X-Men Noire: A Nation Reborn
Mutation. It is the key to our evolution. It is how we have evolved from a single-cell organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few millennia evolution leaps forward.
-Charles Xavier
-Charles Xavier
Setting
The year is 1946. The Second World War has just ended. The Nazis have been defeated and everything is finally starting to get back to normal, or as normal as an entire world can get after the most emotional war in history, recovering from a conflict that would go on to shake minds for nigh-on centuries.
Henry Truman is the current President of The United States Of America, argued to be the greatest country in the world now during this trying time. Even through the crisis, it is still (and even more so now) known as The Land of Opportunity, The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. New York City, The Big Apple is where the eyes of the world are. The United States was really starting to turn things around for themselves.
America is now a place of prosperity and happiness, where everyone enjoys their time, where a man can carve his name into history. It's the greatest time yet to be alive... granted of course you have no problem with the drug-trading, human trafficking, murdering and kidnapping, The Mob having their finger up everyone's backside and oh, the Chinese slicing up people. Not to mention the xenophobic, racist and homophobic nature of the city, the whole world, in fact. But in hindsight, America was doing better than most countries.
This is where our story takes place. It starts with the name of a single scientist, none the less. Charles Francis Xavier. The 26 year-old genius is a man who's found proof of a brand new species living amongst us... and he is one of them. They are Homo Sapiens Superior- in Layman's terms, Mutants; people with extraordinary gifts and very few of them have made it through puberty already. Maybe it's because of the nuclear testing around the globe. Maybe it's something in the milk. Hell, maybe it's the coke everyone and their nan has been snorting. Not even Charles knows, but what he does know is that their gifts are to be used, not abused. His wish is to help every single one of his kind to a better life, a life with more control over their abilities, a life where retribution, segregation and judgement was no longer a concern. It is this, most importantly, that Charles wants... acceptance in the eyes of the general public who, for the most part, are currently unaware of their existence.
Not everyone can be Captain America.
Questions
Q:Will there be any other kind of ultimate enemy that we'll be facing, or will it just be essentially a mutants slice of life in the 40s kind of thing?
A:Yes, there will be an ultimate 'threat' for our characters, though what that threat (or villain) is I will keep that to myself for the time being, but it will be revealed slowly as the roleplay goes on.
Q:Do you have an age range for the characters?
A: Ideally I would prefer if the characters be limited to that of a younger age simply because it is slowly becoming a known fact during this time that the mutant gene is brought out though puberty, more or less. Not only this, but if a character were to have had their abilities for a good number of years now, their chances of getting caught and killed or imprisoned are much more likely. This can be side-stepped, however, if you give me a convincing story as to this 'older' character having just come by their powers recently, triggered by something other than just growing up.
Approved Spots
1. Logan Howlette - YoshiSkittlez
2. Yukiko Masuyo - YoshiSkittlez
3. Jean Grey - Vicier
4. David Thurman - Ghost Shadow (co-GM)
5. Sophia Bessette - Nallore
6. Iris Dvorak - Shadowcatcher
7. Charles Xavier - Ghost Shadow (co-GM)
8. Erik Lehnsherr - Shadowcatcher
9. Syleste Nioré - Vicier
10. Scott Summers - Shadowcatcher
Wait List
None at this time
What you need to know
The 1940's were dominated by World War II. European artists and intellectuals fled to the United States from Hitler and the Holocaust, bringing new ideas created in disillusionment. War production brought America out from the Great Depression. Women and blacks were needed to replace men who had gone off to war, and so the first great exodus of women from the home to the workplace began. Rationing affected the food eaten, the clothes worn, the toys with which children played with and so on... without a doubt your character has been affected one way or another (harshly) by the war.
After the war, however, the men returned and the women and blacks had to give up their jobs back to the men, but now having that taste of independence. No longer was the family farm an ideal; no longer would blacks accept lesser status. The GI Bill was now allowing more men than ever to get a college education.
