Introduction
One of the group, a man dressed in a grey business suit, leans down. He wears the same mask as the others, only his seems to have a black, liquid like substance coming from the eyes and mouth. "Now now, my little Capulet, you've gotten quite in over your head it would seem. You thought you'd be spying on some Montagues, finding out some information to bring back to your spy masters I suspect. But instead, hehehe.... All you've found is tragedy. Don't you just love irony?" The man pointed at his mask as he burst into a mad fit of laughter
The man on the ground was beginning to hyperventilate, knowing there was no practical way out. "L-look! I don't have to tell anyone about this! Just let me go and I'll take this secret with me! Please, I swear this will all stay with me!"
The grey suit man began to cackle in a fit of hysterics. "You think you have something to tell anyone? Oh my poor little Capulet, you know NOTHING about what we are, and the absolute HELL we are going to bring to Earth. Oh no, you haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg yet. We could very easily let you go, there is nothing we would have to lose from it in fact! Except.... for our dinner."
________________________________________________________________________________________
Police would stumble across the body of a middle aged man approximately thirteen days after the incident, in a remote patch of forest in Wisconsin. The body was mutilated almost beyond recognition, with a hundred or so cuts and stab marks, bits of flesh ripped off, and what appeared to be human teeth marks. Strange marks were found in the area too, footprints that looked like they belonged to a moose or something, and further scratches and pierces on the body that looked like they were from antlers. There is no officially named suspect at this time, but rumors are circling that some cult, gang, or secret organization is behind it. Those who know the rumors well enough refer to them as...
Commedia dell'arte.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Earth is an abysmal place to live right now. Sure, every period of history has said that before, but in 2102, it's about as bad as it's ever been.
The population of the little blue planet is now well into 15 billion. Cybernetics are commonplace today, but if you can't pay your bills, you'll be paying in arms and legs. People are starting to develop "magic" or "powers" that no one can explain, and that fewer people are "okay" with. And even now, governments around the world are dabbling in the idea of legalizing gene manipulation for commercial use, an "alternative" to the cybernetics that are so common. Of course, you could end up with more arms than you were asking for...
And that's just a few social issues. Poverty is rampant, globally. Couple wars, race conflicts, and economic collapses will do that to a planet. Land is getting scarce, and polluted. Food is getting closer to short supply. Murder is becoming a sport. Sure, you could move to one of the space colonies, but they're not even finished being built yet, and can even the "ocean" of space separate us from the problems of Earth?
If you're poor, you'll probably die of an overdose, murder, or starvation. If you're rich (but not rich enough), you'll probably die in a Corporate War, killed off by a private army owned by some other greedy billionaire. On this Earth, your life is hanging by a thread, no matter who you are, rich or poor, magical or not, cybernetically enhanced or totally flesh, genetically modified or pure human.
But hey, that's the life you're used to. This isn't news to you, just something to shrug at.
Now the rumors about demons and monsters creeping up around the Earth? That IS news to you, and definitely not something you've heard before. Strange monsters in the forests of North America, demons stalking the streets in Japan and China, evil witches and other cryptids in Europe. Rumors are rumors you'd say, nothing to take seriously, but what about the strange murders that follow them? People ripped apart in ways that look like animals did it? Bodies torn apart and thrown around? There is something strange about that, even to you.
And some how, none of this seems to compare to "Commedia dell'arte". The gang, or cartel, or cult, or big group of psychos that seems to be terrorizing the world. Who are they? What do they want? Are they connected to the "animalistic" killings we've been seeing? Or the appearance of "magic" and "powers" in human beings? And do they have a specific target, a group of people they have chosen to hate and destroy, or is their chaos random?
I guess the question is, how far are you willing to go to answer these questions? But more importantly, how far are you willing to go to survive in this world...
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- 30 posts here • Page 2 of 2 • 1, 2
The Story So Far... Write a Post » as written by 4 authors
The doors of the House of Representatives had opened, and the roar of a few hundred angry, bickering politicians met the ears of Victor like the sound of a terrible reality TV show would, as both would disgust him rather equally. He made his way around the crowds of politicians until he finally found his seat, and took it. Victor looked over to the Speak of the House, who desperately was trying to get some semblance of order underway. When they both locked eyes, Victor had a slight smile to his face, a confident grin, very self-assured. The speaker gave him a slight nod.
