forum What You Have Was Once All Mine || one on one || closed

Started Sep 15 by @Mojack group

tune

There was a day — June 23rd, 2000, when an event had occurred.

This was no simple event.

At approximately 3:42 AM UTC, an extreme weather event occurred in the Atlantic Ocean; an electrical storm with proportions off the charts. Due to the storm’s location, there were very few witnesses — Mother Nature, and a fishing boat. Of course, only one could be spoken to.
The man reported seeing a large ‘development’ in the storm, a sudden light which seemed to grow brighter and brighter in the clouds. He had almost thought it to be a lightning bolt — but it was bigger and perhaps even brighter than one, as it struck down to the ocean, and vanished with a blinding light and thunderous noise.
This occurred at approximately 3:50 AM UTC, and at the same time, electrical devices worldwide shorted out; animals reacted in a similar manner as they would preceding an earthquake or other natural event, and for a moment, all compasses, navigating devices, etc — had stopped working properly.

And then things resumed, at approximately 3:51 AM UTC, just as the electrical storm in the Atlantic had begun to calm.

But that was not the only impact of Zero Day.

Approximately nine months at the minimum after Zero Day, children were born, as normal, as children always have been. But there is now another factor in the equation.
There is guessed to be about a 5% chance that from now on, since Zero Day, any new humans born may be born ‘altered’. Unique, different — born with abilities unknown to our world.
Abilities that many would call superhuman. Most of the gifted individuals were born with some baseline abilities — all having slightly better senses (it was still possible for one to be deaf, mute, etc— but any other senses were of course ‘superior’ to most humans), reflexes, even healing ability; though that was usually a scale — not the same in everyone.
But the actual meat of it was their abilities. Some were flashy, some weren’t. There could be more than one person with the same ability, but how one chose to use it was always different. Some could spark electricity from their fingertips. Others could control fire — occasionally even conjure it, so long as there was fuel in the area.
It wasn’t always about the elements. There are records of individuals who had telekinesis of various strengths, those who could hear the thoughts of others, those who could heal with a touch and those who could hurt with a touch.

Powers weren’t all that great to some people — even the people with abilities themselves. They sometimes had disadvantages. Like mind reading not having an off-switch (there were ways that you could learn to suppress hearing the thoughts of others), or an elemental ability being impacted by the emotions of the user. There were social implications of this new, world-shaking change.

But it’s been 24 years since “Zero Day.” The world is — just is, for better or worse. The gifted do exist, and it’s been over two decades since they first became a thing. They are still being born, and likely will continue to be. The world keeps spinning. It adjusts, and if the people don’t, it doesn’t care.
That’s life.
That’s…

DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH THE ENIGMA OF DEATH IS COMING IS COMING IT SEES YOU AND IT IS COMING

——

RP in which you play a character who was born after an event known as Zero Day. They don’t have to have powers, but I also made this expecting for whoever joins this to want to give their character some abilities. AKA I’ll be surprised if you don’t — but there’s nothing wrong with it.

Some basis:

• Does sort of take place in our world, albeit with one major world changing factor; Zero Day. presently, it’s 2024 in this RP.
• a bit of cosmic horror maybe. was Zero Day a govt experiment gone wrong? was it on purpose? was it an accident? No one knows. but something in the world is changing, presently…for better or for worse?
• not everything settled right down after Zero Day. there were many questions that echoed even years after the event. some gave up their searching, others…did not. some could be individuals — reaching up all the way into the governmental level of stuff.
• adding on to the above: there were a lot of people, who in order to fill in the gaps of what they did not understand about Zero Day (which was so much), they would create their own explanations— sometimes attaching it to religious or spiritual beliefs.
• as mentioned, those who are gifted do have some baseline abilities that aren’t attached to their actual ‘power’; just think better senses, reflexes, healing, etc. And if their power is a super sense, super reflexes, then it just means that sense will be way better than that of baseline ‘gifted’.
• a gifted person can come from a family with no known gifted people in it. likewise a completely ordinary person can come from two gifted people. it’s just a random 5% chance of being ‘gifted’.

