The Shadowwood Resort (a dark paranormal drama) Rated-R

[VampirateMace]

Discussion: Is on my discord, ask if you need a link.
RP Thread: TBA

About the Rating:
This RP is Rated-R; to accommodated violence/gore, victimization, drug/alcohol use (or paranormal parallels of such), and cursing (both verbal and magical). As usual, if your chars are going to get jiggy, fade to black.

About the genre:
So, I'm calling this a Dark Paranormal Drama (more technically it's probably Contemporary Fantasy), and what that means is the RP will focus on exploring the cursed and interlocked lives of the resort owners, workers, and their unfortunate guests (for whom the genre is strictly Horror). Because of this Interpersonal Arcs, Character Interactions, and Victimization of NPCs/PCs will have more pull than any pre-planned plot points I have. Point in fact; there is no grand plot to save the world or escape a government lab, though there may be some unruly villagers to deal with. . .

About the Paranormal:
This RP takes a lot of influences from sources such as, Dark Shadows, Grimm, Twilight Zone, Adam's Family, etc, and goes the serious/dramatic route with those themes. For the purpose of preserving the intended feel of the game, there is a limited list of playable paranormal beings, with some specific guidelines/rules for each type. This list is built around a more western setting, and therefore has a more, but not exclusively, western feel.


“Horror curdles the blood, but Terror chills the bones.”
- Unknown

Plot & Setting:
The small town of Morning Glory sits along a winding country highway. It's the kind of place that has three or four churches and only one bar. Surrounded by tall pine trees and rolling hills, the town's main industries are logging and dairy farming. The people of the town go about their quiet simple lives in relative peace and happiness, never mentioning the resort that lies just up a narrow gravel turn-off from the main road, nestled within the forest. This is not the kind of resort you will find in an online listing. It doesn't have a number listed in the phone-book. And it doesn't take reservations. No, Shadowwood is only visited by lost newly weds, mystery seeking teens, and particularly unfortunate families with flat tires.

From the approach it doesn't look so bad. Maybe a little out of date, but clearly still cared for. A tall manor-like structure, six stories high, overlooks the grounds (the main house). Attached to it is a newer two-story white building, with large windows (the spa). To the left is a large pond, or maybe a small lake, around which is located a small pink cabin (the honeymoon cabin) and three primitive campsites. Visitors to the resort will have their choice of a room in main house, the honeymoon cabin, or campsite, all for a very reasonable fee. No check-out time is given, because most guests never check-out.

The more permanent inhabitants of Shadowwood are of the darker sort, those humanity would rather not know exist; witches and vampires, werewolves and skinwalkers, ghosts and ghouls. They may not always have been here, but they have been here for a long time. And over time their methods of survival have evolved, where once a werewolf stalked the village at night, now he eats lost travelers no one will be able to trace back to him. Where once a witch sold potions quietly in the twilight, risking being burnt at the stake, she now sells them as exotic spa treatments. Still if their kind stick around anywhere long enough, the locals are going to take notice. Even if there's nothing they can do. Even if they have no legally admissible evidence. Some foolhardy 'hero' is bound to try. But as long as no one arranges a mob, the resort’s defenses should hold.

They all reside in a section of the second floor of the manor house, set aside for 'staff'. Well, all save for owner, an ancient warlock that many refer to simply as grandfather or godfather. He, in his dark blue robes, and long silvery hair, resides in the penthouse suite (comprising the entirety of the sixth floor), where he may keep watch over the grounds, when he is not preforming the dark arcane of his unearthly master. The townsfolk know little of him, but many suspect him the servant of Satan himself. What else would compel him to to create a safe-haven for such monsters?

You yourself are one of these so called monsters, or as you may prefer Paranormal Being.


“CONTROL MYSELF?!! I'm a MONSTER! Monsters don't control themselves! That's the whole IDEA!”
- Jeff Smith, Bone, Vol. 5: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border

Paranormal Beings (& Spellcasters) of Shadowwood:
Below is the list of playable paranormal beings found at Shadowwood. The plot may introduce other paranormal beings at the GM's discretion, but these are the playable ones. Spellcasters are technically humans, but within the range of options available to players, and as such are included here for simplicity.

Human Spellcasters: Witches, Sorcerers, & Necromancers
Only ordinary humans can be Spellcasters, as Curses and Natural Magic will cancel these powers out. Witches are those magic users that preform rituals, make charms/amulets, and brew potions to create a variety of very intentional magical effects.

Sorcerers on the other hand have instantaneous magic that is linked to their emotions, meaning they have much less control of what happens. For example it might suddenly start sprinkling or raining when a sorcerer is upset.

Necromancers are those humans that naturally have the ability to see and speak with spirits that others cannot, and using their connection to the spirit world, seek control over life and death. True resurrection has not yet proven possible, but Zombies, animated Skeletons, and even Nosferatu can be created by skilled Necromancers.

Ghosts: Specters & Poltergeists
Ghosts are the spirits of the departed, still lingering in this world. They take many forms, including orbs and dark shadows, but for the purposed of this RP the two playable types of ghosts are Specters and Poltergeists. Specters are unable to interact with the human world, but can appear to humans, speak with them, and even enter their dreams.

