Atrophy

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

I'm gonna go see a pretentious instrumental rock band tonight so I won't be reacting to the Axe Man splitting (_{nudge nudge}) up the campfire gang until tomorrow. Assume that Rita is probably running...so if @Surtr Inc wants to place people in situations, please have her situation be not being turned into firewood.

Also, I've been working on a dynamic sibling duo in my spare time and the sheets are almost entered into the "let's flip a coin to decide if we should completely purge this shit and start again or just pretend we're happy with this verbal schlock" phase so, uh, get pumped for more jerks.

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

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^{@FernStone@Prosaic}

The Campsite - Campfire.

---

Thanks to the combined efforts of Martin and Zoey the punch that “the librarian” had braced herself for never came. Regardless, she felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Her eyes were now boring a hole in to the ground, one where she could crawl inside of and hideaway for the rest of the night. She could hear the sound of her heart thundering in her ears; even without the danger, the anxiety was still there. She felt a sharp pain in her fingers. Absentmindedly, she had been clawing at the log seat; her nails were dark and dirtied with splinters and blood. She shifted in her seat and tucked her hand underneath her thigh, her “I love NY” bracelet glaring up at her. She bit her lip. Should’ve gone there. What kind of idiot runs away to Montana of all places?

Tuyen’s voice pulled her out of her mind. She actually seemed concerned, which should’ve made Rita feel better. It didn’t. The tiny voice that always whispers suspicion in Rita’s ear was at it, assigning ulterior motives to mundane actions yet again. She doesn’t really care about you, she’s just trying to make herself look like a good person, it said. Typical. Her other hand was now clawing at the log. Her eyes were still burning in to the ground. The blood was still in her ears; there was a tightness in her throat. She felt sick. Martin’s voice yanked at her again, and she realized that politeness demands that she said something.

“I’m fine,” she said, the lie barely eeking out. She wasn’t, but that was what they wanted to hear, so that was what she had to say. Nobody ever wanted to hear about actual problems. Better to just pretend it’s all okay like a loveless marriage, if only for the sake of the children. Still, sometimes the children can tell when mommy and daddy are on the rocks. Gotta sell the lie. Rita paused, trying to let calm wash over her. A great lie was one that even the liar had to believe was true. She breathed. Forced a smile. Looked up. Met eyes with Tuyen.

"I liked your story," said Rita. After a pause, she added, “So is there anything else to do in this town than drink in the woods and try to ignore the smell of manure?”

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

That really improved the thread a bit guys, don't you think?

@Surtr Inc

Doing the Lord's work.

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

So this means Rita and Claire are best friends for life now, right? I think I read that the right way.

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

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^{@Surtr Inc@Prosaic}

The Campsite - Campfire.

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A tinge of red came to Rita’s pale cheeks as Martin made his dramatic entrance, which she played off with an exaggerated eye roll and an amused smile—all while mentally blaming it on the alcohol. Since June, when Mama Cromwell rented out the fold-out couch to Rita for all of her life’s savings, she had spent pretty much every day with the boy after he had played the role of her tour guide for an afternoon. She had met a few other people that summer, but he was about the only one that she could consider to be a friend.

“I doubt me being here’s gonna change those mosquitos minds regarding who they’re gonna eat. I heard they liked the sweet ones. Wonder why they’re going after you, then,” she said, screwing up her face in faux confusion before she lightly jabbed him with an elbow.

The girl whose turn she had stolen began, at the behest of the others, to tell a scary story. Rita sat back and listened, her knee bobbing up and down. She wondered how a forest could possibly manifest her fear of showing up naked for class; did the trees just steal all of her clothes or did they cast a spell on her that made her think she was dressed? She pushed the thought out of her mind and instead focused on the story to its completion, not realizing until the end that the hairs on the back of her neck were actually standing on end. Had she just made that up in the spur of the moment? Holy crap. That was kind of good.

But it wasn’t make you fall out of your seat, screaming bloody murder good. Rita jumped when Claire shouted, her hands going up to cover her mouth as the air around the campfire grew oppressive. The girl started to yell. It didn’t register with Rita right away that the freaked out girl was yelling at her, not until she was rushing towards her like a bull that had seen red. Panic shot through Rita’s systems, but she neither fought nor took flight. Instead, she flinched; she had already given up, already accepted the hit that had not been thrown quite yet. She didn’t even know these people and already she was making enemies. At least in Texas they didn’t start hating her until after they knew her name.

“I-I-I-I-I.”

Oh, Christ, there’s the real Rita, skipping like a scratched disc in a bumpy car. So much for pretending to be confident. Her eyes darted back and forth; nothing but unfamiliar faces. She didn’t even really know Martin. Shit, she could feel tears welling up; her strained voice did little to make her appear strong.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s not mine. It seemed fine, though, I think it was fine. I don’t know. I don’t even like weed. I just held it in my mouth and exhaled. I don’t even know if that works. I was just trying—”

Yeah, better not finish that sentence. Maybe that weird little noise (not quite a hiccup, not quite a cry, technically human) Rita made instead would pass for as a valid excuse. Not nearly as embarrassing as admitting that she was trying to appear cool so that others would validate her existence.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she said with a whimper, her eyes looking at anything but Claire.

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

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_{Dear Diary — Today, I made myself look like an asshole and failed to uphold my promise to my fifth grade D.A.R.E. officer.}

Campsite

---

“And it’s not that it even has any artistic merit to it at all, really. The entire plot is razor thin and perforated with holes, the main character’s motivation is forced to the point of being laughable, and every shot is practically devoid of anything that would bring the picture to life.”

“Oh, yeah, totally,” said Rita softly, not sure to what she was actually agreeing with. She looked down at the red solo cup in her hand, her eyes narrowing as they focused on the speck in the foam of the amateurishly poured light beer. The moon was bright enough for her to make out the teensy legs of a bug kicking for dear life. Her lips thinned into a bemused smirk; at least she hadn’t drank any yet.

