fields of any shape. She is a charismatic leader though decades of fighting crime, battling otherworldly forces, and dealing with international politics have left her grizzled and slightly jaded. Sue obtained her powers when she was bombarded with cosmic rays during a freak spaceflight accident. In this continuity, Sue's late husband, Reed Richards, sacrificed himself during the space mission so that the other crew members could return to Earth safely, leaving Sue to become the leader of the Fantastic Four along with the other founding members: her brother Johnny, Reed's best friend Ben, and Reed's close colleague Victor. A lot of her major canonical conflicts center around her 'womanhood' especially when it comes to her pregnancies and raising her and Reed's overpowered and unstable son, Franklin. I wanted to write a Sue who is allowed to step out of Reed's shadow and become a leader in her own right, unburdened by the existence of her children.
C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ T H E T H I N G T H E T H I N G _________________________________________________________	C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y ________________________________________________________________________________________ The Thing | Benjamin Jacob Grimm | 48 American | Mutated Human | Member of The Future Foundation / Pilot Manhattan | New York | USA ________________________________________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T ________________________________________________________________________________________ The Thing (Ben Grimm) is a member of the Future Foundation and their pilot. He was onboard the spaceship during the cosmic ray incident which mutated him into a rock-like humanoid with incredible strength and endurance. Ben is tough, friendly, and the stable foundation for the team. Canonically, due to his transformation warping his appearance, Ben saw his powers as a curse, so I wanted to play with the idea that, due to Reed's sacrifice, Ben sees his power instead as a gift and a responsibility, and throws himself wholeheartedly into superhero work. As someone who's 'stuck' looking the way he does, Ben has become a strong advocate for mutant rights.
C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ T H E H U M A N T O R C H T H E H U M A N T O R C H _________________________________________________________	C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y ________________________________________________________________________________________ The Human Torch | Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm | 41 American | Mutated Human | Member of The Future Foundation Manhattan | New York | USA ________________________________________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T ________________________________________________________________________________________ The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) has the ability to wreath his entire body in fire, fly, and shoot flames from himself. Johnny was present on the mission that gave Sue and Ben their powers, and obtained his own powers similarly. Canonically, Johnny is a bit of a cocksure diva and his youth and immaturity were always front and center in his personality and conflicts, so I wanted to write a Johnny Storm who was somewhat humbled and matured by the untimely death and sacrifice of Reed, his brother-in-law, while being given the opportunity to age up a bit, becoming more responsible, and even starting a healthy family as Reed and Sue never had the opportunity to start theirs.
C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ C R Y S T A L C R Y S T A L _________________________________________________________	C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y ________________________________________________________________________________________ Crystal | Crystalia Amaquelin-Storm | 39 House of Agon | Inhuman | Member of The Future Foundation / Princess of the Inhuman Royal Family Manhattan | New York | USA ________________________________________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T ________________________________________________________________________________________ Crystal (Crystalia Storm) is a member of the Inhuman Royal Family (also known as the House of Agon) who was exposed to terrigen mist at a young age and developed elemental powers, able to control and manipulate water, fire, earth, and air. The Inhuman Royal Family started out as enemies of the Fantastic Four, but after discovering an internal, inhuman plot to pit the royal family against the Fantastic Four and seize power, the Fantastic Four helped the Royal Family foil this plot, and have been close allies ever since. Canonically, Crystal and Johnny have had a relationship, and Crystal has been a temporary member of the Fantastic Four. In this reimagining, Johnny and Crystal are married and Crystal is a permanent member, replacing Dr. Doom.