Asterville is a small town, typical of suburban America. At first glance, there is nothing remotely interesting about it. Once you’ve been there a while, though, you learn why the name of the town pops up in the tabloids: it’s haunted, and there’s proof.

The number of ghosts in the town is nearly a third of the human population...which is the same amount of people able to see these spirits for themselves. Many of these people also have some strange abilities, ranging from mild telepathy or telekinesis to the skill to control fire. Some of them forge a strong and permanent telepathic bond with a ghost, which (in addition to making them look schizophrenic to the average passerby) allows them to share whatever abilities the ghost has. Most of the talented keep their abilities quiet, as recent events have garnered the town a lot of attention.

The townspeople know that most of the ghosts are harmless. It’s the minority that actually cause any harm. But even the benign have been more active, reaching out to anyone, as if something somewhere has happened to send the limbo they inhabit into chaos.

Some of their attempts have been successful. A few of the specially-abled humans have both heard and heeded the cry for help. The threat is largely unknown, but all signs point to the source being very close to home.

Bio information –
Name:
Ghost?:
Age:
Personality:
Appearance:
Powers:
History:

Characters:
If you are playing a human:
Please make your character a reasonable age – I could not see a preteen’s parents allowing their child run around with complete strangers, living or dead, and it’s rare that someone old enough for retirement would be able to or interested in joining the group.

Your character may have some sort of supernatural ability. All characters will be able to see and communicate with ghosts. Potential powers in clued telepathy or telekinesis, control over one of the elements (e.g., fire, air, earth, or water), or optical or audial illusions.

If, perchance, you happen to die, you aren’t out of the game. Feel free to come back as a ghost and see the quest through.


If you are playing a ghost:
Congrats! You can’t die. You also get to turn invisible whenever you want, and people can’t touch you. In addition, you also get to have special powers, but you can also possess people.

Bonding:
Some humans may bond with ghosts. This is accomplished when the ghost possesses his/her new host for a short time, during which each gains access to the other’s senses and abilities and forges a permanent telepathic bond between them.

A human may be a host for multiple spirits. Since having another mind in yours tends to grate on one's sanity, few choose this route, despite the wealth of possibilities it presents.

Bonding is beneficial to both sides: humans extend their lifespan considerably and tend to be able to recover from severer injuries than would otherwise be possible. Ghosts can - to an extent - experience life again while still maintaining freedom.


Good vs. Evil:
I’m hoping most characters will be good, though I use the term very loosely – I just don’t want one person running a resistance all be his lonesome. There will be a baddie pulling the strings behind everything, but multiple villains are good.

The final boss, for lack of a better term, will have astonishing control over whatever his/her power may be and potentially multiple ghost bonds, along with a strong enough will to scare myriad people, living and deceased, into doing his/her bidding. S/He plans to use this power to make a big change in Asterville, whatever that may be.

A lesser villain, though, would be more selfish, exploiting his/her powers for personal gain. Examples might be a petty thief, a con artist, or a bumbling crook.

Ghost villains, since the majority of Asterville can’t see them, are usually more passive and resort to haunting tourist traps and other buildings. However, those that can become somewhat corporeal may be able to wreak serious havoc.


Multiple characters: You may have up to two active at one time. If you choose to kill off a character and not bring him.her back as a ghost, you may write a new one. I'll keep a list in this thread.


Note: There will be no demigods in this RP. It’s never fun to have all-powerful characters.

This will not have a GM. I prefer story-based games. If you think a player is out of line, either post in the OOC thread or PM me.

Feel free to write up NPCs, as they add personality to the setting.



Once you think we've got enough to start, I'll open a thread.


Players:
Halpo: Trick
Nevrmore: Sgt. Walter Jessup, Eddie
Puck: Evan Price, Dr. Ashlyn O'Brian
MGL: Jenn Otte
Faolan: Abelard King
PinkSpider: Tenor, Darrin Wyles
Pants Down Argus: Argus Swift
Suki: Amy Holmes
r1nn: Caelan

NPCs:
Vivian Midgley
Rowan Walsh
Woofer the dog

Name: Unknown, goes by the alias 'Trick'
Ghost?: Yes
Age: Dead
Personality: Quiet, distant, but kind to those he knows.
Powers: All ghost abilities, as well as the ability to control fire. In order for this ability to work, there must be a flame already burning nearby, he cannot create fire out of nothing. One aspect of this is the ability to jump from one flame to another, teleporting instantly between the two without traveling the intervening space.
History: Not much is known about Trick. One day, he just showed up about fifty years past, and has stuck around Asterville since. He had taken up residence an old hotel, though often frequents many other places around town. He knows many secretive areas around town, away from the general populace, living and not.

