Build No House

Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it.
~ Indian Proverb

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Story

The year is 2030 in the behemoth of the Greater Tokyo Exclusion Zone, still recovering from the aftermath of Lost Saturday. Ten years ago complete devastation was brought down upon the Greater Tokyo Area during the closing ceremonies of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by a mysterious terrorist group. Biological agent Novichok-13 was released inside the National Olympic Stadium and a series of IED explosives were set off throughout the Greater Tokyo Area in high population centers. In the aftermath of these tragic events, the Japaneses Government passed Order 982-A1 otherwise known by its full name. The Nine Hundred and Eighty Second Order of Proclamation, To Fully Honor The Wishes of The Japanese People and His Imperial Majesty To Protect and Maintain Peace. The order effectively restricted all domestic and international travel into the region until peace could be restored and the culprits caught.

It has been ten years since the Exclusion Order was passed and not much is heard from within the Zone these days. Within the first year of the incident, the military barrier set up by personal of the JSDF was replaced with what is known as the Greater Kanto Wall, a heavily fortified structure that surrounds the perimeter of the zone at a staggering 1 kilometer in height. The Japanese government officially was relocated to Nagoya and the Imperial Family was temporally located to Suzaki Imperial Villa. Officially all government actions within the Zone are handled by The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) itself being founded soon after the incident of Lost Saturday to deal with increasing terrorist threats on a much grander scale. Despite international pressure to release the tourists and expats within the Zone the Japanese government refuses to lift the Zone due to matters of "international security".

This story takes place within the Zone. It follows a group of young adolescents (13-18 years of age) who live within the Zone. They were "recruited " at a young age by MPS to serve as part of Operation: Shisa. Shisa is an ongoing operation started soon after the events of Lost Saturday to find individuals with "gifts" and to coerce them into service of the MPS to hunt after individuals with similar gifts who were rumored to have caused Lost Saturday. Gifts that arose after Lost Saturday in some individuals as a side effect to exposure to particles released by Novichok-13. In short they are taking children and forcing them to serve as hunters of terrorists and other individuals that threaten to destabilize the zone.

In this sick game of cat and mouse these adolescents do not have the virtue of being able to "pick sides". To insure compliance MPS holds a very strict policy of retribution. Having cardiovascular bombs implanted into them, failure will always result in death. This death does not just stretch to the agents but it also stretches to the agents family, friends, and anyone that ever even smiled at them. An agent failure to follow through with there orders will also be sending these people to the executioners block as MPS kill teams are on standby at all teams waiting for the kill order. With all words and actions closely monitored by MPS at all times, the line between life and death is a slippery slope.

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Terminology

• Zoners: Zoners is the collective catch all term for denizens of the Zones to refer to one another as a group. Since it has seemed the rest of the world has given up on them, nationalities don't matter any more everyone is a member of the zone.
• Hounds: The name given to the run of the mill officers of the MPS. The name comes from the wolf like insignia that is emblazoned on there uniforms. Used by regular Zoners as a derogatory term, not to be used in front of the MPS.
• T-Papers: Short for Regulatory Transit and Travel Papers. These were issued around the same time that the Greater Kanto Wall was finished, they allow for Zoners to travel between the MPS checkpoints that split up the sectors within the Zone.
• LSP: The Lost Saturday Pathogen, a disease that spreads among the more unsavory parts of the Zone
  it is a lymphatic disease that is believed to be caused by run off exposure to remnants of Novichok-13. It is mostly commonly contracted by scavenges that dare to travel into the "red zones" close to the National Olympic Stadium.
  

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  Technology
  
  The Technological level is similar to that of something seen in Ghost In The Shell, Neuromancer, or Deus Ex Human Revolutions. Cybernetic augmentations are a thing that happened and have changed peoples live sometimes for better and sometimes for worse, robots are considerably more advance, though Zoners are running mostly on 10 year old tech at this point considerably less advance then some stuff that the MPS will bring out.
  

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Denouement

Have you ever looked to the sky and wondered about the future? Do you enjoy the literature of William Gibson? Did the original Ghost In The Shell or maybe Mardock Scarmble get you thinking? Do you like dystopian futures with violent aesthetics that also take the time to pull back and minute and just think? Are you really excited about Under The Dog and also kind of disappointed considering it may never come? If you answered yes to any or all of these things then Build No House may be the Roleplay you are looking for. I welcome you to look around, maybe take a seat and say hi. If you have any questions feel free to ask them about the world or anything like that and I will try my best to help you. :)

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News And Important Stuff

To Be filled out as needed.

Woah, well the CS is a little more detailed than I expected. Got a lot of work to do that's for sure.

@Damiann47@Turboshitter

Don't feel intimidated guys. I always fluff up my sheets a bit because that's how I like my own personal sheets for me because it gives me a better idea of what I'm doing in my head. You guys have no need to try and match it and you just make your sheets to whatever length you feel comfortable as long as all the applicable zones are filled out. :) And I eagerly awaiting your sheets, this should be fun.

Wheee, here we go! I'll get a CS up today...when I'm a little more awake.

Also holy cow @Turboshitter, that CS is so metal.