Poltergeists on the other hand are always invisible and unable to speak directly with ordinary humans (though they can speak with other Paranormal Beings and Human Spellcasters). However they are able to interact with objects, manipulating or throwing them.

Vampires: Nosferatu & Energy Vampires
Vampires are a somewhat uncommon occurrence in the world, and mostly fall into two groups; those that feed on blood, and those that feed on emotions. The immortal Nosferatu feed on blood, and dwell exclusively in the night. They have powers of transformation and hypnosis, but the they also have a weakness to sunlight, precious metals, and strong odors. They may be created through necromancy or a Nosferatu changing a human.

Energy Vampires walk in the daylight like humans, being almost indistinguishable, save for the fact they're mentally and emotionally exhausting to be around. While they can be killed as easily as a human, their diet of emotions keeps them young as long as they are alive. They also may prefer certain emotions. Energy Vampires are born, not made.

Impure Undead: Zombies, Skeletons, & Ghouls
When a necromancer resurrects someone, they don't come back exactly the same. Ideally they come back as a Nosferatu, but usually there's, how shall we say, complications? The poorly resurrected become zombies, slowly rotting animated corpses with impaired coordination, that faithfully follow their necromancer's instructions, even if they don't like them. Eventually their flesh will rot away entirely, leaving them as mere animated skeletons (no longer able to speak at all).

Sometimes things can go wrong when a Nosferatu tries to change someone as well. These people come back as ghouls. They remain fresher than zombies and retain freewill, but they lack the Nosferatu's powers and have an insatiable craving for meat, the fresher the better. Without a medical examination they are basically indistinguishable from the person they once were, except for some strong cannibalistic tendencies and occasional bouts of rigor mortis.

Shapeshifters: Werewolves & Skinwalkers
One of the most threatening things to stalk the night at Shadowwood is the shape-shifter. Werewolves are humans cursed to take on the form of a vicious wolf by night. The curse can be put on them by a witch, or by being bitten by another werewolf (and miraculously not being torn to shreds).

Skinwalkers are something even darker still, once practitioners of dark magic, they sacrificed their magic along with something exceedingly precious in order to gain the ability to shape-shift into a chosen animal at will (of which they've previously obtained a pelt). However the ritual tainted their soul and left them malicious in nature (both in beast and human form).

Fae: Faeries, Undine, Dryads, & Djinn (& Genies)
The Fae of this world are not the sugar coated glitter bombs you've come to know and love. No, they are the dark and powerful human-sized spiritual beings of yesteryear. They are mighty elementals well know for losing their tempers with insolent mortals. Faeries for example, have been known to whip up a whirlwind that can strip the flesh off a man in seconds. Each type controls and certain type of magic; Faeries are masters of wind and well versed in bringing about changes, Undine control the waters and know many deep hidden truths, Dryads are one with nature and natural healers, and Djinn are masters of fire magic and know how to crafting items through it.

Genies are Fae that have been imprisoned (usually into a bottle, lamp, or piece of jewelry) to do the bidding of their master. Djinn are the most popular sort of genie for obvious reasons, followed by the Undine with their magical insight. However wiser people will appreciate the life coaching abilities of a Faerie, or the healing skills of a Dryad. And still wiser people will know you can never trust a Fae that is imprisoned against their will so explicitly.


Sign-up Form:

Name:
- What is your birth-name, and what do you generally go by?

Age:
- How old are you?

Gender:
- Are you a boy, a girl, ect? Listing your sexuality is also permitted, but not required.

Species:
- What species are you?

“Occupation”:
- What exactly is it you do or claim to do as a 'staff' member at the Shadowwood resort? For example; doorman, chef, groundskeeper, housekeeper, activity director, front desk clerk, masseuse, boat rental clerk. . .

Appearance:
- What do you look like? Make sure to take your species and lifestyle into account. 8+ Real sentences

Personality:
- How do you think and act? Remember real people are not perfect, and monsters are far from it. 8+ Real sentences

History:
- How did you get to this point in life? What was your childhood (or early life) like? 8+ Real sentences

*Familiar/Pet/Companion Animal:
- Optional: If you elect to have a familiar or companion, please describe it's physical appearance, personality, and history here. Fair warning, talking or super intelligent animals will probably be rejected. 8+ Real sentences


Players:
1) VampirateMace ~ (Titus, Energy Vampire, Activities Director)
2) Schade ~ (Ghorgos, Necromancer, Bellhop)
3) Vern ~ (Ann, Specter, Secretary)
4) GoldenHouou ~ (Vivi, Skinwalker, Security Guard)
5) Sketchie *RESERVED*
6)
7)

 

[Schade]

Can i reserve a Human Necromancer, as well as a Bellboy position at the resort?

 

[Vern]

The old one wasn't working out for me so I made a new character!