and not really related to the world, but:

• I’m way more awkward than I’d like to admit and my memory took a little hit after COVID. if I appear to ghost any RPs, it’s very, very likely to not be on purpose. if you see me online or something along those lines and wish to continue the rp, feel free to bump or message me or something. I feel awful when I come back from a bout of inactiveness, but I also feel awkward about going back to old threads, since im not sure if the other person would want to continue after all that time
• adding on to the above, I am a college student! I am part time so my schedule is a little bit more relaxed than some, but still can get busy at times. I’m usually busy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, with Wednesday being my longest classes. EST time.

RULES

1. Ask before joining — if I do not know your writing style, I will ask for a writing sample with dialogue. Please have one at ready! Do not be offended if I deny you; I am most selective with my limited RPs compared to group RPs or character chats (least selective; open for everyone usually).
2. Activity is not a must. I am not active myself as I am now a college student (times fly by, huh?) If it appears I have forgotten to respond, I may have thought I did, when in reality I didn’t. It could also be possible that it has been a long time that I feel awkward about replying in case the other person doesn’t have the motivation to continue. Please note this before joining!
3. Cussing and violence are expected. Note that as is everything, there is a time and place for it.
4. Good grammar and punctuation appreciated, but I know that everyone makes mistakes, as I certainly do.
5. Mature RPers preferred as a preference. Any sexual content will be a fade to black sort of deal, though I am willing to push things? If that does happen, it’ll likely go to somewhere private to abide by rule 6.
6. All notebook.ai rules apply.
7. One paragraph minimum, or at least four sentences. No one liners. At the very least, give me something to work with and I’ll try to do the same for you.
8. Any questions? Ask!

CHARACTER TEMPLATE

Name:
Age: (21-26)
Gender:
Pronouns:
Orientation:

Appearance:
Clothing/style:
Personality:
Background: (as short or as long as you want)
Other:

I did not include a category for abilities if your character has them, but if they do, please say what they are! feel free to elaborate — remember what I wrote earlier; while the same group of people may have the same powers, how they use them will be different.

(Hope it is ok that it's not a superpower-based sample!)

---

In the middle of summer, in a city located near the beach, its residents were expected to be out there. Lying on the warm sand, splashing in the water, or even visiting the boardwalk. Especially on a day as glorious as this. The bright blue sky was dotted with wispy white clouds that did little to dilute the brilliant warmth of the sun. Even the birds were enjoying the weather. And though Nels was outside, at a cafe near the boardwalk, she was miserable.

Accompanied by nothing and no one, she had chosen to spend the day at her favourite cafe with her newest project designs. Being a professional designer was her choice, a chance to rebel against the expectations of her parents who had chosen everything from her perfume to the way her room looked. The night her acceptance email had arrived, she had slipped out under the cover of the night, armed with nothing but her delusions, hoping never to return. One could argue that Nels had been successful. In the last 8 years, she had heard nothing of or from her parents. Until now, that is.

Nels had stopped at the cafe, ordered herself an iced drink and a dessert, then sat at a table outside to work on editing an outfit for her newest collection. It was coming out beautifully, the sheer white bell sleeves, the cinched waist, and the intricate ribbon work on the alternative backless version made her feel elated. Nels smiled fondly as she observed her work. It would seem that sticking her nose in all those fantasy stories in the past had certainly inspired her work.

The sound of ceramic touching wood allowed her the chance to take a quick break. She set down her tablet and pulled out her wallet to pay. "There's no need for that Penelope. I've already taken care of it." Nels' blood ran cold as she recognized the harsh tone, the wallet slipping out of her fingers and hitting the cobblestone floor with a soft thud. For the first time in 8 years, Penelope Van Duren raised her eyes to look into the icy blue ones of her father.

