Secrets of Chicago (Open & Accepting!)

[Consulting_Angel]

Chicago. Bustling with life. Enough people that anyone would blend into the crowd. If they're not looking carefully, then no one really notices anything might be amiss. Well, that, and most people don't possess any sort of Seeing-Eye ability. But, within these crowds of people, seamlessly disguised, is a whole community of supernatural beings, going about their lives, just as busy as the humans. They even have hidden backstreets that are filled with supernatural-only stores, amenities and other buildings. For a long while, it's only been them that have access to this 'underground' society, with perhaps only a handful of human exceptions that have the aforementioned Seeing-Eye ability - a rare ability that only a very small percentage of humans have, which enables them to see through the 'veil' that supernatural beings have to disguise themselves and their communities. However, it's been 15 years since any new humans have accidentally discovered they have this ability and stumbled into the supernatural society, it's at the point that many think there will be no other humans with the ability. That all changes, though, on a seemingly regular Spring afternoon.

A group of humans, apparently unconnected, arrive in Chicago, just to spend some time in the city for varying reasons. Whether that's to spend time with family, attend an event, or just to have a city break, they soon notice that things are... off. Passers-by seem to be human, until they shimmer and reveal a very not-human appearance - which no one else seems to notice. And later on, they stumble into a backalley after not paying attention, which seems to turn into a street with rather mysterious stores and buildings that they are sure wasn't on any map.
Upon eventually meeting - with each other and the supernatural locals - they learn about the truth of their hidden ability... but it becomes clear that something drew them here all at once - but what? And... why? It seems... the humans may have more to them than they thought, and whatever subconsciously drew them here has a plan.

Discussion Thread

[Consulting_Angel]

You may have up to three characters, but only one can be one of the 'visiting' humans. PM me to reserve, and character forms are to be posted on the discussion thread.


Visiting Humans
- The humans that are just visiting Chicago to find themselves in a situation that is more than they expected!
- Only 6 open roles, PM to reserve WITH three suggestions of an additional hidden ability that will develop and be revealed to everyone else later on in the roleplay. (Your character will only have ONE of these abilities, I'd just like to know some options that you'd like for your character!)
- Each role title is the reason the character is in Chicago.

Roles

Celebrating Birthday
Name|User

The Festival-Goer
Name|User

Family Visitor
Alexandre de Alcântara|Foe Paw

On a Vacation
Reserved|ENGLivesAndZERO

Starting a New Life
Celia Chase|cocogerber13

Here to Work
Adrian Taylors|Craboom-047

Accustomed Humans
- These humans have already discovered and been involved with the supernatural community here for several years.
- They'd probably be older than most of the other characters, unless they were introduced to the supernatural community at a young age, since it's been 15 years in-roleplay since a human discovered them.
- They do not have any additional power, but do have experience and knowledge of the community.
- Role titles indicate an aspect of their personality.

Roles

The Optimist
Reserved|tawneypelt

The Quiet
Name|User

The Ruthless
Ryker Garrett|Consulting_Angel

The Jokester
Zachary Lee|cocogerber13

The Mysterious
Joshua Reynolds|Craboom-047

The Peacemaker
Name|User

Supernaturals
- All kinds of species/creatures. They have a human 'disguise' that is automatically 'activated' when around regular humans, but can be seen through by other supernaturals, and humans with the Seeing-Eye ability.
- Possess various powers and abilities, as well as extensive knowledge of their own community. They tend to know one another - or know someone who knows someone.
- Roles indicate specialist skills/occupations. If you have an idea for one that isn't here, PM me and I'll add it for you!

Roles

The Archivist
Lucinda Cora|Gorgon|Consulting_Angel

The Healer
Rhysand Gray|Phoenix|the.smitty

The Future Predictor
Xanthe Chicane|Mothman|Consulting_Angel

The Historian
Reserved|Species|tawneypelt

The Human Researcher
Eventide|Dragon|cocogerber13

The Weapon Enchanter
Metilaeno Aquithea|Siren|Craboom-047

The Potion Maker
Isabelle Ramirez IX|Ooze|InfectedHau

The Aura Seer
Reserved|Species|ENGLivesAndZERO

[Consulting_Angel]

You may use the form below, or use your own (provided it has all the required information)!