Penicillin was just introduced successfully, revolutionizing medicine and curing what had previously been death sentences for thousands upon thousands.
The government reclassified 55% of their jobs, allowing women and blacks to fill them. First, single women were actively recruited to the workforce. In 1943, with virtually all the single women employed, married women were then allowed to work. This courtesy was not extended to foreigners brought over by the war, however. Japanese immigrants and their descendants, suspected of loyalty to their homelands, were sent to internment camps as the government didn't know what else to do with them. It is no secret that America had very big trust issues when it came to Germans and the Japanese.
Scrap drives were very common for the war effort and the production of cars stopped completely.
Franklin Roosevelt was president until 1945 when he died and Harry Truman took over to finish out the war.
Japan finally surrendered in 1945 after Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the United States came out the victor, though was challenged by the USSR. While the USSR subjugated the defeated countries, the US implemented the Marshall Plan, helping war-torn countries to rebuild and rejoin the world economy. However, disputes over ideology and control led to the Cold War. Communism was treated as a contagious disease and anyone who had contact with it was under suspicion and more than likely killed or imprisoned.
Television made its debut at the 1939 World Fair, but the war interrupted further development. In 1947, commercial television with 13 stations became available to the public. Computers were developed during the early forties. The digital computer, named ENIAC, weighing 30 tons and standing two stories high was completed in 1945.
Music
You were 'cool' if you listened to Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller, and Django Reinhardt (Jazz music)
Dating
Dating was 'absolutely essential' back then because life expectancy was low so there was that feeling of 'get married now or die alone.' Birth control options were limited and divorce just never happened.
If there was a single, healthy, young, American man, you can bet he was shipped overseas after Pearl Harbor, as conscription was very powerful during the time. Thanks to the war, the average life expectancy for a man was only 60 years, while a woman’s was over 68.
There were two types of single men left in the early 40s — those who wanted to sleep around because they knew they could die tomorrow, and the ones who wanted to land the love of their life, because they wanted something to have faith in if they died tomorrow.
It was always expected that a man pay for dinner.
In the 1940s, it was common for young people in their late teens to go out with a different person each weekend. The more dates someone had lined up, the more they displayed their popularity. Boys were obligated to ask the girls out, and sometimes they had to schedule a date weeks in advance. By the time a woman was ready to settle down, she would have gone on many dates and even had experienced “going steady” with a fellow or two. Of course, girls who smoked or had sex were considered easy and snubbed by the neighborhood. Thankfully, Hollywood took up smoking in the mid-40s and suddenly cigarettes became more acceptable and even sex but there are still those out there that will turn up their nose to the change.
Clothes
Wartime rationing left little time for fashionable whims or embellishments. Both men and women re-wore leftover outfits from the 1930s, re-tailoring clothes to hike up hemlines. Women slimmed down old mens coats and slacks, wearing pants in the factories to guard their legs against machines. Girdles were ditched for T-shirts. The bikini was first introduced in 1946.
Entertainment
Liquor, like all good things, was rationed during the war, but thanks to Roosevelt’s open trade policy with Latin America, rum was plentiful and popular. The rum daiquiri was a hit, simply sweetened with lime juice and a teaspoon of sugar.
WWII affected nearly every aspect of American life, and film was no exception. Thrillers and dramas like Casablanca, Notorious, and The Great Dictator reigned in the theaters. Big band music dominated the early half of the decade, while Frank Sinatra and his crooning cohorts wooed newlyweds by the end of the 40s.
CS
Note: At this time, I WILL NOT be accepting any characters that have any physical abnormalities like Beast in the sense that their physical appearance isn't anything considered 'not normal.' With the current problems of racism, sexism, religious and political differences playing a MAJOR role in the time period, that diversity is enough for now. However, as time moves on, I may be convinced to have a character or two under-go a 'freak accident' that later alters their physical appearance, but you must convince me hard.
That being said, I am accepting both Canon and Original Characters at this time.
