Shapeshifters in WWIV: A Roleplay (Celebrating Ten Years!)

(Sure, Dawn! I'm okay with that. Is there anything we could do with them in the meantime just so it's not a boring interaction between the two?

Okay, Ice!)

(("Soon," she says, and the proceeds to not Rp for over a month.

So, to answer the Felix question that has been asked... Well. Hmm. See, Felix is being kept in solitary confinement—at least mostly. And the part not covered by that "mostly" is not something Archer would talk about with Jennette. So... if he's gonna give her news, he's gonna have to make something up. Unless it's just how he's physically recovering after the bombing. In which case, his wrist is no longer hurting him and his back is healing up nicely from the shrapnel.

Also, Night, I don't know if I've updated you on exactly what the situation is with what Erich Schreod wants to know since it finally got fleshed out, but in case I haven't, here's what he might have said to Archer:

"Two years ago, Felix was captured from the streets in Stuttgart, which we believe to be in the near vicinity of a WhiteKingdom base. He was taken to our base in Bad Ischl, and while there, he was made a test subject. He was there for a few months before he, along with several other shifter prisoners, was broken out by a WK rescue party. Here's where it gets interesting: the scientist in charge of all these experiments, Simon Killian, was discovered some time afterwards to be part of the Infinity Circle. They were an operation from years and years ago who specialized in human enhancement and who were very briefly investigated by the RK before we decided what they were doing was dangerous and disbanded them. The discovery of Killian's work changed this. But before we could apprehend him, he vanished quite completely, and took all his research with him.

"We don't know what he did to Felix. But we have very good reason to believe he did something. And I have recently received intel suggesting that Felix himself does not know. I questioned him briefly, and shortly afterward so did Pietro Fiore, our top tranzoopsychologist. He has concluded that indeed, Felix has little actual recollection of his time in Bad Ischl. What he does remember is scrambled and utterly unreliable. But numerous pieces of evidence excavated from the wreckage of the Potsdam base suggest that Jennette Clearwater has a much clearer picture.

"Experimenting on Felix in any capacity beyond simple observation when we have no idea what has been done to him is potentially detrimental at best, and extraordinarily dangerous at worst. So at the moment, as far as we know, he has nothing to offer us. But it is vital that we find out what Killian was working on. Play on the girl's concern for him. Find out what she knows."))

---

"I know. Anyway, you don't owe me anything." He had to figure out a way to change the subject. But also, his family was the only thing he wanted to talk about. It was a lose-lose.

---

Daniel sighed silently, massaging his forehead roughly. He wasn't sure what he'd been wanting to happen. He just knew that his life had fallen apart for the third time, he was angry, and Nichole was the most logical person to take it out on.
On the way back to the table, Anja passed Nichole. Seeing that she was holding her tray, she stopped, scowling. "Did he send you away?"

((How do we set it up so that Daniel has to spill his guts? Semi-relevant: at some point we need to introduce a truth serum into this future Rp. I mean, come on. Dunno how or why it would end up in Daniel's system, hence the "semi." But it should be used on someone, at some point.))

---

Möer gave the boy the Go ahead gesture. He could think of worse suggestions. This would be a learning experience.

Adelaide looked around and immediately spotted Jennette when she was brought outside. She nods in return and shuffles away from the guards, casting one more look back before she goes to join Jennette. "Hey." She says quietly, sounding tired like always. 

(Got it! Make something up and find a way to discretely find information about possible experiments done to Felix. I will do my bet to think of something!)

---

"I might not owe you anything, but it's one of the few things I can do," Boris replied with a smile. "Well, until my injuries heal anyway."

---

"No, I thought it would be best to not cause trouble with him," Nichole replied when Anja walked over to her. She didn't know if Daniel would ever stop blaming her for what happened. It wasn't like she could have known about the guy following her. If she did, the young woman would have been extra careful or would have done something about him. What that something would have been, however, was still unknown. "He seemed to want you to join him, though, so you should go eat with him."

(Hmmm, I don't know how it might be made, but maybe Anja either volunteers her father to test it, or he slips some of it into his drink, depending if it can be ingested or has to be administered. Then again, I don't know how she would get a hold of it. Nichole feels like she's being useless, so maybe we could use her for something.)

---

Christoph nodded and shifted into a wolf. He waited for his grandfather to shift a well, waiting for him to lead the way again.

((Fun fact: we have been kicking since November of 2009. How the time flies.))

