OOC Discussion

[Swoob]

Hey Swim, @Ghost has a fantastic guide on writing mental illnesses floating around in the Tutorial section. Go find it, and give it a quick read.

ahhh right – ill go look at that again


Also, the wording has been tweaked to be more general and subsequently vague – @crackedbat (since you seem well-versed in the subject) does that look better?

 

[call me rae]

@Swimswamswom so you don't have to search here's the thread welian meant Roleplay - Writing a Mentally Ill Character.


And thanks for the explanation , I might just say that the limiter effects his ability to heal injuries thoug as it's clearer to the reader what is going on.

 

[crackedbat]

ahhh right – ill go look at that again
Also, the wording has been tweaked to be more general and subsequently vague – @crackedbat (since you seem well-versed in the subject) does that look better?

I wouldn't say I'm more knowledgeable than the next guy, haha... maybe like low medium-knowledgeable...


I think it suffices as a placeholder for now, but I'd avoid "othering" words like abnormal. Saying he's mentally ill is fine! Anyway, I think the resource you were given seems like a good one, so I hope it gives you some better insight into fixing up Eden!

 

[ManicMuse]

@Swimswamswom My vote is still Borderline Personality Disorder and Dissociation.

 

[Rida]

@Swimswamswom


Quick question: From what I understand, your character needs to be injured badly himself to inflict real harm upon anyone else, correct? In this case, how would this be considered a rank A power? I'm simply curious about the reasoning for this--it's a little fuzzy on me.

 

[Swoob]

@Swimswamswom
Quick question: From what I understand, your character needs to be injured badly himself to inflict real harm upon anyone else, correct? In this case, how would this be considered a rank A power? I'm simply curious about the reasoning for this--it's a little fuzzy on me.

Yea, that's pretty much it – and the reason I thought it could qualify as an A power is because he can swap any injury. Well – a combination of that and his actual character. Basically, no matter how light or serious it is, he can touch somebody and pass it off – no matter how close to death he is or anything, as long as he's conscious, he can pass it off. His power meter comes into play here – his toughness is 4, so he's more durable than average humans. His agility is 3, so he can move around better than most normal humans. Basically, he's a pretty good fighter in a sense, so it's not like he's utterly helpless without his power (though he doesn't have as much strength as the average human, but that doesn't matter when all you need to do is touch somebody). In addition, his willpower is 8 – an absurdly large amount. If he's determined, he can power through almost any injury.


Once his injuries are passed off, he heals completely, as if it were never there. So no blood loss, no shock, nothing. As far as its destructive power goes, he can kill people kinda easily if he wants to (for example, accidentally killing his mother at the age of eight). If you want me to elaborate on this part, feel free to ask c:




and also I'm working on the mental illness thing – first is @Manic Muse I don't mean to be hostile here or anything but why do you think so? I poked around some sites on BPD and Dissociation but couldn't really find anything that pertains to him so maybe I missed something


I might end up leaving his specific illness undiagnosed as far as the rp goes – to be honest, it's taking the easy route, but I'm afraid of being inaccurate/disrespectful if I end up not portraying something right

 

[call me rae]

Yea, that's pretty much it – and the reason I thought it could qualify as an A power is because he can swap any injury. Well – a combination of that and his actual character. Basically, no matter how light or serious it is, he can touch somebody and pass it off – no matter how close to death he is or anything, as long as he's conscious, he can pass it off. His power meter comes into play here – his toughness is 4, so he's more durable than average humans. His agility is 3, so he can move around better than most normal humans. Basically, he's a pretty good fighter in a sense, so it's not like he's utterly helpless without his power (though he doesn't have as much strength as the average human, but that doesn't matter when all you need to do is touch somebody). In addition, his willpower is 8 – an absurdly large amount. If he's determined, he can power through almost any injury.
Once his injuries are passed off, he heals completely, as if it were never there. So no blood loss, no shock, nothing. As far as its destructive power goes, he can kill people kinda easily if he wants to (for example, accidentally killing his mother at the age of eight). If you want me to elaborate on this part, feel free to ask c:




and also I'm working on the mental illness thing – first is @Manic Muse I don't mean to be hostile here or anything but why do you think so? I poked around some sites on BPD and Dissociation but couldn't really find anything that pertains to him so maybe I missed something


I might end up leaving his specific illness undiagnosed as far as the rp goes – to be honest, it's taking the easy route, but I'm afraid of being inaccurate/disrespectful if I end up not portraying something right

Maybe what you can do is start broad and narrow it down. Like Google - what mental illnesses result in hallucinations brought on by a tragic event. Or just hallucinations brought on by tragic event.


