While I understand that it's a Minecraft roleplay on the Minecraft forums, the roleplaying community here(majority anyways) are not really interested in roleplaying a world in Minecraft. Just because all of us happen to have played/play a game doesn't necessarily mean that we want to roleplay about it. Sure, we might like the game. But whether or not we want to write for it is a different subject altogether. Most of the people here are a lot more intrigued by interesting, different, and detailed backgrounds and worlds, rather than just the usual bland Minecraft roleplay which could be argued to have already been done repeatedly.
When I talk about the audience you're presenting it for, I didn't mean that just because it's an *insert game here* forum, it meant that all roleplays focused on that single game get a lot of interest. It's often not always like that, and is certainly not like it here.
So in summary, Minecraft forums doesn't mean the roleplaying community is easily attracted to, or even very interested at all, in Minecraft roleplays. Same applies to other forums that have roleplaying sections, such as Spore Roleplay(which if you check, the front page is filled with genres not related to Spore whatsoever).
As for the Steampunk-Detective roleplay guys, perhaps we should move this to a PM to discuss rather than here? If so, I'll create one right away, and anyone who wants to join in the discussion can just say so here and we'll add her/him to the discussion.
The idea of a local gang seems to interest me the most now that I think about it. It allows for each of the characters to quickly get acquainted with each other(perhaps they've been cheated by the gang somehow?) and easily aligns their interests to form a team. I like the idea that this could easily expand into a whole 'things aren't as they seem' kind of arc, where they eventually find out that as they dig deeper into the world, they find that a lot of antagonists(whether insignificant or major in a way) are somehow related to an unknown malicious entity of sorts, like a chessmaster who's been behind the curtains pulling the strings(the big bad basically).
And yep, I agree with the breaks. I doubt we're gonna be allowing characters to just join in the middle of a mission, so the side missions will allow for new players to introduce themselves. Plus, I'd imagine that the breaks would have some sort of free time kind of thing which allows for interaction between characters(e.g. a trip to the market eventually leads to a new contract).
I don't think an apocalyptic setting will be used in that case. I think the whole 'free roam steampunk world' is already pretty captivating enough in all honesty.
So, I think we have the main infrastructure for the RP set up?
Well, just a few more suggestions to add on to the RP.
Perhaps the main lore of the RP could be rooted in a 1984-ish kind of setting, where there are three main superpowers aiming for control of the skies/lands/seas, constantly either in war or allied with one another. It wouldn't be as horrible as 1984, in the sense that people still have a lot more liberty, no brainwashing, everyone's not as poor, not totalitarian, the war actually contributes to the economy(production of weapons), and people are free to roam around the world as much as possible(basically the only part I'm borrowing is the whole three superpowers part). There would most likely be pauses between the war, but it's practically a never ending war that continuously fluctuates between hot and cold. There would most likely be other minor countries who are kept protected either due to their position of some sort of special attribute, just to keep things interesting. The whole three superpowers fighting for control might allow for interesting arcs and goals for antagonists to develop, but it's just a thought.
I'd imagine the world wouldn't be a very nice one to live in compared to the modern era. Basically, the gap between the rich and poor are around the same as the period of the Industrial Revolution(albeit it's still comparatively better, as steam power has developed so far that the middle class is starting to develop a lot easier).
I'd love to have a whole underground network of gangs(a lot of which might even be connected to the 'chessmaster' villain), of which only very few non-criminals actually have knowledge of. And as our characters delve deeper into the depths of the underground, they'll learn a lot more about the inner mechanisms of how their world really works. To list a few short examples, perhaps a global economy based on the manufacturing of an exotic drug, where purity of the hallucinogen(or maybe even enhancer) is valued above all. Maybe even trading of selling manpower to discreetly assist in the three superpower war. Secret assassinations, selling of stolen caches of experimental, dangerous, and innovative weapons(still based off steam power of course), and etc. This list can go on for a while, and it'd allow for some interesting interactions with the characters as they learn more about how things really work behind the scenes; and how they can exploit it for their own uses.
A new type of resource. Compare it to how much value oil has today. This could be used as an untraceable type of currency among elite societies and groups, or just used in highly expensive auctions and trades between strange malicious villains hiding in the shadows. Perhaps it's a huge and compact source of power, or maybe even a kind of element used specifically to create new superbly useful tools and innovative forms of weaponry.
... Clockwork lasers. Put that in somewhere, whether or not it's some sort of experimental weapon stolen from an elite gang that the team decided to steal or maybe a design they managed to get as a reward from a happy contractor. Either ways, lots of fun to be had.
Sounds good. I don't know as to what sort of common foe they should have though, and as to how long it should stick around/how difficult and significant it is in the established universe.
It could be something like an oppressive government(this could play out either as a totalitarian regime over a huge landmass or a simple corrupt council of rulers in a small city), or even a secret society operating from the shadows(the trope is strong here) who has influenced lots of things in the land, and each of the detectives that got together have been affected by them and know of their existence one way or another. Just a few examples.
I don't know how long you'd want to stretch this arc out though. It could be for a relative while(weak/vulnerable enemy) and is just used to get the team together, or it could be for a long time(the main big bad behind everything). If we ended up choosing the long one, I might suggest inserting a few breaks in between the battle against the enemy, perhaps through taking up other unrelated/semi-related freelance contracts.
Cloaked's idea sounds way too good to pass up. The story would definitely have to be detailed and well thought out to do it full justice(as for who's to host it, I don't know if my skills are good enough to do so).
Maybe we could work out a storyline and background for this steampunk world as a special collab of sorts first?
I'd imagine the main infrastructure to be based off a group of freelance detectives/spies, who work together as a highly effective team. I don't know if the group should start out separated and organised by some mysterious head or they just met in a bar, or already integrated together in a sense of sorts(they already know each other to an extent). I don't really know whether we should even implement the usual tropes(evil corporations, oppressive government, wasteland, etc.) into the RP, or just make it much more free roam(picture Gunpoint, but in a world of clockwork).
... Of course they'd own their own private airship that they use for missions.
I think guygombaa states my reply to your second question very elegantly enough.
If you're still insistent on the subject though, highlight the part of my text which says 'your RP is uninteresting?!', and I'll get back to you on it.
And yea, Cloaked brings up a good point. Sometimes, even if you wrote out a very intricate and detailed storyline, it might not get much interest if the genre isn't one most might like to join.
I'm afraid the best advice in terms of garnering interest for an RP is... to make it interesting. I know this information might not appear to be worth much, but whenever creating an RP be sure to take into mind the type of story you're creating, how it is presented, and the audience you're creating it for. Not taking into mind either one of these could lead to catastrophic results.
Thanks for the acceptance Sol. Guess I must've been just a bit low on ideas for origins at the time
As for a TL;DR Scarf, I think Sol's description fits for a really simplified summary. If you have free time though, it'd be great if you could read it fully.
This looks very intriguing... I don't know why I didn't see the interest check before, but I'm most certainly signing up now.
Tetra 'Techne'
16 || Female || June 25 The Architect
|Personality|
Tetra is a seemingly inherently depressed person, who only very occasionally smiles, whereas laughter only happens every blue moon. The term to define her might be 'the ultimate opposite of an optimist', a professional pessimistic cynic basically, although that doesn't make her any less of a smart realist. Despite her usually introverted and quiet nature, Tetra doesn't always exaggerate her own view onto the world so much that there doesn't seem to be any hope whatsoever, and does understand that things can be changed, albeit only very slightly in her opinion. Her personality often allows her to remain calm and composed most of the time, and even when actually caught off-guard, she rarely expresses her true feelings. However, at times when the situation appears to be purely nonsensical or just plain stupid, Tetra can't help but to inject her short dose of sarcasm into the conversation, of which she can often wield as a dangerous weapon.
|Likes & Dislikes|
Tetra's hobbies usually fall into either learning about the sciences and learning in general. Whether this means conducting and recording absurdly complicated experiments, building huge complex machines(both of these done not too often due to financial issues), or even just sitting beside a tree with a good piece of literature, it's one of the only things in her life which keeps her entertained and engaged. Either that, or she just sits down for a while alone just to complete a set of riddles and puzzles, perhaps even a strategy game if she happens to get lucky and manages to find an opponent to play with. Tetra rarely treats herself to good food, and even then she's usually doing one of the already mentioned hobbies simultaneously.