The bug was stuck just like her. She had gotten separated from her host’s son while looking for the bathroom, and that was when she had run into Billy and his two friends. Normally she would’ve turned down their offer to go smoke, but the goal of the night (and every night from then on out) was to not be her normal self. So, she had followed the two older boys and the one heavy set girl away from the bathrooms and even further away from the campfire and her only source of security. They had made their way to the dock on the lake; the other girl had poured Rita a beer, which she didn’t want but didn’t refuse, while Billy passed around a bowl. Her coughing fit had been a source of amusement to them.

But now the bowl was held hostage by Billy as he continued his filibuster about a movie that she had never even heard of, his two friends seemingly so enamored with his opinions that neither of them raised a fuss about the man being a bogart. Worse still, she had positioned herself in such a way that her back was to the water, meaning that the only way she could get out of the one-sided conversation was by cutting straight through it. Which, to put matter in perspectives, was a herculean task for Rita. When she had worked the register at a local convenience store her job mostly became listening to the life stories of senior citizens and the ramblings of angry conservatives, never quite managing to find a way to politely excuse her from the conversation so that the person behind them could buy their goddamn bag of powdered donuts.

That job hadn’t last long.

She was still stuck. The dude was still talking. His friends were still nodding. Maybe she could just jump in the lake and swim to safety? She was still muttering sounds that could be misinterpreted as interest. The bug was still drowning in her cup. The weed was still not being passed around. There was a change of clothes in her pack, although how would she be able to explain to the others why a (now extremely long) trip to the bathroom warranted a wardrobe change? She was still stuck. The dude was still talking. She still couldn’t muster up the courage to just breakaway. So this was it? Montana was just Texas number two? What was the point of the clean break then? Of spending all of her money then? Of moving across the country then? The dude was still talking. He was still talking. He was still talking.

She dropped her beer, the foamy liquid splashing against the wood.

“Oh my God, will you just shut the hell up,” said Rita, louder than she had intended to but not really upset by that fact. It worked; Billy and his two friends looked at her in shock. “I don’t care about what you’re saying, and even if I had seen this stupid movie I still wouldn’t. It’s so easy to hate on something, and maybe it is trash, but who the hell are you? What have you done with your life? At least the people involved in that movie have created something. You’re just some hipster leech. God, do your parents pay your tuition for you just so you can be such an entitled prick?”

“And...and don’t offer somebody to smoke if you’re just going to keep it all for yourself,” she added, snatching the bowl out of his hand as she shoved past them.

Nobody followed her as she stomped back to the campfire, her steps growing lighter and almost becoming skips. The tense look on her face had softened into an almost childish grin, one that she tried to force away as she came within the light of the circle. Girls she didn’t know—well, she didn’t know just about everyone—were passing around a bottle of vodka. One girl was asking the scary looking tall girl for a sip. So polite. How nice. Rita’s sure someone that nice wouldn’t get too upset if they got bumped back a turn.

“Oh, thanks. Trade ya,” said Rita, intercepting the bottle and pressing the bowl into the scary girl’s hands. Rita pressed the bottle to her lips, tilted her head back, and took a quick pull before passing it off to the polite girl with nothing more than a toothy smile—that briefly fluctuated into a terrible wince as the burn hit her before returning to a slightly more embarrassed smile. She took a free seat by the fire, the smile on her face already fading as her feeling of triumph began to once again be pulled down by the undertow of worry. Well, that was a really good way to make a first impression. Great job, idiot. Her eyes darted around the campfire, trying to find Martin.

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

@Surtr IncSet us up, boss.

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

I'm cool with starting soon. That said, there's still this—

Also, you all should probably start discussing relationships between characters... if any.

—that I gotta figure out for Rita. She's new in town so her relationships would be fairly small, but her backstory does include two spots for a future roommate or a member of the family she's renting a room from ^{if anyone wants to use the connection and totally become best friends.}

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

<Snipped quote by PharaohAtem>

I like the idea behind this! Anyone else have any other ideas?

@Surtr Inc

A fire guy. Manipulation, generations, whatever. It's simple and might not be as interesting as being able to manipulate cause and effect, but it actually fits his character pretty well—especially if we wanna hit that pretentious symbolism nail right on the head. There's this thing called Wu Xing that's an early Chinese idea that applied elements to emotions and parts of the body. Fire's organ is the heart (you know, burning with passion and all that bull), and Justin's biggest thing seems to be listening to his heart instead of thinking things through. Plus, his main emotion is joy, which in Wu Xing is governed by the heart. Plus, fire is a useful tool but it's also a very destructive force, and somebody that shoots from his hip like Justin might not think that a controlled burn would be better than a dang firestorm. Then's there's the whole "fire as a torch shining light on the investigation of his grandmother" idea. Also, having a fire guy would offer more opportunities for someone like @Majoras End to challenge Maddie's fears and weaknesses. Ya know, for easy access to that good teen drama.

Hell, you already made the duder's color red.

Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

Rita Vorona

╚══════════════╝

"What? Do you have a question or something?"

[ 18 | 5’2” | Greek-Polish | She/Her | 105 lbs ]

[Doubt]

APPEARANCE

”Is it normal to spend so much time in front of a mirror to end up looking this blasé?"

Rita’s mother has the body of a Greek goddess; Rita, unfortunately, takes after her father. Her brown eyes, already sunken and small to begin with, are bloodshot from a lack of sleep and an overabundance of allergies. Her fairly full lips only manage to form meager smiles on the occasion, her gap teeth that she hates always kept hidden from public in all but the most genuine of reactions. Her dark brown hair is straight and oily no matter what she does to it, with bangs that cover her thick eyebrows and the aftermath of a brutal battle with acne on her forehead from her adolescence. Her nose slants ever so slightly to the left from when she broke it, and there is a small scar underneath her chin from when she once fell off of her bike and clipped the corner of a brick. Her skin tone is fairly light, but her Greek roots do allow for her to get a rather wicked tan if she tries.

She’s a petite girl with a straight, modest build. Rita’s in fairly decent shape due to her constantly biking around town when she can, and she’d die before she admits it but she’s really proud of how her butt looks in jeans. Her clothes fit her very well, but her style is fairly conservative and has been described by one of her peers as “dad-esque”—collared shirts and cardigans paired with jeans and roughed-up white sneakers. The most risque she has ever been seen in public is capris and a polo with all but the bottom button unbuttoned. She almost never takes off the black “I <3 NY” bracelet that she wears on her right wrist, and she’s particularly fond of using vibrant hair scrunchies to contrast the drab, neutral tones of her outfits.