Name: Anastasia (Ana / Ann / whatever else you feel like calling her)
Age: Died at 15, is 17 now.
Gender: Female
Species: Specter -- once human, failed skinwalker (electric eel): Having been unable to perform a ‘proper’ skinwalker ritual, Ana wasn’t ‘corrupted’ in the same way that skinwalkers usually are. Her dysfunctional ‘animal’ form will occasionally appear over her ‘human’ form while near water or in dark places. When it does, she occasionally produces bursts of electricity that can inflict pain and minor burns, but little lasting damage.
“Occupation”: Secretary / Accountant: Ana works as a secretary at the resort, keeping track of their finances and other resources / information.

Appearance:

Being a ghost, Ana’s most obvious trait is that both her clothes and her body are translucent, with just how opaque they are varying unpredictably. Her skin is pale, although she isn’t sure if she was always this way, or if it’s because she’s dead. Her hair and eyes are both a brown, faintly orange-tinted colour — she has large, innocent-looking eyes, but upon closer inspection you’ll find that they seem to be missing the ‘spark of life’, so to speak. Her hair is fluffy and tied into two small tufts near the bottom. You’ll often see her with a faint smile on her face — albeit a somewhat sad-looking one. She’s on the shorter, slimmer side, and appears pretty healthy.

In terms of clothing, Ana wears a large orange sweater (long enough to cover her hands) over a grey t-shirt and skirt, both of which are fairly loose and floaty (due to her ghostly nature). She also has a bright cyan scarf, which she is quite attached to. Being a ghost, she is incapable of changing her clothes or her hairstyle.

When she is especially agitated, or near large bodies of water, or late at night (although the latter two and the first one tend to come hand in hand), her form becomes a lot more unstable, often flashing/morphing back and forth between her ’normal’ human shape and the grotesque amalgamation that was the result of a faulty skinwalker ritual. Her skin becomes varying degrees of dark black, and her facial features, digits, and occasionally limbs will melt together awkwardly into vaguely fish/eel-like shapes. Frequently, her skin will appear to melt away, revealing muscle tissue or bone. Her movements become a lot more spastic and awkward, often appearing painful (even though she can’t feel pain).

Personality: At first glance, Ana appears to be a fairly sweet, likeable girl. She smiles a lot, and always appears upbeat and enthusiastic, having an earnest nature that makes getting along with her fairly easy. She’s kind and always eager to help, being more than willing to go out of her way to listen to someone else’s problems or help them with work (or other things). Moreover, it’s pretty much impossible to anger her, and you’ll find that even if you try, you’ll have a hard time getting on her bad side.

But really, that kind exterior isn’t anything more than a mask. Having sacrificed her memories in order to become a skinwalker, Ana has no idea who she is, or what she wants to be. Perhaps consequently, she doesn’t respond to things in quite the same way ‘normal people’ do (even though she’s gotten pretty good at pretending), and finds it hard to empathise with them. She doesn’t understand emotions like joy or love or grief, and has never experienced them — although that’s not to say she isn’t capable of doing so in the future. The only two emotions she knows is hatred and guilt — she knows that she hates someone, but can’t remember their face, and she feels guilty for failing at something important, but doesn’t know what. Because of all this, she considers herself a hollow, perhaps even evil person, who has nothing and who’s life has no purpose. She desperately wants to find something she truly enjoys, or someone she truly cares for, but so far has had no luck, and is beginning to doubt that it's even possible for her.

Beneath this benign exterior, however, Ana is almost always anxious. She’s frequently tormented by nightmares, and so avoids sleeping when possible (thankfully, she doesn’t need it, being dead and all). She’s also afraid of both water and darkness, as they tend to set off flashes of very unpleasant memories, occasionally causing her to hallucinate -- they happen near-randomly, but she's noticed that being near water or in dark places increases their frequency -- and also triggers her nightmarish transformations. Because of the unpredictability of her memory flashes, she tends to feel anxious when alone, and will stick with another person when possible. As you imagine, the combination of all these traits make night-time thoroughly torturous for her.

History: Ana’s first memory is looking down at a monster. It was night, and she was floating waist-deep within a river. Even with its beady eyes, the limbs all fused together and tar-like flesh melting onto the riverbed — it was almost human. And what’s more, judging by the cyan scarf around what may once have been its neck, which matched perfectly with the one around her own, that monster was herself. She screamed, then turned around to lay eyes on a haggard-looking, humanoid figure wading through the shallows, looking shaken.

The next patch of her life passed in a blur of hazy, dreamlike memories — lots of screaming and snarling and wailing and other ghastly sounds, and visions of blood and terrified faces. When she finally became lucid again, she was in the middle of a town she didn’t recognise, with no idea of who she was, what sort of things she’d done over the past weeks-to-months, why she ended up here, and, perhaps more importantly, why she was transparent, passed through objects, and people screamed when they saw her. A little panicked, she fled to the wilderness outside the town, but quickly returned to (literally) haunt the 24/7 convenience store when she became aware of the affect darkness had on her ‘condition’. By a miraculous stroke of like, the cashier that worked there at night time was very into the occult, and helped her figure out a rough outline of what the hell had happened to her. The cashier also gave her a name: Anastasia, after his deceased younger sister.

