- Invitation Status
- Preferred Character Gender
- Genres
- Fantasy is number one. Steampunk, sci-fi, alternate history, and everything else that isn't boringly realistic are also fine by me.
OFFICIAL OOC THREAD
This is an idea I dreamed up over on chicken smoothie a while back. As it's not exactly the most delicate topic, it's been moved to here in all its glory. If you aren't on CS, don't worry! The entire plot is reposted below and we haven't started yet, so joining in is no different than your typical roleplay. ^^
Trigger warning: this roleplay will be violent & contain activities relating to as well as reference to terrorism, war, nuclear holocaust, genocide, racism, conspiracy theories, and more. Depending on character choice it may possibly contain references to non-consenting sexual activity, drug use, and a whole host of other delightful little goodies that some people may find traumatizing.
I do not recommend you participate or read further if you may find yourself troubled by any of the aforementioned triggers or any closely relating thereto.
Thank you.
The city of Pandora is run by the Party, for that is the way it always has been and always will be. The Inner Party makes all the decision while the Outer Party does all the work and the Citizens provide all the support. In all of this, there's just one monkey wrench: EGO. You see, a few hundred years ago, there was a great war. They called it the War of Ashes, since that's all it left in its wake. Whatever countries existed before the war are gone now, bombed to rubble, plagued to rot, burned to ash, with a sprinkle of radiation on top. This deadly cocktail was supplemented by something entirely new: a race of supersoldiers, grown out of test tubes by the millions.
And, for the most part, slaughtered by the millions on the battlefield.
Not all of them died, though. Many lived, in varying degrees of secrecy, and passed along their genes. It's a recessive trait, but every now and then the mandated genetic testing on every baby born in Pandora turns up another Gifted, as they've come to be called. For Gifted in Pandora, there's only three official options: death, disenfranchisement, or recruitment to MYNDFUC.
Only this is where EGO steps in. Not everyone liked these options. Those that didn't like them turned to EGO, which became a safe haven for Gifteds and any others who happened to dislike the government. Officially they're working to bring down tyranny and make the world a safe place for their kind, but in truth, they're just in it for the gold, the glory, and the girls. The life of an EGO member is short, bright, and loud, and often ends in a hail of gunfire.
Gunfire usually sent courtesy of MYNDFUC. While officially they're somewhere between a militia and a secret police force, in all truth they exist primarily to counter EGO these days. They have licenses to kill, torture, maim, steal- whatever it takes to bring down EGO and secure the peace. They're badasses and the people love them. They're the knights in shining armor, the freest people in all of Pandora- or so the public thinks. The truth isn't so pretty, but the truth isn't what matters.
The Inner Party, you see, isn't so happy about the popularity of MYNDFUC. They're worried about a coup, though truth be told their fears are unfounded. Even groundless, fear is a powerful poison, and it's already flowing thick in the veins of the Inner Party, leading them to make some questionable choices. Most questionable of them is their decision to eliminate MYNDFUC and all other Gifteds.
Their plan might not be brilliant, but it doesn't have to be. They've stuck a bomb in the tail of a MYNDFUC plane sent out to capture some EGO agents from a secret base a few hundred miles out of town. When the bomb goes off on the way back, though, there's a problem: they manage to crash land and mostly survive, EGO and MYNDFUC alike. Now they're stuck with each other, for better or for worse, and the MYNDFUC agents are getting the feeling that maybe EGO isn't their biggest problem right now.
PANDORA
Pandora is around two hundred and forty years old at this time. Founded by sixty-five elite families at the end of the War of Ashes, she is a relentlessly expansive civilization constantly pushing her borders further into the wilderness and destroying any lesser settlements she comes upon in favor of her own colonies. A city-state of considerable renown, Pandora has no neighbors that even approach her might and majesty, not to mention her population of many, many million.
Residential districts include the Palatine, Caelian, and Catoline, which are reserved for the Inner Party, Outer Party, and Citizen castes respectively. The Unanimitine district is the home of the capitol building and all other government offices and has the strictest security. The Legionine contains the headquarters of MYNDFUC, along with the rest of the military & police offices. Last but not least of the notable districts, the Aurinine district contains all the banks and most other businesses that deal with large sums of cash.
