Dark Side of the Rainbow [Wizard of Oz]

[soullesshuman]

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f357/kyokisawa/my%20best%20pics/yellowbrick.png
Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

So, this is the OoC for the Dark Side of the Rainbow RP, credit going to sneakyonfoota. This is a bit of a twist on the traditional tale, taking a darker turn on the yellow brick road. The land of Oz has become a more desperate place. It is a land of imagination- literally. Perceptions of reality warp the land of Oz, turning it into a congregation of the dreams and nightmares of all the residents.

Dorothy is 'sane'. She comes here to a land where she's never seen before. She is the barometer of sanity, bringing back people to what's really going on. However, she also pushes what she percieves as 'normal' on everyone else, hurting her friends by trying to /force/ them to acquire what they want instead of allowing them to see what they desire within themselves.

The Wicked Witch enjoys her chaos, and enjoys spreading it throughout the land of Oz, corrupting whatever she can find. She and the Wizard are the only one that begin with the 'ability' to control their perceptions to an extent, so they are not sucked in themselves.

The Cowardly Lion (http://role-player.net/forum/showpost.php?p=541853&postcount=25) perceives everyone around him(or her) as frightening, large, and the world being full of shadows. When he (or she) influences the place around him, it becomes a horrifying place full of noises and fearfulness. This usually comes to light in darker areas such as forests and caves. [played by G]

The Tin Woodsman sees everything is a monochrome landscape, is unable to empathize with others, and lacks the inherent understanding of right and wrong. He (or she) sees everything as cold and monotone, with no gray areas, just absolute darkness and absolute light. This usually takes most effect in isolated, indoor areas.

The Strawman (http://role-player.net/forum/showpost.php?p=540996&postcount=9) seems to have some kind of autism. He (or she) sees the world as childish, with everyone being more like scribbles and everything filled with bright colors, albeit sometimes the colors are wrong and wonky. This comes to most effect in more open areas such as fields and meadows. [played by soullesshuman]

The Wizard is a frazzled old showman, who came here long ago. S/he struggles to be Oz's hope, and works to give an illusion of Emerald City being full of life and light. S/he does little else but stay in his/her castle, creating a protective barrier around his/her city to protect the citizens.

The Shadow and The Wind (http://role-player.net/forum/showpost.php?p=536266&postcount=7) are the Wicked Witch's most prized soldiers. They work together to do her bidding, with their own beliefs and reasons and perceptions of this land of Oz. [Played by sneakyonfoota]

The Characters shall be crossed out once they are taken, with priority towards sneakyonfoota. Otherwise it is a first-come-first serve basis. If we run out of room, ideas as to outside characters to join in will be welcomed. I'll play whatever is needed after everyone else chooses what they please. The ultimate goal of this RP is to finish and for everyone to enjoy themselves, please keep this in mind.

Character sheet:
Name:
Role:
Age/Appearing Age:
Appearance: (Picture or Descrption- either is fine)
Personality:
Biography:
Perception of Oz: (This is how your character sees the world)
Ultimate Goal: (This is to describe, say, what the character's one desire is. The Tin Woodsman, for example, wants a heart.)

[sneakyonfoota]

I will take the leftovers, though I wish to voice my preferences for Shadow and Wind.

If it is contingent that the role must be filled in order for us to start, I could also take the role of the Wizard.

This Wikipedia link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oz_characters) may be helpful for those of you who would prefer to pick from off the beaten path... or Yellow Brick Road, as it were.


EDIT: IC thread link (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12240)

[sneakyonfoota]

You know, despite how we have been slotting roles, we haven't at all considered how to approach Glinda in this, or if at all.

[soullesshuman]

-poke-

:<

[sneakyonfoota]

We are standing by for Kris' Dorothy, dear Soul.

Also, I don't recall you choosing a role, dearie.

[Kris]

I'll write it up today and PM it to you.