Name: Sergeant Walter Jessep

Ghost?: No

Age: 36

Personality: Commanding, authoritative, and a case could be made for a control freak. Hates it when people don't listen to him or don't respect him. Always tries to intimidate everyone, and especially likes challenging anyone he sees as threatening his position of authority.

Appearance: Physically larger than normal, his above-average physique is only exagerrated by his riot gear. This gear includes padded clothing over every inch of his body, a bullet-proof vest, extra-thick combat boots and gloves, and a gas-mask that he only takes off rarely, showing off an intimidating, mustachioed face.

Powers: I call it "Grenadier." Basically, Jessep has a nigh-endless supply of energy stored in his being, but inside of him, it is in an unusable form. He can, however, channel it into other beings to do things such as powering a generator and the like. I call it "grenadier" because Jessep always keeps a belt of dead grenades strapped to him that he can grab, charge on the fly, and then use as anything from a simple flashbang to a movie-esque explosive.

History: Sergeant Jessep was always a control freak, even as a child. Using his physically imposing stature, he dominated his classmates and siblings alike. The rush of power was so great to him that enforcing it as a career move seemed natural, an aspiration he has held since his wee days. Now, don't misunderstand, he is not exactly a cruel, evil man, but he can get carried away quite easily.

He became an officer at the age of 25 after 7 years in the military, and has risen to the rank of sergeant.

-----

Name: Eddie

Ghost?: Yes

Age: 34 at time of death

Personality: Sadistic, cruel, sardonic and not very much fun at parties. Doesn't care much for people, and even at the very best of communication, he still likes to play mean-spirited tricks on people. Dying has not hindered these facts.

Appearance: When appearing to humans, he looks as he did at his time of death - Exactly at his time of death, actually.Long, shock-blond hair falls like quills over his back, his face burnt down to the bone, his body charred and black. Despite this, he seems to have retained all his facial abilities, as he likes to smile wickedly when something interests him.

Powers: "Indian Burial Ground", as he (I) call it. As you will find below, Eddie is responsible for the deaths of quite a few people in life. In death, their spirits, harboring emotion of revenge and anguish, become inextricably tied to his own. But Eddie does not see this as a personal Hell, enjoying their attempts to torment him. Instead, he has learned to channel this energy. At any point, he can call an army of souls out of his own body, twisted and malformed from their hatred, a thousand black, gnarled arms reaching out to rip the nearest person apart to sate their anger, a thousand legs to kick down doors and break through windows, a thousand set of teeth and nails to rip and shear and crush anything in their way.

Aside from that, he also has normal ghost powers.

History: A rather well-known murderer in his day, "Eddie" was not a serial killer. He was not one who targetted specific people, who followed a set pattern, and who continued living an ordinary life. His life outside of murder was to simply wait until such a point that he could murder again. His victims were from all races and creeds, all ages and genders, all walks of life. None were off-limtis to him.

After his eventual arrest, he was sentenced to death for the murder of 24 people, although he claims to have killed at least fifty more than that. He was put to death via the electric chair, explaining his grotesque appearance as an apparition.

Name: Evan Price

Ghost?: no

Age: 19

Personality: Evan is what you could call either a genius ditz or just plain lucky. He has a tendency to space out at the worst times and end up in bad situations, but he somehow manages to find his way out relatively unscathed. His attitude is a rather carefree one, and his inattention to responsibility can make him seem arrogant.

Appearance: He stands about 5’9” with a lean and wiry build. His reddish-brown hair is short and usually gelled into spikes. His eyes are naturally green, and he wears thin wire glasses. He wears a white-collared shirt and black slacks to work but is usually seen in dark jeans and a t-shirt off-duty.