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S _________________________________________________________ [+] - P R E V I O U S R O S T E R S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ The Fantastic Four Founding Roster (1999 - 2006) ►Mrs. Fantastic (Sue Richards) ►Dr. Iron (Victor Von Doom) ►The Thing (Ben Grimm) ►The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) The Fantastic Four Core Members (2007 - 2010) ►Mrs. Fantastic (Sue Richards) ►The Thing (Ben Grimm) ►The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) The Fantastic Four Affiliate Members (2007 - 2010) ►Medusa (Medusalith Amaquelin) ►Crystal (Crystalia Amaquelin) - - C U R R E N T R O S T E R ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ The Future Foundation Current Roster: (2011 - Present) ►Mrs. Fantastic (Sue Richards) ([color=00aeef][/color]) ►The Thing (Ben Grimm) ([color=orange][/color]) ►The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) ([color=red][/color]) ►Crystal (Crystalia Amaquelin-Storm) ([color=yellow][/color]) - - S U P P O R T I N G C A S T ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► Dr. Doom (Victor Von Doom) - Old friend, former member of the team, and dictator of Latveria ► The House of Agon (Inhuman Royal Family) - Various members of the Inhuman Royal Family, based out of the hidden city-state of Attilan located in the North Atlantic ► Cynthia Storm - Daughter of Johnny and Crystal - - E N E M I E S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► Namor (The Submariner) - King of Atlantis. Wishes to marry Sue Richards ► Galactus - Cosmic entity ► The Silver Surfer - Herald of Galactus ► Skrulls - Space empire of shape-shifters K E Y E V E N T S K E Y E V E N T S _________________________________________________________ [+] - K E Y E V E N T S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ◼ Birth of Victor Von Doom (1971) ◼ Birth of Reed Richards and Ben Grimm (1975) ◼ Birth of Sue Storm (1977) ◼ Birth of Johnny Storm (1982) ◼ Reed, Ben, and Victor meet at State University, New York, becoming fast friends (1993) ◼ Victor's experiment results in an accident, scarring his face. Reed consoles him. Victor leaves the US to do some soul-searching (1995) ◼ Reed and Sue marry (1997) ◼ Reed's experimental spaceflight with his wife Sue, best friend Ben, and brother-in-law Johnny results in them getting bombarded with cosmic rays and obtaining their powers. Reed sacrifices himself to ensure his family and friends return to Earth safely (1998) ◼ With their newfound powers, Sue founds the Fantastic Four alongside Victor, who has returned to mourn Reed's death (1999) ◼ Victor takes a hiatus to resolve the instability of his homeland, Latveria (2006) ◼ Victor becomes dictator of Latveria, is labeled an enemy to world peace by NATO (2010) ◼ The Fantastic Four is renamed to The Future Foundation, reflecting a shift in intent and policy (2011) ◼ Johnny and Crystal marry (2017) ◼ Cynthia is born (2019) -

P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) ________________________________________________________________________________________ As one of marvel's oldest IPs, The Fantastic Four are burdened with a lot of outdated story tropes that are difficult to resolve in the modern age, part of why it's been so difficult to create a good Fantastic Four movie. Reed Richards has always been the 'main character' whose genius and importance overshadow the others. So I wanted to reimagine a Fantastic Four without a Mr. Fantastic, giving the other members the chance to shine in his absence. I noticed an unusual throughline with The Fantastic Four and the threats they faced. Their enemies are often political entities. Namor is a king, Doom is a dictator, The Inhumans are royalty, and the Skrull are a space empire. it makes sense for Captain America to fight the Red Skull, but the Fantastic Four are not themselves seen as a political entity, so I wanted to imagine what it would be like if they got more involved with changing the world not just through fighting but through activism and altruism. Such activities would create an additional sort of drama as they start to aggravate existing power structures. Canonically, Reed Richards did found the Future Foundation to explore ways in which science can benefit all of humanity, so this idea isn't completely out of left field. Due to the rising tension with mutants which seems to be the current major plot point in this RP, I would like to set up the Future Foundation as a place to which young, superpowered individuals, mutant and non-mutant alike, can apply to become affiliate members. Sue believes that mutants need non-mutant allies to stand up for them and provide them with opportunities or else the divide will only widen. I am also reimagining a world in which the relationship between Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom had become one of friendship instead of rivalry. I feel that a touch of empathy