It's gonna be too hot to breathe today
And everybody's out here on the streets
Somebody's opened up the fire hydrant
Cold water rushing out in sheets
Some kid in a Marcus Allen jersey
Asks me for a cigarette
Companionship is where you find it
So I take what I can get

Hubcaps on the cars like funhouse mirrors
Stick to the shadows when I can
Lovecraft in Brooklyn

(IC:
Something strange is happening in this city. The murder rate is up, and the newspapers are full of tension and blood. Everyone is on edge, and rumors circulate about strange things stalking the night - things quite unlike your usual crop of urban predators. You can feel it, every one of you. Something tugging on the back of your mind; faint screams on the wind. Other people don't seem to notice it as much as you, but you can feel it calling to you. And one day, you find it.
)

(OOC:
This roleplay is set in a modern city that is experiencing some significant strangeness. Every one of the players becomes involved in the situation when they stumble on a Well: a crack in the earth that bubbles up some kind of weird liquid darkness. Drinking any of the liquid, or getting a significant amount on the skin, permanently gives a new ability to the imbiber. It also, however, brings you to the attention of... something.

Character Skeleton:

Name:
Age:
Physical Description:
Clothing:
Personality
Background:
Ability: (the stronger you make this, the more you’re going to be noticed by Others)

RULES:
• As snobby as it may be, I want this to be a fairly sophisticated roleplay. Don’t join if you think two sentences are enough for a reply, or if you’re going to be half-assed about it.
• To go along with that, there is a 150 word minimum for posts.
• No godmodding, ect, ect.
• I’ll be DMing this shiznit, so if you have questions, PM me.

Your audition for the RP will be your description of how you encounter your first Well and discover your ability. The more creative it is, the better. I reserve the right to refuse any audition, for any reason I want.

We need about 4 people. Start!
)

Audition Post(( I couldn't exactly come up with a description...so I wrote it all out... I hope that's alright o.o if not I can delete my post... sorry))
Name: Maxine (Max)
Age:18
Physical Description:Layerd black hair that goes down to her back in waves and bright aquamarine blue eyes, lip piercing, tongue piercing and eyebrow piercing.
Clothing:Tight black tanktop and ripped jeans with a pair of tight jeans in the same color underneath black shoes.
Personality: Very secrative but puts on a tough front, by almost constantly getting into fights. very standoffish but when she lets someone inside she tries to push them away but clings to her brother for dear life.
Background: Parents died in a accident not long after her 18th birthday and she was left to live with her 21 year old brother.
Ability: (the stronger you make this, the more you’re going to be noticed by Others): large black feathered wings sprout from her back and her left eye turns completely black, allowing her to see completely around her -including the back of her head- except forward ( thats what her right eye is for).