Powers: Some skill with the element of air, mild telepathy with ghosts he’s spent considerable time with.

History: Raised on the west coast, Evan moved to Asterville with some friends only a year back, deciding to attend school – he’s an education major – not far from the town. During the week, he works as a clerk/bellboy at the Asterville Inn, which happens to be haunted.

---

Name: Dr. Ashlyn O’Brian

Ghost:? No

Age: 39

Personality: Ashlyn is a very calm and collected individual with such a handle on her emotions that one might think she has none. She’s very reserved and quiet, shrewd and cautious.

Appearance: She would stand at about 5’5” if not for the accident. Her pale blond hair is usually kept back in a severe bun. Her brown eyes are cold and severe. She always wears a suit – dark grey slacks and blazer, black turtleneck.

Powers: Illusions and strong telepathy

History: Dr. O’Brian has lived in Asterville for fifteen years, at the start of which she opened her psychiatric clinic. Despite her severe manner, she is known as the best in the area – due entirely to her powers, which she keeps quiet. Five years ago, she was in a car accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. As she was unwilling to abandon her clients and colleagues, her sister Emma moved in with her as a caretaker. Two years ago, Ashlyn seemed to recover a small lust for life, though Emma couldn’t say why. She seems determined to find a way to fully recover at any cost, though the doctors have deemed it impossible.

Name: "Jen Otte"

Ghost? Nope.

Age: 22

Personality: An upfront and straightforward tomboy type, Jen doesn't care for pretension. She is strong-minded and free-willed. She sometimes comes across as rude because she hates superficial distinctions like social class, honorary rank, etc. and instead respects things like attitude and capability.

Appearance: 5'2", athletic build, fiery red hair in a bob, and a soft face with a medium-sized nose and green eyes. Clothing varies, obviously, but she prefers clothing that's easy to move in. She hides a knife on her person, nowadays merely out of habit. She cut her hair very short when she arrived in town and has since been letting it grow out.

Powers: Jen has learned how to manipulate electric energy. Essentially, she can use her own body as an enormous capacitor, storing an electrical charge, to discharge later. Alternately, she can use her body as an inductor to create magnetic fields focused in specific directions. If she has a resistor, she has great radio reception Jen can't very well produce much electricity on her own (like, joy buzzer or static discharge level), but when she's near electrical outlets or power lines, she is a force to be reckoned with.

Additionally, she is a paragon of physical fitness.

History: "Jen Otte" is not her real name. She ran away at 16 and made up the name for herself to escape an ugly home situation. She has yet to openly discuss anything from the time before she moved to Asterville, so a few rumors have popped up about her teenage years. She arrived in the town two years ago, and she's spent much of her time trying to establish her own life: She works part-time as a personal trainer, and earlier this year she enrolled as a part-time student at a small college one town over. Those who spend much time with her sometimes see an old filthy beggar of a ghost named "Mick" harassing her. Mick alludes to having known Jen before she came to Asterville, but she refuses to confirm anything he says.

Bio information:
Name: Abelard King. known as "Abel"

Ghost?: no

Age:25

Personality: Straightforward and sarcastic. Not afraid to let people know what he thinks, though he doesn't go out of his way to be rude. Can come off as a bit abrasive,however, and is sometimes quick to anger. Is easily bored and often has several projects going at once.

Appearance: 6'3, and solidly built. Has a waist-length ponytail, which he wears segmented. Wears black steel toed boots, sunglasses, and leather gloves always, a short black coat when outdoors, and seems to have no outfits aside from burgundy shirts and black pants. carries a hunting knife on his belt. Is rarely seen smiling.

Powers: Abel's senses are beyond the peak of any human being. He can see in almost pitch black, up to one kilometer in distance. He could hear a pin fall in an auditorium filled with the noisiest people. He could taste one drop of poison in three dozen liters of water. He can identify people by smell (though he can't track them that way.) Has claimed to be able to see in infrared, and hear ultrasonic sounds. As a result, Abel is immune to illusions and many kinds of mind control. He has also shown weak (subconscious) telepathy, and a photographic memory. His power has shown itself in his everyday life as the ability to replicate almost anything non-magical he sees after seeing it only once. this includes having a talent for languages, (he speaks well over a dozen fluently, including American sign language as well as being able to read braille at sight and touch) the arts (paints, mostly, but has also been known to sculpt), and several martial arts.