She absolutely despises ignorance and hypocrisy, and often views insects to be of higher statuses than those who practice those two characteristics often.
|Strengths|
Tetra is extremely knowledgeable on various topics due to all of the learning and reading she often does. This is coupled with her analysis skills, which gives her very thorough detective and investigative skills. Her other impressive trait, which she at times compliments herself when in solitary, is that she's a very experienced and incredibly talented inventor and engineer. This stretches from all fields of knowledge, from things such as mathematics, physics, and even biology if factors from that branch need to be taken into consideration. As such, she's often capable of writing up designs of machines so out of this world that not even the current technology available would be able fulfill its requirements, or simply appear as completely unimaginable, incomprehensible, or even alien at a glance. This is particularly impressive when one thinks about it more, especially considering her age.
|Weaknesses|
Her social skills(in terms of making friends) are not really great, mediocre at best in all honesty. Other than that, she often relies on brains and her tools rather than brawn, and as such is physically weak, having almost no knowledge whatsoever in real melee combat.
|Fears|
Tetra has two main fears. One of which is death, which while usually a placeholder in everyone's set of dreaded things, it's thought of more in the sense that she fears that she wouldn't be able to live long enough to see so much more of what life has to offer. Such as being there to experience the sight of a brand new finding, or to discover an entirely strange species previously unknown to man. This doesn't bother her as much, she usually comforts herself with the fact that there wasn't anything she could rationally do about this.
The other one is a fear of the unknown. Not the type of unknown of which you could go out to explore and find yourself captivated by. The kind of unknown where you have no idea what is going to happen. You have no comprehension of the variables and the factors. Things like realms hiding destructive monsters of doom, or gigantic catastrophic meteors approaching the planet, often cause her to stumble or sometimes even collapse in her train of thought, especially if it happens to be brought up in a frightening manner or style.
|Combat Style|
In terms of her own physical capabilities, they're basically non-existent. She relies more on weapons and tools that don't necessarily require strength, like projectile launching machines or mobile traps and devices she can easily set up, like caltrops. However, she still knows when she is clearly outclassed, and understands when to focus more on retreating rather than a strategic attack/trap.
|Ability|
Technological Symbiosis: Through touch, she's capable of linking her thoughts and mind to machines and devices. This can allow for some funky powers if used properly, with things such as mechanisms simply falling apart, to certain things such as compasses suddenly acting haywire. Tetra usually exploits it for her own uses however, to allow her machines to stay glued together when they normally wouldn't, or even provide her with enormous amounts of statistics and information for her to analyse and manipulate. Through touch, she's capable of very quickly comprehending the most complicated of mechanisms, and controlling them to fit her use, at times even making them do things that they really shouldn't be doing.
She has been having an inkling thought that has been bothering her though: humans and animals are really just superbly extremely complex mechanisms all working in sync, aren't they? What will happen if she puts her mettle to the test with an organism? Tetra's yet to take a very risky leap into that completely unknown territory however, with fear of the repercussions. As such, she's been particularly cautious with her ability so as to not to overwhelm herself too quickly. In fact, some philosophers have talked about this theory called atomism, stating that everything was basically made out of unimaginably tiny indestructible and indivisible particles. So it would most definitely be wise as to not fool around with her powers...
|Price|
Ba: She mostly picked this due to it being supposedly the least harsh out of the five, although whenever she has free time she often thinks extremely hard about whether or not it was really the optimal choice. Not surprisingly, she hasn't been too badly affected by this yet... at least not that she can tell.
|Equipment & Weapons| A flintlock pistol, painstakingly created by herself
Her array of tools, only some of which she carries at a time
A moderately sized waterskin, full with water A knapsack, used to keep various items
A leather sack, with a small amount of gold and a substantial number of silver and bronze coins
A leather bound book, which she uses as a journal/diary to record her thoughts and knowledge
A strange brass device she'd bought off the market half a year ago, serving no real purpose
Random scraps of metal and parts
Enough food for a few days or so
Some caltrops
|History|
Tetra was an orphan born in the slums of a city, having practically no recollection of her parents whatsoever(and as such does not have a surname). If life in hovels are difficult today, they definitely were a lot worse back then. Starvation was an especially common way to go back then, and sometimes even the occasional plague or so. Unlike most of the other children though, Tetra was much too intent of crawling her way out of the hellhole. Everyday felt like a new worst day ever to her, having to discipline herself and work extremely hard to keep herself alive and sustained. Collecting scraps of garbage to sell for measly earnings, offering work to anyone willing to hire her, to ravaging the trash for anything valuable. It was unbelievably difficult.
Around the age of 8 however, the most extraordinary thing happened though. An old middle-class man, who worked as a philosopher, or as a tutor for the rich to finance himself, had taken note of her. Living next to the slums, whenever he found the time to peer out of the window of his house, he would always find her working. Sometimes to the point of midnight. He supposed that it was his conscience, or even him just feeling an enormous amount of pity for the girl, but he brought her into her home and unofficially adopted her. He knew that it wasn't going to help the divide between the rich and the poor anytime soon, but one small change at a time he supposed.
Tetra was indescribably happy and grateful. She hadn't had the comfort of relaxing for just one full day for as long as she remembered. She knew that she wouldn't be able to thank him enough. As such, the man or, as Tetra usually addressed her by, her father was possibly one of the closest person in Tetra's life. He lived alone, and was often busy during the day, but Tetra often found time to follow behind in his footsteps. Once he gave her the basic knowledge and foundations of how things worked through him going out to teach her the essentials once a week(due to her personal request), Tetra became absorbed in learning. Just because she was out of the slums, didn't mean that she worked any less harder. As she didn't really do anything other than stay at home for most of the time, virtually all of her time was spent learning about the sciences and understanding the basic to complex concepts. Oddly enough, one might say that Tetra's level of knowledge overall eventually passed through her father's.
Ever since she was 8, Tetra had been constantly mastering the knowledge of everything she had access to as fast as possible, with the rate of which she was doing so only increasing as time went by(with her of course occasionally asking her father for assistance). While one might've described it as tedious, Tetra didn't find it taxing whatsoever. Unlike the schools of today, she didn't really have holidays or anything. She might've taken one day a week off just to relax with some literature, but other than that she was continuously teaching herself. As such, at the age of 15, when her father had unexpectedly died from an unknown disease, she was well prepared to fend for herself.
Tetra was devastated, with the only person in her life passing away, but she had to persevere and go on. So, with everything in mind, she eventually managed to pick up a few jobs, small contracts of sorts where she would go out to tutor a few people, get consulted on machinery and be tasked with helping to solve a problem, or even building a new device from scratch. Tetra definitely didn't make as much as her father did, especially after considering her age and lack of real qualifications, but it was enough. Her father had already practically left everything behind for her, so she was well kept.
A few months ago, the strangest thing happened however. While she had been hearing about relics granting people supernatural abilities recently, Tetra never really cared about it. She had been walking in the market, simply scanning the area and the goods available, before her eyes were brought onto a small circular device. It appeared to be made out of brass, and could fit into the palm of one's hand. The design was incredibly intricate, almost to the point of impossible. Knowing that it was a waste to buy it, for some reason she couldn't just walk away. It was like it was calling out to her. She had to get it. After a few sighs, she inquired for information from the merchant, who appeared slightly caught off-guard by the device on his table, but nevertheless, he sold it off for a relatively fair price.
She brought it home, and onto her worktable, bringing out a magnifying glass and examining it in detail. It was certainly strange. It had symbols of heart, shadow, name, personality, and soul engraved in the main pattern. Peculiar indeed. It was here when she noticed that the structure seemed to indicate that it could've been opened. Curiosity got the best of her, and she unlocked the device.
She was suddenly engulfed in darkness, before the icons of the five main parts of a human appeared once more. A strange voice called out of the void, telling her to pick one. Tetra, now somewhat nervous, thought about it as fast as possible, before it called out once again. As such, she quickly chose the one she thought would possibly be the least harshest, before it then spoke once again, asking her as to what she desired.
"... I want to understand the universe...", she answered with a quiet voice.
As quickly as the shadows had first surrounded her, they left. For a second, she was left standing there, bewildered. Tetra had even considered that she had just been drugged with some sort of hallucinogen. She finally got over it though, after staring at her hands for minutes, before noticing that the device from before was still sitting on her table. Inside it appeared to be a very complex mechanism, displaying 12 numerals around the inner edges of the circle, along with one short and one long black hand, creating a ticking sound of sorts. She also noticed that there was now some sort of brass chain attached to the device...