Maxine sat, huddled against her brother as he brushed his manicured nails through her hair, whispering soft words into her ear. He was trying to tell her it was alright, but it wasn't getting through to her, as the seconds-minutes-hours-days passed the hissing got louder. She had begun getting headaches that forced her to tears and all her brother could do was sit and tell her it would all be okay. Black streaks were running down her cheeks, her blue eyes losing their lively shine from the red veins that surrounded them. Sleep was only a figment of her imagination at this point. She had to get her mind off of it.
She stood knocking the hand off her head, she had to get away from the hissing, she had to run. She stood for a minute swaying, finding herself unsteady on her feet. Her brother held her arm softly, unsure of what to do. With a growl she ripped her arm out of his hand and stumbled out of the house, tripping on the last stair and stumbling onto the sidewalk. The hissing got louder causing her to jam her hands into her hair pulling at the roots. It hurt so bad, but she had to keep going, she had to get away from the hissing. She stood and began to run, clumsily swerving through the many people that littered the city sidewalks, she ran through the street making it to the park that sat in the middle of the city.
A car screeched to a halt, the driver leaning out the window and telling a stream of curses that Maxine just ignored, continuing her run to the park-to freedom. She jumped over the fence and her jeans caught onto a part of it causing the rip to widen and Maxine to fall flat on her face. It wouldn't stop her though she jumped back up and ran onto the manicured lawn. She didn't have a destination but the hissing made her continue her journey straight. By this point her head was pounding and her vision went black, but she kept running. Before she knew it there was no ground under her feet and she was falling. The hissing got louder, painfully she couldn't hear anything but the sound and it felt like her body was on fire. she stopped moving. She didn't hit ground, she just stopped, seemingly floating in mid air. Slowly the hissing stopped and Maxine opened her eyes, she still couldn't see anything, everything was black.
Then it came again, the hissing, it got louder and louder until she felt like screaming. Her body burned everywhere. Her back was searing it felt like a whole new organism was trying to push itself through her shoulder blades. She bit her lip until the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, but as fast as the pain came, it left.
She opened her eyes to find herself on the grass doused in sweat, or what appeared to be sweat. Not even 5 inches from her was a well. She looked around the park, nobody seemed to notice. The hissing came again, though distant, she covered her ears to block out the sound, and it worked, the hissing was now external, it was coming from something. she sat up shakily trying to find out where it was coming from, and found it almost immediately, the well was filled with a black liquid, it was bubbling and steam rose from the well. Maxine looked around once more to see if anyone else noticed; there were two.There was an old couple on a bench watching her with knowing eyes. She stood up and swayed for a moment, her eyes locked on the couple. There was nothing different about them, they just looked at her, but something made her want to talk to them. She took small steps until she was standing in front of them. The man stood up with his hands held out in Maxine's direction, a black leather jacket in one hand, and sunglasses in the other. She took them, throwing on the jacket and slipping the sunglasses on over her eyes. She watched the woman stand as well, without a word the old woman brushed past Maxine but the man put a hand on her shoulder. He leaned in, stopping when his lips were nearly brushing her ear.
"Be careful, your not the same Maxine as you used to be. Your being followed."
With only that warning he was gone. Maxine thought nothing of it, the only thought in her mind was to get home, to figure out what happened to her. She turned her head to look at the path the old man and woman walked down but what she saw made her freeze. The woman and man were walking down the path, and they looked no different, but they were going near the center of the park. What Maxine also saw was the entrance to the park. She spun around finding it was the same deal, just in reverse- the old man and woman she could see through her left eye, but the entrance through her right.
She took off at a run towards her house but stopped outside the door. The window in the door was reflective, and she wanted to see what was changed, because there was something different. She took off the glasses and immediately her hand reached up to her eye, with shaky fingers she pulled down her lower eyelid. Her left eye was completely black. She closed her right eye, she could only see behind her and to both her sides, but she couldn't see forward. Opening her eyes again she stared longer into her reflection. The old man and the old woman- they knew- they knew what happened to her, and the probably knew why. Thats why they gave her the sunglasses, to hide her eye, But they gave her a thick leather jacket too. Her right eye fell to the jacket and pulled it slowly off. Two great black feathered wings sprung out of her back. she wrestled the jacket back on seeing a boy walking down the street.
"What am I?" she muttered softly to herself before entering the house.

Sounds interesting enough.

Name: Gene Crest
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Physical Description:
-Eyes: Brown
-Hair: Black and hanging in front of his eyes
-Physical Build: Average figure of an 18 year old, although he has a bit of a muscular look around the arm and legs. No piercings, tattoos, or scaring, although he has a birthmark in the shape of a Triangle with a small circle in it. 5'10" or so and weighing in at around 120 lbs.
Clothing: Long black coat, color red on the inside, a white shirt and black pants that's held up with a long black cloth used as a belt. Red and black Nike shoes, as well as brown detective hat with fake wolf ears placed on the edges to cover a set of holes.
Personality:He mostly stays calm in most, if not all, situations and appears too laid back to most and seems almost lazy. He responds by saying, "I'm not lazy, I'm just saving my energy".
Background: Gene was born and raised normally, nothing special, his family was average as well, not rich, not poor. His parent raised him with good morals, although they weren't religious, they believed in god and equality for all, as well as being non-violent. As he grew those morals and states of mind stuck with him, possibly a bit too well. He would sometimes be confronted by many people that were considered 'bullies' and just wanted to pick a fight. And Gene would stand and take the beating if they were to come, and stayed calm in those situations without retaliation.

This state of mind seemed to make him, somewhat, more likable and a bit more popular during high school. Although this attitude towards life that he had didn't much impress his teachers, whom all seemed to think of him as a lazy student. He did fine through school, and graduated with reasonably good grades, as well as getting a scholarship into a good college.
Ability: A type of organic metal, that seems to have replaced his blood, it is able to pierce through his skin and cover his body like armor. It's as strong as re-enforced steel, but as flexible as rubber, as well as performing as an armor, it can also produce weapons.