Eventually, the cashier left for a better job, which also happened to not be a midnight one. Without a companion to spend the night with, Ana found little reason to remain in a town she had no attachment to, and after saying goodbye to her ‘friend’, took her leave. She had no real goal or destination, beyond finding somewhere where she didn’t have to spend the night alone — which is harder than it sounds, given her ghostly nature. Despite what you might think, Ana had little interest in probing into her past: thinking about it pained and scared her, and she intuitively knew that what she’d discover, if she tried, wouldn’t be pleasant.

After around a year or so simply floating around the area she came into contact with her first other supernatural being: a ghost of an elderly man, who went by the name of Nicholas. When she informed him of her situation, he told her about the existence of a certain Shadowwood Resort: a place that existed as a sanctuary for their kind, where she would be able to settle down for a while, if that’s what she truly wanted. He’d resided there in the past, but left to explore the world, like he’d always wanted to do while still alive.

Taking his advice with little hesitation, Ana managed to locate the resort, and applied for a job there. It was at Shadowwood that she unwittingly discovered the existence of skinwalkers and part of the truth about her past — the security guard there, a skinwalker named Vivi, took it upon herself to explain to her the likely cause of her death and current condition. She ended up piecing together a general view of her past that did not please her much (although she wasn’t exactly surprised). Aware now that she’d most likely attempted to sacrifice her memories in order to become a skinwalker for the purpose of inflicting harm on someone she hated, she found herself feeling a sudden urge to carry through that mission to its conclusion. While she pretended (for her own sake) that she did so only out of curiosity, she began trying to research how a specter could possibly interact physically with the world.

*Familiar/Pet/Companion Animal: N/A

 

[GoldenHouou]

I'll grab me a creepy crawly skinwalker spot! No idea about the position tho. Uhh guard?? Geddit cause guard dogs.

 

[Schade]

Dropping off a WIP here. I'll work on it when i have time, but it shouldn't take too long..

Name: Lord Jeremy Ghorgos (Almost exclusively goes by his title and surname)
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Species: Human Necromancer: Ghorgos was born into a very powerful family of spellcasters, and while each member of his family specialized in different branches of magic both offensive and defensive, Ghorgos found his call down the path of the Necromancer. His magic range from powerful spells and dark hexes, to more practical cantrips and alchemical purpose. His ultimate goal is to cheat death by becoming a powerful lich, gaining both immortality and vast magical skills in the process.
“Occupation”: Bellhop: He scored a job as Bellhop at the resort after having been reccomended by a friend of a family member of a distant relative of the adopted sister to one of the tourists who died there, and with his magical prowess, he easily got the job guiding newcomers to check-in and answering to their whims, while his army of undead carry their luggage. It's a sweet, albeit temporary gig, considering Ghorgos will be attending college after his contract ends.

Appearance:
Lord Ghorgos is a medium tall young man with a slender lean physique, as he doesn't do that much physical exercise. He has pale skin that is very sensitive to sunlight, making him burn easily. Besides that, his skin is relatively free of blemishes. He has a tattoo on his chest right over his heart in the shape of an ornate pentagram,but besides that, he doesn't have any tattoos. His hair is light blonde, reaches down to below his shoulders, and is kept in a bun with a few locks of hair hanging down over his face. His eyebrows are neatly trimmed to frame his face and give him a slightly more stern appearance than his personality would suggest. He has light stubble in a darker shade than his hair. His eyes are silvery white, and give off a surprisingly friendly vibe than their cold colors would suggest. He has several earstuds in both of his ears, with one cross shaped charm hanging from the left one.

For clothing, Ghorgos can be somewhat of a hipster. He typically prefer wearing things before they are cool, and has a very successfull pintrest account where he scouts for new obscure fashion trends. On the casual side, he wears a pair of black torn tight jeans and a pair of colorful sneackers. He wears a slightly seethrough loose-sitting sidecut tank top, with a dark blue denim jacket over it. He would also occasionally wear a white beanie with several pins in it to go with this outfit. However, considering he is mostly going to be working a lot this summer, he now mostly wears his work outfit, which is your standard bellhop uniform, minus the hat. Black pants with formal red shoes and a matching red jacket with golden buttons and embroideries.

Personality: Ghorgos is a generally laid back character that enjoys taking life at his own pace, not feeling the need to rush himself, or dance to the beat of anydoby's drums but his own. Originally a dilligent worker with a rock solid working morale, he has loosened his stance on that regard after obtaining the ability to literally create workers that does everything he asks them to do. He will often make excuses to get out of work, or just send an undead minion in his stead while he himself lounge off elsewhere. Due to his grasp on necromantic magic, there is little limits to the amount of tasks he can get his undead minions to do for him, a power of which he exploits greatly.