"Strange....", she'd spent the rest of the day investigating the gadget. Strangely enough, it didn't seem to require any power whatsoever for the ticking mechanism. Either way, left confused by it, Tetra would often come back to it in her free time to examine it ever since then.
It was only weeks later that she'd realised that she now had the uncanny ability to... understand machinery. It was an unusual experience to say the least. She'd been working on a prototype for a new projectile-based weapon never before imagined, and just as she was willing to call it a day due to her frustration, she picked up the device. And it all came to her. It was like she knew exactly how it worked... how each and every part clicked together at the same time... and all the small tiny problems lying within it. She was in this state for just a second, before suddenly dropping it off on the table as she realised what had happened. Intricate glowing lines had formed on the weapon, before they slowly faded away.
That's when Tetra knew that what happened a few weeks ago was no self-induced fantasy.
|Other|
Tetra looks as in the picture(except for clothings), with dark green eyes and messy black hair. She's shorter than most people, lower than average actually. In terms of her body, it's relatively thin compared to the general population. In terms of clothing however, she usually wears brown and dark clothes, followed by a grey and weathered scarf. If one managed to examine her closely, they would've noticed what looks like dark shadows beneath her eyes, insufficient sleep contributing the most to this(she excuses herself as doing something more productive than sleeping). At times she might be sporting a set of brass goggles, but she usually only takes the opportunity to wear this in situations when it is a clear necessity of sorts.
((Well, I decided to try out something new. This is going to be the first time I'm writing something with music accommodating it. If I've done a good job timing it right, the whole post should end with the music(if not the first part). If you guys have some free time, try reading this with it. I'd absolutely love to hear what you think about it
I do suggest reading it at a slower than usual pace to absorb and emphasise the information, and just basically allow for the song to play along. That's all really. Just hit play, and relax.))
Dark days were approaching. As raindrops fell gracefully from the skies and splattered onto the ground, it came to her. Like an epiphany, and almost in an instant, she felt a full comprehension of what was to come. The current state of this city. The country. The world. She took a brief glance above her, managing to peer through the grey skies to see the sun, which by itself, appeared to be sad and gloomy. She felt like she could only sympathise with it.
Her mind had wandered far off ever since she'd started daydreaming. As if lost in her own world, she found herself suddenly placed in space, with only a few stars in the far distance allowing her to come to that conclusion. There were no planets. No moons, nor asteroids. It was just the void. She stood still and yet defiantly, staring at a seemingly infinite rack of television screens which had appeared. Rows upon rows of the machines, sitting there inactive. It was deafeningly silent... but only for a while.
They all lit up one by one, slowly illuminating the dark and small pocket of space she was residing in. Through the screens she saw everything. Huge views of farmland, with dying and wilting brown crops. Crime, as gangs bashed through windows, robbed banks and murdered innocent people. The rich, standing above everyone else and waving hands to the public, knowing well of the damage that they were causing and not caring in the slightest. Factories, pumping more harmful gasses into the already polluted atmosphere. Cities and people on the coastline, drowning due to the ever increasing sea levels. Hives of bees laid still and dead in dry cracked land. Droughts, bringing famine and death upon millions of people. Billions of dollars being poured into new research for testing weapons of mass destruction whilst plagues ravaged the land. Countries, which in their confusion, succumbed to extremist totalitarian regimes.
What are we doing?
What is anyone doing?
... what am I doing?
She could only look fatigued, maybe to the point of even being stressed, as she placed her hand onto one of the glowing screens. It displayed a picture of the slums. It was only one of the countless injustices and sufferings the human race was experiencing. And yet, in a second it was easily replaced with a different one in a flash. This... was virtually infinite.
Were we doomed as a race to begin with?
That we could not even cooperate in order to solve a single problem?
That we must go out to plunder, murder and destroy everything that we have created so recklessly and greedily?
Her thoughts were only met by the echoes of the empty void of space. She felt utterly sorry for herself. Despite her being in such a depressed state, the screens facing her could only continue to show scenes of death, corruption, disease, and chaos. It's collective blinding light was almost taunting to her.
It will never be enough.
No matter what I do...
Is there a point to it all then?
A purpose, of doing anything at all?
...
Was this all inevitable?
Even as she looked up to see the screens once more, she knew. Earth was most certainly doomed. Everyone living right now, was simply living off borrowed time. Eventually it would all come to an end. And at that point, Claire knew that we'd all looked back, only thinking about how it could've been all prevented so simply... so easily... Yet, she could only sit down, looking upon the limitless number of monitors, feeling guilty. Ashamed.
None of what she did, or anyone for that matter, mattered. The average person would just continue on, ever so ignorantly completing his daily tasks, unknown to the reality of the situation at hand. And when the time finally arrived, it would be... too late.
She supposed the phrase 'ignorance is bliss' had some meaning after all.
But what can I do?
I can't stop this.
Should I even continue on?
It was here when she looked upon a screen which had stayed upon one picture for much too long. A crater in an abandoned district area.
Hex 3.
The heroes of today often go unnoticed. But even so... it didn't mean that there was no harm in trying. She had to persevere through this. Even if her life was just a tiny insignificant spot in the grand scale of the universe... Claire would've played a part in it. It'd be a waste to wallow in self-pity for the rest of her days. She had the power to change things. And she'll either succeed... or die trying...
Claire was jolted back into reality almost unexpectedly, noticing that Wilson had called out to the entire group of people to follow him into the building. She sighed to herself, entering a state of apathy before looking back at the sky to notice that the Sun was now much brighter than before. The dark clouds and rain itself seems to have almost calmed down. A small smile was brought to her face, before she then followed along cautiously into the warehouse...
Once Tetra had noticed that Wilson and the newcomer had gotten to know each other substantially(and thus the conversation ended), she quickly awoke from her state of curiously examining the people around her from afar. For just that short amount of time, she'd been daydreaming about random things and events that weren't really connected to each other, just before being jolted back into reality subconsciously. Brushing a bit of imaginary dust off her shoulder, as some people usually do, she then approached her a bit excitedly, and coughed just slightly, before finally introducing herself to Iris in a bit of a playful manner.
"Wazzup? Da name is Tetra; great to meetcha!", she said in a very clearly cheerful mood with a smirk, with both her hands fidgeting with each other behind her back, with nothing to really do as she tried to contain her energy. She detected this, and then quickly brought out one of her hands, both of which were covered in some weathered dark grey wool gloves, for the usual friendly handshake to correct the situation. Tetra kept a very genuine happy smile on, despite her one inactive hand behind her back, virtually unnoticed by her, wriggling just slightly to occupy itself.
Claire observed as the man introduced himself as Dominic, or Nick, as most of his friends would address him by. He'd extended his hand out to offer a handshake with a smile, and had paused for a short amount of time before speaking about her capability on hiding her emotions for just a while. She accepted his handshake with her right hand, only shaking it for a while just softly before placing both of her hands in the pockets of her jacket. At the same time, the woman nodded almost subtly to see that she addressed the comment, with a bit of an uncaring look in her eyes.
"I suppose so... although we all know most of us weren't always like this...", she replied in a bit of a modest tone, as she turned to watch the group once more. For just a moment, it seemed like such a huge variety of different personalities and people, but assuming if they were just as skilled at their skills as she was, most of them would've went through things that they would've been better off forgetting about. The same applied to her...
It was around 1 year ago. As much as Claire wanted to admit that she had gotten over it, and no matter how many times she reasoned with herself, the memory always came back to her in her darkest moments. She had been sitting at a white glass table, reading through dossiers and classified documents in order to pick out the best course of action for the Shadows' next move. While surrounded by stacks upon stacks of files filled with information, there was only one she had been dedicating most of her effort and concentration on. It was a newspaper, with a picture of a huge crater in one of the more isolated parts of Lynnhaven, surrounded by armed policemen and investigation officers everywhere.
The headlines read 'Shadows Terrorists' HQ Destroyed'. Even though it said that examination was currently undergoing to see if they picked up anything from the crime scene, Claire had known that they were simply wasting their time. Hex 3, in being caught in a sudden raid of her facility, blew everything up to oblivion, disintegrating every piece of evidence, hardware, information, and of course, she herself. Claire, in all of her very apathetic mood and attempts to subdue her emotions, had succumbed to grief. Even if it was a while, she couldn't help but feel depressed by what had happened, for hours on end just staring at pictures taking by authorities of the destroyed base.