Name: Eleanor Ajax Valdez (Nell)
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She/Her
Orientation: Mostly straight but open to experimenting

Appearance: Eleanor has warm-toned tan skin. She has freckles dotting her upper cheekbones and across her nose. They tend to blend in with her summer skin tone and show up a little better on her winter skin tone. Her eyes have a light brown inner ring with a green outer ring. She thought they were hazel but her doctor said that it was central heterochromia and she's been pretty proud of them since. Nell's hair is a deep brown colour, Her friends joke that she has light black hair. It's curly and reaches just below her hips when wet and roughly mid-back when dried and styled. Nell often pulls her hair up as she doesn't like it getting in her face when she works. She stands at about 5'5", and has a slim, athletic figure (Years of dance as a kid). Refrence Images
Clothing/style: Nell doesn't really have a set style. She usually dresses up in Dark Academia but her overall aesthetic can be soft dark. As an example, her current favourite outfit is a pair of grey/black plaid trousers with black leather suspenders hooked in the belt loops, a black low-neck shirt with butterfly sleeves, silver rings, a metal watch with straps shaped like dolphins, a few varied earrings, ankle boots with colourful socks. She enjoys carrying courses and bags so she often has an accessory of this kind.
Personality: Eleanor is a pretty social girl. She enjoys meeting new people and talking but hates having her boundaries crossed. She likes to set her limits when she meets new people and the more they try to cross them, the less she will humour them. Nell loves to listen to music, often having a pair of headphones or earbuds on her, around her neck, or in her bag. While it may seem like she would hate her name, Nell doesn't have a preference for how she is called so long as it is respectful. With anyone who might cross her boundaries, she will not allow them the opportunity to use her chosen nicknames. Eleanor adores her parents and family is a big part of who she is. Anyone who she trusts and can rely on is family to her.
Background: Nell was born to a Spanish Father and a British Mother. Her parents met when her mother visited Spain with her family on vacation. There she met her father and both chose to stay in touch even after she left, writing back and forth. Nell's mother was offered a chance to go to Spain with her university for a 2-year internship and was accepted immediately. While there, she got closer to Nell's father and began a relationship with him which eventually ended up in their marriage. Nell came along shortly after. While her Father chose her name, Eleanor's mother chose her middle name after her own father. Nell's family stayed in Spain for about 12 years, she grew up surrounded by her paternal family and often had visits to England to meet her maternal family. Her mother wanted her to become a dancer like she was and so Nell chose to take Ballet classes. Around the age of 12, her family moved from Spain for her parents' work. Nell found it a little difficult to adjust, having been surrounded by people her whole life, she went into a depression. The longer she spent in the new place, the more comfortable she became. It was certainly helpful when she made some really great friends.
Nell knows her ability is to alter her body shape and works on expanding her current abilities to further them. She has perfected her current transformation abilities and can summon them at a thought. She'll never tell her parents this but using a tandem harness, she took her friends on a quick flight around the city. a couple of her friends have powers but most of them are powerless.
Other: Her abilities include summoning aspects of a hawk. She is able to summon the vision and wings of a hawk. She feels that she may be able to do a full transformation if she tried hard enough but she doesn't know if she'd be able to turn back so she's never tried. Currently, she can only use one transformation at a time. Summoning the vision is a little easier because it's altering a smaller part of her body. It takes less time too. Summoning her wings is more difficult because her arms become the wings. Not only does it take longer to fully summon them, the initial transformation is painful. Even though the pain goes away within minutes, Nell doesn't really want to feel like her arms are melting if she can help it.

Name: Minos Sallidis is the name of the host. Though his true name has long since been unused, it is Aakolzu.
Age: 24
Gender: The body is masculine— a man, he would be perceived as. Truthfully, Minos doesn’t care what forms of address people use for him, so long as they’re respectful.
Pronouns: Any, he/him will be primarily used though
Orientation: He is…unsure. It was not of importance to him before. Biromantic asexual, likely.

Appearance: Around 5’8” in height, with fair skin. Dual heterochromia — a hazel left eye, and a green right one. Parts of his skin are marked with sparse freckles. Minos has a lightly athletic build, but not that of a professional athlete’s. His hair is copper brown, wavy texture— at the longest goes down to just below the base of his neck and is slightly longer at the back as opposed to the sides which are shorter (but not extremely so). Tends to stay clean shaven.