---------------------------------------

Gene moaned a bit as he opened his eyes, he felt something land on his nose, his eyes crossed to look at it. He let out a grunt as he pushed himself up to sit up and lean against the tree he was asleep under. He plucked the leaf from his nose and placed it next to him, "When did I doze off?" he asked himself as he rubbed his eyes a bit. He straightened up and allowed his back to crack several times as he let out a yawn. Even after his little nap he still felt tired, and he still had the slight migraine from before. "Maybe it was my mistake to take a nap in a public park" he thought as he felt his clothes, a bit wet. "When did the sprinklers go off and how come I didn't feel it?" he asked himself.

He got up and dusted himself off of all the leaves and a bit of dust that had managed to accumulate on him. He looked up at the sun to get a estimation of what time it was by it's position, "Lunch time" he said to himself. He looked around a bit before finding what he was looking for, he picked up his hat and pulled off the little debris that was on it. There were some specks of dirt really stuck in the fur of the wolf ears but he didn't mind it much and placed it on his head. He started to head out of the park, thinking of what he could get to eat, before his head started pounding again. "And an Aspirin" he said to himself.

Gene's head pounded harder, but he managed to ignore it as he started across the street, down to a fast food place. He sat and ate his sandwich, shaking his head several times during his meal to shake off the pain from his headaches. At one point it got so bad that he nearly fell back, out of his chair as he ate. "Maybe I need another nap" he said to himself as he finished off his sandwich, and left a tip. At this point his head started pounding harder and harder as he crossed the street once more, back to the park to go to sleep under his tree.

He tripped when he hit the edge of the curve and fell to his knees, catching himself at the last moment, before his face became a pancake. When his face was down towards the pavement he noticed something, a trail, a long black trail leading from the side walk, and into the park, and it followed the foot path. A bit curious he followed it, although his migraine was still bothering him, the curiosity was of much greater force to him. He followed the trail, hunched over and crawling around the ground on all fours, he didn't mind the people giving him a strange look. He ended up on a secluded part of the park where not many people came, and a large Well had formed on the ground.

The trail led directly into the well, as a strange black liquid poured from it, over flowing the area. "Weird" he said as he looked at it, he thought it was some type of sewage back up, but strangely he didn't smell anything. He edged closer towards and placed his face directly above it, and almost having his nose touch the surface. As he exhaled his breath broke the surface and caused a ripple to spread through the surface. He was in a bit of awe as he started at the surface of the strange liquid, until a large bubble broke the surface and splashed a large amount of the liquid onto him. Gene coughed into his hand as he started choking on the liquid, some of it managing to force itself down his throat. Not only that his face was soaking wet with the stuff, "Disgusting" he said as he wiped off his face with his sleeve, and spitting a bit.

Although the taste was disgusting he noticed something soon after some of the liquid made its way down his throat. His headache stopped, he let out a sigh of relief and thought that he might have found a faster relief for headaches and migraines in this disgusting looking pool of, something. He scooped a bit more up in his hand and drank it, this time it had a bit of a bitter taste but it slipped down his throat faster and easier than water. "Weirder" he said to himself as he sat back and looked at the pool of whatever it was. He thought about bringing a cup or something and scooping up some of the liquid to get it looked at and tested. That was until he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.

He touched the back of his neck and felt a bit of a slit in his skin, 'Great' he thought as he pulled his hand back. He thought he would see blood, but he saw something else, it looked like, Mercury, but it was a bit thicker and it moved. As a matter of fact he saw it expand and spread over his hand and covered it, and more of the liquid metal started to cover his body. The liquid metal consumed his body, from his hands down to his feet, but it stopped just above his nose, like a mask. He looked at his body again and found that it was covered in, what looked like, armor. Gene looked at his own body in shock, he lifted his shirt and found the armor had covered under his shirt as well. He even, privately, looked down his pants to find the armor has covered him in there as well. "Weirdest" he said as he looked at his hand, which had become claw like, the liquid like metal had become solid. "I need a soda" he said to himself as he got up, and then noticed the metal plate covering his body to the top of his nose. "Right" he said as he felt the plate covering his mouth, "That's not going to work".

((OOC: Hope this is ok))

(OOC: Both of you are accepted - nice writing, and exactly what I'm looking for. Keep it up.

We just need a few more people and we're good to go.

Ooh, and a side note. The Wells only last for a limited time, so it's likely that they close up and disappear soon after you guys get affected.)

(( OOC: uhh... how many people do we need?))