Thoughts such as 'There's no point wasting more time on it.' and 'Thinking about it more wasn't going to change anything.' ran through her head, and even though Claire was often a very logical person who based everything she did on reason... this was just different. One of the only real friends she ever had in her life had sacrificed herself to protect the rest of the team... and she wouldn't even be able to be given a proper burial. Because there was nothing to bury but ashes.
In the end, she had to let a majority of it go. She couldn't let it consume her. Even so, Hex 3 often came up in her mind when she wasn't occupied, and despite having virtually thought about her as much as possible, it never really left her mind. It was one of those memories that she couldn't just push into the back of her brain, and label it as 'irrelevant'. Now that she thought of it, this might've played a small part in her coming out of retirement(after all Shadows operations were put on hold indefinitely) to robbing museums and banks related to mega-corporations. It was never really for herself. Most of the goods she stole were sold on the black market, and often donated to the unfortunate and people who had been backstabbed by the government. But in all honesty, she could've stayed retired for a long time, or excused herself as waiting for Hex 2 to return. The thing that really pushed her the most to do something with herself was the memory of Hex 3... it was one of the only things that had kept her going and working, as subconscious as the effect might've been.
With that short session of pondering, as she once again examined the surroundings and the people around her, she looked back at Dominic and nodded slightly once again, before leaning upon the wall of the warehouse again. After that, she suddenly didn't feel like talking anymore. It was clear that she wasn't ignoring Dominic, but it seemed like she had other things running through her mind at the moment. Claire simply watched the rain, and seemingly nothing else.
Claire was still as solemn as before, very vigilantly watching her surroundings and what was happening around her. There wasn't much for her to do other than that in all honesty, she wasn't exactly fond of social interaction, although that might've been partly to be blamed on her isolated childhood. Either ways, nothing much has really changed. Anything of real significance was a particularly old car which had parked itself for a while, just in time for a blonde woman to exit from it with a gun handed to her. It felt like she took more note of the vehicle though, as it looked like a particularly interesting piece of antique, but she pushed that out of her mind as fast as the car sped off.
It was around this time when the gentleman who had been talking to Wilson before, who's list of aliases Claire already had in her memory, came over to look at her directly and ask her a somewhat peculiar question, of which she had really never had to answer before. Claire, with her arms still crossed, brought some of her attention away from her environment and returned the look without any sort of emotions showing whatsoever, still keeping her state of indifference, as she went on to reply after a short pause.
"Longer than most would like to...", she spoke in an assertive, but not harsh, tone. With that in mind, she allowed her mind to wander for just a short amount of time, pondering over the question as she thought back to days long forgotten, but of which she remembered every single detail excruciatingly well...
The date was January 29th, 2131. When did the exact moment she was recalling occur? 19:47:21. She had been staring at a large set of television screens in the dark(the screens being the only thing keeping the room from turning pitch black), sitting in a chair with her arms very calmly resting on the fabric of the armchairs. Specifically, she had been observing a certain feed of a location not far from where she currently was.
Inside a moderately sized and very simply decorated room, a huge round table sat directly in the middle, with a group of 7 men and 3 women sitting around it, most of them having particularly stressed and unhappy expressions. Some of them kept turning their heads to a clock attached to a nearby wall, hoping that by doing so perhaps time could speed up and this horrible meeting could've been over with. After a minute of silence, what looked like the leader of the group stood up, placing both of his hands on the wooden table very sternly before speaking.
"Alright. Let's get this over with. We're here to discuss the current problems the group is currently facing. We need a solution folks, before this thing explodes.", this was followed once again by practically nothing but a few coughs, before he continued again.
"May I remind you, that if we don't do anything, the mega-corporations will be all over us. We'll lose everything. Come on. Think...", he then started to walk back and forth, quietly pondering over the situation to himself before he stood still, sighed, and continued the conversation.
"Okay... let's look at this once again. This organisation has been crumbling apart for quiet a while now. People are going their separate ways, the faction very insidiously having split up into different equally malicious groups and sections, looking to different people for leadership. We've already had a huge conflict the other day, that could've ended up in a damn civil war! Tensions are high, and we need to find a way to defuse this right now. We're on a damn ticking time bomb here.", discussion seemed to stir among the numerous people in the room, but none of them really ever offering their ideas. The head of the council coughed to hush everyone up, before sharing his thoughts.
"From the way I see it... we have no choice but to integrate Johnson, Bryan, and Barnes into the council.", at this point a lot more talking erupted in the group, but the main speaker resumed his show of opinion after everyone was silenced by the raising of his hand.
"Look, I know it's difficult and risky. It's equivalent to cutting off a random wire in a bomb while being blindfolded. But we have no other options. The best we can hope for is that they join without any sort of conflicting interests, and as such, the group becomes united once again under the three of them working together... After that, as for the remaining minor coalitions.... Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Terry, please call the three of them here. Tell them it's urgent.", a brown haired man nodded and stood up, reaching to the door noticeably slower than average, before finally reaching it and pulling at the door knob several times, before eventually coming to a realisation.
"We're locked in!", just as he announced this, he suddenly began coughing very roughly, before blood could suddenly be seen being spat out from his mouth. Right as he collapsed onto the ground, and even before anyone had the chance to react, it seemed that everyone else in the room followed with the same symptoms, some of them being so horribly affected that they might as well have been strangled by phantoms. Holding onto their necks, grabbing onto the chairs and attempting to stabilise themselves, all of them ultimately ended up dead. Some were positioned in their chairs at uncomfortable angles caused by their final struggles, and as for the leader of the group, he collapsed onto the table, his hand merely grasping at a symbol at the centre of the table: a yellow sickle and hammer covering a red circle: an icon most commonly associated at the time with the Crimsons.
Claire, still breathing through her gas mask as composed as ever, observed the room of now deceased people. In her left hand held a device of sorts, which she had recently activated using the press of her thumb. Poisonous gas, bought off the black market for her own use. She paid a lot to make sure questions weren't asked, but it was well worth the money. It was odourless and had been pumped into the room through a secure ventilation line. They never stood a chance.
Laying behind her were 2 soldiers dressed in what looked like red armour, each of them with a throwing knife burrowed in their heads. Claire had just killed 12 people, and yet as she thought it over and over again, she didn't seem to feel any remorse or guilt whatsoever. Her eyes and expression were as unperturbed as ever. She didn't even need to morally justify what had just happened repeatedly in her head, or reassure herself that everything was going to be okay. It was just... irrelevant to her at this point.
Standing back up and tearing out her two blades out of the 2 dead men which surrounded her, she thought through her plans once again, knowing that the next order of business was to take a trip to the Crimson archives and remove whatever sort of recorded information there was about her.
Opening the exit's door, she then stepped out very quietly, pausing for a second to look back, before closing the door and leaving without a word.
Just as the memory ran through her head very clearly, she looked off into the distance, seemingly just watching and pondering over the light rain before returning back to what was currently at hand after just a few seconds. 'The past is in the past...' Seeing as she was already talking to someone, she decided to at least continue on with it for a while, considering that if what this Scion says is true, she's gonna be working with these various people as a team for quite a bit.
"I go by Claire... What about you?", this was said in a more apathetic voice, nothing practically given away during the short amount of time since the conversation first started.
While that had been happening, Tetra had been keeping to herself, quietly enjoying her own music that was currently playing through the wireless earbuds placed in her ears. If she had to describe it, it was definitely a very enjoyable upbeat tune, yet she started only by bobbing her head up and down at a steady speed, but it wasn't long before the song started to take a slightly heavier turn. A lot more noticeably cheerful aura surrounded her, Tetra simply smiling to herself as she began to move her head a lot more often than usual and her right feet slowly tapping to the beat, at a possibly erratic and random pace.
It was very easily one of her favourite pieces of electronic dance music(although her favourites comprised of an uncountable amount of music), which was basically a wide set of genres which had really started picking up speed around the 21st century. Although most people these days might be a bit too busy or even depressed to enjoy music, Tetra often found time for it, and was a huge enthusiast in the whole thing overall, despite how uncommon that might've been these days around the general population. As strange as things currently were(music wasn't as popular as they were back then with the gloom over everyone), not to mention the overall decay of genres overtime, Tetra managed to find her way to EDM somehow, and it stuck.