"Can we please get everyone to sit down! A little order, please!" The Speaker shouted out, getting noticeably exasperated.
Victor waited a few moments as people continued to fight, and when the Speaker finally looked back at him, Victor stood and began to make his way to the front of the room, getting behind a podium, and waiting for things to settle down. The doors to the room opened once again, and the Sergeant at Arms made his way into the room, along with a few other guards. Some strong words were exchanged briefly, but the other politicians began to finally take their seats and settle down.
Victor's smile remained as silence fell over the room. Once they were under control completely, he began to speak. "Fellow Congressmen and Congresswomen, we're all painfully aware of the atrocity that occurred last night. I think I speak for all of us when I say that our hearts break, both for New Yorkers and the people of Pacifica City. It was a tragedy." Victor paused as he looked around at the other politicians there. "But you know... I wonder what kinds of questions our fellow Americans have for us right now. I kind of suspect that some of them might be asking... How could we let this happen?"
There was silence in the room for a moment, but a low murmur had begun to start, people wondering what was going on. The Speaker himself was a little puzzled, and shifted slightly, a little uncomfortable.
Victor chuckled slightly. "I'm sorry, maybe I'm not being clear enough. How did we, the government of the United States of America, allow ANOTHER terrorist attack to take place on our soil?" He began to look around the room, the smile now something of a sarcastic, exasperated grin. "How many times have these people done things like this? How crimes have taken place in this country in just this year? How many are dead? How many are jobless? How many have turned to crime because they're too poor?"
The room continued to mutter away, a little louder now, as the discomfort began to grow.
"Does anyone in here have an answer for the people of this country? Because I sure don't. I don't know why we continue to behave like children, why we get nothing done."
The Speaker slammed down a gavel. "Alright Victor, I think you need to settle down. This isn't a time for politics, this is-"
"Excuse me Mr. Speaker, this is EXACTLY the time to talk about politics. I PAID you for my ten minutes to speak, and unless you want your fellow countrymen knowing how much I had to pay you for that right, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and let me speak."
The Speaker's mouth dropped, his eyes wide. He wanted to say something, but realized he really had nothing he should say at this point. The eyes of the country were on him, the cameras were on and sending every moment in here all across America. He did as he was told for the moment.
Victor looked back to his 'fellow' politicians, then to the cameras. "My fellow Americans, this is what it takes to try to fix this country." Victor paused a moment, shaking his head. "I have stood by this government, and our president, time and time again. I have told them ALL when they were doing things wrong. I have made DOZENS of bills and budget suggestions to get this country moving. Many of them were implemented, and the ones we did implement WORKED."
He pointed his hand out across the room. "Ask any of these people, or even look it up online. You'll see my name there, the first name on many of those documents. I have personally been working to save this country from destruction, I have even had to save it from our own president! A man I have stood by, who I have given advice to, who I have been a trusted confidant to, who I have tried to help!"
There was a pause, a moment of silence as he shook his head. "But I must tell you America, I can't keep doing this. I keep fighting against a river of people who do not know how to run our beautiful country, and who do not care to do it. So that is why I have to sadly declare that... I am hereby leaving the Republican Party, and officially declaring the creation of the Patriot Party of America."
There was a roar of anger from the politicians around him, people yelling, bickering, accusing him of all sorts of things. The Speaker was dumbfounded, reeling from what he just heard. Victor... He'd been a loyal member of the party for years... They'd all worked together... Some had been friends... This was... Insane.
Victor grabbed the microphone to make sure he could still be heard. "People of America, I did not want to do this, but this has gone on long enough. Our parties have betrayed us for ideologies, and have forgotten what America is about." He smirked for a second before continuing. "And yes, I am very serious about all this. I've already filed and had the party officially registered with the FEC before I came here today, and I'm putting in MY own money for the financing."
There was another pause, making sure everything got through clearly. "People of America... We must work together now. We MUST end crime. We MUST end poverty. We MUST end terrorism. We can and will do it. This is America, and we WILL prevail!"
There was more noise, arguing, yelling, but also some cheering and clapping. Victor smiled. "The President should be declaring a government shutdown soon, so before that does happen, I would like all registered members of the Patriot Party to please follow me in a walk out. This government has failed, and we have a lot of work to do to fix that."