Adelaide gave a heavy sigh and she thinks for a moment. "I've had worse mornings." That's pretty much how she's decided to sum up her morning. "What about you? How's your morning going?" 

"You could say that," Boris replied. "Every once in a while we'll get a group of people who think they're braver than the rest. Stupid more like it, fueled by alcohol and bad advice. We take days off in nearby towns, and, of course, it's hard to mistake members of the RK from regular civilians, especially if the guy your with is also drunk and blabbering about his rank to everyone in sight. A bunch of guys were making trouble, a bunch of WK supporters or maybe just men looking to become big shots. It was six against two. Really, the injuries shouldn't have been as bad as they are, but for some reason, they're not healing right. So I'm forced to take it easy and watch the nurses form ruts into the floor." He gave a small chuckle. "Not the most glorious of battle stories, but it's what happened."

---

Nichole smiled slightly. "No, you won't have to worry about that from me," she assured. "But I have a feeling that you taking sides isn't going to help either of us."

(That could work. Then she could at least be up to speed about something and might be given something useful to do.)

---

Christoph hurried after him. If he didn't keep up, there was a good chance he would either get lost or get cast another irritated/disappointed look from his grandfather. He didn't like being under those kind of stares, so he did his best to match the older man's pace.

(Well, what might be some of Möer's habits that might scare/hurt Christoph? If he's a worse version of his father, than that would be reason enough to want to leave. Maybe Möer could make comments about going to harm his aunt? So he might try to find a way to escape and warn her.)

(8 years. Wow, you guys must be proud of this place. Most of the threads and rps I make die after 8 months.)

((Dang, this thing is pretty dead. Anyone alive out there?

Wow, Dark! Are you okay?))

---

Kurt nodded. It sounded like it could have been much worse, but sometimes expectations were subverted. Though he had never seen combat himself, he'd at least learned that.

---

Anja seemed to deflate as she realized Nichole may be right. "I don't know what to do," she said, rather miserably.

((I'll get to work making that character. He'll probably be pretty bare bones to start out.))

---

((Well, the thing is that Möer is being careful not to do anything obviously crazy or anti-Diana because he knows that would spook Christoph. I guess he needs to do something that will make Christoph realize that where Diana actually cares for him, Möer is just using him. I'm just drawing a major blank.

Also, anybody remember what was happening with Archer and Jennette?))

(yeah i'm fine. and i see you are trying to revive the roleplay?)

((Not really "trying to revive," simply back again and ready to continue.))

---

He hesitated. "Well... I have one story. But if I tell it, I'm going to have to actively and consciously hate the RK, and by extension, you." After another moment of contemplation, he shook his head. "I don't think we want to go down that rabbit hole."

---

Anja stood still, turning this advice over in her mind. Much to her chagrin, it made sense. Her dad would sooner tell her the truth than risk losing her again, right? But how long would that take? How long would she have to go back and forth between them? She sighed, gave Nichole a quick hug, and said, "I'm sorry my family's so... broken."

((All right, here's the beginning of a character sheet. I'm inclined to have him introduce himself here in a minute but not give Nichole any information yet for reasons of Daniel's privacy, but maybe after a week or two she gets fed up and goes to him and then he gives her some answers?))

User Name- Icestar of GrassClan
Name- Selim Avci
Age- 37
Gender- male
Birth Country- Turkey
Looks- Black hair and brown eyes. Average height, average build. Likes to wear bright colors. Face explodes with lines when he smiles.
Personality- Very personally invested in the lives of the people around him. Compassionate for no reason. But logical. Good head on his shoulders.
SS or human- human
How you became a SS- N/A
Allegiance- WK
Past- Family moved to Germany for business reasons when he was an infant. He was an activist for shifter rights despite having no personal connections to any shifters. Got involved in the WK straight out of university. Was doing office work in the Potsdam base until it was destroyed, at which point he was reassigned to Athy, Ireland.
Other- Helped Daniel Fischer through the transition after he was bitten.

---

((You're pretty spot-on with that comparison, really. It's just that I can't think of anything specific that might happen to make a good scene. Honestly at this point I'm ready to just write Christoph's change of heart and taking off in retrospect, just so we can get going with the exciting stuff.

And yeah, I think at this point you guys can probably just pick things back up with Archer and Jennette and put that other conversation with... Andrew? on the back burner for if Rainy comes back.

Oh also, no worries about the reply, it was way faster than I expected. XD))

@angelfur We can if you want to.)