Often knowing exactly when and how each song she listened to ended, and still tapping to the rhythm, she noticed an aged car pull up, and a woman come out. Tetra didn't really note the part about the gun or anything, but seeing as she had nothing to do right now, maybe she'd go make a friend? On second thought, there was no maybe in that question. And on a third thought, it wasn't even a question anymore. Tapping the ear bud in her right ear with a tap of a finger(which quickly scanned the finger for a print), the current song playing stopped. Seeing the newcomer clear her throat loudly, Wilson and Tetra walked over, ready to introduce themselves to her. She would wait as patiently as she could for Wilson to introduce himself, before she'd take her turn and start talking.
((As a side note, great music Mafia.))
((EDIT: For anyone reading this, I've deleted Tetra's part of the conversation and her song. I'll post the conversation later, and as for music, I'm planning to start using music at a later point when it fits with the RP/what's currently happening.))
((Alright, thanks for clearing that up for me breaker. Also, no problem, but I admit that the thought of using a layout never really occurred to me until Mafia used it, so yea. Also, my web browser decided to restart itself in the midst of completing this post. Guess I'll have to rewrite this again...))
Claire was watching very vigilantly over everything that was currently happening, along with her surroundings. She took note of the red hooded man that was spotted a while ago, who had now decided to rest upon a wall and quietly observe the group. As part of her self-mentoring in order to combat the social analyser's effectiveness, her concentrated effort often allows her to appear as a locked box, making it so it was often impossible to decipher what was actually going on deep in her mind. While she assumed it was particularly useful, she didn't really like the idea of people reading her so easily, like some sort of insect in a science experiment.
It was a bit strange that he wasn't coming forward though, his initial stare at Wilson didn't really give the impression of him being one of the common thugs which roamed Old Town. He could've been one of the people who got the message through this Scion person, or perhaps he was a man who was planning some sort of attack on the group. She mentally readied herself, prepared to, at any second, very quickly arm herself with her weapons and defend herself. While a sword might've appeared unusual to most in this modern era, it was still as effective as it was when it was first conceived in the Bronze Age. She remembered training with different kinds of the weapons in the past, and as such was very capable of efficiently using and understanding how variations such the rapier, katana, broadsword, and much more really worked.
While that was happening, she noted that the pink haired woman and the young adult from before were now waiting to talk to Wilson, as expected from such a quick and sudden meeting of various people. Claire made the assumption that most of them were just as skilled in various fields as she was... which did appear a bit frightening, as a person wielding a team of such caliber could most likely become very powerful. She didn't let that bother her though, very discreetly picking up the conversation between Wilson and the man who went by Dominic, or the other long list of aliases he possessed, not even needing to turn her head to face in their direction or give away any sort of subconscious sign to anyone around her.
In the meantime, Tetra picked up Victor's name as she examined the hovering drone for a few seconds, before her attention wandered off. Still having relatively just taken her dose of Craze, she was comparatively a lot more easily interested in things and excitable than most people were, but it definitely didn't bring any sort of toll on her intelligence or talents, as much as other people might've believed. Moving herself to the wall of the warehouse to lean upon it, she then very swiftly brought her phone out, took a few brisk looks around her to see if anyone else was arriving, before turning on her device.
To anyone who managed to catch a very short glimpse of the gadget, they probably would've been very confused with its looks and functions. And it was understandable, as it was the third version of a mobile operating system itself had been personally designed by Tetra herself, very simply named 'Polygon' by her. It had been created with her needs and uses in mind of course, and as such, might be a bit difficult to comprehend at first, or at all really. It didn't mean that it was less efficient than devices on the market though, having an uncountable amount of digital capabilities, along with a high amount of security which, if Tetra found it on the field, even she would've had an exhausting time cracking.
Selecting from a playlist of music, it activated a set of black wireless earbuds already placed in her ears. Her head than bopped a bit up and down, very clearly enjoying the music that was being played to herself.
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Not a funny joke, but I'll bite.
While I understand that it's a Minecraft roleplay on the Minecraft forums, the roleplaying community here(majority anyways) are not really interested in roleplaying a world in Minecraft. Just because all of us happen to have played/play a game doesn't necessarily mean that we want to roleplay about it. Sure, we might like the game. But whether or not we want to write for it is a different subject altogether. Most of the people here are a lot more intrigued by interesting, different, and detailed backgrounds and worlds, rather than just the usual bland Minecraft roleplay which could be argued to have already been done repeatedly.
When I talk about the audience you're presenting it for, I didn't mean that just because it's an *insert game here* forum, it meant that all roleplays focused on that single game get a lot of interest. It's often not always like that, and is certainly not like it here.
So in summary, Minecraft forums doesn't mean the roleplaying community is easily attracted to, or even very interested at all, in Minecraft roleplays. Same applies to other forums that have roleplaying sections, such as Spore Roleplay(which if you check, the front page is filled with genres not related to Spore whatsoever).
As for the Steampunk-Detective roleplay guys, perhaps we should move this to a PM to discuss rather than here? If so, I'll create one right away, and anyone who wants to join in the discussion can just say so here and we'll add her/him to the discussion.
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The idea of a local gang seems to interest me the most now that I think about it. It allows for each of the characters to quickly get acquainted with each other(perhaps they've been cheated by the gang somehow?) and easily aligns their interests to form a team. I like the idea that this could easily expand into a whole 'things aren't as they seem' kind of arc, where they eventually find out that as they dig deeper into the world, they find that a lot of antagonists(whether insignificant or major in a way) are somehow related to an unknown malicious entity of sorts, like a chessmaster who's been behind the curtains pulling the strings(the big bad basically).
And yep, I agree with the breaks. I doubt we're gonna be allowing characters to just join in the middle of a mission, so the side missions will allow for new players to introduce themselves. Plus, I'd imagine that the breaks would have some sort of free time kind of thing which allows for interaction between characters(e.g. a trip to the market eventually leads to a new contract).
I don't think an apocalyptic setting will be used in that case. I think the whole 'free roam steampunk world' is already pretty captivating enough in all honesty.
So, I think we have the main infrastructure for the RP set up?
Well, just a few more suggestions to add on to the RP.
Perhaps the main lore of the RP could be rooted in a 1984-ish kind of setting, where there are three main superpowers aiming for control of the skies/lands/seas, constantly either in war or allied with one another. It wouldn't be as horrible as 1984, in the sense that people still have a lot more liberty, no brainwashing, everyone's not as poor, not totalitarian, the war actually contributes to the economy(production of weapons), and people are free to roam around the world as much as possible(basically the only part I'm borrowing is the whole three superpowers part). There would most likely be pauses between the war, but it's practically a never ending war that continuously fluctuates between hot and cold. There would most likely be other minor countries who are kept protected either due to their position of some sort of special attribute, just to keep things interesting. The whole three superpowers fighting for control might allow for interesting arcs and goals for antagonists to develop, but it's just a thought.
I'd imagine the world wouldn't be a very nice one to live in compared to the modern era. Basically, the gap between the rich and poor are around the same as the period of the Industrial Revolution(albeit it's still comparatively better, as steam power has developed so far that the middle class is starting to develop a lot easier).
I'd love to have a whole underground network of gangs(a lot of which might even be connected to the 'chessmaster' villain), of which only very few non-criminals actually have knowledge of. And as our characters delve deeper into the depths of the underground, they'll learn a lot more about the inner mechanisms of how their world really works. To list a few short examples, perhaps a global economy based on the manufacturing of an exotic drug, where purity of the hallucinogen(or maybe even enhancer) is valued above all. Maybe even trading of selling manpower to discreetly assist in the three superpower war. Secret assassinations, selling of stolen caches of experimental, dangerous, and innovative weapons(still based off steam power of course), and etc. This list can go on for a while, and it'd allow for some interesting interactions with the characters as they learn more about how things really work behind the scenes; and how they can exploit it for their own uses.
A new type of resource. Compare it to how much value oil has today. This could be used as an untraceable type of currency among elite societies and groups, or just used in highly expensive auctions and trades between strange malicious villains hiding in the shadows. Perhaps it's a huge and compact source of power, or maybe even a kind of element used specifically to create new superbly useful tools and innovative forms of weaponry.
... Clockwork lasers. Put that in somewhere, whether or not it's some sort of experimental weapon stolen from an elite gang that the team decided to steal or maybe a design they managed to get as a reward from a happy contractor. Either ways, lots of fun to be had.