As Victor left the podium and walked to the doors of the room, somewhere between a hundred and two hundred Congressmen and Congresswomen stood up and began to follow Victor. Almost a quarter of the elected government had left their parties (both Republican and Democrat) to join the Patriot Party. This was the first time anything like this had happened in US history, and it was just the beginning.
Peter's mouth hung a little looser now that he had seen what was unfolding on TV. Strong words from the head of Nobis himself, and the beginnings of a breakdown in the Republican and Democrat parties to boot. The President was already making his speech about the government shutdown, had some very angry, pointed words about the 'betrayal' by Victor Bentley, but the President himself seemed quite a bit shaken by the whole ordeal. Peter wasn't usually surprised, but this certainly had done the job. A slight grin grew on his face, as Peter found it hard not to be a little impressed by the gusto of everything that was occurring.
A couple coworkers were whispering about what had happened already, others were getting more vocal. 'Office chatter' you might say, with some people already getting their 'about time', 'this is how the end starts', and 'what a complete traitor' remarks out in the air. Thomas remained quiet himself, mostly just observing everyone and playing the 'active listener' rather than the 'active talker'. He wasn't about to lose his job over actual politics becoming office politics.
Peter just smirked, not bothering to say anything to anyone himself. He put his cigarette out in the cold remains of his coffee, and made his way over to their interesting guests. It was time to get some work done.
Once Peter was in the interrogation room, he closed and locked the door, and spun a chair around on the side of the table opposite Xander and Bashemath, sitting down and facing them directly. "You know, I find you two incredibly interesting." Peter said with a slight smirk. "Both of you could have done all kinds of damage already. Maybe not kill every one of us, I mean we might even take you down, but I feel like in certain circumstances that wouldn't matter to you. All that, and you've chosen not to be a threat."
The man chuckled as he poured a glass of water for himself from a jug that was sitting on the table. "Feel free to have some if either of you need... Or can I guess." He took a sip, set the cup back down, and stared at them a moment again. "You see, why I find you so interesting is that I actually know you're not going to cause me any trouble. Let me be clear; I don't just feel this, or suspect this, I KNOW you won't, and not because you're afraid." Peter scratched at his chin slightly, giving it a rub as he took a moment to contemplate. "You two are actually choosing not to cause trouble by your own choice. I know that for a fact. So tell me... Why are you choosing to do this?" Now Peter's tone was serious. As serious as his question was.
"I was told not to," Xander spoke rather factually. As always, his voice was virtually emotionless and resonant, contrasting starkly against Bashemath's pleasantries and soft voice. "She chose to attempt rescue, despite risk, risk I made aware to her, and she chose to not struggle against capture, again, my choice would have been incapacitation or retreat. I can question it, but I cannot oppose," he continued, but his tone shifted slightly as he finished. "I am faulty, and thus my logic requires that balance."
"That isn't to say I'm innocent, either, of course, to be fair! But, I will not kill or maim to achieve my goals, I do adore my benefactors... it barely makes sense to harm the things you love!" she continued, impassioned in her speech, her voice raise some, but still quite civil in tone. She then leans back in her chair. "That being said, even I don't know my employer, so it isn't like I'm a security risk anyways. Even if I'm prone to tell the truth, I can't tell one that I don't know. My risk here is... minimal. They are... very clever," she said in a quieter tone, her smile breaking some. "But, I digress, I'm just... very contrary to the idea of causing pain or discomfort."
"A noble heart cannot suspect in others the pettiness and malice that it has never felt, a quote by Jean Racine our... progenitor used while she was in conception."
Outside the interrogation room, the other employees periodically dared to peek through the window to see what was going on.
"Freaky..." One of them said. "Really freaky."
"Yeah, what even are those things? Haven't seen any gene-freaks or magic weirdos that look like that."
"I know... Just ain't right. Stuff like that... Wasn't meant for this world."
Thomas heard everything being said, either passively or intently, but didn't contribute anything himself. He merely continued to clatter away at his keyboard, head down and unnoticed by the world.
The sly, knowing smile didn't fade from Peter's face. "I'm going to continue to accept that you're both being totally honest with me right now. So tell me then; what are the both of you employed to do."
"Well, I suppose that is the crux of the matter, isn't it?" she said, stalling her response a bit, trying to decide on just how to answer that question in the best way possible. She glanced over at Xander, in hopes he would chime in, but he was still as a statue, and equally as silent. "Well," she uttered, as she looked back at Peter. "We've been taking in the gifted, through diplomacy if allowed, if not... well, with as little injury as possible, by us or to themselves. I don't know where they go afterwards, but I've been told several times that they are better off. Our targets tend to be those that have very little in life, little to go to, or nothing at all. I would... sincerely hope, that they receive accommodations for their induction into whatever it may be."