I am not accepting any new characters at this time. If you have an interest, however, you may PM me with the CS attached and we can discuss when a good time might be to bring them in.
Name:
Age:
Alias (If they already have one or what you want it to be once they get one):
Appearance:
Costume (if any):
Abilities:
Skills:
Personality Traits:
Backstory:
(If I haven't seen you around before, I might ask you to write a longer, more detailed backstory, or provide a sample-post through PM so I can gauge your writing ability)
Other:
The School
Back in 1939, just as the war was taking off, many places of business were immediately run under and eventually abandoned. It was one of these buildings that Charles and Erik decided to take over for themselves, deeming it a practical place to start to gather and shelter mutants that should so need it, doubling as both a living place and an eventual school. Going with the vision in his head, Charles spent the next year or so cleaning the place up to make it acceptable for liming accommodations before he even thought about searching out other mutants. The building is split up into three levels; the main floor, the upstairs, and the basement.
The Outside
From the outside looking in, The Old Rose bar looks like any other building around the immediate area... run down and abandoned. All the windows are boarded up and the walls which Charles thought it best to leave that way for anonymity, keeping people from walking into the bar thinking it was open to the public. So far there haven't been any problems.
The Main Floor
The Bar
The only room that Charles and Erik were able to restore back to its former glory, the bar is the first room you walk into when you come in through the front door. This is the main area of ‘hangout’ for both teachers and students, since it’s the only really comfortable space within the entire building. Just down the hall are two different bathrooms, one male and one female. The bathrooms on the main floor do not have showers, only a toilet and sink. Unfortunately for some, the alcohol is off limits to anyone under the age at all times and anyone who is underage cannot be in the bar any later than 8pm unless they are passing through to get to the bunker or have special permission by one of the teachers.
Upstairs
Charles’ Office
Charles, taking up the post of ‘headmaster’ for this new beginnings school, has the larger of the two rooms upstairs in which he has converted into both his office and living/sleeping space. He has made it clear to any and every one that he has an open-door policy at all times, the only exception being when he is with someone who has required his attention or on the rare occasion wishes to be alone, in which case the door will be locked, letting whoever know that they simply need to try again later. He has a chaise lounge chair tucked into the corner for sleeping.
Erik’s Office
Erik, like Charles, has his own office/living space though significantly smaller, since most of the meetings and private conversations happen within Charles’ room. Because of this, Erik has his own rules of when people may come to him in his room, more often than not having it locked when he doesn’t wish to be bothered. His bed is tucked into a private little area behind the grey curtains for extra privacy.
Basement
The Bunker
Straight into coming down the stairs, the room is opened up in an underground bunker where all of the classes and training sessions take place. It is large enough for, say Charles, to conduct a class on one end and Logan to spar with a few of the students on the other end. There is noise beyond what you could believe, but it is the only space they have as of right now to do so. Because of this, there is a very rigid schedule of who conducts what classes and when. However, with the frequent sparring/training sessions, the ‘school’ equipment is replaced almost every day.
Bedrooms
Just past the bunker is a narrow cement hallway that is lined with a dozen or so doorways. Some of these doorways have doors, some don’t. It is beyond these doorways that are where the students sleep, a simple room with cement for walls, floor and ceiling. There is a small cot pre-provided for each student, but Charles has made it clear that any student may bring it whatever they would like to decorate the room however they wish so long as it’s tasteful and inoffensive. This includes any furniture they might be able to find or purchase on their own dime, but Charles has made it clear that any bedroom renovations will be done on their own time and not during school hours. Some of these rooms are better than others. Some have cracks in the walls, some have busted pipes causing water damage and slight drips. These rooms are first-come-first-served upon student arrival.
The Bathroom
Continuing down the hall past the student bedrooms is the large, open bathroom. Although crappy with pathetic water pressure and a water heater that likes to kick off more times than not, Charles has made sure that each shower stall has a curtain to keep some sort of modesty since there is only the one room, thus has a forced co-ed policy. At least, however, the bathroom stalls all have doors.