History: Not much is known about Abel before he came into Asterville one year past, except that he was once a promising student; coming within three credits of graduating from a top university with a triple major. He dropped out because "everyone wanted me to be a genius doctor, but I faint at the sight of blood." He then hitchhiked into Asterville and took up residence living above a local gas station, which he also works at. When asked why Asterville, the only response he gives is "Why not?" then moving on.

Again, reusing a character:

Name: Tenor (This is a name he's given himself. He can't remember his real name)

Ghost?: Essentially yes (see powers)

Age: 101 (died 1929, very close to the begin of the Castellemere war)

Personality: Ruthless, and has a bit of an inferiority complex, seeing as he was a nobody in life. His driving desire is to be "real" and he'll do anything to achieve that goal. Enjoys the company of women, although almost strictly physically, and alcohol. Generally, as a ghost he's looking for any way to become "real" and when he's "real" he looks for any way to have a good time while he's there. He also seeks revenge over anyone who he perceives to have slighted him, even if it is only minor.

Appearance: The standard suit wear of the 1920's. The suit, dress pants, and hat, along with tie underneath. He is a bit scruffy with short black hair (yes, he IS a stereotype!) and is tall and skinny, although not so much that he would stand out in a crowd (save for his outfit)

Powers: Tenor can drain the life force of a human he bonds with (not fatally, and it will be recharged in the human in a few hours, as Tenor becomes an apparition again). He can only bond to someone who is conscious and not previously bonded. Otherwise he can initiate a bond against the user's will. When he absorbs the energy, Tenor will lose his wounds and ghostly appearance, and pretty much be human. Except his wounds will reopen in a few hours (usually 4-6) and he will "die" again soon after (although his body will vanish, leaving just his ghost again) if he "dies" (i.e. time doesn't run out) then he can't bond with another human for 24 hours. If he is killed while corporeal, he will "die" then. This usually leads to his enacting swift and brutal vengeance on the perpetrator when he can.
Also: As the name suggests, he can sing in a tenor voice quite well.

History: Tenor was gunned down secretly by a member of his own family. He was believed to be an informant for a rival family (he was, unknowingly, because his friend was a capo who was pretty much using him.) The years after that are fairly fuzzy, and it was only recently that Tenor has any memory at all, and his short term memory only goes back to when he first found himself in Asterville. Once finding himself there, he found it to his liking to prey on unsuspecting members of the populace... the homeless especially, and use their life force to live out the night life. He is increasingly frustrated by the fact that the change is only temporary.

Edit: Slight power tweak, so he can be a little more interesting.

Hm.. Sounds interesting....



Bio information –

Name: Argus Swift

Ghost?: Has one, yes, is one, no.

Age: 28

Personality: Happy and suave, with a collected mind.

Appearance: Tall at six feet four inches, but not a very.... Intimidating build. Always had a focus on agility over strength, and over the years, the effect is obvious. Tall, lithe, and skinny, he won't win any arm wrestling tournaments, but he might be able to hold his own against a professional gymnast.

Powers: N/A
Though he has many earned skills through years of work and practice, he has no special powers.