- 30 posts here • Page 2 of 2 • 1, 2
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Commedia dell'arte
Absolute, unrestricted, inhuman brutality. That is the only thing that is known without a doubt about Commedia dell'arte. Who they are, and what they want, however, are entirely unknown.
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View All » Add Character » 10 Characters to follow in this universe
Newest
Theresa Wyn
"Go all in, or all out. Don't waste my time with half efforts."
Victor Bentley
"Ambition is rewarded only when action is taken."
Alexis Graves
Cyborg Merc for hire
Xander
A hulking and lanky experiment that possesses the ability to "anchor" himself in space.
Bashemath
An experiment with black blood that can reanimate the dead.
Zilas Black
A Hero and a Villain, his mind has long since been subjected to madness.
Vincent Roberts
"Non mihi, non tibi, sed Nobis."
Peter Radovan
"My gun will settle the debate before your words can."
Arthur Mackenzie
"Why do good people never have power?"
Trending
Arthur Mackenzie
"Why do good people never have power?"
Vincent Roberts
"Non mihi, non tibi, sed Nobis."
Victor Bentley
"Ambition is rewarded only when action is taken."
Zilas Black
A Hero and a Villain, his mind has long since been subjected to madness.
Peter Radovan
"My gun will settle the debate before your words can."
Theresa Wyn
"Go all in, or all out. Don't waste my time with half efforts."
Alexis Graves
Cyborg Merc for hire
Bashemath
An experiment with black blood that can reanimate the dead.
Xander
A hulking and lanky experiment that possesses the ability to "anchor" himself in space.
Most Followed
Arthur Mackenzie
"Why do good people never have power?"
Peter Radovan
"My gun will settle the debate before your words can."
Xander
A hulking and lanky experiment that possesses the ability to "anchor" himself in space.
Bashemath
An experiment with black blood that can reanimate the dead.
Zilas Black
A Hero and a Villain, his mind has long since been subjected to madness.
Vincent Roberts
"Non mihi, non tibi, sed Nobis."
Theresa Wyn
"Go all in, or all out. Don't waste my time with half efforts."
Alexis Graves
Cyborg Merc for hire
Victor Bentley
"Ambition is rewarded only when action is taken."
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12 posts · 9 characters present · last post 2018-11-16 20:51:08 »
"How did we ever let it get this bad?"
18 posts · 1 characters present · last post 2018-10-02 07:10:37 »
"Can a city that never sleeps ever be a city of dreams?"
0 posts · 0 characters present · last post 1970-01-01 00:00:00 »
Jewel of the Ocean, Hope of the Future.
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Commedia dell'arte
by Lord Saethos on Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:03 am
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on Thu Sep 27, 2018 11:09 am
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Commedia dell'arte
Most recent OOC posts in Commedia dell'arte
Re: Commedia dell'arte
Re: Commedia dell'arte
Re: Commedia dell'arte
Butterfly Effect wrote:I was thinking she is more of a solo act not part of a group
I can dig that, mostly wanting to have more factions to join in the roleplay, so trying to come up with groups that would work. lol But maybe the story will unfold with more factions in the future to allow people to join.
Re: Commedia dell'arte
Butterfly Effect wrote:haha now for the hard part though...
Finding how to best get Alexis in the story. from what i've read it seems like there where terrorist attacks and now the group is investigating them.
Maybe government hired her to help the FBI?
Sorry for taking so long to reply Butterfly! Had a lot going on lately, so just starting to catch up on some of the other roleplays I've been behind on now. Was gonna say, I had an idea for something Alexis could get hired for if you'd like. Was thinking a "Body Guard" job for another corporation, the owner might want some added muscle for a bit. Let me know what you think.
Also, did the Merc group Alexis works for have a name yet? Does she work for a group?
Re: Commedia dell'arte
Finding how to best get Alexis in the story. from what i've read it seems like there where terrorist attacks and now the group is investigating them.
Maybe government hired her to help the FBI?
