Application for Ryslig

[certaininequities]

OOC INFORMATION
Name: Hazel
Contact: hopepunk
Age: 39
Other Characters: Number Five youngtimer

CHARACTER INFORMATION
CW: Alcoholism, child abuse, Hollywood simplification of Dissociative Identity Disorder
Character Name: Dr. Norman Osborn II
Age: 47
Canon: Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie Wiki)
Canon Point: Post-No Way Home (which was released 12/17/21, so canon is in the clear! I will give people the opportunity to opt out of spoilers nonetheless.)

Character Information:
The Osborns became a rich & powerful family in New York City during the Industrial Revolution and remained as such for two generations, until Norman's father Amberson lost it all to bad investments and booze. Norman grew up in a poor, abusive household and swore to build himself up so that he and his progeny would ever have to live like that again. A lot of sweat, ingenuity, and gladhanding later, Oscorp Industries was born and became a leader in biochemical research. Norman's wife divorced him when their son Harry was young, which put Norman in the precarious position of having to run a company and be a father. Since he was afraid of not being able to provide for Harry, Norman prioritized time at work over time at home: a decision he would later come to regret.

While working on a super-soldier serum for the government, pressures, deadlines, and other constraints led Norman to make a desperate move and test the formula on himself. It made him strong, but it also made him insane: splitting his darker desires and impulses into a second personality. This persona, which would eventually come to be known as The Green Goblin, was hell-bent on getting Norman to the top, gaining all the power he had been "too weak" to take for himself by breaking society's rules and getting things by force. Norman began to find that he was losing track of large chunks of time, but blamed it on stress or lack of sleep. In reality, it was that second personality taking control: stealing equipment and supplies from Oscorp and sabotaging their rival's testing facilities.

When Oscorp's board of directors tried to kick Norman himself off the board because of his inability to perfect the serum, that darker personality retaliated by killing the board at a public function: and when the next day's newspaper came out, the Green Goblin officially had a name. The Goblin fought with Spider-Man twice in an effort to get him to join him in conquering New York, before learning his secret identity. Norman was devastated that his son's best friend - a bright young man he had seen a bit of his younger self in - was his darker side's worst enemy. The Goblin convinced Norman that he was better off without Parker since he'd been such a disappointment ... then took the proverbial mental helm to set a trap hoping to kill Spider-Man.

In the midst of this climactic fight which would lead to Norman's death instead of Peter's, an interdimensional gateway opened and he was pulled into an alternate dimension. Once there, he immediately tried to distance himself from the Goblin's influence and try to get home: but his company did not exist, and someone else was living in his home. Distraught, Norman sought out Peter for help, knowing his willpower could only last so long. He helped Peter build cures for other supervillains caught in the gateway, but eventually the Goblin took control again, and he killed Peter's aunt before fleeing into the night. Peter lured him back into another battle, then used an anti-serum to cure Norman of his madness. When Norman arrives in Ryslig, it will be at the moment he was supposed to be sent back to his reality.

Personality:
There are several different parts to Norman's personality, just like there are to the armor he wore as the Goblin, or any good chemical compound - not that he understands them himself as well as he would either of those other things. Mostly I'm going to cover Norman, but I feel like addressing the Goblin is also important, even though at his canon point, Norman has been "cured" of the split personality. (I use quotation marks because the issues that comprised the Goblin are still there, and because mental illness can never be cured, only mitigated.)