A mean shanty town squats just outside the city walls, a place of filth and squalor known mostly as the Slums. Here there are no taxes and little government interference, but also no running water or public transport, electricity is no guarantee, and crime is rampant. While it is the cradle of EGO their presence in the Slums now is very small, as proximity to Pandora proper makes it hazardous for wanted criminals.
Beyond sight of Pandora there are a handful of scattered settlements, mostly agricultural farms run by prison labor that ship food back to the city. Out here the land is wild and dangerous, much of it still harboring the aftereffects of the War of Ashes.
The plane has crashed in a heavily forested valley that, on first glance, doesn't seem too dangerous- but appearances are often deceiving in this dangerous new world, and there's a nuclear blast zone directly between Pandora and the wreckage that makes hiking back a difficult prospect. Staying in the valley, at least for a while, seems reasonable. There's a clear river running right through the middle and it seems to be home to plenty of fish, with berry bushes growing along the banks and animals that hardly seem to realize what humans are.
Glossary
Gifted- blanket term for those showing traits from the supersoldier gene. These may come with unexplainable powers like telepathy or invisibility and usually come with increased strength, speed, and stamina, as well as sharper senses. Some are very powerful and some are hardly more than a normal human, but they're all the same by law.
EGO - the Empowered Gifted Organization, formed to combat discrimination against their kind and overthrow the Party for its crimes against humanity. More realistically they're often in it for themselves and tend towards disorganization and infighting.
MYNDFUC - Multitalented Yieldless National Delegates for United Causes, an organization with the authority to enforce the law and combat terrorist organizations, namely EGO. Nowadays they do very little police work and spend most of their time trying vainly to stamp the rebels, which has made them heroes in the eyes of the Citizens & Outer Party.
Disenfranchisement- a process by which the effects of the supersoldier gene are neutralized. This usually leaves the victim severely mentally and/or physically disfigured- those who have these negative effects are labelled either "reformed prisoners" or "victims of EGO" by the government and, officially, never had the supersoldier gene at all, to save face for the government. About 30% come through the operation with few negative effects; these poster children are claimed to be the norm.
War of Ashes, the - a great conflict which wiped out previous civilizations. No one alive today saw it happen, but its marks are still left on the world, traces of chemical weapons, mutated animals, and huge patches of radioactive land scarring the face of the planet for decades more to come.
Party, the - the organization that runs Pandora. The few thousand Inner Party members form many different committees and congresses and forums in a loose bureaucratic scheme in which all Inner Party members are equal. The Outer Party holds the white collar jobs that make the Inner Party possible. They are doctors and dentists and lawyers and artists and secretaries and engineers and inventors, all living under the strict rule of the Inner Party. Their lives are controlled strictly: they are tested in school and given a career based on their performance, given housing based on their career, and even have their spouses selected for them based on genetic strengthening. Of course, they live very comfortable lives, having every moment they don't spend working filled with various free amusements and never having to scrub their own toilets or wash their own dishes.
Citizens - people who are not a member of the Party but are admitted in Pandora are known as Citizens. Their lives are not as comfortable and they have to work more menial jobs as laborers and maids and cooks, but they can afford basic medical coverage and always have enough to eat. People without citizenship cards are not permitted inside of Pandora and must live in the Slums, where nothing is guaranteed but everything can be bought if you're willing to pay the price.
Loose set of guidelines:
-Don't be stupid.
-Be polite and follow all site rules, obviously.
-Interaction and post quality are both equally important. I'm not asking anything terribly difficult or strenuous, just that you put some effort into it and give your fellow roleplayers something to respond to.
-Twists and side plots are highly encouraged, but if you're planning anything too drastic, run it by me first.
-Relationships of every sort are permitted; there are no restrictions on this board other than site rules and common sense.
-I do expect you to be active. A post every day would be great; even if it's just an OOC thing on here telling us you're too busy to write a real reply. ^^
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