Rita manages to make herself always appear to be uncomfortable regardless of where she is, prone to unwarranted flinches and shrunken shoulders. Her face defaults to a pensive and distant stare, although one can truly tell when she is actually in deep thought by how intensely she is sucking in her lip. Her voice is quiet and tight, as if the act of speaking is a chore in it of itself, and an obvious Texan accent betrays her as not being a local.

PSYCHOLOGY

”Does anyone really know how to properly assess themselves?"

MAIN GOAL ⫻ The whole point of going to college is to get away from home and cripple yourself with debt through student loans, so mission accomplished. Otherwise, trying to actually settle on a future plan would be kind of important.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Life is chaos and coincidence, and the only way to get through it is to swim with the river and pray that it doesn’t rush her over a waterfall and smash her against some jagged rocks. There’s no certainty that what is true today will be tomorrow, and that sucks.

SECRETS ⫻ She keeps a journal and regularly writes poems. Somehow this deepy embarrasses her. Oh, and Rita is short for Margarita—and there’s no question about it, she was named for the drink.

DESIRES ⫻ In one of her more bitter moments she’d say that all she wants is to meet someone who isn’t a backbiting, selfish son of a bitch, but really she’s more looking to be accepted above anything else. Also, a motorcycle.

SEXUALITY ⫻ The few relationships she has had with boys always left her feeling more drained and defeated than anything. Still, she’s pretty certain that she is heterosexual, because her friendships with girls have typically made her feel even worse.

FEARS ⫻ Dolls. Something about their eyes and the way they are designed to be perfect doesn’t sit well with her. On a deeper level she fears betrayal and being rejected, but really there’s just something about the porcelain skin and the tiny little clothes of a doll that is just so creepy.

REPUTATION ⫻ Back home she was the mousy girl who read pretentious books in a desperate attempt to make herself appear more intelligent than she actually was. But now she’s a blank slate, open and ready to be painted as the “quiet one” yet again.

PET PEEVES ⫻ Lying is a big one, but she truly can’t stand people talking behind another’s back. Part of it is because she feels guilty for being associated with something she disagrees with, and part of it is because she fears that they must be talking about her when she is away. She has ruined more than a few budding friendships by directly confronting people about the nasty things they have said about someone in front of the person that they had been bad mouthing.

QUIRKS ⫻ Rita has a bad case of the fidgets. She’s a knee shaker, a toe tapper, a finger drummer, a pen clicker, a coin weaver, a hair curler, and just about anything else that can keep her hands and feet busy.

BACKSTORY

”Ready to be let down?"

Dear (New) Diary,

How does a girl born in a small town in Shithole, Texas end up moving to the even smaller town of Bumfuck, Montana? Well, the short answer is she’s taking a forty-four hour long Greyhound ride to attend Grand Ridge. That’s where the girl is at right now; stuck in the aisle seat next to a man with the world’s smallest bladder and the thirstiest mouth. The long answer is people. Three people, actually. Old Diary knew all about these people, but we don’t talk to Old Diary anymore. Old Diary is dead to me. We only have eyes for New Diary.

The first person was the mother. The girl lived with the mother in 3C of Sunshine Apartments, and for as long as she can remember the girl and the mother hated each other. The mother resented the girl—if it wasn’t for her, she could land herself a good man and get out of Shithole. The girl resented the mother—if it wasn’t for her, she wouldn’t have been born in Shithole. They could’ve called it even there, but then that’d require one of them to admitting that they were at fault. Plus, the girl felt that the crimes of the mother greatly outway the crimes of not being polite to the strange men that would claim to be the mother’s friend and then break her heart a week later. See, the girl was brutally teased by the boys who told her that they had seen her mom’s tits last weekend, which was obviously untrue in fifth grade but come highschool and fake IDs to get inside the strip club it had a chance to be accurate. Girls were even worse. They’d say, “Your mom is so pretty”, which meant “So why aren’t you?”

But, worst of all, the mother did not want the girl, she just wanted her freedom. Every year she asked “So, when are ya moving out?”and every year it became clearer that the question was not tongue-in-cheek.

But the father was perhaps worse than the mother. He was fun and kind, and the girl would spend weekends with him in Corpus Christi where they’d go to the beach or ride bikes. He’d buy her ridiculously expensive gifts for her birthday and for Christmas, and every summer they’d go travel together for a week. New York City was her favorite trip. It was also her last trip with him. When the girl was fifteen he gave her the best present somebody can possibly give someone—the truth. He had been married for the last eight years and had another daughter of seven, and now he felt like she was old enough to understand why it was impossible for her to permanently live with him.

I’m sure you already guessed it, New Diary, but the girl wasn't. She still isn’t. She doubts she’d every be old enough to understand that. But, even if she couldn’t understand it, she did know what he was saying: he didn’t want the girl, he just wanted a buddy.

Then there was her friend, not boyfriend. She wanted not boyfriend to be her boyfriend for years, but the girl was too stupid to say anything until senior year. After not boyfriend had been dating her best friend for a year. At prom. In front of everyone. While drunk. It was harrowing how embarrassing the entire thing was, and the girl ran out of the prom. Now, in the movie version of this story the not boyfriend would chase after her and admit that he liked her too and then they would kiss and the credits would roll and we’d assume everything worked out. In the real life version the not boyfriend did chase after her, and he admitted he liked her, and they did kiss, and then the credits did not roll and she screwed him, and then he didn’t talk to her the next day at school. And her best friend did not talk to her at the next day of school. And her best friend’s friends did not talk to her at the next day of school.

Eventually the girl heard through the grapevine that not boyfriend didn’t want the girl; he just wanted a girl before he went to college, and she was clearly more willing to put out than the one he had.