Sorry it took so long, I was ill over the weekend :/

[sneakyonfoota]

• Name: The Shadow; Mr. Shadow
• Role: Antagonist, minion of the Wicked Witch of the West
• Age/Appearing Age: 30s
• Appearance: Shadow is a handsome man of fine turn-of-the-century dress, complete with top hat, frock coat and walking stick. He is mustachioed with dark hair and sideburns.
• Personality: Shadow maintains a patrician facade of dignity and manner in conflict to his words and actions. He engages in pointed conversation with his enemies, alternately commending and mocking them. His demeanour is cool and does not exhibit any strong emotions, having a sort of fatalistic and nihilistic outlook. He believes that the Witch's victory is assured.
• Biography: The Shadow is "chaos given form". He is a sentient manifestation of the Witch's chaotic power.
• Perception of Oz: The Shadow has uncanny objectivity the same as Dorothy, however he does not "project" the way any of the other main characters do, nor is he affected adversely the way others can be.
• Ultimate Goal: The fulfillment of the Witch's desires.


• Name: The Wind; Little Miss Wind
• Role: Antagonist, minion of the Wicked Witch of the West
• Age/Appearing Age: 10
• Appearance: Wind has the appearance of a young girl in a fine silk dress and tights. She wears a headdress of lace and ribbons on a hairband.
• Personality: Playful, but prone to violent outbursts of emotion.
• Biography: Wind is another of the Witch's powerful minions, being a chaos entity.
• Perception of Oz: Wind judges her reality as being either "fun" or "not fun". Like Shadow, Wind does not have the ability to force her ego on others, and is so unaffected by other's perceptions.
• Ultimate Goal: The fulfillment of the Witch's desires; to have fun.

[Kris]

WIP

(I'll PM you guys for more help on it)

Name:
Role: Dorothy
Age/Appearing Age:
Appearance: (Picture or Descrption- either is fine)
Personality: Naive, yet not stupid. She is a bit of a scared child, but will not hush about what she believes in. Happy going and cheerful.
Biography: Brought from another world,
Perception of Oz: (This is how your character sees the world)
Ultimate Goal: (This is to describe, say, what the character's one desire is. The Tin Woodsman, for example, wants a heart.)

[soullesshuman]

Name:
Anwar
Role:
Strawman
Age/Appearing Age:
24-28, hard to say
Appearance:
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs16/i/2007/189/c/4/Scarecrow_by_niaryusuke.jpg
Personality:
Despite his more intimidating appearance, Anwar is excessively gentle. He is also quite shy, and when frightened stands perfectly still, barely breathing, in hopes that he would be thought of as a normal bundle of straw and to be left alone. Having lived in draw fields all his life, he is rather ignorant to anything but what the crows tell him, and does not know a lie from the truth. Because of this, he is easily confused and manipulated.

In order to frighten away crows and ravens from the farmers' fields (for his ability to move means the ability to protect more than one field) he wields his large scythe, waving it around at the birds to shoo them away. This 'aggressive' behavior is mostly a form of habit whenever he gets annoyed at something or someone and outside the fields it almost looks comical to those who know him and threatening to those who don't. Of course, his scythe could be quite the weapon if he so chose, but it never occurred to him he could fight with it.

Anwar believes he is without any brain. Considering his naivete and his lack of knowledge about just about everything, it could easily be considered he is quite stupid. He is not very quick to pick up on new things and takes time to string things together, when he does he strings them oddly, using leaps of logic known only to him. Along with his appearance, his apparent lack of common sense drives people away from him and he frequently feels inferior and lonely. To keep himself company he sometimes plays the hardingfele which he keeps in the insulating folds of his straw.

Strangely enough, the refuses to remove any part of his clothes, although from the few holes he tries to cover with straw it is obvious that he is a person underneath a costume. Despite this, he drinks little and eats less. When asked what is under his mask, he merely replies something along the lines of 'happiness and sunshine', of course this referring to straw. He sleeps and does everything in his outfit, hot or cold. At times the dusty mask prevents him from breathing well- he has a cough he keeps at all times and cannot run, but he has stamina to keep walking on nothing but determination for days on end.