Clothing/style: Appearance is usually casual — but more outdoorsy rather than stay at home casual. The clothing he wears is often protective against wear and tear, and he prefers that things last long. His usual fit consists of a light brown waxed cotton jacket, black cargo pants, and decent boots, but not knee high ones (he finds them difficult to walk in casually). Tends to pull his hood up. He sometimes wears a reusable black face mask.

Personality: Minos is quiet. He is not necessarily shy, but is more of a stand to the side observer type of deal. His words can be blunt at times, and though he has lived as a human for some time, he still has difficulty understanding some human concepts. He is attentive.
He knows how to smile and joke, though most of his jokes are ones he only understands. When he attempts to make a more human joke, they tend to land flat.
Minos does not tend to give up on something he sees worth pursuing. He tends to vigorously go over his actions before he even acts.
Minos tends to be in denial of his enjoyment of some human things.

Background: Minos is not of this world.

He was always a strange child — brought back from the claws of death just minutes after birth. He seemed quiet, and was definitely ‘that weird kid’ to many people.
What no one knew was of his true identity — while his body may be human, his mind certainly was not. After a near death experience in his OG form, Minos fled to the safety of a completely different location, as well as brand new form.
Quickly Minos had determined his situation. While he had saved his own life, he had essentially trapped himself in this new form— that of a human baby. Minos was not incredibly fond of his new form, initially. It was far weaker than what he was used to, and in this form, people only knew Minos — not Aakolzu. Minos decided not to even try and bother with explaining his situation — once he was of the speaking age, even he realized it would be a foolish endeavour.

Minos was the only child, to a mother who had been divorced for reasons Minos was uncertain of. Aside from that, he grew up somewhat averagely, a supposedly non-powered individual in a lower income household. And powers — it did not take long for Minos (at least in his eyes) to recognize that so called special abilities were a sort of new thing in this world. Indeed, in his history classes growing up, he took note that these abilities had only shown up in humans on the date of his birth. A detail that he would store in his mind for later.
At the age of 18, his mother was taken away from him in a car accident. It was somewhat surprising to Minos as he did feel a tinge of loss — sadness, perhaps — at this, as in his old life his kind did not form those sorts of relationships, like humans did. For a while, Minos experienced struggle in life, just able to afford what he needed in life.
And then when he was 23, something happened.
He was out and about when there was a strange feeling in his very form — a sudden stinging pain around the neck. Initially, he had assumed it to be just him that experienced that, but he had taken notice of a person nearby who looked to be recovering from a similar experience — who seemed to stare at him oddly. Later, he would realize this was a powered individual.

For whatever reason, after so many years of silence, abilities had manifested in Minos. And then it hit Minos— what had become of his abilities, that day?
Why, they all had split from him — and the universe saw it fine to take it and give this bounty to the people of this world.
It was a long time of contemplation for Minos, trying to figure things out. He hadn’t given up on his ‘original self,’ truly? Minos set to explore his abilities after so long of not using them. Greatly diminished, but he recognized their uses after so long in human years (23 years was a mere blink — maybe even less — to his original form) and then a new idea, a grand one, appeared within his mind.
What if he were to take it all back?

Other: By the government, Minos is not really registered as a powered individual. It is due to the fact that he spent so long supposedly ‘normal’. He did not attempt to register himself after his abilities manifested… or re-manifested, rather.
His abilities can be difficult to pinpoint. Minos would consider his powers to be greatly diminished now compared to when he answered to the name, Aakolzu. When he utilizes his abilities, the stronger he’s using them, the more electrical interference is caused by them. It interferes with lights, radios, and most screens, but it is mostly temporary — unless he were to utilize a particularly powerful move, in which case a blackout would be likely (but only a theory, due to Minos just sort of starting out).
Minos possesses the ability to sense powered individuals, even if they aren’t actively using their abilities. He may not know what abilities they have though. In the reverse, powered individuals may get a sense that something unfamiliar is in the area once he steps into the vicinity.
His ‘energy’ glows red with flecks of gold. Not all powers manifest with such visible energy, but his do. Minos put more focus on strengthening aspects that would be useful for him in the present. Once he gets back to his normal self, he can focus on what comes next..he will return to Aakolzu, won’t he?
Such aspects;