and love might be enough to turn Doom's trajectory completely around. However, Doom still becomes dictator of Latveria, and is labeled a threat to global peace by NATO, who consider his methods counter to "Democracy", ie. capitalism. Doom still supports the Future Foundation under the table with his considerable resources and knowledge, but on paper, the Future Foundation has been forced to disavow Doom to maintain their public image. Given that my theme is to make things 'political', the continuing secret relationship between the Future Foundation and Latveria could jeopardize the Future Foundation's legitimacy in the eyes of Western Nations. S A M P L E P O S T S A M P L E P O S T ________________________________________________________________________________________ T H E F F T H E F F Location: A bar in Manhattan Post #1: A toast to the future "A superhero and a supervillain walk into a bar..." The beginning of a joke Johnny had told her passed through Sue's mind. Of course, that was the whole joke; there was no punchline. It was simply a statement made in jest at this little ritual that she participated in every year of the anniversary of the accident. She sat down at the bar next to a man in a trench coat, a hat, and a scar on his face. "A 'Storm' approaches," the man says, chuckling quietly to himself. "Very funny, 'Vic'," Sue shot back, gesturing to the barkeep, who knew the usual and began preparing her drink. "Ugh, I hate that shorthand, it lacks...gravitas." "Would you prefer Dr. V.D.? Sorry, Johnny came up with that," Sue smirked. Dr. Victor Von Doom spat out some of his drink, choking in laughter, "Tell your brother to never change!" Sue smiled wistfully. Whenever Victor was on television making some announcement related to his country, his thick Latverian accent was always front and center, but he could speak in a perfectly good American accent if he wanted to. He only did the accent out of solidarity with his countrymen, who were understandably wary of American interventionism. Similarly, he always appeared in public with his iron mask. But while most superheroes and supervillains wore masks to hide their true selves, 'Victor' was the persona, and Dr. Doom was who he really was. He was a man robed in deception, but Sue knew that beneath the layers of lies was a man who was dramatically and bombastically sincere with himself. "How's Cynthia?" Victor asked about his god-daughter, and Sue's niece. "She's healthy. No powers yet, so here's hoping it stays that way," Sue replied. Johnny just wanted their daughter to live a normal life, fearful that if she developed powers, she would be labeled a mutant and persecuted. Of course, Crystal was a bit more open-minded about it, offering to raise Cynthia with her family should Cynthia reveal her abilities. "How's Namor?" "Victor, please..." Sue rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Her drink arrived so she took a sip; the bartender left without another word. "I'm serious," Victor insisted, "Despite his repeated, unwanted advances, the king is intelligent, handsome, wealthy... you could do worse." "I could do better." "But think about it, between you and Johnny, you would have Atlantis in one hand, and Attilan in the other," Doom gestured dramatically, as if embracing the sun. "You're doing it again," Sue teased, referring to Victor's unfortunate penchant towards megalomania. "He doesn't respect me, Victor. And if you think he's such a catch, maybe you should marry him." "Maybe... maybe..." Victor swished his drink around wistfully reminiscing about the past, and a future that was never meant to be. A silence fell between them as the topic inevitably arrived at Sue's late husband, Reed Richards. "We're opening up the FF affiliates program to mutants," Sue declared, avoiding the subject, "Bring some young mutants under the FF banner, train them up as superheroes, garner some public respect and support... Sure, it's basically the same thing Dr. Xavier is doing at his school, but it's not enough if it's just mutants helping mutants, right? Us non-mutants need to step up and show solidarity. Show the world that cooperation and coexistence is not only possible, but also beneficial." Victor nodded, "Latveria will also be granting our mutants full citizenship and protection under the law. Additionally, our embassies the world over will be offering political asylum to mutants who are not known supervillains." "It could be dangerous. The Brotherhood might try to infiltrate your country." "Let them come, and face the might of Doom!" Sue looked at Victor and admired his honesty and single-minded dedication. "How long can we keep doing this?" she asked in a moment of vulnerability. "As long as it takes," Victor replied with an uncharacteristic gentleness, "It's what Reed would have wanted." Sue looked at her drink, then lifted it up, "To Reed." "To... the future." Sample Post

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