Code: Select all

[left][img]Image/FC[/img][/left][size=85][b]Full Name:[/b]
[b]Nickname[/b] (if any):
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Pronouns:[/b]
[b]Sexuality:[/b]
[b]Role:[/b]
[b]Species:[/b]
[b]Powers:[/b] (if supernatural, max.3)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (written description, optional)

[b]Personality:[/b] (at least 5-6 sentences)

[b]Short Bio:[/b]

[b]Other[/b]:[/size]

Rules
- As per usual, all of Tess' rules apply (it should go without saying, but there's always someone...)
- PM to reserve - they last for 24 hours.
- Roleplay post lengths must be 5-6 sentences, at the least, for each character. No one- or two-liners.
- Please use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation, so that other roleplayers can understand your posts.
- No romantic relations between your own characters.
- Please have diversity with your characters. This includes ethnicity, gender, sexuality, body type, etc. etc.
- You may use a realistic fc or your own drawing, or a descriptive written description. No anime, no art theft.
- Characters must be about 21+
- Please disable signatures in the roleplay thread.
- If you have a question, then let me know!
- Keep OOC chat and character forms to the discussion thread.

[Consulting_Angel]

Any announcements or updates for the roleplay will go here.

[Consulting_Angel]

Ryker Garrett
28|Male|Human
Location: Supernatural Archives
Tagged: Open

Sitting in an armchair, towards a corner of the visitor's area of the Supernatural Archives, was Ryker, poring over a book about Wraiths. They were, perhaps, one of the more fascinating beings, but he'd never encountered one... not had he had the pleasure of hunting one down. They were incredibly dangerous, though. He'd read even teams of five or six hunters have been taken down by just one Wraith. He couldn't help but think he might be different, though, if he had the right skills and weaponry... though that information seemed to be very difficult to divulge - perhaps the sort of thing he'd have to put in a special request for from Lucinda, and that could be costly.

Thinking of the Gorgon, he noticed a shadow above him and he looked up to see Lucinda stood above him, holding out an envelope. "Someone left this at the desk for you. Guess they knew you'd be here." she said, and without waiting for him to take it from her, she just dropped it onto his lap, then turned and walked off to go back to what she had been doing before.
Ryker frowned a little, closing the book and setting it aside to pick up the envelope, and open it.

Lucinda Cora
26|Female|Gorgon
Location: Supernatural Archives
Tagged: Open

Lucinda had been rearranging one of the shelves of her archives - or, library. Whatever - she liked to refer to it as her Supernatural Archives. Any information needed, she could track down. At the very least, she knew someone who would know someone. Her network of connections ran deeper than most would expect, especially considering she spent most of her time here. But, then again, she often had customers pass through for most of the time she was open, so she didn't mind, even having set up in the open visitor space plenty of chairs and low coffee tables so that they could read and discuss among each other.

Suddenly, she noticed a hooded figure moving away from her desk. Lucinda stopped what she was doing and quickly walked over, but by the time she got there, the figure had left. She hadn't left anything valuable out, of course, but she was wondering how she hadn't noticed the figure even enter. She also noticed that an envelope, addressed to one of the hunters that frequented her archives, had been left. As it happened, that hunter was sat, reading about Wraiths, so she went to deliver the envelope - after much internal debate as to whether she should open it and read it herself first.
Afterwards, she returned to organising the shelf she had been before.

Xanthe Chicane
"23"|Nonbinary|Mothman
Location: Street
Tagged: Open

So. Many. Humans. It was all Xanthe could do to not entirely drop their disguise and reveal their true self to every human - ability or not - in their excitement. They didn't often go out to be among humans, but... well, they'd needed to get some things, and honestly, they'd thought it would be a harmless trip out. And it was, so far. Xanthe wore dark sunglasses, just in case, anyway, even though the afternoon was starting to faded into evening. Lots of people wore sunglasses anyway, right? Besides, there were so many people, they were sure they blended right in anyway.

Xanthe walked towards the backstreet that they lived on. Well, that their apartment was on. A supernatural-only apartment block, hidden essentially in plain sight. It was... a little mind-bending as to how it worked, and they didn't like to think too hard about it. What they did start thinking about, though, was what they'd be making for dinner... what they might do tomorrow - perhaps walk among the humans again? Even take a flight out when it got darker? Sometimes they needed to give their wings a good stretch. Xanthe was so preoccupied with their thoughts, that they weren't really paying attention to where they were going.

[InfectedHau]

Izzy Ramirez IX||23||Female||Ooze||Street||Tagged: Open

The interior of The Crystal Core looked like a bomb had gone off. bright green slime dripped from the ceiling, burbled down the walls, sizzled gently on the workshop floor. A star-shaped scorch mark, still smoking slightly, adorned the large ceramic table that served as the workshop's centerpiece, adding to the plethora of similar marks that spangled it like a field of stars. a small black trapezohedron lay on the floor, twinkling gently in the flickering light of a damaged halogen.