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Sounds good. I don't know as to what sort of common foe they should have though, and as to how long it should stick around/how difficult and significant it is in the established universe.
It could be something like an oppressive government(this could play out either as a totalitarian regime over a huge landmass or a simple corrupt council of rulers in a small city), or even a secret society operating from the shadows(the trope is strong here) who has influenced lots of things in the land, and each of the detectives that got together have been affected by them and know of their existence one way or another. Just a few examples.
I don't know how long you'd want to stretch this arc out though. It could be for a relative while(weak/vulnerable enemy) and is just used to get the team together, or it could be for a long time(the main big bad behind everything). If we ended up choosing the long one, I might suggest inserting a few breaks in between the battle against the enemy, perhaps through taking up other unrelated/semi-related freelance contracts.
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Cloaked's idea sounds way too good to pass up. The story would definitely have to be detailed and well thought out to do it full justice(as for who's to host it, I don't know if my skills are good enough to do so).
Maybe we could work out a storyline and background for this steampunk world as a special collab of sorts first?
I'd imagine the main infrastructure to be based off a group of freelance detectives/spies, who work together as a highly effective team. I don't know if the group should start out separated and organised by some mysterious head or they just met in a bar, or already integrated together in a sense of sorts(they already know each other to an extent). I don't really know whether we should even implement the usual tropes(evil corporations, oppressive government, wasteland, etc.) into the RP, or just make it much more free roam(picture Gunpoint, but in a world of clockwork).
... Of course they'd own their own private airship that they use for missions.
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I think guygombaa states my reply to your second question very elegantly enough.
If you're still insistent on the subject though, highlight the part of my text which says 'your RP is uninteresting?!', and I'll get back to you on it.
And yea, Cloaked brings up a good point. Sometimes, even if you wrote out a very intricate and detailed storyline, it might not get much interest if the genre isn't one most might like to join.
also I'd join a steampunk-detective RP anyday
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I'm afraid the best advice in terms of garnering interest for an RP is... to make it interesting. I know this information might not appear to be worth much, but whenever creating an RP be sure to take into mind the type of story you're creating, how it is presented, and the audience you're creating it for. Not taking into mind either one of these could lead to catastrophic results.
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Thanks for the acceptance Sol. Guess I must've been just a bit low on ideas for origins at the time
As for a TL;DR Scarf, I think Sol's description fits for a really simplified summary. If you have free time though, it'd be great if you could read it fully.
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'Techne'
The Architect
Tetra's hobbies usually fall into either learning about the sciences and learning in general. Whether this means conducting and recording absurdly complicated experiments, building huge complex machines(both of these done not too often due to financial issues), or even just sitting beside a tree with a good piece of literature, it's one of the only things in her life which keeps her entertained and engaged. Either that, or she just sits down for a while alone just to complete a set of riddles and puzzles, perhaps even a strategy game if she happens to get lucky and manages to find an opponent to play with. Tetra rarely treats herself to good food, and even then she's usually doing one of the already mentioned hobbies simultaneously.
|Strengths|
Tetra is extremely knowledgeable on various topics due to all of the learning and reading she often does. This is coupled with her analysis skills, which gives her very thorough detective and investigative skills. Her other impressive trait, which she at times compliments herself when in solitary, is that she's a very experienced and incredibly talented inventor and engineer. This stretches from all fields of knowledge, from things such as mathematics, physics, and even biology if factors from that branch need to be taken into consideration. As such, she's often capable of writing up designs of machines so out of this world that not even the current technology available would be able fulfill its requirements, or simply appear as completely unimaginable, incomprehensible, or even alien at a glance. This is particularly impressive when one thinks about it more, especially considering her age.
|Weaknesses|
Her social skills(in terms of making friends) are not really great, mediocre at best in all honesty. Other than that, she often relies on brains and her tools rather than brawn, and as such is physically weak, having almost no knowledge whatsoever in real melee combat.
|Fears|
Tetra has two main fears. One of which is death, which while usually a placeholder in everyone's set of dreaded things, it's thought of more in the sense that she fears that she wouldn't be able to live long enough to see so much more of what life has to offer. Such as being there to experience the sight of a brand new finding, or to discover an entirely strange species previously unknown to man. This doesn't bother her as much, she usually comforts herself with the fact that there wasn't anything she could rationally do about this.
|Combat Style|
In terms of her own physical capabilities, they're basically non-existent. She relies more on weapons and tools that don't necessarily require strength, like projectile launching machines or mobile traps and devices she can easily set up, like caltrops. However, she still knows when she is clearly outclassed, and understands when to focus more on retreating rather than a strategic attack/trap.
|Ability|
Technological Symbiosis: Through touch, she's capable of linking her thoughts and mind to machines and devices. This can allow for some funky powers if used properly, with things such as mechanisms simply falling apart, to certain things such as compasses suddenly acting haywire. Tetra usually exploits it for her own uses however, to allow her machines to stay glued together when they normally wouldn't, or even provide her with enormous amounts of statistics and information for her to analyse and manipulate. Through touch, she's capable of very quickly comprehending the most complicated of mechanisms, and controlling them to fit her use, at times even making them do things that they really shouldn't be doing.
|Price|
Ba: She mostly picked this due to it being supposedly the least harsh out of the five, although whenever she has free time she often thinks extremely hard about whether or not it was really the optimal choice. Not surprisingly, she hasn't been too badly affected by this yet... at least not that she can tell.
A flintlock pistol, painstakingly created by herself
A knapsack, used to keep various items
|History|
Tetra was an orphan born in the slums of a city, having practically no recollection of her parents whatsoever(and as such does not have a surname). If life in hovels are difficult today, they definitely were a lot worse back then. Starvation was an especially common way to go back then, and sometimes even the occasional plague or so. Unlike most of the other children though, Tetra was much too intent of crawling her way out of the hellhole. Everyday felt like a new worst day ever to her, having to discipline herself and work extremely hard to keep herself alive and sustained. Collecting scraps of garbage to sell for measly earnings, offering work to anyone willing to hire her, to ravaging the trash for anything valuable. It was unbelievably difficult.
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((Well, I decided to try out something new. This is going to be the first time I'm writing something with music accommodating it. If I've done a good job timing it right, the whole post should end with the music(if not the first part). If you guys have some free time, try reading this with it. I'd absolutely love to hear what you think about it
I do suggest reading it at a slower than usual pace to absorb and emphasise the information, and just basically allow for the song to play along. That's all really. Just hit play, and relax.))
Dark days were approaching. As raindrops fell gracefully from the skies and splattered onto the ground, it came to her. Like an epiphany, and almost in an instant, she felt a full comprehension of what was to come. The current state of this city. The country. The world. She took a brief glance above her, managing to peer through the grey skies to see the sun, which by itself, appeared to be sad and gloomy. She felt like she could only sympathise with it.
Her mind had wandered far off ever since she'd started daydreaming. As if lost in her own world, she found herself suddenly placed in space, with only a few stars in the far distance allowing her to come to that conclusion. There were no planets. No moons, nor asteroids. It was just the void. She stood still and yet defiantly, staring at a seemingly infinite rack of television screens which had appeared. Rows upon rows of the machines, sitting there inactive. It was deafeningly silent... but only for a while.
They all lit up one by one, slowly illuminating the dark and small pocket of space she was residing in. Through the screens she saw everything. Huge views of farmland, with dying and wilting brown crops. Crime, as gangs bashed through windows, robbed banks and murdered innocent people. The rich, standing above everyone else and waving hands to the public, knowing well of the damage that they were causing and not caring in the slightest. Factories, pumping more harmful gasses into the already polluted atmosphere. Cities and people on the coastline, drowning due to the ever increasing sea levels. Hives of bees laid still and dead in dry cracked land. Droughts, bringing famine and death upon millions of people. Billions of dollars being poured into new research for testing weapons of mass destruction whilst plagues ravaged the land. Countries, which in their confusion, succumbed to extremist totalitarian regimes.
What are we doing?
What is anyone doing?
... what am I doing?
She could only look fatigued, maybe to the point of even being stressed, as she placed her hand onto one of the glowing screens. It displayed a picture of the slums. It was only one of the countless injustices and sufferings the human race was experiencing. And yet, in a second it was easily replaced with a different one in a flash. This... was virtually infinite.
Were we doomed as a race to begin with?
That we could not even cooperate in order to solve a single problem?
That we must go out to plunder, murder and destroy everything that we have created so recklessly and greedily?