History: Throughout his growing years, Argus has been a spectator to everything. He had little drive for action in his years, and is used to standing in the sidelines and watching something play out. He did this in elementary, he learned to eavesdrop in secret impeccably in junior high, but once High School came around... He listened, he watched, unseen, and used his gathered information to sway those to his favour, to garner respect as someone that could find out anything about anyone. While he didn't snoop outside of school, and rarely went about and spied on purpose, he still began to gain a definite talent for the act.
Through high school he was respected, feared, wanted... But he seemed impartial to those that tried to be his friend out of convenience. Those that wanted to be his friend solely based on his natural personality began to find that the Argus he showed had little to do with the Argus that he was. The deep down Argus was fun-loving, charismatic, quick to a joke, loved good music (particularly Big Band Swing)[i] and able to laugh at anything. Those that delved deeper found that in the latter years of high school, he was getting tired of his information 'business'. Once he graduated, he relinquished this bad habit and business, before he got in [i]real trouble for it, and instead of going for more school, where his talents would likely be discovered and exploited, he went right into the work force.
For some years, he worked and he worked, going from job to job, learning a vast array of skills that served his resume well. From fast food, to bike mechanics, to car mechanics, to small-time cooking, to large-scale-cooking, to pizza mastery, to computer work and repair, to bartending. He did it all, and despite his sometimes scatterbrained personality, he remembers much of his talents.
He has a ghost by the name of Minion. Minion was the son of a family friends, but the mother and father were murdered, mysteriously, leaving the son and daughter left to their own devices. Argus swooped in to the rescue, finding he was left the godfather of the two children. However, Emily, the youngest of the children, was driven mentally insane by the sight of her brutally killed parents. Blaine, the older son, managed to pull through, but severe depression drove him to suicide, despite Argus' best efforts to dissuade him. But, Blaine returned as a ghost, now free of mortal pressures, and rather, relishes in his unlife instead of lament it. He recognized Argus' caring for him, and saw the anguish his suicide caused him. Despite being named godfather, he could protect neither of the remaining children. But Blaine recognized this, and decides to join alongside Argus in his ventures and jobs, to lift Argus' spirits. (oh ho ho...) He explained that this was a choice that he himself made, not so much through lack of Argus' intervention (which he tried) and as such, Argus shouldn't feel as though he failed the parents, but more guided Blaine to a better way of 'life' that suited the 12 year old boy more. Argus accepted this, and the two have been inseparable since.To better suit his new life, Blaine chose the name 'Minion' over his mortal call, to which Argus wholeheartedly supported.
Currently, Argus heard strange news regarding one city; Asterville. The two found their way to there, where Argus went to work on a job, and Minion scoured the town for living space. They found both. Argus works as a housekeeper in the Asterville Inn, and a rather high ranking one at that. He can supervise his own rooms, and others, and while he is unnecessarily picky on his own work, he is kind and lenient on others, particularly on new workers. Minion very often accompanies him, as an assistant of sorts.
But, despite the comfortable way of life in Asterville, something bugs Argus.... Not all seems well, and he uses his information gathering skills once more to try and find out what is up. Now with Minion at his side, it is all the easier to gain intelligence. He hopes he can find out what could be wrong, and take preemptive measures against its wrath.





<!---This all okay?---/>

Can I join or is the cast full?

Go right ahead.

Biography Information

Name: Amy Holmes.

Ghost: Yes.

Age (At Time of Death): 15.

Personality: Amy is an opportunist and has no problem messing with people if she can get amusement out of it. Her abilities have left her open to the collective information of countless ghosts and people spanning throughout time in both directions (See section for abilities for more information) and as a result she knows a lot more than she should. Having forgotten a majority of her former life the fledgling phantom wishes for stability and some sense of togetherness. Her preferred method of gaining long-term stability is to bond with a trustworthy living person but she would not turn down shorter bonds until the arrangement is no longer worth it.

Being dead can become boring so Amy takes on pet projects: She especially likes helping people, whether that is to overcome the problems in their lives or stirring up trouble. For this reason Amy likes to stay neutral on major issues and if confronted with conflicting causes she will attempt to bail out before choosing a solid stance. She is not a particularly friendly person. Her lack of friendliness stems from her pessimistic outlook making her assume the worst and she has also decided that due to her mischievous ways it is best to keep others at a distance so she doesn't get into something she can't escape.

But when the girl puts her mind to it she can be quite sweet and thoughtful. When around those that she really likes she will get bashful and sometimes leave them gifts (Even when they are in public or can't see her, which usually makes them freaked out/mad). Her sense of humor is typically black or poking fun at others.

Other notable traits of her personality are orderliness and she usually has a plan before she does major things. For instance she makes sure that her pet projects stay at a manageable number. Amy can be reliable and responsible but typically only for those she considers friends.

Appearance: Amy possesses straight copper red hair that extends to her feet and blue-gray eyes that are perpetually unfocused. Amy has freckles visible on her face and arms. Her face is rounded and she has childlike facial features but her build and height suggest that she is not a little kid--Typically this results in not knowing exactly how old she is and having to guess, although the guesses would not place her being much beyond or behind fifteen. Her complexion is deathly pale.