See what Google gives you in terms of actual illnesses and look at the overarching symptoms.


Or you know see if just plain hallucinations are a thing. Maybe you don't have to get fancy.

 

[Swoob]

ugh im sorry my cs ended up being such a hot mess u guys and thank u all for helping me out

 

[ManicMuse]

@Swimswamswom How dare you not be an expert! lol No problem. This is why I thought it fit.


Borderline personality disorder is characterized by emotion dysregulation, meaning quick, frequent, and painful mood swings that are beyond the control of the person with the problem. People struggling with this problem have great difficulty forming and maintaining relationships. They also experience problems controlling their own spontaneous and reckless behaviors and often have a fluctuating idea about who they are. The overall theme for this disorder is rapid and unpredictable changes in a person’s thoughts, moods, behaviors, relationships, and beliefs.


Very often, these rapid changes are caused by recurring fears of being criticized or deserted by other people, or they are triggered by actions of other people that feel like criticism, such as small disagreements or changes in plans. In response to these types of situations, a person with borderline personality disorder can suddenly become very sad, nervous, angry, or short-tempered. Unfortunately, personality styles like this often create problems in a person’s relationships, job, and other social situations, which is why they’re referred to as personality disorders.


Adding to the bewilderment of the disorder, people struggling with borderline personality disorder might sometimes feel as though they leave their bodies during times of stress and can’t recall what happened. These severe periods of dissociation only add to their unstable sense of self. Similarly, and equally disturbing, are periods of hallucinations that can occur during times of stress or depression.

 

[call me rae]

ugh im sorry my cs ended up being such a hot mess u guys and thank u all for helping me out

You know what here's a way you can simplify this and avoid offending people. I got the idea when I remembered a original story I read about a guy whose super power was reliving violent events.


What if instead of having a mental illness he actually is seeing his moms ghost or at least has some kind of mental imprint of her in his head.


Like its something that was triggered with his power and he gets different "ghosts" or "hallucinations" every time he has a near death experience or saves someone from near death?


Would that be easier/something you'd be okay with?


Edit: to clarify this would be a side effect of his power or a secondary power.

 

[call me rae]

@CRiTiCAL ERR0R so this is probably a silly question but I've always been curious on how you make the graphic layouts. Not the images (I know how to do those ) but putting them in the bbc code and doing the side bar doohickey.

 

[sorrow made you]

@CRiTiCAL ERR0R so this is probably a silly question but I've always been curious on how you make the graphic layouts. Not the images (I know how to do those ) but putting them in the bbc code and doing the side bar doohickey.

A lot of blood, sweat and tearspractice! I could show you sometime. Its kind of difficult to explain? xD

 

[call me rae]

[QUOTE="CRiTiCAL ERR0R]
A lot of blood, sweat and tearspractice! I could show you sometime. Its kind of difficult to explain? xD

[/QUOTE]
Aww thanks but I'm good, they throw off my mobile alignment I was just curious.

 

[sorrow made you]

Aww thanks but I'm good, they throw off my mobile alignment I was just curious.

Yeeahh... bbcode on mobile is a pain in the butt. Dx

 

[yoikes]

Thank you for your insight, @Pigeon - senpai!


Since her secondary power is a "power radar", she get the gist of what kind of power she just borrow (Is it something related to nature? Is it something related to magnetism?) but she cannot copy it unless she saw that person using his 'nature related power'. After seeing what it exactly can do, only then Mitch could copy the power. So Mitch, as a character, has to befriend everyone and memorize everyone power xD


Also, i fixed the 5th and added the 6th weakness!