Re: Commedia dell'arte
But seriously, I so far really like the looks of this character and the depths she can bring. Plus, you got to do the whole "glowing cybernetics" thing before I told everyone I'm ripping off Cyberpunk 2020 and 2077 by letting people have "sub-dermal" tattoos that glow. xP I mean really, if it's possible to do it, I guarantee you at least some people will do it. lol
Re: Commedia dell'arte
Butterfly Effect wrote:Hmm how am I just now seeing this for the first time? I will most likely throw in a character for this thinking some kinda of cyborg female merc or ninja
The... First time? *triggering intensifies*
It's not your fault you didn't see it obviously, clearly I need a better marketing strategy for my RP's on this site. Much better. lol
Anyways, I would LOVE to see a character like that honestly! I must admit to you, at this moment the world is a bit "disorganized", I have a very clear direction with where I want the story to go, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get everyone there. So, for the first few weeks (or longer) this roleplay might be a bit "directionless", but I'm hoping more characters and factions will help fill in those gaps.
Again, I know WHERE I want us all to go, I just need to figure out HOW to get there. But by all means, send me a character and I'll look him/her over and let you know what I think! If you need help figuring out where to go, just ask me and I'll be more than happy to help you figure out a direction.
Re: Commedia dell'arte
Re: Commedia dell'arte
Mercs, gangs, bounty hunters, hackers, corporations, etc. Let me know what you want, and let's see if we can make it happen. I want this roleplay to be exciting and for the world to start moving.
Re: Commedia dell'arte
At this time, the war had already been underway for a few years, but a few years prior there had been another conflict that America had been facing, an internal one. The House of Representatives was having difficulty electing a Speaker of the House. Both sides were somewhat equal in terms of seats, but to make matters more complicated, both parties struggled to find candidates that were unilaterally liked.
After months of bickering within both parties and the House, Gordon Caldwell was elected in a landslide vote by both Democrats and Republicans. Though he was a Republican himself, he was known for working well with Democrats, and being pretty uncontroversial with his party as well. No bad connections, no conflicting interests. The perfect candidate to be Speaker of the House during war time.
Gordon Caldwell was 25 when he took on the position of speaker. When the President and Vice President were killed, he as 27.
The line of succession for the Presidency states that the Speaker of the House comes after the Vice President. But the constitution says that only someone 35 years of age can be president. This caused immense debate with the government, trying to decide what should be done with the situation. Some suggested skipping the Speaker, but the others next in line for succession were controversial, and had immense push back from opposing parties. Some suggested having another election, but that was deemed impractical since it would take too long.
Instead, the government did something different. It took time, and the cooperation of both Houses (of Representatives and Senate), as well as the Supreme Court to pass an Amendment to the Constitution that lowered the minimum age for the Presidency to 25 years old. As said earlier, Gordon Caldwell was 27 at this time.
And so Gordon Caldwell became the youngest President in US history, and ran the country moderately for the 8 years he was in office. He was never exactly an amazing leader, but he was what America needed at the time, and kept the country moving forward until the war eventually ended, and later his presidency.
Gordon Caldwell was the first, and so far last, person to be elected President under the age of 35. But the Amendment still remains...
TL;DR: People 25 years and older can now be President of the US. It was just easier this way. lol
Re: Commedia dell'arte
For now, NYC and Pacifica are acting as the starting locations for characters, to keep it relatively simple. More settings will be added as we continue and as is needed, but I don't want it to get too complicated just yet.
Furthermore, Earth, 2102 AD (roleplay/commedia-dellarte/places/earth-2102-ad) will act as a "catch all" setting to RP in. If there's a specific setting players want to RP in that isn't big enough or relevant enough to be its own setting, you can RP that setting in Earth, 2102 AD. Just have the specific location you're rping in listed at the top of each post your characters make, to avoid confusion.
I haven't finished "Earth, 2102 AD" yet, but I will add more later when needed. At the moment, it's just a blank roleplaying setting that's waiting to get filled up a bit later.
Also, I may post another "setting" that will act as a "News Station" in the universe. This will basically be a place for me to post about "big events" that have been caught in the News and are relevant to the story of the universe. It'll give the players, and their characters, a way of knowing what is more or less going on in other parts of the roleplay, even if they aren't in that location. Sort of an easier way of keeping characters informed about what all is happening to other characters or events in the world.
Anyways, I think that's it for now. Let me know if anyone has any questions (especially about lore) and I'll try to answer as best as I can.
Commedia dell'arte
You may edit this first post as you see fit.