Socially, Ghorgos is equally as laid back as his initial appearance suggests. He is open-minded and friendly to everyone he meets, allthough his smile doesn't reach his eyes. He generally enjoys being left alone or in the company of his undead minions, and to just do his own thing. Despite that, he's not rude to the people he meets, but he doesn't give off the most friendly and forthcoming vibes. He is a hard nut to crack, but once you get past his outward defenses, he's a pretty chill dude, and would aid you in whatever troubles you might find yourself in, or... Send someone else to do it in his stead.

Ghorgos is a very talented Necromancer, having inherited vast magical properties from his family, which manifested itself at an early age. While raising the dead comes as easily to him as calculus, he strives to intellectually challenge himself in his quest to obtain actual immortality. Wanting to obtain power solely for the purpose of obtaining power, his objectives are as hard to crack as his personality, making him somewhat unpredictable in that regard. Despite that, he is surprisingly ambitious and would go to great lengths to reach his own goals, sacrificing as many innocents in the process as necessary. Due to the fleeting nature of death, Ghorgos doesn't really value human lives, thinking that he can just resurrect people if they die on him, thus making them expandable.

History:
Having been born into one of the prominent magically oriented families hailing from an unnamed land, Ghorgos was raised in a relatively modest environment. Despite their magical powers, his family lived an honestly modest lifestyle, with both his parents working in order to provide for him and his siblings. He has 3 siblings: 2 younger sisters and an older brother, and while each of the siblings have found their own magical path to follow, his path of necromancy is still not something they discuss openly with other spellcasters. While not forbidden, necromancy is still frowned upon by the magical community, as it not only commands the dead, but also the living who label themselves as undead. As such, it is considered a big breach of personal space to use any kind of necromantic spells on the unliving. Looking past those predjudices though, Ghorgos never felt like he was looked down upon, as his general magical abilities were far above many, even at a young age.

Life for Ghorgos wasn't actually that exciting. Sure, he is a powerful spellcaster, but besides that, he lives a normal life, and has normal aspirations, kinda. His intelligence, mixed in with his ever developing laziness granted him slightly above average grades in school, with his teachers shaking their heads at his wasted potential. He went to an all human school, as his parents wanted their children to have the human experience, and to not get too power-hungry once their magical abilities really manifested themselves. It worked, for the most part, and Ghorgos didn't spiral down intoa powerhungry whirlpool of narcissism and eil like one of his younger sisters did. Eh, 3 out of 4 good eggs are still worth the batch, and while his sister was pretty much evicted from the family at the age of 7, Ghorgos never found it odd, as he himself knew the consequences of giving into the allure of power; All of the siblings knew this.

Gropwing up, he had many friends, excelled socially and eventually made it to a soccer team once he reached the teenages. While it was a good past time activity, it was obviously not something someone of his magical skills would spend their life on, duh. Regardless, Ghorgos and his siblings focused on their mundane lives for the most part, while filling their spare time with everything magical and arcane. As such, Ghorgos developeda strong social circle, and eventually fell in love.

The love of his life, as the teenagers call it, was a girl named Theresa. She was human, and went in his parallel class in high school. It's pretty much the textbook high school romance, with him falling for her, her playing hard to get before some weird twist of fate and a random musical number in the school cafeteria made her see the error of her ways and finally say yes when he asked her out in the most clichÈ way possible. I'll leave the image of that part up to you. They would go to prom, have some fun, she would get mad when Ghorgos danced with her Ex boyfriend because that's just the kind of man Ghorgos is, and eventually the romance died off while another blossomed. It was all very weird and cringey and honestly they should have made a movie about it.

Once high school was over, Ghorgos had decided he would go to college, majoring in hotel management. IT wasn't exactly what everyone expected him to go for, but honestly who could tell, he was still very unpredictable. His strange sitcom life did take a thorn to the side when his best friend, Cassie died in a car crash, however. It had been a foggy night, and Cassie's father was picking him up form a party after having learned that there were drugs involved. He had picked up both Ghorgos and Cassie, but before managing to get home, they had become victim to a drunk driver coming out of nowhere in an intersection, killing Cassie instantly, while his father was put into a coma. Ghorgos somehow survived this ordeal, and it weighed heavily on him. This event is also what made him take his magical lessons more seriously, as he never wanted to dance with death again. For Cassie though, i was too late.

I mean, as too late as it is when your best friend is a necromancer. Breaking into the morgue, which was surprisingly easy for some reason, Ghorgos managed to get a hold of Cassie's body. After making some minor edits and yanking all limbs back into place, he began his spell, and the body of his best friend Cassie resurrected. However, the body was merely a zombie, with no trace of the person previously inhabiting it left. Luckily for Ghorgos though, as he had a lot of experience in soulbinding as well. Having been in the car crash with the deceased, his soul had attached itself to Ghorgos, making him wonder if he could completely restore the human that was Caspar Wicke. He could not, however, and only managed to bind the soul to the body, creating some sort of an eternal literal "out of body experience" situation where the soul could move the body at will, though not over prolonge periods of time. Oh well, it's pretty much a success right?

jump some time forward and we find ourselves in the presence. Ghorgos managed to land a job at the Shadowwood resort through some help form an unspecified source. The job was easy enough, and both Ghorgos and Cassie applied, and managed to land it fairly easily. It seemed not many people were applying for jobs there as of late, which worked perfectly in their favor. They now work at the resort as bellhops, with Ghorgos landing the chief bellhop position. He's gonna keep this job throughout the summer in order to earn enough money to send himself off to college, but who knows what mysteries awaits our heroes of fate??