As the slime hit the floor, it began to move inwards, roiling and squelching as it coalesced around the gem-like core. Slowly, the mass of gel began to rise, eventually coalescing into a mid-sized, stocky figure, with a long ponytail and a lab coat. "Note to self," Izzy said, slicking her head into shape, "Essence of Salamander does not mix well with Halon 2402. Not sure why it exploded, but guessing that's not the way to a better fire resistance potion. Experimentation will continue. Later." Unfortunate, but not altogether surprising. Mixing magical and mundane reagents was always fraught with danger, but Izzy had the perfect physiology to weather those dangers, and it was what had made her and her progenitors the best potion-makers in Chicago.

She'd been working this particular conundrum for a few weeks, and seeing as this was the sixth explosion in as many days Izzy felt she'd earned a break. The Ooze retracted her lab coat into a more fashionable jacket, her body rolling and shifting until it achieved more normal textures and colors. Suitably disguised, Izzy flipped her store sign to 'closed' and stepped out into the city.

[cocogerber13]

Celia Chase // Visiting Human - Starting a New Life // Location: Street// Tags: Xanthe

Celia was practically brimming with energy despite the lateness of the afternoon. She had just begun her first week of living in the city after getting everything moved into her new apartment and had decided to dedicate this day to getting to know the surrounding area. For hours she had spent her time wandering around on foot, watching people and cars pass by and stopping in the occasional cafe or shop just to look around. It was not as if she were inexperienced when it came to cities- no, it was far from it, having come from Toronto- but the scenery here was different from back home and it would be good if the first thing she started to recognize was around where she would be spending most of her time. Familiarity of the block had not set in just yet, however, and Celia thought that it was pretty safe to say that she had found herself a little lost. This situation didn’t cause the woman to be too concerned, what with the evening still being young, but it would probably be a good idea to turn back just in case.

The brunette stopped along the side of one of the towering buildings to take a breather and considered fishing around in her pocket for her phone. Celia had made a conscious effort to not use any kind of navigation app today, letting her instincts take her to where she was destined to go. Unfortunately, however, it seemed that she ought to at least check what direction she should start heading to get back- although these thoughts took the backseat in her mind when someone extremely tall strode by. Celia tilted her head to the side as she watched the figure continue on in the direction she had just come from. Impulsively, the newcomer wove her way back into the light crowd of walkers to follow them. The tall character was an easily spotted landmark(?), far more memorable than any of the other pedestrians or grey buildings Celia had passed that day, and she figured following them whilst retracing her footsteps would be more reliable than going off of memory alone. The Canadian tried to be discreet about her plans however, staying a few strides behind the figure and only glancing directly at their back once every few minutes.

———

Eventide, “Evan” // Dragon - Human Researcher // Location: Outside of The Crystal Core// Tags: Izzy

Eventide had taken advantage of one of the supernatural-only streets to take on his full form atop one of the buildings, his serpentine body laying its full length along the roof’s outer wall. What had started out as him sunning himself led into a dozing off state, which transformed into one of alertness when one of the lower floors shook the entire structure. The dragon took his time rising to an elegant, arched stance and stretched before leaning over and dropping down into the crevice between buildings. Just when he was about to travel head-first into the street below, the air sharply stilled and his claws gently touched down on the pavement. It seemed he was just in time to witness their resident potionmaker stepping out of her shop, and seeing as she was unharmed (as the dragon should have expected), they relaxed a bit.

As if it were dust drifting away in the wind, the large reptile’s form disappeared and a more humanoid one took its place. Evan- the name this new form went by- caught up to and then fell into stride alongside Izzy. She was one of the few other supernaturals he knew of that he actually interacted with, although he was still a little awkward with pretty much everyone. Evan was acutely aware of his own anxious heartbeat as he thought of what he could say (he wasn’t a very talkative dragon, after all)- his initial instinct was to ask if the ooze was ok, although the answer to that seemed obvious, so instead he questioned, “... what kind of potion are you working on now..?” The dragon thought that this was a safe question to ask, considering it didn’t directly mention... whatever had happened to cause that shake. Plus his own curiosity had gotten the better of him, and as far as he was aware, Izzy enjoyed talking about her work.