A long-sleeved midnight blue shirt clothes her upper body while her lower body is covered with dark red cargo pants. Black sneakers with white bottoms and white shoelaces cover her feet. Underneath the sneakers she wears cute little pink socks.

Ghostly Abilities: In life she was a telepathic individual with immense natural talent. Upon dying her mind "disconnected" so to speak, unleashing metaphorical psychic tendrils in every direction, and these tendrils got caught in the fabric of time. The result was that suddenly she was exposed to an immense amount of information: Dates, names, places and events are constantly flooding her mind. She literally knows everything there is to know about almost everything that is happening or has happened in the recent past.

Powerful individuals can resist her telepathy whether willpower-wise or with opposing psychic blocks and she can also sift through the information to some degree, choosing what she wants to concentrate on. However she can never "turn it off" and can get extremely distracted by the constant flow of information. If ever the need arose she has a last ditch maneuver to fight off the living or the dead: She can form a telepathic link between herself and her target, flooding him or her with the immense amount of information and temporarily disorienting or overwhelming the target (With short-term exposure) or driving the target insane (Long-term exposure).

Amy Holmes also possesses common ghost abilities: Intangibility, invisibility, the ability to levitate and the ability to possess living people or objects (In the case of objects she can only move them around a bit).

History: In the town of Asterville there was born a child named Amy Holmes. Her parents were both paranormal investigators and while this job would have earned them not only little money but also ridicule anywhere else, in Asterville they were highly sought after and made a comfortable living. They quickly discovered their daughter's natural telepathy and tried to train her to use it to the best of her abilities while continuing their oftentimes dangerous job, making her early childhood lonely, Amy having to grow up mainly in the care of family friend Agatha.

As she grew older and her parents realized that they didn't want to miss out on her life things settled down. She went to school like a normal kid but had trouble making friends because of her pessimistic outlook and morbid sense of humor. When she entered high school she began having trouble with her telepathy probing peoples' minds and never shutting off, which gave her migraine headaches.

Eventually she started receiving messages from ghosts that her parents had thwarted in the past. They threatened Amy with all kinds of humiliation and pain for being born to such a "horrible, nosy" family. She was too afraid to tell her parents about what had happened until a few months following her fifteenth birthday party she collapsed with a heavy nosebleed in the middle of History class because of the constant bombardment of thoughts, ghosts and threats.

She died a week after returning home from the hospital when one particularly vengeful ghost actually used the link that her mind posed to stop her heart. When that happened because of the fact that her mind was still receptive to psychic phenomena, her telepathy continued to stay active in the afterlife. The result was that Amy's mind was flooded with memories and events that had happened or were happening at the time.

No longer a target to her family's old enemies since they felt satisfied with taking her from her parents, Amy became a roving ghost and tried to return to her parents to tell them that she was okay. But when a million different names and lifetimes were playing in her head all at once she began to forget her own and even forgot the way to her house. Desperate to find stability she now goes where she can see an opportunity for companionship in Asterville. Despite having trouble remembering her own name at times Amy still knows that there is a way to finally control her telepathy and is not averse to having some fun in the process.

Notes: I intend to use Amy's telepathy as way to help along the plot. If anyone sees an opportunity where some extra information could be handy she could provide it. She could also predict coming events to a small degree. Otherwise it will be used mainly for humor since she's a bit like a spiritual radio randomly changing channels.

Sorry for the double post but I need clarification from Nevrmore: Where did Eddie appear? I'm assuming he appeared in the dumbwaiter but I'm not entirely certain.

EDITED: Never mind. I guess Amy will have to be content with terrorizing just Evan.

Second Edit: NPC Biography Information

Name: Woofer (His real name is unknown; "Woofer" is his communal nickname, sometimes also "Old Woofer" or just "SHUT UP").

Ghost: No.

Age: Exact age is unknown but he does look quite old.

