Mind Squatters- a certifiably insane RP (Accepting, of course)

[Monkeysky]

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Alright, this idea has been in my head for a long time, and I guess I figured that it isn't going to get any less insane, so I might as well try to get it out now. I know this seems pretty strange, but I'm not going to take it too seriously, and let it go off in whatever direction the players take it. I wrote out the setting at midnight, so forgive me there.

Setting:

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Humanity always had a way of springing back up. When the comets hit down, and the earth flooded, it seemed to most people that everything was over, but we sprung back up. The tower-cities were built, new homes for the survivors miles above the sea, powered by geothermic plants and contained in glass domes. Between them, the air-trains, electronic monorails that move thousands of miles a day without stopping, became the standard method of transportation. Most life was wiped out, but genetic archives and cloning technology allowed massive greenhouses and farms to be constructed, providing food for humanity. The owners of these plant sources soon got a grip on the food industry, and became the new political leaders, constantly attempting to outdo each other in production and novelty.
Then, when everything was going so well, the second comet hit. Already being suspended far above the surface, the impact barely hurt the population, but it brought something else with it. People who watched it come down were the first to feel the effects. One out of ten developed a strange mental illness, generally some sort of specific delusion or obsession (For example, a person may have a terrible fear of table legs, or be convinced that pieces of paper could speak to them). Their entire mind, and entire life, would be warped around this defect. Upon the death of the person, this illness would immediately jump to the nearest person. This outbreak led to the emergence of a new culture, a large population of homeless men women an children who would live in the cargo trains owned by the industrial leaders.
However, this comet also brought some people a great gift, the ability to project themselves into a person's mind. These people could, through some idiosyncratic method, remove their own identity and place it into the other person, at the risk of being lost forever in someone else's thoughts. Through this, a person can be helped through the removal of the extraterrestrial influences, or hurt even more extremely through deliberate destruction of the mindscape. While many of the users of this ability were able to rise to power, it may take longer for some to develop it than others.

TL;DR:

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The world is all messed up: The planet is flooded, people live in floating cities, there are flying trains filled with future hobos, farming companies rule the world, and alien brain demons make people sort of crazy. Luckily, some people can go into people's brains and fix them, or they can make it worse if they want.

Character Profiles: If you're interested in joining, pm the complete profile to me, and I'll add it here, unless there are any glaring issues.

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Username: Greyhound
Name: Django Mullenberry
Physical appearance: Short, almost greasy hair slicked close to the scalp. A sort of gaunt, ugly-ish face with tan skin that clashes with his scar tissue. One eye is a dark purplish color, where the other is a milky blue. The left side is marred by pale, shiny scar tissue. He is willowy, tall, with spindly limbs that seem maladjusted to his relatively small head and torso. Black turtleneck with charcoal quilted padding. Bright red vest of a sort of plastic-y, PVC material. Grey pants and black loafers. If not that, he prefers, comfortable, practical dark-colored clothing that covers most of his skin. He is in his late twenties.
Personality: Shy, introverted, and socially awkward. If he talks, it's usually a quick muttered statement. He often averts his eyes from subjects he's speaking with.
Biography: Django was born to a pair of loving, good-natured parents who raised him as best they could. Despite this, or perhaps as a result, Django grew up to become an awkward, shy, yet extremely brilliant computer technician. His father is dead, but his mother still lives in a small house. He witnessed the second meteor, and it gave him the ability to leap into the minds of others, but with a catch. Up until the events of the story, Django found work repairing input/output centers in and around the city. In his spare time, he fiddles with personal computer parts and makes beautiful and amazing, if perhaps bizarre, trinkets and inventions. His left eye was blinded by the explosion of a malfunctioning bank of servers.
Mind-jumping: Yes he can. He initially can only do it after beating a complicated maze. As time goes on, he realizes it is simply a web of circuitry, and can be treated as such. After that, he circumvents the challenge entirely and simply lets his left eye find a "sweet spot" on the person's head through which he can slip in as a wisp of blue smoke.
Mind-form: Job
Mind-scape: A strange, anachronistic mixture of mythic Mesopotamian architecture and antique computing technology, i.e. a ruined stone maze decorated with a mixture of circuitry and CRT monitors.