"I haven't always been there for you, have I, Harry? I see that now. But I'm going to make it up to you. I'm going to rectify certain inequities."
He has the capacity for great warmth and caring, but these are always warped and twisted by the circumstances of his upbringing under his abusive father, or by his own misinterpretation of social norms. This leads to so many of his actions being completely misguided: both in his business life and his personal relationships. The most perfect example of this is his relationship with the two young men in his life: his son, Harry, and Peter Parker. Norman believes he is caring for Harry by providing for him everything he did not have as a child: money, freedom, access to opportunities, a safe home. However, he is so focused on filling those voids that he misses out on the emotional connection that is also so vital. When he meets Peter Parker, Norman instantly sees him as a sort of mirror: a young, brilliant student living in poverty and trying to find a way out through the merit of his mind. His words of encouragement and support are warm, and heartfelt ... but he is blind to the fact that they're what he should have been giving his own son the whole time, because he thinks he's provided Harry with everything he needed. In his mind, fathers were not supposed to be emotional people, just ... providers. The end of the first film seems to imply, however, that Norman has realized his mistake. In his last scene with Harry, he confesses that he realized he hasn't been there for him as often as he should have, and that he wants to make it right. It's unclear who the long hug that follows is meant to comfort more: father or son. Furthermore, when Norman starts to mention Harry to the other reality's Peter and May, he becomes too distraught to finish what he wants to say about him.

"You can't do this to me ... I - I started this company! D'YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I SACRIFICED?"
Norman's childhood has an influence on him in many other ways, as well: his drive to overcome the poverty his father brought on the Osborns made him stop at nothing to make sure that he never had to go back there again... and he proves it by graduating from MIT at an age reminiscent of another reality's Tony Stark. He sacrifices a great deal over the course of Oscorp's fledgling existence: his first house, his marriage, his social life. In fighting to keep the company alive, Norman loses track of his friends, and adjusting to the breakneck financial world of New York in the 1980s and 90's makes him constantly worried that someone will always be coming for him. One newspaper article states that he spent two days personally on the phone with the Board of Directors trying to dissuade them from selling the company. Norman is someone who is so goal-oriented and focused on what he needs to maintain that he loses sight very easily of what he is trying to maintain it for.

Not only that, but he is so convinced that he is doing the right thing and the best thing possible that anyone who criticizes his ideas or plans at the wrong moment will see Norman's temper flare. When he's in control of himself, that temper is there and gone in an instant like a struck match. In the board meeting where he's fired, Norman comes very close to losing his temper as he raises his voice, but backpedals quickly to appeal to one board member's sympathy, as though he knows that being contrary is not a good look for him... another lingering effect of his past, and his struggle not to become his father's son.

"Parker! Harry tells me you're quite the science whiz. Your parents must be very proud. Y'know ... I'm something of a scientist myself."
None of this is to say that Norman is a cold, rude person at the exterior. Though he is no-nonsense when it comes to his company and his work, Norman is at ease speaking to people outside of the company, warm and charismatic in his interactions with Peter and his Aunt May. He jokes with them, leads friendly conversations, and expresses genuine interest in Peter's own scientific pursuits. When he is in the alternate reality, he also encourages that Peter Parker, openly impressed by his skill to the point of offering him a job at Oscorp "if you're willing to commute to another universe". He banters a bit with Otto while they are waiting for the cure work, and downplays his intellect and abilities on occasion, so that he can seem more accessible.

"Forty thousand years of evolution, and we've barely even tapped the vastness of human potential..."
In truth, "something of a scientist" is completely understated, as Norman is a proven adept with engineering, biochemistry, and nanotechnology. His inventions make it clear that he is every bit the genius Peter Parker thinks he is: that aforementioned newspaper article also notes that Norman has written over 200 papers for scientific journals, many to acclaim. When Otto Octavius is describing him to Peter, Ned, and MJ in Dr. Strange's basement, he sums Norman up as "A brilliant scientist, but greedy and misguided". Truer words were never spoken. Norman is also quick to correct one of the kids when they address him as "Mr. Osborn", preferring to have his doctorate recognized.