((OOC: Well, I wanted 4, but I'd be willing to start if we can get one more. But 4 would be best.))

(( OOC: is it alright if I ask someone if they want to join?))

((OOC: Ya, go ahead.))

Character Skeleton:

Name: Jake Richmond
Age: 18
Physical Description: Jake has a thick mop of blonde hair with dark roots underneath. He is tall, and slim, and has quite delicate facial features.
Clothing: White t-shirts, jeans.
Personality: Jake is clever and friendly, but he has a tendency to become over-aggressive if he gets angry. He does take many comments as a personal slight even if they were not meant to be offensive.
Background: His dad died when he was twelve years old, which led to a great sadness within his home. His mother withdrew for two years in depression and when she recovered Jake had been looking after his little sister for two years and dealing with the house and the bills. Although she was grateful to her son, Jake could never quite forgive her for leaving him to deal with everything at twelve years of age, so things were never quite the same again.
Ability: Jake can become liquid metal after coming into contact with the strange substance; he can melt down and therefore travel through small spaces or inside somebody else.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake was in the park. He had come here to get away from his mother. Things had never been the same between them since she had left him to deal with the running of the house for two years as a child. He knew it wasn't really her fault, but he had been grieving over his father as well and he had been the one who was just a child. He shook his head now. He had been over this in his mind a million times and it never helped. It was just the same as always.

Not looking where he was going, he started walking along, kicking a stray can out of a tangle of weeds which affectionately clung to his ankles, rising up out of a heap of strangled flowers. Jake broke through them, heading in any direction. The days seemed to bleed into one another. He wondered if it would ever get better. If anything would ever change.

It wasn't just his life that was going downhill, either. It was the whole city. You only had to pick up a newspaper to see it - murders, disappearances, mysteries. The streets were stained with blood, but no one, it seemed, could follow the trail.

Something caught Jake's eye at that moment and he turned. There seemed to be a well of some odd substance building up, trickling out against the ground. He frowned. He had never seen anything like that before. Walking over, he knelt down beside it and peered down. It was thick, like tar, but flowed more smoothly than water. As he leaned even closer, it suddenly spurted out of the ground and he got a mouthful.

He tried to splutter and spit it out, but the stuff was already flowing down his throat. It was all over his face, too. This was disgusting. Not only that, but it could be dangerous. He grasped at it, trying to get it out of his eyes, but his fingers just slid through it or past it. It was agony inside him; his stomach felt like it was ripping apart. Suddenly, he caught sight of his hands. His skin was bubbling like wax.

Jake shouted out and fell to his knees. His whole body felt like it was melting. He clutched at himself, but nothing worked ... everything hurt, everything burned ... And then, quite suddenly, the pain stopped. Jake felt like he was flowing, like nothing mattered. He couldn't see, but he could sense. He knew what was in front of him, what surrounded him. He could move. But somehow, he knew, he had no body. He had become metal; liquid metal. He could flow wherever he pleased.

No. This was wrong. He was not liquid metal; he was an eighteen year old boy. Using all his strength, he dragged himself together, building the shape of a human up again. Looking down, he realized that he was still made of liquid metal. He looked like himself again, but no one could touch him. Their hands would go straight inside him, and it wouldn't hurt. Where was his skin? It took a great deal of effort, and he had no idea how he did it, but suddenly he was himself again. But everything was different. He didn't know what had just happened, or what would happen next, but one thing was certain, even though he had no idea how he knew it.

He was now being watched.

((Is this okay?))

((OOC: Yeah, that's fine, you're in. I just need to take care of a couple things and then I'll make the starting post for the actual RP.))

Name: Violet Abbey
Age: 19
Race: Caucasian, possibly European.
Condition:

Comatose since the age of 18. Several severe concussions, blunt trauma to the cranium. Unresponsive to light or sound. No improvement, no decline in medical status. Estimated to live in vegetative state until death.

Pseudonym: Alice (believed by some to be a play on 'Alias')
Age: Unknown (late-teens)
Appearance:

Alice appears to many people as a young albino woman with long white-blonde hair. Her facial expressions vary, but there is usually little to no emotion in them, having constructed the avatar within a digital environment using high-end 3D building and animation techniques. Her eyes appear to be pink in color, framed with pale eyelashes and eyebrows above white lips almost always cocked in a sarcastic smile.

