Flutz
New Member
Thanks for the feedback! I'm liking the idea more and more the longer I think about it, so I definitely want to explore that. (Is that something I PM you about?) I was feeling pretty excited to write more, so I went ahead and did the skeleton with that briefly mentioned, but I'm obviously definitely willing to change stuff.This is SPOOKY. I am into it. No comments for now, looks solid and balanced, can't wait to see the lad it comes with.
As for your little mean ol' idea (evil, love it) it depends on how long he's been there and how cooperative. I think if anything, they wouldn't mind making a puppet out of him, but it would likely be after the sixth month mark, not before. they like to sort of vet you at first, make the school seem real nice, and gage your compliance levels. so if you wanted him later on to start working with the faculty, we can discuss that further, but the beginning is mostly a trial period where they're real nice and gushy.
Name: Alexander "Alex" Ripley
Age: 17
Alex doesnโt know how he fits in the world. Heโs desperate for acceptance and reassurance, and that desperation can make him easily manipulated. He tries to fit in any way he knows how. Often in interactions, heโll act however he thinks the person wants him to act. Heโs more focused on appeasing people than he is on being true to himself. He likes seeing people smile, but he doesnโt have the best sense of what makes people happy.
Heโs unsure of himself, and especially in his morality. While staying out of the way, heโs trying to find his purpose in life. Vochertepp had promised to make its students heroes, and when he originally came to the school, that idea fueled him--it was a way to atone for hurting people. However, after using his power, under the schoolโs urging, to hurt more people, Alex doesnโt know if heโs too far gone to be a hero. He sometimes wonders if his place in life is to be a villain.
Heโs unsure of himself, and especially in his morality. While staying out of the way, heโs trying to find his purpose in life. Vochertepp had promised to make its students heroes, and when he originally came to the school, that idea fueled him--it was a way to atone for hurting people. However, after using his power, under the schoolโs urging, to hurt more people, Alex doesnโt know if heโs too far gone to be a hero. He sometimes wonders if his place in life is to be a villain.
Paralyzing Dreamscape: When Alex comes in physical contact with any other living creature, energy flows from the point of contact towards the creatureโs neck. The feeling of this energy is reminiscent of electricity. When the energy reaches the neck, the creature becomes paralyzed and is forcefully thrust into a hallucinatory world which Alex controls. While unable to physically move during paralysis, the creatureโs perceived movements in the hallucination will be uninhibited(the brain will still be able to create/send impulses, but they will be interrupted by Alexโs energy at the top of the spinal column, meaning the creature perceives they are moving but are actually not).
Any events that happen in the hallucination will generate (phantom) sensations that the victim feels--water in the hallucination would feel like water, pain would be pain, etc.. However, nothing that happens while hallucinating has a physical effect on the creatureโs body.
If it is aware enough, creatures in the dreamscape will understand they are hallucinating. The lasting effects of a horrifying hallucination depend entirely on the creatureโs mental fortitude. If they are able to separate the events of the hallucination from the real world, it might be a scary or unpleasant experience, but it will have no lasting effects. In a worst-case scenario, the hallucinations could leave someone with PTSD.
Weaknesses: The closer to the Cervical Spinal Vertebrae (neck) that Alex touches, the faster the paralysis will go into effect. If someone is able to stop contact in that time, nothing will happen to them.
People are also able to get used to the paralysis. After paralysis occurs, so long as Alex is touching them the hallucinations will remain, but they will start to regain control of their body. At this time, the paralysis will only remain for an hour at most. Should Alex attempt to restart paralysis by removing and replacing contact, the time limit will get smaller and smaller as tolerance builds. If used often enough, someone could become temporarily immune to the paralysis (if Alex doesnโt use it for long enough on them, the tolerance will disappear). However, so long as Alex is in contact with them, they will hallucinate.
Alex can touch multiple people at one time, but is unable to differentiate their hallucinations. So theyโd experience the exact same thing. If they reacted differently to the hallucination, it would become more apparent that it was fake.
Alex cannot separate the powers. If someone wants to intentionally enter the hallucination, they will be paralyzed. And if Alex wants to paralyze someone, they will hallucinate.
Also, Alex needs to concentrate on the hallucination. It works directly on his thoughts, so if he spoke while using his powers, the target would somehow hear whatever he said. If he was simply touching someone without consciously generating a hallucination, they would hallucinate Alexโs stream of consciousness.
Any events that happen in the hallucination will generate (phantom) sensations that the victim feels--water in the hallucination would feel like water, pain would be pain, etc.. However, nothing that happens while hallucinating has a physical effect on the creatureโs body.
If it is aware enough, creatures in the dreamscape will understand they are hallucinating. The lasting effects of a horrifying hallucination depend entirely on the creatureโs mental fortitude. If they are able to separate the events of the hallucination from the real world, it might be a scary or unpleasant experience, but it will have no lasting effects. In a worst-case scenario, the hallucinations could leave someone with PTSD.
Weaknesses: The closer to the Cervical Spinal Vertebrae (neck) that Alex touches, the faster the paralysis will go into effect. If someone is able to stop contact in that time, nothing will happen to them.
People are also able to get used to the paralysis. After paralysis occurs, so long as Alex is touching them the hallucinations will remain, but they will start to regain control of their body. At this time, the paralysis will only remain for an hour at most. Should Alex attempt to restart paralysis by removing and replacing contact, the time limit will get smaller and smaller as tolerance builds. If used often enough, someone could become temporarily immune to the paralysis (if Alex doesnโt use it for long enough on them, the tolerance will disappear). However, so long as Alex is in contact with them, they will hallucinate.