Personality: Woofer is a tough old Saint Bernard that wants nothing more than to protect and serve the people of Asterville provided they give him food and shelter for his services. He becomes intensely protective of his territory when around ghosts and will bark incessantly, growl and bare his teeth and generally try to drive them off. He has been known to form shaky alliances with ghosts but this happens very rarely. He also displays an incredible sense of situational awareness and the ability to puzzle his way out of dangerous situations.

Appearance: He is a large, heavy adult male Saint Bernard with white and brown coloration. The white fur dominates most of his body. Patches of brown fur include on his back extending near his shoulders, around his eyes and cheeks and his ears are also brown.

Supernatural Talents: Woofer can see ghosts and communicate with them telepathically to a very limited degree. This mostly involves sending them threatening feelings rather than words while barking at them so as to more easily drive them off. He exudes a terrifying aura to any harmful ghosts and a protective one to friendly ghosts. He is capable of escaping almost any life-threatening situation fully intact.

History: Old Woofer belonged to an old couple that lived on the outskirts of Asterville. He mainly served as a watchdog or company for the couple who had no children to call their own. Eventually time took them away and Old Woofer left his old home becoming a stray.

His decision to leave the place where he had lived had a solid reason: Because of his closeness to his masters he gained a powerful link to them in the afterlife. He had gone out in search of them, wanting to protect them, but could never find them. Eventually he became a protector of the streets and built up a nearly legendary reputation among the residents of Asterville as being the dog that would warn people whenever a harmful ghost was in town.

Many people used Woofer to tell if their houses were haunted or to drive away mischievous children ghosts. They always repaid him with food and shelter for his good deeds. Eventually the police department needed help that no human could provide: A little boy had gone missing and they had no leads as to the kidnapper. It was widely suspected that a ghost was responsible.

In the end Woofer sniffed out the ghost responsible: It was the ghost of the boy's best friend. He had encouraged the boy to try to commit suicide by jumping off of a building so that they could be together in the afterlife. Woofer had a showdown with the ghost and drove him away while the police talked the boy down from jumping. After a few days of staying at the precinct the old dog wandered off into the streets again. He is still prowling those streets to this day, always watchful and quite often noisy when one of the numerous ghost residents rubs him the wrong way.

NPC:

Name: Vivian “Viv” Midgely
Ghost?: not personally, bonded to one Rowan Walsh
Age: 27
Personality: talkative and outgoing, cheerful and resourceful, but is typically no-nonsense about most things
Appearance: average height, short blonde hair over a round face, hazel eyes. Usually wears khaki pants, a green polo, and white sneakers.
Powers: heightened senses, telepathy
History:
Viv has lived in Asterville her entire life. She knows most of the town by name, primarily through her job at as a chef at the Asterville Inn, where she’s worked for the past eleven years. Having attended college near the town and received a degree in culinary arts, she is set to take over as head chef at her boss Jace’s retirement.

EDIT:

NPC

Name: Rowan Walsh

Ghost?: yes, bonded to one Viv Midgley

Age: 69 (died at 19 in 1942)

Personality: Rowan seems to have a case of ADD. He’s highly intelligent but easily distracted. He also has a mischievous streak and can rarely resist an opportunity for a good prank. Typical of a teenager, Rowan is very sure of himself, cocky and stubborn. He has a strong sense of right and wrong…as long as morality works to his favor.

Appearance: Extremely tall for his age, Rowan is well over six feet tall, long and gangly. His black hair is crew-cut

Powers: He has a mastery over the element of fire. Not being alive at the invention of television, he has no idea why younger ghosts call him a firebender.

History:
Rowan spent much of his time packing and unpacking his bags. His father was a traveling salesman; he never knew his mother. They weren’t exactly poor, but things could definitely have been better, especially considering that this was the Great Depression.

He was never very athletic, nor was he very studious. Rowan knew he wasn’t going to stay in one place for long, and he preferred to enjoy his time at a school, quickly earning the title of class clown.

At sixteen, he finally gave up on school and joined the armed forces. Just before his nineteenth birthday, he was transferred to Pearl Harbor. This assignment didn’t go very well.

After his death, Rowan sought the place his father was last seen – a town called Asterville. His father was long gone, but Rowan enjoyed the place enough to stay.

