"Goddamn it," Oliver sighed, silently pressing a button that sent out a very loud and very obnoxious alarm reverberating through the submarine, "what's in my ship now?"
—Oliver sums up the American Paranormal Society's adventures.
American Paranormal Society is an RP on the website NationStates, featuring players from other RPs such as Elfen High, A World Beyond, and Super Teens Stuff.
Founded in 1801 as a recreational group, the New England Paranormal Society (predecessor to the current American Paranormal Society) was a purely recreational group of rich members who hunted monsters of folk lore and the likes for sport. Many major figures joined this secret fraternity, including one Abraham Lincoln. By 1850 though, it had set up branches all around the country, adopting its current moniker. In 1949, each of the branches were attacked and destroyed by the Soviet equivalent, the Оккультные Investifastions агентства (Okkulʹtnye Investifastions agent·stva), Occult Investigation Agency in English, leading to a series of repercussions that left the country vulnerable to attacks from Soviet-owned monsters. The Society reformed in 1975 with the tasks of protecting both humans and monsters, as well as keeping these creatures hidden from the public view. In the Cold War, it also had the goal of defeating the OIA at every turn. It's USSR counterpart was disbanded in 1988, leaving the Society to focus on its priorities of supernatural management.The modern APS is a recognized agency of the federal government, though it mainly works off its own agenda. The Society is the only entirely equal opportunity employer. It will hire anything that goes through its courses, passes the final exams, and has been an American citizen for five years, whether they be monsters, aliens, dinosaurs, or just humans. It is housed in four main buildings:
- The Lincoln Institution: Located in the quaint little town of Arkham, Massachusetts, this university is where all cadets (aged 18 for the most part) are taught how to work and serve in the Society. A four year term filled with arduous training, intense studying of all fields, and mediocre cafeteria food awaits all who enter these hallowed halls, which have been constructed a top the remains of the original NEPS base.
- The Franklin Avenue Building: Seemingly an average warehouse in St. Louis, Missouri, this is actually the base of operations for all of the APS. Teleportation discs, weapons (which range from before the birth of Christ to 200 years ahead of modern technology), robotic assistants, you name it. They're all here. Underground is a resting quarters for visiting agents, an assembly hall, mission assignment rooms, and interrogation rooms for any of those who harbor an illegal monster or break any other law or regulation about the paranormal world. It was invaded and partially destroyed midway through Chapter One. It is rebuilt during the gap between Chapters 3 and 4.
- The Lyndon B. Johnson Building: An ordinary building to the naked eye, this is where all decisions concerning the Society's actions are made. Consider it the headquarters of a massive corporation, with the bases being regional offices and warehouses in one. Just with more demons and vampires. Located in New York.
- The San Diego Zoo: Oh, it's just a zoo, right? Wrong. Beneath the main zoo is an underground cavern that contains pens for all captured monsters. Some of it's inhabitants consider it a prison, some consider it a haven. They all agree on one thing though. The food is just as bad as the Institution's.
- Fort Kennedy: A fortification commissioned by Johnson, another president who was a member of the APS, as a secret location for weapons to be built in case of a war against the USSR. It has since been cloaked by magic, erased from history, and is now the fifth largest APS base. Can be found somewhere in the state of Washington and is the regional base for the Northwest. This is made the replacement headquarters for the APS after the Franklin Avenue Building was seized.
The Society also works out of smaller bases and such, but the big stuff goes down in the prior locations.
The story is far from simple, with many more villains than heroes. In fact, some of the heroes are villains themselves. It can be found here
, split into five chapters that run from 2011 to 2013.
American Paranormal Society contains examples of:
- The Ace: Santa Claus. He has a revolver and deer-pegasi.
- All Myths Are True: Even creepy German folktales. Especially creepy German folktales.
- Alpha Bitch: White, Grey's successor. She's actually a very kind leader, but she hates the Sixth Brigade and regularly tries to screw them over.
- Alternate History: The latest chapters have shades of this. For instance, Michelle Bachmann won the 2012 Presidential Election.
- Always Chaotic Evil:
- Subverted. Monsters are treated and tried as individuals. It may seem as though every monster the Brigade encounters is evil, but they are either hunting these creatures specifically or being hunted by them.
- Several species still fall under this trope, most noticeably bat-demons and anything else in the "daemon" category.
- To an extent, Chthonians. They're actually simply chaotic, not always evil.
- Amicably Divorced: White and Gabriel have had a very, very long romantic history but, as far as we know, are currently not together. They still flirt a lot and are better friends than most of the characters. Also, they don't seem to have been married, but one can never be sure.
- Anyone Can Die: Raj can die. So can James.
- Arc Words: Chapter 4 has "The day has ended. The night has come." Usually said to Nico, usually after Nico has been referred to as "the Destroyer".
- An Asskicking Christmas: In October, yes, but it's still at the North Pole.