Username: Greyhound
Name: Job
Physical appearance: Essentially like Django, only his scar tissue is replaced by a plain black eye patch and he has a neatly trimmed mustache. He wears a trim, slim-fitting suit that complements his slim figure rather than parodying it. The suit itself is a paisley mix of deep purples, heavy jades, illustrious maroons, and gorgeous blues. It is a gorgeous rainbow that captures the eye and, if you stare at it for a while, it almost seems to change and shift patterns like a kaleidoscope. He wears a maroon bowler hat with a band on it the changes color gradually. His hair is neatly trimmed and appears to be professionally cleaned and styled. He is almost eternally beaming. His shoes are gold-accented black loafers, and his gloves are black with gold accent. He carries a black umbrella with a polished mahogany tip on it.
Personality: Jovial, witty, and almost entirely likable. He always knows what to say, or seems to, and is sort of Django's polar opposite.
Biography: Job is a projection of Django's "inner self"; the man he wishes he could be.
Mind-jumping: He (at the moment) only exists in the minds of others and in Django's mind.
Mind-form: Like himself, or a likening thereof.
Mind-scape: Like a totally flat, completely white expanse.

Username: Monkeysky
Name: Xavier Surulius
Physical appearance: At only 41 years old, Xavier appears to be much older. His hair is thinning, and completely grey. He is less than five feet tall, even while standing straight up, but he usually stoops over anyway. He is slightly overweight. He tends to wear a plain grey suit. He wears dark glasses at almost all times, but both of his eyes are white opaque glass, without pupils.
Personality: He is extremely hesitant to make important decisions, and though he tries his hardest to hide it, he gets extremely anxious under pressure. He speaks very quietly, and flinches when he hears loud noises. Due to his lack of sight, his hearing is very good.
Biography: Born to Lucius Surulius, one of the highest ranked food processors, and the owner of the Surulius Cattle Dome, Xavier had a fairly idyllic childhood up until he was 7 years old. At this point, his father was assassinated in a bombing that destroyed both of his eyes. Because his mother died during childbirth, he was raised by his uncle, a harsh man who some suspected had some hand in the assassination. His uncle, who gained control of the company, put Xavier through a borderline abusive training regimen, with no patience for his disability. When his uncle finally passed away, a twenty-five year old Xavier inherited the company, though he had become a meek and unready young man. Through the next few decades, he cautiously led the company, eventually decreasing its worth by forty percent, but making it much less at risk of failing in any sort of economic disaster. Though many criticize him for not taking enough risks, most investors own at least a few shares of Surulius, as it has almost no risk of shutting down as long as Xavier is in charge. This, however, puts an entirely different target on his back. Xavier lives in constant paranoia of being attacked like his father.
Mind-jumping: Xavier cannot mind-jump.
Mind-form: the silhouette of a young boy, maybe nine or ten years old, which sobs constantly.
Mind-scape: The mind-scape is a version of his own childhood home, but almost pitch black and completely colourless. Whenever a sound is created, the area the waves bounce off of light up.
Other Info: When he was young, Xavier became infected with an obsession with keys. Though his father's influence allowed this to be cured quickly, he still keeps a collection, as he enjoys the shape.

Username: Monkeysky
Name: Kentin York
Physical appearance: Kentin is a 33 year old man. He is five and a half feet tall, and dangerously thin. He appears to have some Asian heritage, resulting in very dark hair. His skin is very pale, but that is most likely because he spends much of his time out of the sun. His eyes are very dark green, and he tends to squint when in any sort of light. He wears thick grey pajamas underneath a bright red trench coat, and only socks. His most prominent feature are his abnormally long teeth and receded gums.
Personality: Kentin is, to be most blunt, a sociopathic maniac. He doesn't only act in his own self-interest, he acts only in a way that will keep him entertained within the next few hours. He has no concern for others, besides their entertainment value.
Biography: Kentin was assumed to be born to a homeless woman on the air-trains, but he was abandoned at a station, and sent to an orphanage. As was the custom, he took the last name of the owner of the institution, a wealthy business-man. He was raised there, and generally picked on by the other kids for his bizarre appearance and behavior, until his abnormal abilities manifested at ten years, when he used them to send another child into a coma. He was immediately placed into a special training program for mind-jumping children, which he finally left at the age of 18. During his training, it became apparent that he inherited from one of his parents an auto-immune disease that causes extreme pain in the skin. The pain was supposed to have been surgically decreased, but all sensation in his skin was removed due to complications, though it could be restored through provided medication. As soon as he left the facilities, he stopped taking the medication. He quickly found a career as a "breaker", or a mind-jumper that purposefully ruins their host's mind to incapacitate them mentally.
Mind-jumping: Kentin can only enter someone's mind after scaring or surprising them in some way. After he sees their fear or shock, he enters their mouth as a small group of black spiders.
Mind-form: Kentin represents himself as a being known as the Organist. The being is made up of a small pipe organ constructed of sharp teeth, with bony legs moving it around, which is being played and controlled by a deformed metallic creature, appearing to be a cross between a porcupine and a human child, wearing Kentin's face.
Mind-scape: Kentin's mind is a massive labyrinth, with the walls composed of metal pins, the doors being framed with scaled up (a foot long) human teeth, and the floor and ceiling feeling similar to the flesh in a human mouth. There is no entrance or exit, and the paths twist around when no one is looking.
Other Info: He tends to stutter and he has a noticeable tic in his eyes, mouth, and neck. He is a talented musician, and can play the piano and pipe-organ. Most animals fear him by sight or smell. He is computer illiterate.