Her thoughts were only met by the echoes of the empty void of space. She felt utterly sorry for herself. Despite her being in such a depressed state, the screens facing her could only continue to show scenes of death, corruption, disease, and chaos. It's collective blinding light was almost taunting to her.
It will never be enough.
No matter what I do...
Is there a point to it all then?
A purpose, of doing anything at all?
...
Was this all inevitable?
Even as she looked up to see the screens once more, she knew. Earth was most certainly doomed. Everyone living right now, was simply living off borrowed time. Eventually it would all come to an end. And at that point, Claire knew that we'd all looked back, only thinking about how it could've been all prevented so simply... so easily... Yet, she could only sit down, looking upon the limitless number of monitors, feeling guilty. Ashamed.
None of what she did, or anyone for that matter, mattered. The average person would just continue on, ever so ignorantly completing his daily tasks, unknown to the reality of the situation at hand. And when the time finally arrived, it would be... too late.
She supposed the phrase 'ignorance is bliss' had some meaning after all.
But what can I do?
I can't stop this.
Should I even continue on?
It was here when she looked upon a screen which had stayed upon one picture for much too long. A crater in an abandoned district area.
Hex 3.
The heroes of today often go unnoticed. But even so... it didn't mean that there was no harm in trying. She had to persevere through this. Even if her life was just a tiny insignificant spot in the grand scale of the universe... Claire would've played a part in it. It'd be a waste to wallow in self-pity for the rest of her days. She had the power to change things. And she'll either succeed... or die trying...
Claire was jolted back into reality almost unexpectedly, noticing that Wilson had called out to the entire group of people to follow him into the building. She sighed to herself, entering a state of apathy before looking back at the sky to notice that the Sun was now much brighter than before. The dark clouds and rain itself seems to have almost calmed down. A small smile was brought to her face, before she then followed along cautiously into the warehouse...
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Once Tetra had noticed that Wilson and the newcomer had gotten to know each other substantially(and thus the conversation ended), she quickly awoke from her state of curiously examining the people around her from afar. For just that short amount of time, she'd been daydreaming about random things and events that weren't really connected to each other, just before being jolted back into reality subconsciously. Brushing a bit of imaginary dust off her shoulder, as some people usually do, she then approached her a bit excitedly, and coughed just slightly, before finally introducing herself to Iris in a bit of a playful manner.
"Wazzup? Da name is Tetra; great to meetcha!", she said in a very clearly cheerful mood with a smirk, with both her hands fidgeting with each other behind her back, with nothing to really do as she tried to contain her energy. She detected this, and then quickly brought out one of her hands, both of which were covered in some weathered dark grey wool gloves, for the usual friendly handshake to correct the situation. Tetra kept a very genuine happy smile on, despite her one inactive hand behind her back, virtually unnoticed by her, wriggling just slightly to occupy itself.
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Claire observed as the man introduced himself as Dominic, or Nick, as most of his friends would address him by. He'd extended his hand out to offer a handshake with a smile, and had paused for a short amount of time before speaking about her capability on hiding her emotions for just a while. She accepted his handshake with her right hand, only shaking it for a while just softly before placing both of her hands in the pockets of her jacket. At the same time, the woman nodded almost subtly to see that she addressed the comment, with a bit of an uncaring look in her eyes.
"I suppose so... although we all know most of us weren't always like this...", she replied in a bit of a modest tone, as she turned to watch the group once more. For just a moment, it seemed like such a huge variety of different personalities and people, but assuming if they were just as skilled at their skills as she was, most of them would've went through things that they would've been better off forgetting about. The same applied to her...
It was around 1 year ago. As much as Claire wanted to admit that she had gotten over it, and no matter how many times she reasoned with herself, the memory always came back to her in her darkest moments. She had been sitting at a white glass table, reading through dossiers and classified documents in order to pick out the best course of action for the Shadows' next move. While surrounded by stacks upon stacks of files filled with information, there was only one she had been dedicating most of her effort and concentration on. It was a newspaper, with a picture of a huge crater in one of the more isolated parts of Lynnhaven, surrounded by armed policemen and investigation officers everywhere.
The headlines read 'Shadows Terrorists' HQ Destroyed'. Even though it said that examination was currently undergoing to see if they picked up anything from the crime scene, Claire had known that they were simply wasting their time. Hex 3, in being caught in a sudden raid of her facility, blew everything up to oblivion, disintegrating every piece of evidence, hardware, information, and of course, she herself. Claire, in all of her very apathetic mood and attempts to subdue her emotions, had succumbed to grief. Even if it was a while, she couldn't help but feel depressed by what had happened, for hours on end just staring at pictures taking by authorities of the destroyed base.
Thoughts such as 'There's no point wasting more time on it.' and 'Thinking about it more wasn't going to change anything.' ran through her head, and even though Claire was often a very logical person who based everything she did on reason... this was just different. One of the only real friends she ever had in her life had sacrificed herself to protect the rest of the team... and she wouldn't even be able to be given a proper burial. Because there was nothing to bury but ashes.
In the end, she had to let a majority of it go. She couldn't let it consume her. Even so, Hex 3 often came up in her mind when she wasn't occupied, and despite having virtually thought about her as much as possible, it never really left her mind. It was one of those memories that she couldn't just push into the back of her brain, and label it as 'irrelevant'. Now that she thought of it, this might've played a small part in her coming out of retirement(after all Shadows operations were put on hold indefinitely) to robbing museums and banks related to mega-corporations. It was never really for herself. Most of the goods she stole were sold on the black market, and often donated to the unfortunate and people who had been backstabbed by the government. But in all honesty, she could've stayed retired for a long time, or excused herself as waiting for Hex 2 to return. The thing that really pushed her the most to do something with herself was the memory of Hex 3... it was one of the only things that had kept her going and working, as subconscious as the effect might've been.
With that short session of pondering, as she once again examined the surroundings and the people around her, she looked back at Dominic and nodded slightly once again, before leaning upon the wall of the warehouse again. After that, she suddenly didn't feel like talking anymore. It was clear that she wasn't ignoring Dominic, but it seemed like she had other things running through her mind at the moment. Claire simply watched the rain, and seemingly nothing else.
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Claire was still as solemn as before, very vigilantly watching her surroundings and what was happening around her. There wasn't much for her to do other than that in all honesty, she wasn't exactly fond of social interaction, although that might've been partly to be blamed on her isolated childhood. Either ways, nothing much has really changed. Anything of real significance was a particularly old car which had parked itself for a while, just in time for a blonde woman to exit from it with a gun handed to her. It felt like she took more note of the vehicle though, as it looked like a particularly interesting piece of antique, but she pushed that out of her mind as fast as the car sped off.
It was around this time when the gentleman who had been talking to Wilson before, who's list of aliases Claire already had in her memory, came over to look at her directly and ask her a somewhat peculiar question, of which she had really never had to answer before. Claire, with her arms still crossed, brought some of her attention away from her environment and returned the look without any sort of emotions showing whatsoever, still keeping her state of indifference, as she went on to reply after a short pause.
"Longer than most would like to...", she spoke in an assertive, but not harsh, tone. With that in mind, she allowed her mind to wander for just a short amount of time, pondering over the question as she thought back to days long forgotten, but of which she remembered every single detail excruciatingly well...
The date was January 29th, 2131. When did the exact moment she was recalling occur? 19:47:21. She had been staring at a large set of television screens in the dark(the screens being the only thing keeping the room from turning pitch black), sitting in a chair with her arms very calmly resting on the fabric of the armchairs. Specifically, she had been observing a certain feed of a location not far from where she currently was.
Inside a moderately sized and very simply decorated room, a huge round table sat directly in the middle, with a group of 7 men and 3 women sitting around it, most of them having particularly stressed and unhappy expressions. Some of them kept turning their heads to a clock attached to a nearby wall, hoping that by doing so perhaps time could speed up and this horrible meeting could've been over with. After a minute of silence, what looked like the leader of the group stood up, placing both of his hands on the wooden table very sternly before speaking.
"Alright. Let's get this over with. We're here to discuss the current problems the group is currently facing. We need a solution folks, before this thing explodes.", this was followed once again by practically nothing but a few coughs, before he continued again.
"May I remind you, that if we don't do anything, the mega-corporations will be all over us. We'll lose everything. Come on. Think...", he then started to walk back and forth, quietly pondering over the situation to himself before he stood still, sighed, and continued the conversation.