At times, Anwar can perceive the world around him with great skill, and his ability to connect things oddly can sometimes expose inconsistencies in lies and conspiracies. However without direction and self confidence these sputterings of ability are lost in the sea of his naivete and ignorance. He knows this, and so seeks the wizard.

Biography:
No one really knows how Anwar came to be. To be frank, not even he knows how he came to be. As far as he understands it he was once brought to life by a man who believed so strongly in Oz that the scarecrow he had made with such care and effort could listen and hear him. At that point, he couldn't speak or even understand what was going on, just that a farmer every day or so would come to see him and speak to him about how the crops are goin and how the neighbors were getting along.

Eventually, this farmer aged and perished, but his strong belief did not waver. Years passed, and the scarecrow known as Anwar suddenly collapsed from his post. He steadied himself on his scythe and waved at the crows, telling them to shoo and to go plunder some other field. Of course, the crows merely went to the neighbor's fields. Well, he didn't think it was right that the lovely neighbors he was told about had to get their crops stolen, so he went to shoo the crows there too.

Seasons passed and harvest came and went. Anwar avoided people, he was frightened of how people would see him. Once, a girl found him late at night as he was playing his fiddle and showed him how much he didn't know about the way things were. She called him slow, and odd. He asked where he could learn things and know things like she did. The girl said that he probably couldn't go to a school (though it took much time for the scarecrow to understand what a 'school' was) and so should go to the great Wizard of Oz. Without a second thought, he was off to go find this wizard.

Perception of Oz:
Anwar sees Oz full of color and sunshine. There is no such thing as a cloudy day, and the rain is colored with rainbows. People are fuzzy and details are nonexistent, as if everything is blurry and hard to see. As if a painter rushed the work, the world bleeds into each other in their colors. This kind of fused perception comes most to light in anywhere open and outdoors.

Ultimate Goal: A brain

[Kris]

ah, I see, so it can be a complete spin off...

Nice :)

so I can even have my char even older then what I was going for :)

or even change her name?

[sneakyonfoota]

Perhaps.

But then, wouldn't the only two things identifying "Dorothy" as being "Dorothy" be the fact that her house crushed the Wicked Witch of the East and that she inherited her silver shoes?

[Kris]

ammmmmmmmm....

so in that case I pretty much need to stick to what I know of her?

[sneakyonfoota]

Yes and no.

Play a Dorothy that is "your" Dorothy. A Dorothy for this setting, like any other RP character.

You're going wrong if Dorothy is a metrosexual man who calls himself "Dorothy" when he's cruising the scene with a sock puppet he named "Toto", short for Tobias Torrington.

Then we have an issue.

[soullesshuman]

Well I think that she should have freedom of "Dorothy", so long as that "Dorothy" still fits in with her necessary role (the sane person of the group, sometimes hurting others with sanity)

[Kris]

You're going wrong if Dorothy is a metrosexual man who calls himself "Dorothy" when he's cruising the scene with a sock puppet he named "Toto", short for Tobias Torrington.

Then we have an issue.

My god, hadn't had a good laugh for a long while XD

Well, the main issue for me is the age.

I view Dorthy to be 13, but to be honest I think I wanna go for something a bit more mature, but I don't mind staying with 13.

[soullesshuman]

I could imagine the role of Dorothy fitting in with, say, a 30-something year old lawyer?

[G]

Definitely Interested - should I pm a character sheet or just post it here?

Edit: how far are you planning on twisting reality here - for example, would Toto be playable, or only the characters you've listed?
Glinda also interests me, I saw her mentioned before, were you planning on adding her or no?

Edit#2: Just read the IC post - excellent. I'd be interested in applying for Elpheba, if I'm right in assuming she is the wicked witch who'll be appearing in this story, if she's not already taken.