Username: ambrosialAssassin
Name: Renn Zorya
Physical appearance:
The older-looking of the twins, Renn is fairly tall at 5'10" with a slender, curvy build. Her hair is long, wavy and a blonde-white color and her eyes are a very light blue. She is pretty much always wearing some assortment of jean pants and sweater.
Personality:
An introverted girl, Renn often keeps to herself and gets along with few people other than her sister. Although she is an introvert, she is hardly quiet and is very forceful about her opinions, often to the point of being rude or insensitive. She is very smart and is very thorough about thinking things through. She will do pretty much
anything if is it necessary.
She is often the one who has to keep Chenn from doing anything too unsafe and is extremely protective of her, so much so that she will often try to get into fights protecting her even though in truth she is the weaker of the two.
Biography:
One of a set of twins, Renn is the older of two. Born to an average family, who were the owners of a small wine shop, they lived a particularly normal life until their father died of a strange illness 11 years ago. The cause of the illness was never pinpointed but was assumed to be the same as the many other illnesses plaguing the area and that the illness was likely contracted by one of the three remaining family members; presumably their mother. Upon hearing the news of her new illness their mother fell into a long depression, leaving most of the work and responsibility of the store upon the two children.
Renn has had the ability to mind-jump since she was born but was only became completely aware of it when she was about 12. She would occasionally go into her mother's mind-scape in an attempt to cure her depression but was unable to do anything of value.
Currently, Renn still works at the small store with her sister but is slowly progressing into closing the store for good due to pressures by larger companies.
Mind-jumping: Touches the person's forehead and is sucked inside
Mind-form: A black and white doll-like person made of floating shapes. She has no visible facial features and, though she can hear and see like a normal person, she can not speak and instead projects her thoughts directly onto the other's mind. She can also rearrange her body parts however she wants.
Mind-scape: The appearance of a thriving metropolis, Renn's world is a black and white downtown city with towering buildings and bridges. The world is inhabited by strange, faceless, mannequin-like humans who walk down the streets like a normal person would, turning to any outsiders who walk past. The city is relentlessly hounded by all types of natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes, blizzards, the whole deal pretty much) though the city and the 'people' regenerate themselves immediately after.

Username: ambrosialAssassin
Name: Chenn Zorya
Physical appearance:
The younger in appearance of the twins, Chenn has a slender, child-like build and is of average height; about 5'6". Her hair is long and wavy like her sisters but is often kept up in a ponytail. She is very active and wears primarily shorts and a t-shirt with her red jacket on top.
Personality:
In contrast to her sister, is very outgoing and excitable. She is very naive and carefree for a person living in this age but prefers things that way. Very much a child at heart, she loves exploring and seeing how different mechanisms and objects work.
She often gets lost and into trouble and is saved usually by her sister, though she is usually the one that keeps her sister out of fights. She is much stronger than her sister but only really uses it against people if they are doing something out of line to someone else. (When she is angry, though, you should be scared)
Biography:
Aside from her father's death and her mother's depression, Chenn was sheltered away from most of her family's issues and general worldly issues by her sister. She spent a lot of her time working, but would some times skip out to go exploring and shopping.
She spends a lot of time learning about the previous Earth and the creatures and landscapes that were once on it, simply due to blind fascination almost to an unhealthy sense. Her dream is to one day see the Earth restored to its previous glory or to find another similar planet
Unlike her sister, Chenn was not born with the mind-jumping ability but obtained the ability last year when she turned 20. She never really used it until the following year when their mother had a stroke and was pronounced to be in a locked-in state. Both of the sisters often visit their mother at the hospital and go into her mind in order to better communicate with her.
She is currently still working at their small wine shop with her sister, though they are apparently closing it down for reasons that are unknown to her. She also has a secondary job as an astronomer.
Mind-jumping: Simply jumps head-first into the person's head
Mind-form: A small peregrine falcon and can also turn into a harpy form where she has a human body and head, but has the wings (arms) and legs of the bird.
Mind-scape: Chenn's mind-scape is the form of a world similar to the previous Earth, complete with animals and plants. The world is very serene but doesn't take well to outsiders. If an outsider tries to make a change to the world, often the landscape (ie plants and animals) will attack the assailant.