- Author Appeal:
- Some of Nat's personal interests crop up: The final battle against War in Ch. 3 is fought in Area 52 from Doctor Who, for example.
- Santa Claus's North Pole: He has a cantina based on the famous one from Star Wars which is inhabited by the likes of an undead Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, and Charlie Chaplin. His house is a mishmash of Tim Taylor's garage from Home Improvement, the kitchen from The George Lopez Show, and Ray's bedroom from Everybody Loves Raymond. This is, of course, lampshaded.
- Badass Longcoat:
- Oliver has been wearing a trench-coat since Chapter 2.
- Not to be outdone, Nico wore a greatcoat throughout Chapter 2.
- Green bad-ass trench-coats are now the official uniform of the Sixth Brigade, as of Chapter Four.
- Berserk Button:
- If you hurt either Raj or Nico, the other will find you. And he will kill you.
- Nico didn't take to kindly to being referred to as "squid" for a while, but he mellowed about it and it's pretty much stopped.
- Big Bad: Rurik Udovin, mysterious co-founder of the New England Paranormal Society who was wiped from all records and imprisoned below the Sphinx. He's manipulated everything from the very start through his minion, McMillan.
- Big Good: Grey seems to be this during the first two chapters, but post-mortem, his flaws start to be recognized, particularly his policies towards secrecy. Come the fourth chapter, even Oliver starts to criticize him.
- Bilingual Bonus: The prophecy given by the voice of Clarent is pretty much a spoiler for how Chapters Six and Seven will end. If only someone could translate it.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: White. She acts like a sweet person to most people. When dealing with the Sixth, she shows her bitchy side. However, when dealing with Gabriel, she shows her softer side again and, since his introduction, has largely softened up.
- Black-and-Gray Morality: The Society has saved the world and regularly defends it from horrible threats. However, Fantastic Racism saturates its ranks and they will kill (not arrest) most any monster that they find. Until White's era, it was common practice to kill agents when they retired to stop them from talking.
- Break the Cutie: Raj is basically an untrained Nico, and he gets pissed if you hurt his mentor/boyfriend. Pissed Raj is bad.
- Broken Ace: Nico started off as your go-to guy for ass-kicking. Then, he got broken when his secret nature (being a Chthonian) was revealed.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Subverted. Nico may be good at what he does, but Oliver will not handle any shit from him. He keeps a gun on his person at all times specifically tailored to kill Nico in order to keep him in line.
- Butt-Monkey: Nico has been exiled from R'yleh, faced extreme racism from certain members of the Society, his mentor died, his world was destroyed, his father disowned and depowered him, he got the shit beaten out of him by Deimos and Phobos, and his beloved died.
- Canon Immigrant: Wayne is an odd example. He was born in Super Teens Stuff, but, as of Chapter Four, he has joined the cast of this RP. He is also quite literally an immigrant, since he simply came over from his world.
- Characterization Marches On: At first, White started off as Grey's beautiful but bitchy secretary. With her rise to the head of APS and the introduction of Gabriel, however, she has genuinely loosened up and is now a genuinely nice and sort of goofy person.
- Commie Nazis: Averted. There are Nazis. There is an organization which boils down to the supernatural KGB. They fight. A lot.
- Cool Ship: The S.S. Nemo, a super advanced submarine.
- Cool Sword: Plenty. Including but not limited to:
- The Blades of R'lyeh, The Blade of Huang, and Gwen's personal sword/fuck-your-shit-upper, Cortana.
- We get a quick look at the Sword in the Stone, Clarent. It comes with Ominous Latin Chanting (though it isn't really Latin) and everything.
- Crapsaccharine World: Heaven, though different from the one in Elfen High, certainly inspiration from it in levels of shittiness. The angels are far nicer and more casual, particularly Michael, but Jesus is a horrible person and the only souls that are allowed in Heaven are the ones that would benefit it politically.
- Crossover:
- An in-universe example. Nico often uses his fourth-wall breaking powers to converse with Wayne from Super Teens Stuff.
- In order to defeat the Horseman of Apocalypse War, Nico calls upon his allies from all across the multiverse. These allies include Wayne and Valtherzaw from Super Teens Stuff and Crowley and Lewis Jameson from Elfen High. Hilarity Ensues.
- Cute Monster Girl: Francesca, an Oni.
- Darker and Edgier: Chapters Three and Four somewhat, compared to the first two. The Arc Words seem to hint that this will get more prominent as time goes on.
- Deus ex Machina:
- Pretty much how the Sixth Brigade won all of its fights against super-powerful beings, be it either with the aid of some other deity or the intervention of Nico Mckickyourass.
- Notable exceptions include when James won a philosophical debate with a Chinese dragon, saving him and everyone else in Japan, and when Raj killed the Celtic God, Mannan.
- Disc-One Final Boss: And how! First came Chester, antagonist of the first two chapters. Then the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse through the second and third chapters. By the fourth chapter, Rurik Udovin has risen and cemented himself as the greatest asshole in history.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Chapter One is very disjointed and character-driven, which is strange compared to the extremely plot-based nature of the succeeding chapters.