[QUOTE="too much idea]Flipped the coin. Head for Nullification and Tail for Copying, got Tail
CASTLE, MITCH

• General
• Biography
• Relationships
• Superpowers
• Gallery

• Full Name	Mitch Castle
  Codename	Borrower
  Gender	Female
  Age	17
  Rank	B
  Role	Student
  Subject	N/A

  Race	Chinese American
  Eyes	Dark brown
  Hair	Dark brown
  Height	5' 8"
  Build	Coltish
  Limiter	Level 2, active
  Notes	Wear glasses (Has both the normal looking one and one used for sports/in action), Can speak Mandarin and Cantonese

• Heroism Meter
  
  
  

  Less Heroic	Points	More Heroic	Total	Description
  Flighty	?????????​	Courageous	06	Do they have a pair of steel, or do they prefer to exit before chaos strikes?
  Selfish	?????????​	Altruistic	04	Are they motivated to help others, or do they help themselves first?
  Chaotic	?????????​	Orderly	08	Are laws and regulations "suggestions", or written in stone?
  Cruel	?????????​	Kind	07	Are they genuinely nice to people, or do they enjoy causing distress?
  Reactionary	?????????​	Proactive	06	Are they content to watch events unfold, or do they jump in and guide things?

  
  
  Personality
  
  
  (+)Adaptable: Mitch can quickly adapt to her new surroundings, in a new group of friends or in a new environment. She can quickly adjust and change her own self to fit the new situation.
  
  
  Stern: Mitch could be firm and strict, especially when there is 'rule breaking' being involved. She's not afraid to scold someone for cutting into the line, or for smoking in a non-smoking area and could be harsh to even her own sisters.
  
  
  Reserved: Mitch is friendly, but there's always a side of her that she keep to herself. She's a little bit of secretive, hiding her own problem and conflict from others. She tried to solve it on her own, stubbornly refusing to tell and ask someone to help with it.
  
  
  (-)Hesitant: Mitch always doubted her own self, her own choices. Can she do it? Can she actually be a hero? Did she make the correct choice? She's having a serious problem to trust her own judgement, and afraid to make an irreparable mistake. It takes her a while before deciding on what to do.
  
  
  History
  
  
  Born to an American father and Chinese mother, Mitch is raised in Shanghai with her two younger sisters. As a child, Mitch never really has a dream to pursue. That kid wanted to be a pilot, that kid wants to be a nurse. Mitch never dreamed of something. So she continued to attend school, went to cram school and have fun with friends aimlessly until the accident happened.
  
  
  Until an accident occurred and Mitch finds out about her power.
  
  
  She was visiting an amusement park with her friends when someone's superpower activated, the poor man is unable to control his terrakinesis that's causing massive earthquake and boulders being lifted off the ground and thrown into every direction. One was about to hit Mitch when a hand made out of solid rock leapt out and blocked it before she could be squashed.
  
  
  Mitch, confused, thought that she has the same power as the man. She tries to control the earth, but nothing happens. It took her a while to realize what her power can actually do.
  
  
  After graduating from middle school, she is sent by her parents to attend Facility 108. Attending the facility made Mitch realize that she is no longer a normal kid and that she has the power to do something and to be someone even better. She's quite excited, but at the same time really troubled...
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Family
  
  
  1. Jefferson Castle: A man who worked in the export-import business. He traveled quite a lot but always find time to have some quality family bonding. Mitch is really close with her father, doing some activities together like travelling together across the countryside. After he finds out that Mitch has a superpower, he and his wife decided to keep a close watch on their 2 youngest to see whether they have one too.
     
  2. Chan Yi: Jefferson's wife. They met at a Chinese New Year party held by Jefferson's company, and five years later gets married. A housewife who's trying her best to take care of three daughters especially when her husband is not home. Yi sees Mitch as a capable and independent child, especially since she's the oldest, and teach her to take care of her sisters. Worried that all of her daughter has power and are given a burden that might be too hard for them to handle.
     