Familiar: Ghorgos' familiar is the raven known as Malphas. This pitch black raven is the first ever creature Ghorgos successfully reanimated, and it holds nostalgic value to him. As it is also inbued with his dark magic, it is a powerful familiar often used for scouting purposes. It is slightly decrepit in appearance, with visible bones poking out on its torso and wings where its flesh has rotted away.

Other:
- Ghorgos is often accompanied by his best friend, the zombie of Caspar Wicke, or "Cassie". The zombie works as any other, but has stopped decomposing, and the ghost of Cassie still controls it.

- His younger evil sister is named Dorthe, and she's currently working as a waitress at a local Gas Gas Gas™ station. despite her wicked ways, the siblings still all keep in touch and remain good friends.

 

[VampirateMace]

Schade (Ghorgos, Necromancer, Bellhop) *RESERVED*
Vern (???, Undine Genie, Janitor) *RESERVED*
GoldenHouou (???, Skinwalker, Guard?) *RESERVED*

 

[GoldenHouou]

Done~

Name: Viviana "Vivi" Hayes

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Species: Skinwalker (kodiak bear)

“Occupation”: Security guard. She patrols the premises and makes sure nothing forbidden is afoot. She also removes 'troublemakers' - which, in most cases, are innocent people she has lured into breaking the rules so she can punish them. Hey, a girl's got to eat!

Appearance:

As far appearances go, Vivi's doesn't really leave a lasting impression one way or another. She stands at 5'2'' with a thin frame and no noticeable curves. Her face is round and dotted with freckles - as are her shoulders, should one catch a glimpse of them. Oftentimes, the large scarves she so loves do a good job hiding them. While her complexion would suggest she burns easily, she actually does tan moderately well. Her manner of dress is comfortable and casual, mostly consisting of practical dresses in earthly colours, as well stockings and matching shoes. She doesn't wear heavy jewelry, but a bracelet there and earrings here are a staple in her getup.

The one thing that might warrant a second look are her eyes, owing to the fact that she has a curious case of partial heterochromia. Her large oval eyes are mostly a dull greenish brown, but around the iris of her right eye, a splash of dark brown has formed a heart-like shape. Her brother used to call it cute, so almost as if to honor him, Vivi tends to comb her hair to the left so as to never cover it. Or at least, that was her reasoning originally; by now, the hair style has just become a habit. Her hair is chestnut brown and very long, nearly reaching the ground and always getting tangled unless tied or braided. Vivi tends to favor the latter option, partly because she loves it when people play with or do her hair. She likes cute hair accessories as well, and has a whole collection of different ones.

When transformed, Vivi takes the form of a monstrous kodiak bear, weighing over a thousand pounds and reaching eight feet when standing upright. Her measurements match the pelt she originally used, which belonged to a male specimen.

Personality: Vivi gives off the vibe of a typical 'girl next door'; unassuming, modest and demure. She speaks little, smiles often, and doesn't like conflict - be it in spoken or physical form. She's generally quite cheerful, but not overly so; she practices restraint in all that she does, as a refined individual should. Despite her young age, Vivi's caring nature and tendency to fuss over people's well-being make her come across as big sisterly to most other beings she meets. She doesn't really notice, but neither does she mind.

With all that said, her gentle nature is, in a way, only skin-deep. Empathy and sympathy are foreign concepts to her, and she is unable to be truly concerned by another's pain. It's not that it's all a deliberate act on her part, it's more that she tries to emulate the way she's perceived humans to act, in an attempt to better fit in with them - but can only mimic what she's seen, not the feelings underneath. She enjoys the company of other monsters well enough, and harbors no ill will towards them - but unless you mind having a superficial friendship with a beast, you're probably better off looking elsewhere for comfort. Oh, and be wary of picking a fight in her presence, be it with her or someone else; her usually calm demeanor can quickly turn into an exhilarated display of violence, if given due reason.

Humans are a different matter, as far as caring goes. Whatever kinship Vivi feels towards monsters is absent when dealing with them, and she sees them as little more than walking sacks of food. They're naive and weak, and therefore deserve to be deceived and devoured by beings far stronger than them. With humans, she does deliberately try to appear as innocent and harmless as possible so as to make them drop their guard. She systematically tries to trick them into breaking the rules so she could get an excuse to eat them. Of course, if she's already full, she doesn't mind killing them just for fun, either. There's nothing quite as satisfying as the crack of bone under her paws!

History: Orphaned at a young age along with her elder brother Victor and Pomeranian puppy Poochy, the siblings spent two years of their lives in a crammed backwater orphanage trying to get by. With no funds nor time to tend to each and every child, they were often overlooked by the caretakers in favor of other, solitary children that didn't have a sibling to turn to. Vivi didn't truly mind. After all, not only did she have her brother to keep her safe, she had a dozen other friends as well - be that only her and her brother seemed able to see them. Most dismissed them as fragments of the siblings' imagination.