"The cunning warrior attacks neither body nor mind. ... The HEART, Osborn. First, we attack his heart."
That brilliant scientist's mind doesn't often apply itself to other aspects of the world: when it does, it's usually when the Green Goblin takes control, applying that razor-sharp view of simple facts and evidence to people and their habits. He uses what he observes to discern which people and situations would prove the most damaging targets to Spider-Man, and realizes that it's best to hang back in Norman's mind until the optimal moment when they're brought into the other reality. Since the Goblin is a facet of Norman's mind that was dormant, attached to mental illnesses that were set off by the physical trauma caused by the serum ... that calculating mein is still there somewhere, and he might have the impetus and occasion to start using it again given the right set of circumstances. This also applies to Norman's family-inherited temper ... while he has a short fuse while under stress, and will easily lash out verbally at people, he won't physically harm anyone. Norman doesn't, however, have any problem telling people which way the wind blows, and will not mince words about it, especially if the situation doesn't call for him to be on perfect Visible Public Figure behavior.

"He's lost ... not just here but in his mind." ~ May Parker
After the events immediately prior to his arrival, Norman is still processing what he has been through. His only remark after being cured is "What have I done?" and he spends the rest of his screen time sitting in the background, curled up into himself, either unable or unwilling to move as he realizes what must have happened while he had lost control of himself. Over his earlier conversations, Norman expresses regret, distress, and horror at what the Green Goblin perpetrated, and he takes the Parkers' aid as a great gift and a kindness at a time when they had no reason to give it to him - especially once Peter knows who he truly is and what he is capable of. I like to think that as a way of atoning for May's death, he would be driven to pay forward her philanthropic nature somehow, no matter what form it might take in Ryslig. Whether that intention can hold fast in the face of Monster World trauma, transformations, and everything else that life in Ryslig entails is the true test of Norman Osborn's will to stay cured for good.

"(I'm here) to say what you won't ... do what you can't ... to remove ... those in your way." ~ The Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is very much a Stereotypical Hollywood Portrayal of split personality disorder. As such, I will be putting an opt-out on Norman's journal for anyone who wishes to avoid discussing him, out of respect for anyone who has issues threading distorted perceptions of mental illness. When the Goblin was in control, Norman would 'go away' or black out, then wake up not having any knowledge of what happened while the Goblin was in control. The aftermath of the experiment, the theft of the Glider and armor, the bombing of his rivals, the murder of the Board ... all of these were completely off Norman's radar until the Goblin allowed Norman to realize he existed. He sees kindness, caring, and any sort of unselfish behavior as "weak", and considers super-humans like himself and Spider-Man to be as gods. In the Goblin's estimation, Gods do not need to earn or be given what they want, they need simply have the strength and conviction to take it for themselves. He does not believe in any sort of dual life, and is pure id and ego, in the sense that only what he wants and feels and thinks matter. Every problem is solved with violence, force, and intimidation. He is sadistic, delighting in the torment and misery of others, and believes that if someone isn't with him, they're against him. These attitudes are a direct paralell to the way Norman's father behaved, and a picture of what young Norman must have been told a "Real Man" should be. As such, the Goblin is a concentrated pile of toxic gender roles, social constructs, alpha behavior, and entitlement ... the sort of thing a white male growing up in the 70s would have been spoon-fed (if not outright force-fed) by an alcoholic father.

As such ... being without the Goblin is going to make Norman face up to how much of his ingrained and learned behavior was toxic, inappropriate, and downright unhealthy: something that I'm really looking forward to exploring, especially alongside the physical transformation into a monster... especially since it's still very possible for him to backslide, and for that persona to edge its way forward again under the wrong circumstances, or in response to the effects of player/mod plots.

5-10 Key Character Traits:
- Driven
- Intellligent
- Cynical/Jaded
- Charismatic
- Survivor
- Quick-tempered
- Calculating
- Repentant
- Misguided (emotionally)

Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, EITHER, or opt for 100% RANDOMIZATION? Fits. You know what I'm hoping for.
Opt-Outs: Slime, Merperson, Lich

Roleplay Sample:
December Test Drive: Aaron | Zeki | Dib
January Test Drive top level and threads with Hajime | Spike | Faramir