Clothing:

Something, anything that would now be described as 'rococo', 18th century french decorative clothing. However, the way she has depicted herself, child derivatives of this type of clothing is most prevalent in her clothing selections. Knee length skirts or dresses, headdresses, blouses, petticoats, knee length socks or stockings and thick heels. Dark colors, mostly, in case the screens she appears on are RGB defective.

Personality:

Sarcastic bitch. She means every insult, and every sarcastic comment, and will not stand for ignorance or stupidity.

Background:

Alice was originally called Violet Abbey, a young woman just in a prestigious college and out of several dreadful years of high school. She was a pretty brunette, good at maths and science, and with a scholarship in physics, Violet was finally going somewhere with her life. About halfway through her first year, she stumbled to a nearby teaching hospital for severe blunt trauma to the head area and a several bruises around her torso, relaxing into a comatose state when finally catching sleep. While she healed, her family stood around her and wondered what exactly had happened.

Violet 'woke' to find herself among the collective unconscious, all the shared information of the human race, and drifting somewhere in the magnetic field of Schumann's resonance. Her mind had become part of the primordial soup of the internet, and all wired and wireless communication devices: screens, wide-screen televisions, radios, cell phones, artificial intelligences. She had become Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole of wonderland cyberspace, forever linked to knowledge of information available with a thought or an instant. Now, the computer screen is her portrait frame, a cold and unloving picture-perfect woman as its subject.

Abilities:

Alice is able to gather information at a second's thought and is able to hack most computer systems, outside of those which require years of decoding and information-gathering. She can appear many places at once, speak many places at once, and can effectively build or destroy any technology under her hands.

((OOC: when are we going to start? Sorry for being impatient o.o))

I'd audition, but I prefer a more traditional lovecraftian scene, not modern brooklyn...

Sorry, no desolate New England countryside here.

Yeah... was hoping for a 20's New York...

Uhhhm... Is it alright if I join this? If not, just ignore my post. :]

Name: Halcyon King
Age: 16
Physical Description: Halcyon is of average height and average build. She has auburn hair (with black streaks) cropped to her chin, with jagged ends, and blue-grey eyes. Her skin is fairly pale.
Clothing: Halcyon wears a motorcycle jacket over a white blouse, worn blue jeans tucked into knee-high boots, and, on occasion, a bowler hat.
Personality: Halcyon comes across as brave but vaguely mysterious. She doesn't often smile, but in her own way, she's a kind girl and she does care. Halcyon is pretty clever, though not what you'd call 'freaky-genius' smart. She's fairly quiet (but not shy -- she just doesn't say much), but is not afraid to speak her mind and rarely looses her cool.
Background: Halcyon grew up in a fairly normal household, with both parents and an older sister. She attends high school and has a few friends, though is considered "weird" by most of the people that know her.
Ability: (the stronger you make this, the more you’re going to be noticed by Others) Telekinesis

* * *

She had no loved ones buried in the cemetery -- she just liked the place. Halcyon loved to wander aimlessly around it and stopped by nearly every day after school. She found it very therapeutic to wander amongst the gravestones, daydreaming, letting the wind play with her hair. On this particular evening, she was headed for the knarled, leafless tree at the very back, thinking it would be a good place to sit down and ponder life, perhaps have a quick nap. When she reached it, however, she saw something that wasn't quite right.

It was a weird crack in the ground, similar to something you'd expect to see after a big earthquake, only some form of thick black liquid was bubbling out of it. Like an idiot, Halcyon crept closer.

The liquid seemed to be drawn to her, or something, for it immediately oozed out toward her at an astonishing rate.
Sensing that this wasn't right, Halcyon turned and tried to run, but at that moment, the stuff swirled around her ankles. Halcyon didn't remember tripping, but suddenly she was lying facedown on the ground and the liquid was curling around her legs, arms, neck, face, mouth... stinging and burning. It seemed to be everywhere, even in her eyes. Halcyon tried to scream but couldn't. She couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't think.


Halcyon didn't think she ever lost consciousness, because it wasn't any darker when she opened her eyes, but she felt oddly floaty and disconnected, like she'd just woken up. The liquid stuff was gone, and the crack in the ground had vanished like it never existed. Maybe she'd dreamt it?

Yeah. Probably. Get a grip, Halcyon.

But as she struggled to her feet, she felt weird everywhere, and that floaty feeling intensified. Oh God. What the Hell has happened to me?

((Sorry it's a bit vague... I'm a bit pushed for time.))