"Okay... let's look at this once again. This organisation has been crumbling apart for quiet a while now. People are going their separate ways, the faction very insidiously having split up into different equally malicious groups and sections, looking to different people for leadership. We've already had a huge conflict the other day, that could've ended up in a damn civil war! Tensions are high, and we need to find a way to defuse this right now. We're on a damn ticking time bomb here.", discussion seemed to stir among the numerous people in the room, but none of them really ever offering their ideas. The head of the council coughed to hush everyone up, before sharing his thoughts.
"From the way I see it... we have no choice but to integrate Johnson, Bryan, and Barnes into the council.", at this point a lot more talking erupted in the group, but the main speaker resumed his show of opinion after everyone was silenced by the raising of his hand.
"Look, I know it's difficult and risky. It's equivalent to cutting off a random wire in a bomb while being blindfolded. But we have no other options. The best we can hope for is that they join without any sort of conflicting interests, and as such, the group becomes united once again under the three of them working together... After that, as for the remaining minor coalitions.... Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Terry, please call the three of them here. Tell them it's urgent.", a brown haired man nodded and stood up, reaching to the door noticeably slower than average, before finally
reaching it and pulling at the door knob several times, before eventually coming to a realisation.
"We're locked in!", just as he announced this, he suddenly began coughing very roughly, before blood could suddenly be seen being spat out from his mouth. Right as he collapsed onto the ground, and even before anyone had the chance to react, it seemed that everyone else in the room followed with the same symptoms, some of them being so horribly affected that they might as well have been strangled by phantoms. Holding onto their necks, grabbing onto the chairs and attempting to stabilise themselves, all of them ultimately ended up dead. Some were positioned in their chairs at uncomfortable angles caused by their final struggles, and as for the leader of the group, he collapsed onto the table, his hand merely grasping at a symbol at the centre of the table: a yellow sickle and hammer covering a red circle: an icon most commonly associated at the time with the Crimsons.
Claire, still breathing through her gas mask as composed as ever, observed the room of now deceased people. In her left hand held a device of sorts, which she had recently activated using the press of her thumb. Poisonous gas, bought off the black market for her own use. She paid a lot to make sure questions weren't asked, but it was well worth the money. It was odourless and had been pumped into the room through a secure ventilation line. They never stood a chance.
Laying behind her were 2 soldiers dressed in what looked like red armour, each of them with a throwing knife burrowed in their heads. Claire had just killed 12 people, and yet as she thought it over and over again, she didn't seem to feel any remorse or guilt whatsoever. Her eyes and expression were as unperturbed as ever. She didn't even need to morally justify what had just happened repeatedly in her head, or reassure herself that everything was going to be okay. It was just... irrelevant to her at this point.
Standing back up and tearing out her two blades out of the 2 dead men which surrounded her, she thought through her plans once again, knowing that the next order of business was to take a trip to the Crimson archives and remove whatever sort of recorded information there was about her.
Opening the exit's door, she then stepped out very quietly, pausing for a second to look back, before closing the door and leaving without a word.
Just as the memory ran through her head very clearly, she looked off into the distance, seemingly just watching and pondering over the light rain before returning back to what was currently at hand after just a few seconds. 'The past is in the past...' Seeing as she was already talking to someone, she decided to at least continue on with it for a while, considering that if what this Scion says is true, she's gonna be working with these various people as a team for quite a bit.
"I go by Claire... What about you?", this was said in a more apathetic voice, nothing practically given away during the short amount of time since the conversation first started.
While that had been happening, Tetra had been keeping to herself, quietly enjoying her own music that was currently playing through the wireless earbuds placed in her ears. If she had to describe it, it was definitely a very enjoyable upbeat tune, yet she started only by bobbing her head up and down at a steady speed, but it wasn't long before the song started to take a slightly heavier turn. A lot more noticeably cheerful aura surrounded her, Tetra simply smiling to herself as she began to move her head a lot more often than usual and her right feet slowly tapping to the beat, at a possibly erratic and random pace.
It was very easily one of her favourite pieces of electronic dance music(although her favourites comprised of an uncountable amount of music), which was basically a wide set of genres which had really started picking up speed around the 21st century. Although most people these days might be a bit too busy or even depressed to enjoy music, Tetra often found time for it, and was a huge enthusiast in the whole thing overall, despite how uncommon that might've been these days around the general population. As strange as things currently were(music wasn't as popular as they were back then with the gloom over everyone), not to mention the overall decay of genres overtime, Tetra managed to find her way to EDM somehow, and it stuck.
Often knowing exactly when and how each song she listened to ended, and still tapping to the rhythm, she noticed an aged car pull up, and a woman come out. Tetra didn't really note the part about the gun or anything, but seeing as she had nothing to do right now, maybe she'd go make a friend? On second thought, there was no maybe in that question. And on a third thought, it wasn't even a question anymore. Tapping the ear bud in her right ear with a tap of a finger(which quickly scanned the finger for a print), the current song playing stopped. Seeing the newcomer clear her throat loudly, Wilson and Tetra walked over, ready to introduce themselves to her. She would wait as patiently as she could for Wilson to introduce himself, before she'd take her turn and start talking.
((As a side note, great music Mafia.))
((EDIT: For anyone reading this, I've deleted Tetra's part of the conversation and her song. I'll post the conversation later, and as for music, I'm planning to start using music at a later point when it fits with the RP/what's currently happening.))
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((Alright, thanks for clearing that up for me breaker. Also, no problem, but I admit that the thought of using a layout never really occurred to me until Mafia used it, so yea. Also, my web browser decided to restart itself in the midst of completing this post. Guess I'll have to rewrite this again...))
Claire was watching very vigilantly over everything that was currently happening, along with her surroundings. She took note of the red hooded man that was spotted a while ago, who had now decided to rest upon a wall and quietly observe the group. As part of her self-mentoring in order to combat the social analyser's effectiveness, her concentrated effort often allows her to appear as a locked box, making it so it was often impossible to decipher what was actually going on deep in her mind. While she assumed it was particularly useful, she didn't really like the idea of people reading her so easily, like some sort of insect in a science experiment.
It was a bit strange that he wasn't coming forward though, his initial stare at Wilson didn't really give the impression of him being one of the common thugs which roamed Old Town. He could've been one of the people who got the message through this Scion person, or perhaps he was a man who was planning some sort of attack on the group. She mentally readied herself, prepared to, at any second, very quickly arm herself with her weapons and defend herself. While a sword might've appeared unusual to most in this modern era, it was still as effective as it was when it was first conceived in the Bronze Age. She remembered training with different kinds of the weapons in the past, and as such was very capable of efficiently using and understanding how variations such the rapier, katana, broadsword, and much more really worked.
While that was happening, she noted that the pink haired woman and the young adult from before were now waiting to talk to Wilson, as expected from such a quick and sudden meeting of various people. Claire made the assumption that most of them were just as skilled in various fields as she was... which did appear a bit frightening, as a person wielding a team of such caliber could most likely become very powerful. She didn't let that bother her though, very discreetly picking up the conversation between Wilson and the man who went by Dominic, or the other long list of aliases he possessed, not even needing to turn her head to face in their direction or give away any sort of subconscious sign to anyone around her.
In the meantime, Tetra picked up Victor's name as she examined the hovering drone for a few seconds, before her attention wandered off. Still having relatively just taken her dose of Craze, she was comparatively a lot more easily interested in things and excitable than most people were, but it definitely didn't bring any sort of toll on her intelligence or talents, as much as other people might've believed. Moving herself to the wall of the warehouse to lean upon it, she then very swiftly brought her phone out, took a few brisk looks around her to see if anyone else was arriving, before turning on her device.
To anyone who managed to catch a very short glimpse of the gadget, they probably would've been very confused with its looks and functions. And it was understandable, as it was the third version of a mobile operating system itself had been personally designed by Tetra herself, very simply named 'Polygon' by her. It had been created with her needs and uses in mind of course, and as such, might be a bit difficult to comprehend at first, or at all really. It didn't mean that it was less efficient than devices on the market though, having an uncountable amount of digital capabilities, along with a high amount of security which, if Tetra found it on the field, even she would've had an exhausting time cracking.
Selecting from a playlist of music, it activated a set of black wireless earbuds already placed in her ears. Her head than bopped a bit up and down, very clearly enjoying the music that was being played to herself.
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Sounds great Mafia, can't wait to see it come back.