So the girl figured, hell, if they don’t want me in Texas, then I don’t want them either. She didn’t pick Grand Ridge because it was prestigious or because of its a good school to study to become an actuary, but because it was a forty-four hour bus ride from home. The girl struck herself a deal with a private room for the summer on Airbnb and hopped on a bus the week after she graduated. She was even invited by her future roommate to go on a camping trip with some other students. So, screw it, it’s time to shed her wallflower petals and turn a new leaf.

She really hopes this isn’t going to be some hazing bullshit.

Sincerely,

A girl named Margarita

P.S. thirty times. He went to the bathroom thirty times in forty-four hours.

SKILLS & TALENTS

”Should I put these on my résumé?"

Sewing ⫻ Rita can’t afford to purchase new clothes, so being able to patch up old outfits and properly fit thrift shop hauls is essential.

Cycling ⫻ She rides her bike almost every single day. Mostly it’s out of necessity—she doesn’t have a car—but she enjoys the exercise and finds it fun to ride. She even knows a few minor tricks that only result in her eating asphalt one out of every four times.

ABSTRACTION

"Can I ask you something?"

SIGIL & LOCATION ⫻ Four black lines circle the fingers on her left hand and then travel down her palm before terminating at the bend in her arm.

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Question Master, the ability to compel someone to tell the truth (and other fun things) by simply asking a question.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻Question Master allows Rita to expel her doubt about others. Whenever she is in a conversation with someone that person is compelled to answer any of the questions she asks with what they believe to be the truth. This is not an ability she can will on or off: every single question she asks forces the answerer to give the truth if they heard her. The ability can only be focused on one individual at a time, directed through her maintaining eye contact on the target—so people around the corner who hear the question don’t feel obligated to chime in too. If she wants to let someone answer uninfluenced, she could always just avoid looking at them.

Her questions can range from narrow to broad, but the more specific or direct ones tend to wield better results as a person is compelled only to answer the question, not to compulsively tell the truth about every single thing they are keeping a secret. For example, asking if someone was lying would only get them to say yes or no, while asking what someone was lying about would get them to divulge a bit more information. Furthermore, asking someone about everything they lied about would result in them going down a laundry list of how far back they could remember. So, it’s best to be thoughtful in her probing.

The Blind cannot sense that she is making them answer her truthfully. However, they are fully aware of the words coming out of their mouths after they finish telling the truth. If they had intended to tell the truth than no harm no foul, but if they had intended to lie then they completely think that they just had a pretty harrowing slip of the tongue. This means that is rare for someone to sit down with Rita and air out all of their dirty laundry. After all, people tend to try to duck out of conversations pretty quickly once it gets awkward.

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MOUNTAIN ⫻ She puts the master part into Question Master. Rita’s questions take on a much stronger influence in regards to the Blind. They become suggestions that people are compelled to follow, although just because she suggests someone does something it does not necessarily mean that they will succeed in whatever the act is. She still has to say it in a question like, “Why don’t you give me twenty dollars?” for it to take effect, but the action does not have to be immediate. For example, she could ask someone if they would leave town next Saturday and they would have to. Once a suggestion is fulfilled the person is no longer compelled to follow it, so to use the previous example the moment they left town on that Saturday they could just as well immediately head right back into it.

AURA SENSING ⫻ Rita’s aura works like a search engine for recent conversations. She can focus on key phrases or names and scan for conversations that have happened in a 30 meter radius within the last hour. Any positive results highlight the aura of the individual who had talked about the certain subject for 15 minutes. Undeniably, she frequently uses this to see if anyone has been talking about her behind her back.

LIMITS ⫻ Rita's abstraction suffers from two obvious limits; sound and eye contact. If nobody can hear her, they are immune. Same goes for those who aren't making eye contact with her. Rita's abstraction is interesting when it comes to other Awakened, they are resistant to it, but not completely immune. An Awakened that is unaware of her abstraction may find themselves unintentionally answering her questions, but they feel a psychic pull in their skull telling them that something is wrong. If they find out her Abstraction, then they'll be able to resist her abstraction.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ Rita's abstraction, not the strongest, has a peculiar weakness; she finds it difficult to lie herself. She unconsciously tells the truth even when it's foolish to do so, unless she tries extremely hard to lie - even then it comes out strained and forced.

OTHER

"Seriously, aren’t you tired of asking questions?"

a poem, about texas

thorns

by r.v.

roses are red,
violets are blue.
actually no,
that’s not quiet true,
roses can be red,
but also white and pink and orange,
while violets are just violet,
obviously.

i guess like everything else,
they lied about that, too.

Awakened Resistant to Rita's Abstraction

• Martin Cromwell

Billy Lawson

╚══════════════╝

"It can’t get no worse, man."

[ Age 21 | 6’3" | Norwegian-Welsh | He/Him | 150 lbs ]

Serenity

APPEARANCE

"Your mom thinks I’m handsome. And she’s makes a fantastic breakfast, too, champ."

Billy looks like he could be attractive if he put in the effort, but he never felt the need to really go out of his way to look good. He’s tall, with lanky limbs like a basketball player, but has the athletic build of someone who has never lifted a dumbbell in their life. His dark blonde hair is cut in a popular short on sides, long on top style and kept messy. Not in the “spent fifteen minutes trying to look like I got out of bed” messy, but the “yeah, I just actually got out of bed and thought this would work” messy. His eyes are blue and have the glossy look to them of someone who is perpetually having an allergic reaction, stoned, or both. His skin is lightly tanned and blemished with moles, but it is in good condition. He’s trying (and failing) to pull off a wispy beard. There’s a large tattoo that says “Shrug Life” in thick , cursive script spanning between his shoulder blades, and a little triforce on his left wrist.

His clothes fit him loosely, and he dresses almost exclusively in schlocky, ironic tees and khaki shorts or blue jeans. Tan, worn down work boots are his go to pair of kicks. When it gets colder he busts out the heavy flannels and the trapper hat, but to see him in an actual winter coat is a rarity. He wears a thick pair of black glasses that he’d be next to blind without—the idea of something going into his eyes spooks him, so contacts and lasik are a no-go. He’s the kind of guy that carries around a messenger bag. It’s made of blue canvas, littered with patches and stickers from bands he hasn’t seen live, and the butt of many jokes.