Then one day, a certain man came by. His appearance alone would've likely gotten him turned around at the door of any respectable orphanage, but Rosewood Respite had no such luxury. The man had a silver tongue and a fat wallet, and the administration was quite weak to both. The siblings rather liked him. Unlike every one else before him, he did not recoil at the mention of a dozen invisible friends floating around him. In fact, he seemed quite intrigued. So much so that a few visits and conversations later, the siblings bid their farewells to the orphanage and set out to begin a new life with the man. Sebastian, he called himself.

It soon became apparent that he was a man fully dedicated to the dark arts. His home decor was laughably stereotypical of one who tries to conjure otherworldly beings, and the dark forest that framed his yard was almost too convenient. It soon came to light that he was a necromancer, interested in the siblings' connections to the world beyond. He told the kids that the friends they'd always been surrounded by were ghosts, and that he'd very much want to meet them too. So, seeing no reason not to, the siblings did their best to help. Sebastian himself held only a little potential for magic - but he had read about the topic extensively. He became a tutor to the children, ushering them to learn in his stead. For years they did just that, none the wiser of what the man truly had in store for them. He never wanted to meet their ghastly friends, he wanted to cultivate their magic power, so that he could one day sacrifice them and steal it all for himself.

Victor was always better than her when it came to magic; but she was the more observant of the two. Once, in her attempt to get some extra studying in, Vivi stumbled upon books and notes she wasn't supposed to see. They detailed rituals to steal another's essence, and all the preparations needed for them. Vivi started to grow suspicious - but her brother would not believe her, no matter how many times she tried to warn him and insist they leave.

Then, one day, Sebastian took her brother to the woods - and locked her inside the house. Vivi panicked, trying everything she could to get out of the house and chase after them. But the windows were barred, the door locked by magic means, and none of the magic she knew could aid her in getting out. Desperate for a solution, she happened upon a ritual for skin walking. All she needed was a pelt and a sacrifice.

There was an assortment of animal pelts in one of the rooms; meant for various brews, potions and rituals. She grabbed the biggest she could find, and then grabbed every item precious to her. But... no matter which item she broke unto the ritual circle on the ground, nothing happened. Her favorite teddy bear, her favorite dress, a picture book full of memories - nothing was precious enough. It was then that Poochy walked up to Vivi's trembling form to lick her better. She turned to him, a horrible idea brewing in the back of her mind. She could barely see Poochy's form through the tears as she held up a dagger. She loved the dog. But she loved her brother more.

Transforming into a bear hurt. It was far more painful than anything she'd ever experienced, and everything that happened after was a blur of emotions she'd never felt before. The door broke down easily enough under her paws - and it wasn't difficult to track her brother down. Following his scent, she arrived to a distant forest clearing in no time at all. He was still alive. She wasn't too late.

Sebastian fell even more easily than the door had - but she kept swinging and attacking everything in sight long after his death. There was blood everywhere. She never realized how hungry she'd been before she smelled the irony stench. By the time she was finally done, she she looked to her brother. He was dead, mauled by a beast. Vivi only understood why when she finally transformed back.

She'd failed. Her pet was dead. Her caretaker was dead. Her brother was dead. All because of her. And she? She was no longer human. Vivi was devastated - for a time. As time passed, she found herself caring less and less, until she could no longer remember her brother's face. It should have probably been a sad thing.

She's worked for the resort for a few years by now, finding the presence of others of her kind pleasant - and the many humans that visit the place delicious in their naivete.

Familiar/Pet/Companion Animal: N/A. She's tried to get pets, but they all seem to run for the hills when she transforms. She has been feeding a black cat that lives on the premises, though. She's named her (Miss) Fluffykins, though the cat herself doesn't seem to recognize the name.

 

[Sketchie]

... I want in, but it’s 1:30 AM. Any chance I can reserve a spot and sort out my life later?

 

[VampirateMace]

Sketchie: *RESERVED*

 

[VampirateMace]

Name: Titus Adams

Age: 63 (looks 32)
- The older he gets the slower he ages. Additionally a sufficient dose of emotions can rejuvenate him, and make him look even younger.

Gender: Male
- “Dramasexual” Romantically Titus isn't really that into other people so much as the drama, so he may give a wide array of partners a try, usually finding an excuse to leave urgently at inconvenient times.

Species: Energy Vampire
- Titus enjoys a wide arrange of emotions, but what really tastes good to him and satisfies him the most is disappointment. It usually gets in the way of his love life, since feeding often takes priority over his partner's desires. Eventually his partners just assumes he's not that into them and leave.

“Occupation”: Activity Director
- Titus arranges fun and exciting activities for the resort guests to sign-up for. Then he may or may not arrange for them to go horribly wrong in a way that couldn't possibly be the resort's fault.