  3. Chan Fang / Alice Castle: Mitch's sister, 2 years younger than her. Angsty teenager who just entered puberty, she oftenly clashed with her parents and Mitch and like to tease the youngest. Rebellious, Mitch worried that she might be hanging out with the wrong crowd at school. Think that her older sister's power is really cool and wondered if she have a power too.
     
  4. Chan Ling / Gabrielle Castle: The youngest sister, 5 years younger than Mitch. The sweetest child in the world, she never had a malicious intent and always smile and friendly to everyone even to stranger. A crybaby who easily cried when teased or mocked. Really saddened to see her older sister left home to attend the facility.
     
  
  
  

• Ability	Points	Total	Description
  Health:	?????????​	01	The ability to resist illness and recover quickly from injuries, overall health.
  Strength	?????????​	01	Physical strength, the ability to strike hard, lift heavy objects, and so on.
  Toughness	?????????​	01	Endurance and stamina, the ability to take a hit and still keep going.
  Agility	?????????​	03	Speed, dexterity, nimbleness - agility is the ability to move quickly.
  Intelligence	?????????​	06	Not book smarts, but the ability to perceive and retain lots of information.
  Willpower	?????????​	05	Strength of mind, the ability to stay focused and determined.

  
  
  Primary Power
  
  
  Mitch's codename is the 'Borrower' and that is exactly what she do. She 'copy' other people power and 'borrowing' it for her to use.
  
  
  Secondary powers
  
  
  Her power allows her to be some sort of a power radar. She can sense people who have a power and differentiate them from normal people. Aside from sensing whether someone has a power, she can also sense what kind of power they have. Psychical, something that related to human's mind, or a shape shifting ability. She can guess it, but she doesn't really know what it is or what it can do.
  
  
  Weaknesses
  
  
  1. Mitch has to see the power being used first, and she have to observe what it can do. For example, the terrakinesis power. She saw the man use the power (unconsciously) and watch as it shook the ground and lifted off rock. After seeing what the power can do, only then Mitch could copy the power and uses it as her own.
     
  2. She can only copy one power at the time, and the power will only last for 30-45 and an hour at best. The stronger the power, the shorter the duration.
     
  3. She can only copy someone's power who are in a 30m radius from her and are within her eye visibility.
     
  4. After copying someone's power, she cannot copy it again for an hour.
     
  5. She doesn't own the power, so she has to be cautious when borrowing someone else's power for the first time as she could harm herself or her own friends if she's not careful. Aside from she doesn't know how to properly use the power, the power could get out of control (like the terrakinesis man from her past).
     
  6. Mitch is not a machine nor an actual superhuman. Her body is that of a normal human. The more she uses her power to borrow, the more exhausted her body is. And what's dangerous is that Mitch doesn't know exactly how many is her limit. 2 As? 3 Bs? Or 5 Cs? She is forced to be picky to choose which power to copy, and when to use it to fight.
     
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

[/QUOTE]

 

[welian]

While I'm going back and looking over profiles, I've love to hear everyone's thoughts on how to handle the snowball fight. We have a large group of characters, and we need to all be on the same page regarding events.

 

[sorrow made you]

flamethrowersLemme get back to you on that...

 

[Swoob]

@readingraebow thats a good suggestion but I'm not too sure :S something about it doesn't feel right with his character


Maybe part of it is that it's kinda too far off his original power – wound transfer and seeing ghosts seem more like two individual powers and almost like it was just thrown on there to have it; having a mental illness seems more realistic, to be honest


The closest I can get from what I've researched is delusional disorder, and I'm going to describe him as delusional. Though it may sound like it has a bad connotation, it's an official term. Honestly, this isn't the focal point of his character, the delusions don't really affect his everyday behavior too much, so tbh I'm just gonna leave it at that


I'm sorry for sounding a bit exasperated but i was scrambling to properly diagnose him and it kinda seems like i made it too big of a deal

 

[call me rae]

@welian


Oh so it's definately going to be a snowball fight? I wasn't sure.


Well I guess are we using powers or are we all nerfed. to normal peeps?


If nerfed I say a simple dice system or maybe a ratio systeM based on how accurate your character will be at throwing stuff.