- Fair Folk: They are a bunch of evil spirits who resemble shadows. However, it is revealed that what the Sixth Brigade think are Fair Folk are actually travelers from another dimension. Real Fair Folk look incredibly similar and have pretty much the same abilities, sans the whole necromancy thing.
- Fantastic Racism: Humans towards paranormals. Goddamn everything against Chthonians.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: Subverted with Gwen. She is surely very ladylike,but unfortunately she is also a massive Lethal Chef.
- Hammerspace: Justified with Nico. He can reach between dimensions.
- Gray-and-Grey Morality: The group frequently lapses into this when fighting their enemies. In fact, for the most part, it seems the only crimes Rurik and the OIA are guilty of is being Russians.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Let's see... Hans first started off as one of Those Wacky Nazis, then got captured by Soviet spies, then joined the APS, and is now The Dragon. Who knows how long that particular change will last though, what with Rurik being... well, Rurik.
- Heroic Lineage:
- It's hinted in Chapter 4 that Gwen could be a descendant of King Arthur himself.
- Oliver is the son of a disgraced ex-president of the APS and is descended from General Braddock. Post-werewolfization, he is a member of the same pack of werewolves as Romulus and Remus, actual heroes.
- Lighter and Softer: The APS under the leadership of White, of all people. How ironic, considering the direction of the RP.
- Meaningful Name: Nico Hawkeye, a sniper. This could be an example of Meaningful Rename though, depending on which part of Nico's new identity came from.
- The Mole: James claims to have been one for the Cloak and Dagger, but Oliver doubts that, as the Cloak and Dagger do not behave the way James describes them as having behaved. He betrayed the "CaD" of course, otherwise he wouldn't be alive anymore.
- Ominous Latin Chanting: Subverted and Lampshaded. There is ominous chanting when summoning a Horseman of Apocalypse, and it's supposed to sound like Latin, but it's actually Portuguese. McMillan explains that he doesn't speak Latin, but it's kind of weird that the Horsewoman, Pestilence, does the Portuguese thing too.
- Omniscient Council of Vagueness: The Cloak and Dagger, an agency that is higher in influence than the APS and six times as secretive.
- Once an Episode: A battle with bat-demons. Chapter Four gets a bit more creative and features Super-Duper Bat-Demons.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: The Sword in the Stone itself makes an appearance. It can only be used by Gwen.
- Order vs. Chaos: According to Nat, the battle between the APS and Rurik boils down to this.
- Our Angels Are Different: They are shapeshifters who kick significant amounts of ass. Gabriel is a more stereotypical angel physically, though this is most likely a choice or is due to the fact that he is a lesser angel. Also, they're incredibly diverse.
- Our Demons Are Different:
- They are physically and mentally indistinguishable from angels, being that they are indeed fallen angels. Gabriel may or may not be one.
- There is an entire category of monsters known as "daemons", but demons do not fall under this category. Daemons are embodiments of evil, typically evil spirits.
- Our Zombies Are Different: Normal zombies have yet to make an appearance, but there are corpses reanimated by the "Fair Folk".
- Put on a Bus: Raj just up and disappears, though Nat and Night have hinted that there is more to it than that.
- Really 700 Years Old: Oliver spent 800 years in the space between dimensions, not aging a day.
- Retcon:
- Did you know that Nico once killed James? No? Good. Cthulu wants it that way.
- A few other in-universe examples are becoming more obvious. Most obvious James was erased from existence. There used to be another Gabriel, too.
- Running Gag: Michael and Gabriel keep in touch via divine versions of popular social networks, and Michael's accounts are constantly being hacked.
- Tempting Fate: Oliver to Durim:"Don't provoke the Lord of the Dark! Who pisses off something with that kind of name?"
- They Call Him "Sword":
- Oliver, the werewolf, is called "the wolf" by so many enemies, it's unbelievable.
- Nico is "squid".
- James is "Robocop".
- Token Minority:
- Gwen is of Welsh heritage. Oh, and does she revel in it.
- Raj is the only Indian in the group.
- The Unmasqued World: Due to the events of Chapter Two, the existence of the monsters has been revealed to the public. Chapter Four begins with White revealing the existence of the APS to the world as well. Not much time has been spent dwelling on the implications of it all yet, but a majority of Chapter Four will be.
- The 'Verse: Nightkills Shit.
- We Can Rebuild Him: James, after being partially turned to stone by the Blade of Huang.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Gwen. Having a Knight In Shining Armour mindset doesn't help her either.
- Who You Gonna Call?: The APS is a Type 3. Still, they didn't manage to avoid breaking the masquerade.
- Zombie Apocalypse: Averted. The souls who escaped from Heaven are integrated into society rather uneasily, but still integrated. They aren't exactly zombies, either.