Billy’s tall but he slouches so much that nobody would ever describe him as such. He moves to the beat of his own drum, which happens to never be playing anything faster than a funeral dirge. His lack of a sense of urgency carries through to his deep voice. It is slow and clear, so he’s easy to understand, but it has that stereotypical stoner vibe to it as well, man.

PSYCHOLOGY

”Jesus dude, speaking of mothers. I don’t really think cocaine would be my jam—kinda prefer to open my mind than accidentally kill a stripper—so I’ll pass on the Freud junk, thanks."

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Billy wants to become a critic. Movies, video games, food, travel, whatever, he just wants to be paid to tell people what they should like and to get free shit. It’s an honorable goal.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Life is tough, but ultimately it is good. Things aren’t always as bad as they seem, and with every door that closes a window opens. So relax, indulge yourself a bit, have some fun while you’re young, and know that people can bounce back from just damn near anything. There’s nothing more narcissistic than being a worrier.

SECRETS ⫻ Billy lied to the doctor about how bad his glaucoma really was so he could get medical marijuana, which he in turn will occasionally sell to his peers.

DESIRES ⫻ Don’t tell anybody, but he’d really just be happy with buying a house, getting married, having two kids, a dog, and a big lawn he can mow. He doesn’t even want to move out of Farmer’s Hill. He already has a job lined up that could make this a reality—being a critic could be something he just did on the side for fun.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Heterosexual, but Candyland has more game than he does.

FEARS ⫻ Hard work and putting in an effort. People work their entire life just to, what, retire when they’re too old to enjoy any of the money that they saved up? Screw that. Technically, he’s terrified of commitment.

REPUTATION ⫻ Billy’s dad runs a pretty honest auto shop, so most people in town just know him as Rick’s lackadaisical kid who sometimes is behind the counter. His peers at the academy know him as a geek and an unreliable flake, but he brings the beer so he’s kinda essential.

PET PEEVES ⫻ Pretentiousness. Probably because it makes him realize that, at the end of the day, he’s also an ostentatious jerk.

QUIRKS ⫻ Billy tends to say dude a lot, bro. Even if that dude is a chick, man. It’s almost as if he’s bad with names, son, and just inserts whatever he feels like, buddy. Also, like his sister, he seems to not know how to shut up, although he is decisively less confrontational than her.

BACKSTORY

”Oh, yeah, boss, it was real dark and mysterious. Certainly didn’t spend my entire life in a small town trying not to die from boredom or anything like that."

Billy was born in Farmer Hill, and as far as he cares he’d be fine with dying in Farmer Hill as long as they have fast internet and access to a VPN. His dad runs Lawson’s Body Shop, a car repair place that was open by his grandfather decades ago, while his mom works at a flower shop to get away from the boys in the garage. Billy is the oldest of three. He has a sister, Penny, that is two years younger than him and a brother, Henry, that was five years younger than him. He fought a lot with Penny while they were growing up, and Henry was always the tagalong little brother.

Most of Billy’s youth was spent playing with friends and trying to avoid putting in any effort at school. He was a pretty normal, if geeky, kid, preferring video games and movies over hockey and tag. He didn’t get great grades, but he did good enough to fly under radar. He was one of the first boys to hit his growth spurt, so he was always too tall to be picked on. His love life was nonexistent, but then again so was the case for most of his friends so it was never really a point of concern. He smoked weed for the first time when he was fourteen and kept that shit hidden from his parents for an entire seventy-two hours. When he was sixteen he started helping his dad out at the shop, and when he was seventeen his brother disappeared.

Alright, that last one might be a bit atypical, if not for it being Farmer Hill. The last time anyone saw Henry he was walking home from school. Obviously, his family freaked out, as did he, and the police did their investigation. Henry was never found, and they ruled that he had runaway—the preteen had been getting bullied at school. The Lawson’s hired a private detective to try and find Henry, but all that came their way was zero leads and plenty of bills. Eventually they too, like the rest of the town, moved on. Billy’s mother and father got rid of any pictures of Henry and pretended like he never existed, while Billy, after a grieving period, came to the acceptance that his brother was most likely dead than in hiding. Only Penny was unable to move on, but even she knew not to mention her little brother around her parents.

Due to being tied up in the investigation, Billy entered Grand Ridge a year late to study film, but he quickly fell into the routine college experience of barely going to class, smoking weed, drinking warm PBR, and trying too hard to get laid. For all anyone can tell, he seemed as if the year off had been enough time for him to recuperate. Heavy self-medication helps, too, and Billy almost never starts a day off without a proper wake and bake. Now he’s got one more semester to go before he’s done with the academy, and he intends to go out having fun.

SKILLS & TALENTS

"Kid, I got a backup plan if Ebert doesn’t respond to my emails."

Gaming ⫻ There was a period when Billy thought he was going to become a pro gamer. That was when he was thirteen and before his mom took away his system for a year because she got tired of hearing him scream obscenities in the middle of the night. Now he has to live with the small victory of being the Soul Calibur II champion over at Arcade Blues. Bastard only plays Maxi.

Cars ⫻ Repair, specifically. Dad’s a mechanic, so Billy’s been helping him with that kind of thing since he could walk. He’s currently restoring a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit. He’s been restoring that damn car for the last two years. It doesn’t need as much work as he claims that it does.

ABSTRACTION

"Okay baby, it’s naptime."

SIGIL & LOCATION ⫻ A spiral on his upper right arm.

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Daydream, the ability to to lull someone into a sleep-like state.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Billy’s abstraction allows him to finally get other people to stop stressing out so much and take a break. It just happens that his way of getting people to relax is by hypnotizing them and forcing them into a dreamstate while their body (literally) falls unconscious. Billy can cause a person to fall asleep within a 30 meter range, and he can keep them asleep for as long as he is actively focusing on them. If he leaves the range or loses focus his target will groggily wake up a few seconds later. He can only make one person fall asleep at a time, and an intense of enough pain will force them awake.