[the.smitty]

──────────────────── Rhysand • twenty-five • phoenix • healer • tags; lucinda • location; supernatural archives

Rhysand slipped through the familiar doorway, his fingertips brushing against the smooth edge of the doorframe, preventing the door from slamming shut behind him. His free hand grasps a heavy, mahogany leather-bound book, a future payment for Lucinda if she ever finds a book that appealed to his interest. Anatomy of the supernatural. The gift was sourced from a private seller in London, an old mutual friend of theirs – if he was as bold enough to assume she knew of him. A woman in her field with her collection? She was bound to. To keep her guessing on the contents, he’d wrapped the ancient item in simple brown parchment, a thin black string holding it together.

Curious eyes flickered toward the intelligent gorgon as he slid the bundle onto her desk, hoping to appeal to her curiosity. Casually leaning against the desk, elbow propped, he brandished his signature wolfish grin, “You’re going to love this, as promised – a special delivery.” Could she guess the contents? Intrigued as he waited for her, Rhys lazily surveyed the archives, finding comfort in the nostalgic environment. Given his business' freelance nature, he particularly favoured its ability to expand his social connections – it’s all about who you know, right?

"No tricks this time, I promise." He stirred, a playful hand over his heart as a promise.

[InfectedHau]

Izzy Ramirez IX||23||Female||Ooze||Street||Tagged: Open

"Fire resistance," Izzy said, looking over at the dragon that had decided to join her. "Though that one was a bit more Fire than it was Resistance. Hellhound commissioned it, wanted something to coat her furniture with so she'd stop setting it on fire." sharpening one of her fingers to a point, the ooze began to doodle on her arm, carving bright green formulas into her otherwise normal-looking skin. She said she was taking a break, but really she was just going to go work somewhere else. "Say, you can breathe fire, right?" she asked, looking up at Evan, "you know what it is that stops you from cooking your own insides?"

[Craboom-047]

Adrian Taylors|24|Here for Work|Visiting human|tags/mentions: open|on the street

Adrian could not help but think to himself what a strange day it had been for him. He found it not strange in the events that had occurred, it was a rather mundane day so far, but instead the strange feeling he could not shake all day. Ever since he woke up he felt off about his surroundings. He had hoped that going about his day as per usual would distract him from this feeling, but now that he was finished with work for the day he knew it was all in vain. Although he had not been in. the city long, it was long enough for him to establish somewhat of a routine for each day. Regardless he was still optimistic about this new chapter in his life. He knew things would be tough at first as he got adjusted to his new job and routine, but he knew for a fact he would begin to meet new people and even make some new friends. Things would get better, he knew that for certain.
As he left his office, he pondered what he would do now that he had the rest of the afternoon to himself. He left the building feeling refreshed, if not a bit worried about the feeling still eating away at the back of his mind. Maybe a good walk would help calm his nerves.

Joshua Reynolds|30|the Mysterious|Accustomed human|tags/mentions: open/Rhysand|Supernatural Archives

Joshua was unsure how the time had managed to pass so fast. He could remember getting ready for the day and all of a sudden he was here, making his way towards where he knew the Supernatural Archives was located. He was not the type to frequent the Archives as much as he wished to admit, but as of recently he had taken more of an interest in learning more about the creatures in this city. He usually tried to spend his time avoiding places he knew the creatures frequented, however after years he began to realize there may be better ways to go about living his life in this city. He had dressed himself in hopes of blending himself in with the crowds to the best of his abilities. He knew full well he was not known as the fashionable type, but he had an understanding of what to wear to blend in. He tended to prefer it this way.
He turned a familiar corner and made his way towards the archives. As he approached the area, he saw another figure enter the building shortly before him. Josh stopped outside the door, wanting to have some distance between the two of them. After a few seconds he grasped the door and swung it open.

Metilaeno Aquithea|"Maeve"|"25"|Weapon Enchanter|Siren|tags/mentions: open|leaving her workshop

Metilaeno could not help but curse to herself as she stared at the line of empty potion bottles in front of her. It was not like her to get behind on restocking her collection of potions. After all, potions were one of her easiest ways of gaining access to the enchantments she needed to do her job. She had other methods of getting what she needed, but it would be best to just go out and stock up on whatever she needed. She went about closing up her workshop before gathering a list of what she needed and grabbing a bag to carry whatever she needed. She suspected she may not be able to get everything she needed, but hopefully she would be able to get what she needed to finish up the jobs she had planned to get done today.
As Meti left the worship and began making her way down the street towards her desired destination, she could not help but take in the fresh air. She had made the mistake of locking herself up in her workshop the past few days, not realizing how much it drained her. Even her frequent salt water baths could not help her. Maybe when it was darker she would try and sneak out to the lake for a refreshing swim. It was sometimes a risky move, but in her mind it was completely worth said risk. As she made her way along, she saw her destination become more apparent in her field of vision.