[soullesshuman]

The witch is not taken yet, feel free to just post the character sheet here. ToTo /may/ be playable in the future, but right now the characters listed is what is absolutely needed for the plot. If they fill up other roles may be available.

[sneakyonfoota]

Miss Merry has called dibs on WWW, sorry dear.

Given dear Kris' limited schedule we've decided that she will control Glinda so that we can virtually sweep the Good Witch under the rug until she's needed again.

I personally would not be against there being a Toto in any shape or form.

...Just no sock puppets, please.

[G]

Haha, alright, I'll refrain from the puppet thing... though it will be hard. And that's quite alright about the witch. Give me a moment and I'll throw a sheet up.

[soullesshuman]

Does anyone know if Merry is still interested? I haven't seen her in this thread...

[G]

She's on holidays, I believe.

[sneakyonfoota]

She is due back soon.

Meanwhile I've been given reins over dear Elphaba.

[soullesshuman]

I see I see.

[G]

Alright - if you're alright with double characters I'm keeping Toto under consideration. I have a lot of ideas around his/her character, but I thought I'd take one of the 'needed' characters first.

Name: Ione (pronounced ee-own-ee)

Role: The Cowardly Lion.

Age/Appearing Age: nineteen.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/4512496401_5a2513c853.jpg

Personality: Ione is the embodiment of annoying teen angst. Everything is (in her mind) centred on her, watching her, thinking about her. She overanalyses everything everybody does, finding hidden, deeper meanings that were never intended to exist and that all revolve around her in some way. Couple that completely self-absorbed impression that everybody's actions are based around herself with a total lack of self-esteem and a 'poor me, my life is so much more difficult than anyone else's' attitude, and you have a girl convinced that everyone is out to get her in some way.
When you're sure everyone knows something about you they just aren't saying, it's hard to trust, or really get to know anyone to trust them. Her paranoia and self pity has made her one lonely girl.

Biography: Ione was born in Oz, to a loving mother and a stern but fair father - who both happened to be munchkins. How the birth of a regular sized, to all appearances human baby occurred is unknown, but her parents loved her just the same. It did attract a few stares when a five year old Ione was carrying her mother down to the shops, rather than the other way around.
And when the girl hit puberty, it was the perfect reason for self-inflicted isolation. Though the munchkins of her village were a kindly bunch, and did their best not to treat her any differently than anyone else, Ione just couldn't escape how [i]hard it was to be so different, how hard done by she felt, couldn't understand why such a terrible thing had happened to her, why she had to be so abnormal.
In the beginning, it was just minor bouts of tears and overdramatised melancholy, then the young girl was complaining about depression and anxiety. People caught up in their own worries seem to be very good at staying stuck there, and clinging tightly, seeing worried attempts to bring them back down to reality as pitying reminders of their woe.
The worry grew, and grew, until Ione had convinced herself that her parents were ashamed of her, and rightly so; she left her home, knowing it was the right thing to do. For them, of course.
God, she was so selfless.
Such a shame no one could see past her tall-stature problem.

For a while, she wandered alone, encountering many others on her travels, some of whom even tried to forge something of a friendship. But she couldn't believe they treated her kindly out of anything but pity, and before long, spending so much time alone in the wild world of Oz, Ione's self-pity mutated into fearfulness, and instead of begrudging kindness she saw hatred in the eyes of the people she met, disgust.

Like they could barely stand the sight of her.
Like they wanted to get rid of her.
Oh god.. they wanted to get rid of her!

Her paranoia has been spiralling out of control ever since then, not helped by the way Oz has become, twisting itself to suit whatever distorted fantasies people create for themselves.

Perception of Oz: Oz, to Ione, seems a huge and dark place, full of shadows that seem to fall over people's faces, masking their intentions and faceless, malicious whispers always just out of sight. The trees are tall and the grass long and thick, and the people secretive, always accusing Ione with their eyes. She's not sure what exactly it is they're saying, but she's pretty positive it isn't friendly.