Appearance:

Titus is very human in appearance. Few would guess his medium-light brown skin belonged to a vampire, well. . . a vampire of sorts. His hair is composed of tight dark brown curls that can be hard to manage at times, and if straightened would be a lot longer than it appears. He has a well defined facial structure with a narrow slightly pointed nose (suggesting some southern European ancestry), a strong chin, thick lips, almond shaped eyes with slight bags under them (merely hinting at a lack of sleep to mortals), and well groomed eyebrows. His eyes are a little unusual, being a very warm shade of golden brown.

Titus tries to dress nice, he is a professional after all. He usually wears black slacks and a white button-up shirt under a deep red vest. This vest is mostly to help people spot him, because as an Activity Director he needs to be visible and easy to find. His shoes are shiny black leather, and look fairly new. Additionally he wears dress socks and a shiny gold watch, which he consults to make sure everything is happening on time. He is also almost never seen without either a white and orange megaphone or a sign-up clipboard for events.

Personality:
Titus is confident, kind, responsible, and helpful, on the surface. Not all of this is a lie, but he is definitely far more sinister than he seems. He is constantly scheming, but not in a take over the world or kill someone sort of way. No his schemes are more subtle and harder to identify from the outside, even after the fact. Inducing disappointment in guests without stirring the pot enough to raise suspicions is actually a lot of work. And it often means being sneaky, slipping away to arrange something and getting back before he's missed. Though the payoff its great, he really loves getting to deliver bad news, especially in his cheerful it can't be helped customer service tone of voice.

Oh, and it takes connections, you got to play nice with the other paranormals, which is admittedly not the greatest at given his tendency to feed off anyone around him's emotions. Charming a guest is easy, sure. But charming someone who knows what you are and has to spend everyday with you takes a bit more work. He can be rather hard to get close to. Because while he's pretty charming at first meeting, give it a little time, and most people will be mentally exhausted just catching a glimpse of him headed their way. And while he's not exactly asexual or opposed to romance, it's not the most important thing in his mind. Feeding generally is the most important thing, so often it'll take priority over romance, at the expense of his current relationship of course.

He really is responsible though, at least to the resort and the other parnormals, even if they don't always appreciate it. After all if he wants to keep working here, the place needs to keep operating as normal. Or at least what passes for normal around here, he can't say he acturally knows what's normal at a human resort, after all this is the first hes' worked at, and the longest he's worked at the same place, or lived in the same place for for that matter. But he does know how to keep humans just happy enough that they don't freak out. And that didn’t just come naturally, it took years of practice.

History:
Titus' early life was, well, not ideal. He was born in the back room of an illegal brothel, and quickly left at the doorstep of the nearest firehouse, no questions asked. His mother was, as you may have guessed, a whore, and his father, well his father wasn't quite human. Not that he would ever figure out who he was. But it's because of him that Titus himself also isn't quite human. See, his father was an energy vampire, one that particularly enjoyed intimidating people. So obviously Titus was not a wanted pregnancy, but one that disappointed his biological mother at every turn. From the moment she discovered she was pregnant, to being denied an abortion, to being put on bed-rest unusually early in her pregnancy, and not having time to get to the hospital when she realized she was in labor; everything about it was a disappointment and she just wanted to finally be done with him. And so as soon as it was possible, she was.

Titus was then shunted around the foster system until he was old enough to look after himself. There were many couples willing to adopt him as a baby, but it always seemed to fall through, much to the frustration of his social worker and the prospective parents. As he got older, there were of course less people interested in adopting him, but the reasons adoptions fell through changed in many cases, often it had to do with his behavior. He was after all becoming aware of his need to drain the life force from others by manipulating their emotions. And one particular emotion was really starting to stand out, disappointment.

As he reached young adulthood, still looking much like a teenager, the boy set off to find his place in the world, whatever that may be. And curious as he may have been about his birth mother as a child, whatever fantasies he may have had of being a kidnapped prince or a bastard billionaire’s heir, he really no longer particularly cared who she was. He was ready to enjoy his own life. Only problem was, he didn't really know what to do with it. A string of odd jobs, disastrous romances, and ill conceived moves later, he found himself in the small backwater town of Morning Glory. He was about to nope the hell out of this little witch hunting village, when he stumbled upon the Shadowwood Resort. A mere forty years old, still looking in his twenties, he was finally feeling like he belonged somewhere. And he's more or less been here ever since.

*Familiar/Pet/Companion Animal: Nope
- Look, let's all just be happy the energy vampire doesn't have any animals to emotionally abuse, and leave it at that.

 

[VampirateMace]

Schade ~ (Ghorgos, Necromancer, Bellhop) Accepted
- If it's not a big deal to you, would you be open to making Cassie a little more as I described zombies? As in the soul can fully inhabit the body, but the body is compelled to follow Ghorgos' direct instructions. (I'm fine with the halted decay as some spell or ritual, as clearly being dead was still not undone.)

 

[VampirateMace]

Vern: Ann, Specter, Secretary: Accepted

 

[GoldenHouou]

Saying it here too so you don't have to triple post, heh, but done!

 

[VampirateMace]

Thank you, and Vivi is Accepted