People trapped in the daydream actually do have dreams, although they are influenced by their emotions and state of mind—Billy has no control over them. People who are primarily experiencing a positive emotion, such as happy or peaceful, will have nice, pleasant dreams like spending time with loved ones, flying, going to places they’ve always wanted to visit, and so on. Neutral emotions, like boredom, tend to have mundane dreams, like going to school, work, or dreaming that you’re waking up. Negative emotions, like sadness or anger, tend towards more towards extreme dreams or even nightmares, often tortuous or violent in nature.

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MOUNTAIN ⫻ As well as being able to keep one person asleep, Billy is able to channel a dreamscape around himself—anyone that comes within a 3 meter range of his physical body will immediately fall asleep. Once he is no longer in range, they will again awake a few seconds later.

AURA SENSING ⫻ Billy’s aura, true to his abstraction, allows for him to see if someone within the range of his ability is sleeping. His aura has to be activated, but it takes only a modicum of attention to channel.

LIMITS ⫻ In order to make someone fall asleep, Billy requires active knowledge of where the person is. Which means that he can't just make somebody sneaking up on him fall asleep. It works best when they're in his line of sight, as well. He also cannot make somebody instantly fall asleep - it takes a few minutes (five at most) before they fall asleep. He can only use his abstraction on one person at a time, and the minute he stops using it on them they'll quickly wake up. The Awakened are not immune to his abstraction, but they are resistant - it takes three times as long (fifteen minutes) before they fall asleep. In addition, they'll be immediately made aware of his interference the moment he uses his abstraction on them.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ Billy also gets induced in a serene state by using his abstraction. He doesn't quite get put to sleep, but he's noticeably slower, and more tired after utilizing his abstraction. Sloth-like would be a good word.

OTHER

"Nah, I think we’re good bro."

Definitely not repressing anything in regards to his missing brother. Nope.

Penny Lawson

╚══════════════╝

"I’m not going to say that I’m surrounded by idiots, because the idiots wouldn’t understand that the idiots I am referring to are them. That’s what makes them an idiot."

[ Age 20 | 5’7” | Norwegian-Welsh She/Her | 110 lbs ]

[Disgust]

APPEARANCE

“Oh, yeah, it’s totally what’s on the inside that counts. Totally. I mean, because I’m pretty sure it’s DNA that determines how hot someone is, and the entire continuation of the human race is dependent on us being attracted to one another so that we can reproduce. So, yeah, definitely, it’s what’s below the skin that matters. Christ, seriously?"

Penny’s actual appearance is hidden beneath a veil of makeups and creams. Her skin is made a light tan with spray and concealer. Her hair is dyed a lighter blond than her natural color, and waves are constructed with hot curlers and precious hours wasted in front of the mirror. Her eyebrows are meticulously plucked, her lashes are curled, and her blue eyes are lined. Her nose is small, and her lips, thinner than she would wish, are kept glossy and hide a big, Invisalign smile. Her chin is pointed, and her ears are pierced. Penny has a slender build; she’s more like the fields of Kansas than the hills of Montana. She doesn’t really work out much (and it shows). Seemingly her frame is kept small through cigarettes and diet soda serving as meal supplements. Her right arm is a colorful sleeve of flowery tattoos and a bright wand tattoo is on her inner left forearm.

Penny’s outfits varies—her closet is stuffed to the brim with clothing—but she favors colorful, bold dresses and skirts whenever she can get away with them, often paired with a leather or jean jacket weather permitting. She has another closet dedicated to knee-high boots that cover varies shades of brown, black, and gray. She’s particularly fond of a pair of knock-off Ray Ban aviators and almost never leaves home without them; even at night they can be seen pushed up to the top of her head like a makeshift headband.

She has a severe case of resting bitch face, and walks as if she is always in a rush. Her voice is high pitched, nearly grating, and somehow always manages to sound as if she is exasperated. She tends to stand askew with her hip jutted out and her arms crossed over her chest, perhaps in some subconscious way to make herself appear more curvy than she is.

PSYCHOLOGY

"I’ve been told I’m an asshole. Which is really nice, because generally most women like me would be pegged as a bitch. I think it’s really cool that I’m breaking through those gender stereotypes. I’m like the Susan B. Anthony of dickheadedness."

MAIN GOAL ⫻ She’s going to school for advertising, but she’s not truly passionate about it. She cares more about getting a career that can take her outside of “Farmer Hell”, but she is determined to make everything right in regards to her little brother before she leaves.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ She thinks Private Joker put it best, “I’m in a world of shit. Yes. But I alive. And I am not afraid.”

SECRETS ⫻ Penny knows a trick to pulling more tickets than she won out of the arcade machines in Arcade Blues, and she’s damn unashamed that she has been using that to get an unlimited amount of tootsie rolls and stickers.

DESIRES ⫻ Justice. She cannot accept the fact that Henry, her younger brother, just “ran away”, and she holds a personal grudge against the police in charge of the half-assed investigation. An unhealthy amount of late night fact checking on the various missing persons cases in Farmer Hill paints a picture of either a very large cover-up or, what she personally believes to be the case, severe incompetence. Irregardless, there should be consequences.

SEXUALITY ⫻ She’s straight and, like most kids raised in extremely Christian families, believes that sex is very naughty and a sin, which is part of the reason why it is so hot. Love, however, is a completely different subject, fitting somewhere in the realms of elves and dragons.

FEARS ⫻ Having children. She sees how unhappy her parents are, not to mention how much children cost, the way they ruin your body, and how they leech off of you for eighteen years. And then what if something happens to the kid? As a mother, it’s your fault, regardless of circumstances. Plus, it’d suck not being able to smoke menthols or drink wine for nine months.

REPUTATION ⫻ Oh, it’s not really good. Being a jerk to just about anyone tends to make people not view you in the best of lights, oddly enough. Plus, her distrust and straight out contempt of authority figures, not to mention her inability to to leave the disappearances of Farmer Hill alone, has painted a fairly large scarlet letter on her chest.

PET PEEVES ⫻ Fake pleasantries. She cannot wrap the idea around her head why people would offer that they should hang sometime when they hardly even talked in high school, and why bother asking someone how they are doing if what is really meant to be said is that you see that they happened to have gone to the bathroom at the same time as you.