Profile Skeleton:

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[B]Username:[/B] Fairly obvious, put your own username
[B]Name:[/B] The characters name, as specific as possible.
[B]Physical appearance:[/B] How do they look? A picture or description would be good. Age, gender, physical features, and clothing preference are good places to hit on.
[B]Personality:[/B] How do they act? Be specific.
[B]Biography:[/B] What happened to them up to this point?
[B]Mind-jumping:[/B] Can they enter people's minds? If so, what symbolic way do they do appear to do this? For example, they could enter by unzipping the person's head and climbing in, but to anyone else, nothing would appear to be happening.
[B]Mind-form:[/B] What do they look like in their own mind, or when entering someone else's? This is going to be much more abstract that before. It could be an animal, an object, some collection of shapes, any way that they would identify themselves.
[B]Mind-scape:[/B] How would their mind appear, when not being influenced by anything else, to a mind-jumper?
[B]Other Info:[/B] Anything else you want people to know?

Rules:

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These are gonna be pretty lax, but I'll enforce things as I see fit.

1. Start at a reasonable level of power. There's time for improvement later.
2. If you have a complaint, bring it up with me first.
3. You can have as many characters as you think you could keep a handle on. Be reasonable.
4. Mean characters are fine. Mean players are not. Be civil.
5. Be as original as you can with your characters.

That's all for now, I guess. I'm pretty tired and I might have messed this up somehow. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask here or pm me.

[ambrosialAssassin]

This seems pretty exciting! Two questions though!

1) Would i be able to have twin characters? if yes should i make one profile for them or separate profiles?

2) Can more than one person jump into someone's mind at the same time? If so will they be able to see each other or communicate within the mind?

EDIT

One more! When someone goes into someones mind, will the person who's mind is being invaded know people are in there?

[Monkeysky]

This seems pretty exciting! Two questions though!

1) Would i be able to have twin characters? if yes should i make one profile for them or separate profiles?

2) Can more than one person jump into someone's mind at the same time? If so will they be able to see each other or communicate within the mind?

EDIT

One more! When someone goes into someones mind, will the person who's mind is being invaded know people are in there?

1. Sure, that sounds cool! They could probably have the same profile, since their biography would be pretty much the same.
2. Yes, but it would be difficult to do so safely.
3. Definitely, and if the jumper doesn't know what they're doing, they can cause even more damage than they would fix. When a person goes into someone's mind, they would have to keep from messing around with other parts of it besides the part they are removing, and if more than one person is in there, the skill required to do so increases exponentially. There are certain advantages to having more than one person, however.

[ambrosialAssassin]

Ok! Profile on the way! I might have more questions as i go along though! :P

[Monkeysky]

Go right ahead.
This is most certainly a work in progress, and any advice I can get would be appreciated.

[ambrosialAssassin]

I have a godly plethora of questions for you and apologize in advance for all of them! I decided to post them here in case anyone also had similar questions



Can someone have the ability to mind-jump and have the illness, obtain the ability to mind-jump after being cured of their illness, or any combination of the above? Can someone simply lose the ability to mind-jump or does it stay with them forever?

Is the ability to mind-jump as well as the illness something obtained from birth or can they develop it at any time during their life?

Can a mind-jumper change their Mind-form when they're in someone's mind or change it between different people's minds (ie: appearing human in person-A's mind and then appearing as a cat in person-B's mind) or is it a fixed appearance?

Is a person's Mind-form related to their state of mind (ei: someone who relates very well to animals appears as an animal) or can they choose it?

How much is a person's Mind-scape influenced by their state of mind? Can they change it willingly? Will things change as their state of mind changes? If they can't change it willingly what would change it?

Does the illness only transfer if the person dies? If the person is cured will it also transfer or is it elliminated? Can a person who has had an illness suffer from relapse?

What exactly is the structure of the tower city's? Is it a tower with a city built on top or is the city contained within the towers themselves. If the latter, do the cities have multiple levels within the tower and how close and far from the sea does the city itself extend? Would the distance from the 'earth' create differences in how many illnesses/mind-jumpers there are? Are there differences between certian tower cities or are they all constructed the same?