(*Nightwhisper)

"Nonsense. No one will care if I'm seen around here," Olivia said. Of course, that probably wasn't true, but no one had stopped her from coming in here today. "Look, I'm not saying I'll be here everyday for hours on end. I'll just make a supply drop for you once a month or so. You know, to make sure you're doing okay and whatnot. Surely that can't be so bad."

---

"And so you have right to feel that way," Boris commented with a small nod. "My allegiance aside, children should not be mixed up in wars, but sadly they are. They cannot stop the soldiers from entering their homes and taking them from their parents. Anyone should have a chance to fight back before being captured. At least then they could say they did all they could. If it was up to me, I would forbid taking anyone captive under the age of twenty. But, I'm not in charge of that. I just watch the gates. I'm sorry that your son had to suffer through that, though it may not mean much."

---

"Same to you. You know where I live," Nichole replied, giving the young girl a playful smile in hopes to lift her mood. She couldn't imagine what was running through her mind. When Anja had turned away from her, she let the smile fade with a sigh. Maybe she should have kept her company. At least then she would have someone to talk to and not be left worrying about what she was going to do. The red-haired girl stabbed at her food before taking a bite.

---

(So lets take a minute then to figure out his psychology. If we do, than that will mean we might be able to have him cause more problems down the line truer to his character. We got time anyway. Why did he hate his son? What was his feelings towards Christoph's mother, if he met her? I like the idea of him going mad because of his solitude as well, so maybe that could be the main reason he wanted to find his grandson. Maybe even shape him in the way that he couldn't with his own son.)

Kurt scowled. "You can say 'sorry' all you want, but at the end of the day you still go home and work for the people who do things like this. Who tear families apart. Who tore mine apart, more than once."

---

Selim surveyed the dining hall, holding his tray, until his eyes landed on the Fischers. Anja was just rejoining her father at the table. They both looked profoundly unhappy. He sighed silently, shaking his head in the slightest motion. They would need time to pull themselves together. Hopefully they would be able to find it while they were here, however long that turned out to be.
His eyes next fell on a red-haired girl eating by herself. He had seen her newly-made file, and recognized her as Nichole Hart, the babysitter, perhaps the person who had connected the Fischers to this misfortune, but an innocent victim nonetheless. She, too, appeared just this side of miserable. And she was alone.
He approached the table and set his tray down opposite hers, greeting her with a wide smile. "Hello. May I?"

---

((Perhaps. The thing is, he was never so much a character as a plot device... My best guess is he hated his son because he was WhiteKingdom, and he saw him as weak because of it. Come to think of it, I have no idea how Wolfgang was WhiteKingdom, with a father like that... He didn't like Christoph's mother, either, though it's not like they ever sat down and had a conversation. [Pretty sure he killed her sister...] I guess the reasons would be the same; she was WhiteKingdom.
He might not even have a plan in regards to what he's going to do with Christoph. He might just not want to be alone.))

---

((You guys might recall that this happened:
Have they gone outside yet?))

---

((Also. I was gonna wait till Dawnmist came back to say this, but it's been a while so I'll just tag her and move on. I've been thinking about what it is to be a shifter in this Rp, and trying to come up with a reason to make it less desirable. I mean, you can become almost any animal, and you're immortal to boot? Sure, the RK and the war are things, but if you can remain hidden or you live anywhere outside of Europe or the US, it's a pretty sweet deal. [Unless you're like me and are terrified of the idea of living so long, but I know a lot of people aren't.] Sooo how can we make it less of a sweet deal? My thinking is to somewhat blur the lines between being a shifter and being an animal. To give shifters more animal-like tendencies even while in human form. Maybe these tendencies wouldn't start to set in until, oh, around the time you enter your second century, and from there it would be very gradual, but after a while you'd start getting very confused by all these different sets of instincts and the lines between and among all the different forms you've taken would start to blur. Definitely after a few centuries you'd basically be feral.

The degree to which it manifests would depend on how often the person has shifted during their life. So, for example, a shifter soldier who has seen years of combat would have it bad, whereas someone like Daniel, who has shifted on no more than a dozen or so occasions [and only twice by choice], might escape it entirely. I dunno, if people like the idea enough to implement it now we could say it starts taking hold [but advances very VERY gradually] around when they stop aging. Seems like a less arbitrary time than anything else. And we don't actually have any particularly old shifters right now.

Tl;dr: I feel like there should be a good reason everybody doesn't just have a shifter friend bite them and call it a day.))