QUIRKS ⫻ She’s loquacious. Especially when it comes to talkin’ shit.

BACKSTORY

"Aw, geez, I can’t think of a single reason why I act up like this. Golly, if only there was one small, minor event that may have really gotten under my skin and made me really see how useless others could be. I just, I just can’t think of any. Wow. Guess I’m just being too emotional again. How stupid of me."

Detentions and visits to the “Princi-PAL” were a daily routine for Penny in her formative years. The middle child of two working parents, she was the prototypical example of someone starved for attention, and she seeked it in the form of distracting her classmates and disrupting her teachers. In junior high she attached herself to the popular crowd yet never quite carved her way into the circle, becoming the girl who would hear about the parties they had over the weekend the following Monday while sitting with them at lunch. By high school she was determined to finally make her breakthrough, which she would succeed by using expensive clothing, fancy makeup, and acting with disdain towards everything. If experience taught her anything, people were desperate to be liked by those who hated them.

And it kind of worked for the first two years of high school. She went through all of the motions that she assumed made girls popular: cheerleader, drinking, senior boyfriend, bullying, general bitchiness, etc. She was even able to use her older brother Billy to win her brownie points with the older kids by stealing his actual pot brownies to give out. And then her little brother Henry disappeared, and with it so did the little delusion she was living. That was four years ago.

She was always close to her little brother, primarily because he was her only real friend pre-high school and she was stuck babysitting him post-ninth grade. They used to walk home together, but at her insistence they were exclusively to walk separate once she entered highschool cause no way could someone adult like her, like, be seen walking with a dweeby kid, gawd. And it was during one of Henry’s lonely walks home that he disappeared, and it was because of this that the police questioned her, and her family blamed her, and her friends whispered about her. What a shit sister, right? Got her own brother killed because she wanted to look cool.

But...she could deal with that. It wasn’t until the police had declared Henry missing with no leads and they, and the town, and her friends, and her family, stopped talking about her missing brother and pretended like everything was hunky dory that things were flipped on their head. Penny couldn’t possibly understand how anyone could be satisfied with the results of the investigation, and the more people told her that she just let it go and move on the more bitter and jaded she grew. By junior year she stopped trying to fit in, becoming too outspoken and volatile to sit with the cool kids anymore, who had grown tired of her one-woman crusade against the incompetence of Henry’s investigation.

Billy told her one day that she had become an asshole. And she was okay with it. If being one meant that the lazy police in Farmer Hill got put on blast and actually did their job, then good. If being one meant that her parents open their damn eyes, then good. If being one meant that her dumbass brother Billy stopped doing drugs and started asking questions with her, then good. And if being an asshole meant that she alienated everyone in this garbage little town and made them hate her, then great—because she had been wrong. People didn’t give a shit about those that hated them. No, people gave a shit about those that they hated. And if they thought of her, her little brother wouldn’t be too far from their mind.

But she’s still going to school because once she cracks this thing open, she’s getting the hell outta town.

SKILLS & TALENTS

”Pass isn’t an option for this one, is it? Sure, sure, everyone is a special snowflake, but by the end of the day you’re still being pushed off the street by a snowplow and turned into a pile of dirty snow that will slowly melt in the sun and drain into the sewers to mix with piss and shit. What I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t matter that the most impressive thing I’ve ever done with my time was learn how to tie a cherry stem into a knot."

[Arguing] ⫻ There’s something remarkable about someone that’s so stubborn that they could convince someone that their blue shirt was red just by unrelentingly unleashing a torrent of words their way until they simply breakdown and give up.

[Double-jointed] ⫻ The useless ability to freak people out by bending joints far beyond where they should bend. Good for winning bets and pretending to be that dead girl from the Ring for Halloween.

ABSTRACTION

"My mom keeps saying that my bad attitude pushes people away. I wonder if she saw this coming."

SIGIL & LOCATION ⫻ Penny has a symbol appearing to be a pair of handcuffs just beneath where her neck meets her collarbones.

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Repulsion, the ability to telekinetically force people and things away from her body.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Penny can force almost anything that enters a five foot radius around her to rapidly move away from her. Thing reflect back in a straight line from her until the effects of gravity or other interference stops them. This means that if she repulses something that is on the ground, it will only hit things that are level with the ground and the moment it hits something with enough force it will stop. She’s only capable of forcing objects that have a weight equal to or less than twice her weight away from her, so she’ll lose any match of chicken that she plays against a speeding car.

The velocity and distance at which an object blasts away from her is dependent upon its size; the lighter an object is, the further and faster it travels. Small objects (less than a pound) likes coins, paper clips, pens, and etcetera, act almost like a weak 9mm bullet, traveling fast enough to penetrate skin, clothing, thin walls, doors, and glass. Medium objects (more than a pound, but less than fifty) like computer monitors, baseballs, bricks, and so on only go about 30 meters before quickly succumbing to gravity, and tend to only have enough force to dent metal, knock the wind out of someone, and possibly fracture or break bones. Large objects (more than fifty, less than her peak) like desks, bags of cement, and some people can be sent back 3 meters. The force is about as strong as an incredibly fit person’s push, so it’s largely only effective at moving large things out of her way, bracing doors, or keeping people forced against walls.

There isn’t a limit to how many objects she can force away from her at once, but she does have to direct the repulsions. This means that she has to know an object is coming at her or within her range for her to repulse it, and she actively has to focus her mind to push it away. Therefore, she isn’t constantly blowing the dirt and trash at her feet away (unless she consciously decides to), nor is she able to push away an incoming projectile if she doesn’t know that it was fired at her in the first place.

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MOUNTAIN ⫻ Penny is able to assign an attraction to any object that is also within the presence of the mountain, meaning that objects she repulses will no longer travel in a straight line but instead change their trajectory towards an item or person of her choosing (again, she has to be aware of their presence). The basic limits of her range still apply, and her “heatseekers” are rather dumb—they will try to take the most direct path to the target, regardless of objects in its way.