PC

Name: Darrin Wyles
Ghost? No
Age: 22
Personality: Quiet and shy to those who know him. Creepy to those who don't. Smiles are rare on his face, and he seems perpetually lost in thought
Appearance: Tall and black haired, he dresses like any normal person, but his facial expression is generally a turn off. He cleans up well, but rarely does so. On an average day, he looks rather unkempt, like he rolled out of bed and has been wearing the same clothes for days. (which he quite possibly has.)
People in his vicinity lose their bonds if he touches them.
Powers: Powersink. Ghosts (not humans) will lose their powers when they are around him, and will fade if they stay around too long. Because of this, he's rather well known by the ghost community while he (with good reason) sees them rarely.
History: He was born and raised in Asterville, and tends to go from house to house. For the past couple of years he has been staying with his aunt. The townspeople think that tragedy follows the boy, and when you look at the records it would appear so, although his mother and father were the only ones who actually lost their lives while caring for him. He doesn't care much for ghosts.

Name: Caelan

Ghost?: Yes

Age: Unknown, but looks to be in her 20's.

Personality: Very strong-willed and determined to figure out her past (She really only remembers her name and the last few moments of her death; everything else is in bits of pieces). Is one curious bugger—always wonders how things work and why people do or act they the way they do. Her curiosity further encourages her to be a big bookworm. Isn't easily bothered by either humans or ghosts, and keeps to herself most of the time because of her lack of trust for others. Her biggest concern and/or goal is to find out who she was before she died; anyone else's problems she puts below that. She isn't that concerned with becoming human again, and she's unaware of the ability she has to possess humans.

Appearance: Pretty slender but has some muscle tone. Her height is at 5'3; and she has short dark brown hair with some curls. She also has a scar on the left side of her neck, but she has no idea where it came from. She wears the casual clothing that she died in, consisting of baggy sweatpants and a slightly torn-up tank top.

Powers: Optical illusions and telekinesis.

History: Caelan can't remember really anything before the time of her death. She has begun her “new life” so to speak as a ghost. This makes her really clueless on a lot of things, but fortunately she learns quickly.

When she was a human, she belonged to a gang of outsiders who were mistreated like her from family members/friends/society because of their abnormal “superpowers”. As you can tell, she didn't grow up in Asterville—she came from a nearby town that had the mindset that the gifted powers that she and her companions possessed were evil and dangerous.

Some of the people in this town, though, were curious...and created a secret organization based on experimenting on these gifted individuals. You can imagine what came next—this company found Caelan and her friends, and tried experimenting on them. When the people she trusted to stand by her side left her for the organization's promises of a good life, she led a life as a loner. Everything she did was only to her benefit and no one else's. She stole money from those who really needed it, and abused anyone that got in her way, and this included her closest friends. Soon enough, she didn't trust anyone. Finally, believing she had enough power and supplies to protect herself, Caelan tried to escape from the organization's clutches, but ended up being killed by them in their fear of their experimentations being found out by the public.

They ended up dropping her body off in a lake nearby Asterville, hoping that she would wander off to the city they've only heard stories about--a place where ghosts and humans with gifted powers lived on equal terms. Her memory was lost through a syringe they put in her right before they killed her.

Sorry for the lack of updates, but November 2007 will be henceforth known as the Month of Brainfartery. I've had nothing.

Anyway, Suki asked if I had a direction for the story. I do. My plan is to let most of the story evolve on its own based on the characters. But what I want to happen is this:

Ashlyn bonds with multiple nameless (due to laziness) NPC ghosts and later with Eddie. He takes over, and the other powered characters end up facing off to stop him. It'll take a while to get there, as I'm not sure I know quite how to get everyone to that point.

My suggestion would be to have her bond at least temporarily with Amy. Amy could easily search out the other ghosts and then get kicked out of the mixture or resist Eddie's takeover or something near the end. I'm not trying to have her hog the spotlight or anything but the reason I gave her telepathy on the scale that I did was to keep track of everybody else. That's just a thought however and it would still require somehow maneuvering into place to get Amy and being able to bypass the aforementioned telepathy (It's actually quite easy and if anyone wants to know I'll explain it).

Locked for deadness.

Admin edit: I was tempted to unlock it just to be contrary.

Noxy edit: I like to feel important!