Ultimate Goal: To find the courage to let everyone know that she knows what they're doing. This warped goal may change if she ever figures out exactly what she's doing to herself.

[soullesshuman]

Seeing that the lion is from Oz, why not in the biography state how she came to become paranoid and how she found out about the wonderful wizard?

[G]

Was planning on it - but my question was more based around the fact that the first IC post seems to suggest some kind of war - is this something that caused a big upheaval in Oz or more just with the witch? And again - how long after this occurred will the IC begin?

[soullesshuman]

EDIT: Well, shit, I must've read it half asleep. :<

[sneakyonfoota]

The base conflict was one between extreme Order and extreme Chaos between the two Wicked Witches. Since Chaos seems to be the main antagonist so far, we can only speculate what else is going on in the lands of Oz.

The Good Witch of the South (Glinda) and the Good Witch of the North (Locasta or Tattypoo, depending on whom you asked) haven't really appeared in the equation, but that does not necessarily mean that they have no place in the story. We just haven't thought of one.

And things are meant to pick up almost immediately. The house falls on Nessarose and then "Dorothy" steps out and it is "game on".

[G]

Alright, thanks.

And soulless, I didn't explain it very well the first time I asked, sorry.

[soullesshuman]

S'fine. I've been extremely off today.

[G]

All done - okay?

[soullesshuman]

I personally am fine with it, though I wonder in the appearance if her hair /is/ a lion or is excessively lion-like.

[G]

Eh, mostly it's a bloody awesome picture.

But it could also symbolise the courage that is just behind the paranoid, fearful self she's aware of...

[soullesshuman]

Ok. Updated the first post. :> Wanna put an intro post to put yourself at the scene?

[G]

Certainly :D

[soullesshuman]

:> I'll post soon

[G]

All done - let me know if there's anything I need to edit :)

[soullesshuman]

Aaand posted.

[Merry]

(wave) hey peoples! I'm back! I'll get caught up soon as I can! :)

[soullesshuman]

Woot! :D

[Merry]

:blush:

[Kris]

I'll finish the bio today. I'm so sorry it took me so long T__T

[Merry]

Name: Elphaba
Role: Wicked Witch of the West
Age/Appearing Age: unknown
Appearance: http://www.chineseidols.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/tang-yansweet-girl1.jpg
http://www.bfowler.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/witch3web.jpg
Personality: Destructive, demanding, evil. She delights in making people squirm, and cares nothing for anyone but herself.
Biography: Elphaba was born second in her family, and life was pretty much the pits as the second child. For her entire childhood, she was constantly overshadowed by her older sister, her good sister, the favored sister, at least in her mind. Because of these feelings she twisted into her thoughts, her implanted inferiority caused her to drive herself to evil deeds to just be noticed.

She learned at an early age that she had, power and quickly grasped at this power to create as much chaos and mayhem as she could possibly dream up. She found that warping others realities was rather enjoyable, and quickly came to enjoy causing suffering in the people, earning her the title of Wicked Witch of the West.

Perception of Oz: An adult Elphana has laid so many realities to waste that she has started to carry an air of command around her mind and person, leading her to believe she owns all of Oz, with little thought or caring for anyone but herself.

Ultimate Goal: Elphana yearns for everyone to adore her, therefore gaining all the attention she lost as a child and crushing anyone in her path to get what she wants.

[Kris]

you picked that image beacuse of the Shoes tatto right? XD

Awesome Bio :)

[Merry]

Yup! -grin- it's it a great pic though!

And thank you ... Repent! helped me with it <3 in his shoppe

[Kris]

Indeed :)

[Merry]

What's up peoples! Are we moving along or are you waiting on a TinMan?

[Kris]

I guess I'm pretty much holding it up as since I didn't finish the bio yet :/

I promise to do it soon, just that a lot of work has been landed on me this week.

[black_dragon]

If you still happen to be looking for someone to play the Tin Man, I'd like to do it if that's alright.

[Kris]

By all means, go for it, we are still planning to run it :)