Alex can touch multiple people at one time, but is unable to differentiate their hallucinations. So theyโd experience the exact same thing. If they reacted differently to the hallucination, it would become more apparent that it was fake.
Alex cannot separate the powers. If someone wants to intentionally enter the hallucination, they will be paralyzed. And if Alex wants to paralyze someone, they will hallucinate.
Also, Alex needs to concentrate on the hallucination. It works directly on his thoughts, so if he spoke while using his powers, the target would somehow hear whatever he said. If he was simply touching someone without consciously generating a hallucination, they would hallucinate Alexโs stream of consciousness.
Alexโs powers first manifested during his motherโs pregnancy. At one point during the 9-month ordeal, his mother became paralyzed. The cause was unknown, but with time, the paralysis turned to sluggishness, which then turned into a brain fog that his mother passed off as pregnancy brain. The paralysis of multiple hospital staff during his birth set in motion a life of loneliness for Alex.
His parents tried, but despite coming from generations of metahumans, they were unable to find a way to truly deal with Alexโs power. At first, it was only an inconvenience--a quick foray into the mind of a toddler. But, when Alex was 4, he began to have vivid nightmares. Climbing into his parentsโ bed meant visions of horrifying creatures they couldnโt escape from. Even still, they put up with sleepless nights. But then, Alex began affecting his younger sister, Taylor.
As his night terrors got worse and worse, he couldnโt stop himself from thinking of them. A hug from his sister more often than not resulted in the young girl crying in fear. His parents began to comfort him less and less, and his sister avoided him all together.
One day, his childish jealousy got the best of him. He cornered his sister and deliberately subjected her to as much terror as his little mind could conjure. When the paralysis wore off and Tay pushed him away, Alex realized what heโd done. But the damage couldn't be reversed.
His parents scorned him and yelled anytime he got near his sister. Rightfully remorseful, Alex accepted their hatred, believing it was what he deserved. That was how his life remained until his parents received the letter from Vochertepp. He happily allowed himself to be shipped off.
Touch starved and desperate for acceptance, he arrived at Vochertepp. Unfortunately, that allowed him to be easily manipulated. One of the schoolโs staff members had the ability to coat their skin in metal and by doing so, was able to touch Alex without being paralyzed. Alex latched on to this staff member, desperately trying to appease them in hopes of a pat on the back or a ruffle of his hair. As time went on, that attachment was noticed and Alex became a puppet for Vochertepp.
His power was, at times, used to punish other students, forcing them to endure hellish hallucinations. He was their pawn for a year, until one day a girl he'd met often--through the punishments--broke. The hallucination ended, and the fire in her eyes didnโt relight. She was escorted to the schoolโs medical facility and never left. (Iโm not sure if these last two paragraphs fit in with the lore youโve established. Do all the staff members change as time goes on, or are there some that stay?)
For a couple months after that, he didnโt use his powers at all. When he did begin to use them again, he refused to participate in any more punishments. He doesnโt rebel nor comply with Vochertepp, and because of that (and perhaps in hopes that they can rebuild the relationship they had before), Vochertepp hasnโt taken any blatant action against his refusal.
His parents tried, but despite coming from generations of metahumans, they were unable to find a way to truly deal with Alexโs power. At first, it was only an inconvenience--a quick foray into the mind of a toddler. But, when Alex was 4, he began to have vivid nightmares. Climbing into his parentsโ bed meant visions of horrifying creatures they couldnโt escape from. Even still, they put up with sleepless nights. But then, Alex began affecting his younger sister, Taylor.
As his night terrors got worse and worse, he couldnโt stop himself from thinking of them. A hug from his sister more often than not resulted in the young girl crying in fear. His parents began to comfort him less and less, and his sister avoided him all together.
One day, his childish jealousy got the best of him. He cornered his sister and deliberately subjected her to as much terror as his little mind could conjure. When the paralysis wore off and Tay pushed him away, Alex realized what heโd done. But the damage couldn't be reversed.
His parents scorned him and yelled anytime he got near his sister. Rightfully remorseful, Alex accepted their hatred, believing it was what he deserved. That was how his life remained until his parents received the letter from Vochertepp. He happily allowed himself to be shipped off.
Touch starved and desperate for acceptance, he arrived at Vochertepp. Unfortunately, that allowed him to be easily manipulated. One of the schoolโs staff members had the ability to coat their skin in metal and by doing so, was able to touch Alex without being paralyzed. Alex latched on to this staff member, desperately trying to appease them in hopes of a pat on the back or a ruffle of his hair. As time went on, that attachment was noticed and Alex became a puppet for Vochertepp.
His power was, at times, used to punish other students, forcing them to endure hellish hallucinations. He was their pawn for a year, until one day a girl he'd met often--through the punishments--broke. The hallucination ended, and the fire in her eyes didnโt relight. She was escorted to the schoolโs medical facility and never left. (Iโm not sure if these last two paragraphs fit in with the lore youโve established. Do all the staff members change as time goes on, or are there some that stay?)
For a couple months after that, he didnโt use his powers at all. When he did begin to use them again, he refused to participate in any more punishments. He doesnโt rebel nor comply with Vochertepp, and because of that (and perhaps in hopes that they can rebuild the relationship they had before), Vochertepp hasnโt taken any blatant action against his refusal.