AURA SENSING ⫻ Tied directly to her abstraction, Penny’s aura allows her to sense the mass, velocity, and trajectory of any moving object that enters her field of view, even if it were moving faster than her naked eye could see. This gives her enough time to react to incoming objects and determine if her ability can affect it. In a way, it acts as a limited danger sense, however the aura is an information overload that can be detrimental to her mental and physical health. After using it for five minutes she starts to experience splitting migraines, nosebleeds, and vision loss, and if she goes with it on for longer than ten she will start to experience blackouts. If she toggles it off before the five minute mark she can recuperate fairly well, but there is a cool down that is directly correspondent to how long she used it for, meaning that if she was channeling her aura for three minutes she would have to wait three minutes before using it again. Once she goes beyond the five minute mark the cool down greatly compounds, tripling once it hits five and doubling itself every minute after that.

LIMITS ⫻ Repulsion has a much weaker potency on the Awakened, and thus, is much less effective on them. They can easily resist the push, but are not entirely immune to it. In addition, Penny can only manipulate objects that are within five feet of herself, otherwise it's out of her hands. Her Abstraction is completely useless against objects that are grounded, or people with strength-based abilities.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ The Abstraction is connected with her mind, and causes strain. The usual psychic-nosebleeds, but it can also cause intense headaches, blurred vision, and memory-loss if overused. The Abstraction also requires care, as Penny's ability is automatic, and she can accidentally hit herself (or someone else) if she isn't careful.

OTHER

"I think I’m all talked out."

She still goes out at least once a week looking for any clues in regards to her missing brother.

---

Rita's Relationship Table

Character name	Opinion
Martin	Dear Diary— I was a little nervous about sharing a roof with a boy, but I think Martin gets me more than other people. He's cool and smart and dark, in a cute way, and I didn't realize how much I needed to vent to an actual person about mom. Plus, it's nice not to be going into school with absolutely zero friends, not that I'm sure we're quite friends. Rather, I kind of hope that we aren't just fri—oh my god rita there you go again with this shit. Do you ever learn?
Claire	Dear Diary— I think she's going to kill me.
Billy	Dear Diary— I would rather hang myself than be stuck in a conversation with this pretentious, "erudite" prick. And because of him I got on Claire's shit list. I hope I never run into him or his stoner buddies again.
Penny	Dear Diary— She saved me and I don't even know her name. Regardless, I owe her; I just wish that Hallmark would make a "Thank You" card for when it comes to people pulling you away from axe murderers. That'd be easy then trying to, I don't know, say it in person?

Billy's Relationship Table

Character name	Opinion
Penny	She sucks, but she's family and the last sibling I got. I have to kinda tolerate her. I don't have to try and like her, but I'm gonna do it anyway.
Aliana	Tall girls are muy caliente y Aliana es super picante. Pretty sure Penny's the only reason why she won't go to the movies with me.
Martin	He's a little weird but he seems nice. I don't ignore him like everyone else and talk to him if I see him, even if it's only for a minute or two. Kinda my life philosophy, you know, be nice to the quiet ones...just in case they snap.
Kimberly Walton	She's pretty cool for a hipster, and I'm actually kind of obsessed with her show. Plus, who else is gonna supply with cheap, kitschy horror movies?
Claire	Oh, yeah, Claire. We're really good buddies, I think, but she must be pretty busy—we tend to only hang out whenever she needs some weed or someone to buy her beer. Still, I dig the whole tough chick vibe.
Britney	Is it weird that we've lived in the same town our entire life and still can't manage to have a conversation without it killing itself with a bullet to the head? I just don't get it, dude.

Penny's Relationship Table

Character name	Opinion
Billy	He sucks because he's family. He'd suck if he wasn't family, too, but the fact that I have to deal with him more since we're blood related is the absolute pits.
Aliana	Oh, God, finally someone else who gets it. I spend a lot of time bitching to her about the people here. Like, a lot of time. It's weird, though, she's like one of the few people I've been close to ever since Henry disappeared, but when I try to think about it I don't really know all that much about her. Which is fine, like, my business is my business and her business is her business, it'd just be cool not to be the only one sharing how they really feel, you know? Oh, but don't tell her I said any of this shit, I kind of pretend to be tougher than I actually am around her.
Martin	He hates me and he should. I was so obsessed with being cool when I was younger that when I saw people picking on Martin I joined right in with them, and it never really subsided until I was well in high school. Now when I see him I'm just reminded of how much of a bitch I was growing up and, well, it's like kind of difficult to be around someone who makes you realize the monster you were. So...so maybe I try to push him away when he's around still. I can accept the fact that I was an asshole, or, that I am an asshole, but it doesn't mean I constantly want some stupid little prick hovering around me to serve as a constant reminder of my teenage superiority compl—let's, let's just fucking drop this. If he didn't want to be made fun of, he should've grown a goddamn spine. Seems like he turned out fine anyway. Who cares. It's not like saying sorry now will do anything anyway.
Claire	Look at me, I'm Claire O'Sullivan, rargh, I'm so angry and I look so cool with my stupid haircut and my mall kiosk piercings. Oh, I love punk rock so much even though I'm probably one of those people who only ever listened to the Sex Pistols and oh my GOD DOES SHE SUCK. The weirdest thing is that, even though I would rather die than be stuck in a conversation with Claire, I can't bring myself to hate the girl...because if I hate her, it would mean that I have to feel something when I look at her. She's like pothole or a broken elevator. She's moderately inconvenient, but as long as I avoid it I forget about it in the next five minutes. She just...I just...I don't get it. I don't get it! How does she have friends? I mean, I guess it's easy to get boys to like you when you never close your legs, but...whatever. Why am I even talking about her still? Ugh!
Britney	Fuck. This. Rich. Bitch.
Lynette	Keep this a secret between the two of us, but I really do enjoy spending time with Lynette. Just...it's really nice to meet someone else who doesn't give a shit about what other people think, and if she knew I felt that way I feel like it would weird her out considering, well, it'd be kind of hypocritical right? Not like I'm trying to impress her or anything, it's just that she and Aliana are like the only people in this town that are cool. I feel like when I'm with them that I'm indestructible. God, that sounds lame.