Like say I think Laurel has lots of enthusiasm but will probably only hit something 1/5 times.


So every fifth post she hits someone.


Then I figure out how good she'll be at dodging. again she's pretty much just a walking target.


So 1/3 of the time she gets hit,


So every three posts she gets hit.


And just weave the ratios into what is happening. In a real snowball fight you might not always see who is hitting you. Especially the way this is set up.


So don't necessarily focus on who hits who but on how many of your hits would connect with someone/something and how many times you'd be hit yourself.


But that's just my two cents and I freely admit it might be needlessly complicating things.

 

[theunderwolf]

While I'm going back and looking over profiles, I've love to hear everyone's thoughts on how to handle the snowball fight. We have a large group of characters, and we need to all be on the same page regarding events.

In what way? As in pvp rules? Victory conditions?

 

[welian]

@readingraebow Funnily enough, I have an old snowball fight roleplay on another site, with a combat system and everything... but it's not designed for use with powers, it only assumes that you are throwing unmodified snowballs. It's pretty simple, lol. I'd be happy to run it in another IC tab, but I don't think a full scale battle is appropriate for a roleplay of this size. We'd have ten pages of snowballs, and no plot.


@theunderwolf I'm trying to think of a way for every roleplayer to be able to post between two to five times regarding the midterm exams. I don't want it to drag on for more than three pages, because it's really just a way for us to introduce our characters - not get into the story.


There were some good ideas floating around the discord chat, but I'm not about to scroll six hours back to find them. I think I saw @Giyari and @M0N0 somewhere in the discussion though.

 

[theunderwolf]

To start with, why not just some Npc opponents at first for us to either lose or win against then gradually set up some relationsips (Friends rivals enemys etc) through the course of the fight?

 

[call me rae]

@readingraebow thats a good suggestion but I'm not too sure :S something about it doesn't feel right with his character
Maybe part of it is that it's kinda too far off his original power – wound transfer and seeing ghosts seem more like two individual powers and almost like it was just thrown on there to have it; having a mental illness seems more realistic, to be honest


The closest I can get from what I've researched is delusional disorder, and I'm going to describe him as delusional. Though it may sound like it has a bad connotation, it's an official term. Honestly, this isn't the focal point of his character, the delusions don't really affect his everyday behavior too much, so tbh I'm just gonna leave it at that


I'm sorry for sounding a bit exasperated but i was scrambling to properly diagnose him and it kinda seems like i made it too big of a deal

Nah it's fine I know how frustrating it can be to properly explain something and mental illness can be a hot button issue which is why I suggested an alternative.


If you want to keep it as non-offensive as possible I'd just stick to the facts. Say he sometimes suffers from hallucinations. Don't bother coming up with a name or designation and let people fill in the blanks themselves. I mean that way you won't get people "um actually" you later.


You know um actually in the medical sense delusions really mean this or that and should come with these side effects.


If you just stick to the relevant facts who cares why he has hallucinations? He does cuz you said so.

 

[Swoob]

Nah it's fine I know how frustrating it can be to properly explain something and mental illness can be a hot button issue which is why I suggested an alternative.
If you want to keep it as non-offensive as possible I'd just stick to the facts. Say he sometimes suffers from hallucinations. Don't bother coming up with a name or designation and let people fill in the blanks themselves. I mean that way you won't get people "um actually" you later.


You know um actually in the medical sense delusions really mean this or that and should come with these side effects.


If you just stick to the relevant facts who cares why he has hallucinations? He does cuz you said so.

Yea – I feel pretty secure that delusions are the closest thing to what he's experiencing so im just gonna go ahead and use it – but thank u and everyone else so much for helping me with the situation and looking out for me c:


(the original cs has been edited if anyone wants to peek)

 

[call me rae]

@welian expanding on this break everyone up in teams and do a capture the flag kind of objective.


That gives a clear goal for everyone to strive for that will end fight and a chance to build relationships.


Also maybe have it be like ( you must post three times before trying to physically capture flag/use powers or incredible aim to win snowball gpfight)