Besides the political disputes, are there any fights between the regular community? Are there still different races of human (american, asian, european, etc)? Is there a certian type or race of person that is treated better than others? Are mind-jumpers themselves treated differently?

Is the cloning technology simply used for food purposes? Has it or is it ever used on humans? Is there any particular person or group of people who do or would like to?

[Monkeysky]

Excellent

I have a godly plethora of questions for you and apologize in advance for all of them! I decided to post them here in case anyone also had similar questions



Can someone have the ability to mind-jump and have the illness, obtain the ability to mind-jump after being cured of their illness, or any combination of the above? Can someone simply lose the ability to mind-jump or does it stay with them forever?

Anyone can get the illness, and if two people with the illness have a child, there is a chance of that child being born with a new illness, but mind-jumping is not acquired. It can only be lost through mental incapacitation.

Is the ability to mind-jump as well as the illness something obtained from birth or can they develop it at any time during their life?

It isn't genetic, but it can't be gained. However, the time in their life that the ability appears is unique to each person, and it has a range of several decades, from birth to late thirties (yes, there are mind-jumping babies, and yes, they are dangerous).

Can a mind-jumper change their Mind-form when they're in someone's mind or change it between different people's minds (ie: appearing human in person-A's mind and then appearing as a cat in person-B's mind) or is it a fixed appearance?

It is decided sub-consciously, so it can change, but not controllably.

Is a person's Mind-form related to their state of mind (ei: someone who relates very well to animals appears as an animal) or can they choose it?

It relates to their view of themselves at the most primal level.

How much is a person's Mind-scape influenced by their state of mind? Can they change it willingly? Will things change as their state of mind changes? If they can't change it willingly what would change it?

Like the mind-form, it can change, but not controllably. If someone messes around in someone else's mind, the scape may begin to warp as well.

Does the illness only transfer if the person dies? If the person is cured will it also transfer or is it eliminated? Can a person who has had an illness suffer from relapse?

The only way to cure it is to go into their mind and destroy the representation of it in their mind-scape. It will only seek another host if the current one dies.

What exactly is the structure of the tower city's? Is it a tower with a city built on top or is the city contained within the towers themselves. If the latter, do the cities have multiple levels within the tower and how close and far from the sea does the city itself extend? Would the distance from the 'earth' create differences in how many illnesses/mind-jumpers there are? Are there differences between certain tower cities or are they all constructed the same?

The cities (which are actually only the size of small towns) are suspended 1-3 thousand feet above the water on top of a metal tower, and surrounded by a transparent dome. The city only extends a couple of floors into the tower, and is mostly built on top of it. The cities closest to the north pole had the highest density of illnesses, but they quickly spread out, and mind-jumpers were created pretty equally. The cities are constructed about as differently as modern American cities are from each other, though their architecture is much more advanced than today's.

Besides the political disputes, are there any fights between the regular community? Are there still different races of human (american, asian, european, etc)? Is there a certain type or race of person that is treated better than others? Are mind-jumpers themselves treated differently?

Due to the geographical obstacles, most fights are pretty discreet, and are generally fought personally between the leaders. There are still different races, but racism mostly was wiped out with the major disasters of the past. Mind-jumpers are treated about as well as someone with a very valuable skill would be expected to be.

Is the cloning technology simply used for food purposes? Has it or is it ever used on humans? Is there any particular person or group of people who do or would like to?

It is still too primitive to clone an animal without high risks of health problems, so it is generally only used for agricultural purposes. Human cloning is pretty much out of the question, though some fringe groups may still experiment (usually unsuccessfully) with it.

E: Okay, we've got our first app, which brings up some good points. A mind-form may be significantly different from the jumper's normal self, both in appearance and action, possibly even having their own mind-scape.

[Greyhound]

Alright. I sent my profile. Just posting to make it clear that I'll be involved.

[Monkeysky]

Good, I've added a character for myself, though I may have more than one.
That is another thing. You can have as many characters as you think you could responsibly use.
E: Okay, I've added my second character, which will most likely be the guiding antagonist when this gets off the ground.
I also added some rules, which are more like guidelines, and which are pretty obvious anyway.

[ambrosialAssassin]

Just out of curiosity how long has it supposedly been since both of the comets hit?

[Monkeysky]

One hundred forty years since the first, seventy since the second.

[ambrosialAssassin]

Profile sent :3

[Monkeysky]

Alright, great, that puts as at 3 players, and 5.5 characters.
If anyone has any ideas for some sort of signature banner, put that here, and otherwise, spread the word!