• basic portal making: useful to cover long distances stealthily. He is currently good with making them while stationary, not so much while moving.
• purposeful electrical manipulation: humans certainly use electricity quite a bit, dont they? he usually just uses this aspect to make things more convenient for himself however — like turning a red light green or so on. but he can also use them in a way to induce paranoia — such as making the words “I SEE YOU” appear on a screen, or lights flickering.
• manifesting aspects of his original form: visible energy wraps around parts of his body; claws, maybe even a tail or some back tendrils. these aspects can interact with the real world, and be used in combat.
• self regeneration: he can use more energy to heal himself faster, but in his current form, this does make him tired faster as a result.
  (i realize this all seems quite powerful, but i love putting my dudes into situations, and i promise you everything will balance out as things play out, no need to worry)

Minos is afraid of water in this form for whatever reason — a fact which he finds embarrassing.
He is fond of seafood.
He would not really admit it, but he can be a bit of a troll at times with his powers. He would just describe it as him having fun with them after so long of not having them, which is in part true.
also a sketch of his OG form as Aakolzu I did below. uncoloured and rough so you’ll have to forgive me

((sorry for the wait — getting a bit busier with classes + had some blood work tests. I noticed that your template isn’t fully filled out yet))

It had been approximately a year since he had learned that perhaps his current fate could be altered. That he wasn’t doomed to live as a human, and an unpowered one at that.
Imagine how frustrated he might’ve felt if by escaping a fate of death, he had doomed himself to one so..boring.

Minos was fortunate that was not the case.

His current power was minuscule compared to how he was before. And it would likely remain that way for some time. But last year, trying to use his abilities for the first time in years — felt like putting on a pair of old gloves, except the gloves fit perfectly, just as they did so many years ago. There were still parts of Minos missing, yes. So many parts. But he’d regain it all in time.

His eyes shifted to the news article that was on the nearby table. Most of it was..relatively normal, aside from one peculiar story — a previously powered individual who suddenly had no way to use their abilities. It was as though they had vanished.
Which they had.
Minos recalled the event, a few nights ago — a powered individual that he had pinpointed and tracked, whom he subtly made aware of his presence, playing a game of cat and mouse. He hadn’t been 100% sure on the theory of him being able to take back his power, but seeing as it once belonged to him, it was reasonable to think it would work. And if it didn’t…well, that was not this timeline.
He hadn’t killed them. Perhaps he should’ve, but he felt the memory loss that person would experience would be enough to keep people off of his tail. It’s definitely not because he’s a bit hesitant to do so after spending so much time among this..species.

Minos looked away from the table and towards the door. He currently resided in a small apartment on his own. It wasn’t a fancy building. Most of the people in it kept to their own, which he was thankful for. Hands in his pockets, Minos approached the door — and left his apartment, heading to exit the building.
By the time he left, it was just after midday. Ample time to do some scouting. He had a way of sensing powered individuals — by proxy, they could sense him in a way, that initial time of detection.
At a steady pace, Minos walked down the sidewalk, minding his own business. He slowed down to stop at a storefront, in which he glanced at the displays. He had never bought much of his own, mostly because he moved around a decent amount and it was easier to travel light, but even he could appreciate a good art piece. This store seemed to be an art one — specifically showcasing paintings. His eyes landed on a particular one, a painting of a mysterious scene — of a fishing boat in a dark ocean, save for the sky that seemed to glow—
That’s an interpretation of that day, isn’t it?

Some had skimmed past that day— June 23rd, 2000 without much thought even though it changed their very world. Perhaps it was an ‘it is what it is’ mindset. But to most of the word, June 23rd was a day to be remembered.
He was born that day, of course. Mere minutes after the event. He turned his whole body to look at the painting, wanting to inspect it a bit more depth.