@Hexaflexagon I do have an important question after properly reading through your absurdly detailed CS:
You used several rather specific names when it comes to augmentations. Are these based on something existing (like GitS) or made up on the fly? Are we to adapt to those naming conventions and if so, can we extend that arsenal with our own, less professional sounding augment IDs?

Another question important for the general concept of my character thus far:
How big a thing is AI in the lore of GitS/this RP? Is there independently operating AI? If yes, how common is one to come across those?

I suppose I should elaborate on what I currently have in mind, lest I work this thing out in great detail and then someone tells me that it's completely contradicting the lore we're working under.
I would like to go for an AI hacker ladydude. Someone who is absolutely bonkers for writing/rewriting AI scripts and who specialises in "turning" hostile AI-based systems (be they as simple as an automated sentry turret or as complex as an independent robot person) into temporary allies. Possibly keeping a "pet-AI" around, even. Would that work at all with the lore? Would such a skill set be overpowered right off the bat, or maybe completely useless since AI is too scarce for it to be significant?

@Traitor

Well I've been writing my CS out, and all I do with my augments is come up with neat sounding names, that's it. I think the description is most important, just in keeping them balanced, which actually seems like we can get away with some relatively powerful stuff judging from the sheets we got, and I guess using decent pseudo-science to explain how they work.

Excellent. One augmented CQB dude CS coming right up.

Alright time to answer some more questions!

@Traitor
They are made up entirely on the fly! My system is pick something that works with the augmentation. Ex Goliaths are supposed to strong so Goliath Phase 4 Arm Enhancement works, added in the Phase 4 to show that it is a developed property and can be assumed to be better than phase 1-3 and Arm Enhancement because that is what it works for. I basically take that generally structure and just move it around to make it fit. And with your own augmentations you can name them whatever the hell you want! I just do it that why so that they sound like they could be real things :)

AI is a funny thing actually know that you mentioned it. In the world AI work on many levels as in their area robot people, autonomous worker drones, unmanned combat vehicles etc. But as far as anybody knows (we will be getting into this later don't worry) that no artifical intelligence has achieved sentience. Where human are built upon emotions which are in turn built upon survival, robots as far as the people in the world know are built on programming which in turn is built on service. I.E some "smart AIs" can mimic human emotional response but that is because they are programmed to, not because they choose to. So basically yes AI and robots are things that work beside humans but can any of them feel or think independently beyond their programming that has yet to been seen.

So your hacker person would actually work and be fine. Because most robots run on some sort of artificial pathing mainframe anyway because it would pretty stupid to have to watch and control each and everyone. And don't worry it wouldn't be too OP.

@Damiann47
You are correct! Basically as long as you can sell me on your pseudoscience and keep them relatively balanced I'm pretty game for anything. And in regards to that balance you guys think you guys are powerful with their robot parts? Wait until you see some of the bad guys. XD So don't worry balancing should be fine for the most part, you guys are proabably going to wreck standard thugs and gang bangers but that is kind of the point, but once you start going up agianst over cybernetically augmented supersoldiers and Walking Tank Mechs then things become pretty even. lol

@Spoo
Alright then cool, cool, cool.

So when all you guys are done and ready, I'll throw up the IC for reals and we can get this show on the road.

I done did it. *collapses*

It got more and more complex every time I looked at it. What an abomination. Awaiting "holy shit that's way too much crap" type criticism...before I ask about more shit to add.

Man... I have yet another lady in the works. Guess this is the super anti-terrorist girl squad.

Wait... I thought the MPS was supposed to be blackmailing these kids into working for them by threatening to kill them and by holding their loved ones hostage. Why has everyone so far either joined willingly or been the benefitting party in some reconstructive surgery? >_>

Also, I'm trying to decide on an appearance for the 4000-XL (kudos to anyone who knows the series the name is referencing, btw). There are two really well-drawn designs I've found, but this one is the one that really speaks to me. Problem is, the sketch is rough as fuck (these pictures are all just the base of the gun before it's been fully assembled, by the way >:D)

Yeah, I'm trying to come up with an interesting relationship between my character and the MPS.

I also can't decide where my character is from. I was thinking like Sweden or Norway but then I realized I'm from Alabama and I know nothing about day-to-day life there.

I could make a damn fine redneck cyborg though. Maybe I should.

Slackers! Get in gear! :p

Can't rush mediocrity! :p

Slackers! Get in gear! :p

But indeed! *raises crotchy old man cane and complains about the slowness and disinterest of youth these days.* Though seriously as I said before you don't have to make your sheets into works of art people, I just want character sheets so I can know who your character are and what bad ass things they do you don't have to go make the next great novel or anything XD Because we don't want this thing to die before it makes it out of the water.

@Damiann47
Super Anti-Terrorist girl squad you say? So while going for Ghost In The Shell we ended up veering to the right and smashing into Gunslinger Girl? XD But that's okay I really don't care that much for skewed gender ratios as long as the cast is interesting!

@Spoo
Oh hell we can rush Mediocrity! But we won't because we are nice people. XD
And either Northern European cyborg or Redneck Cyborg works, Redneck cyborg with a cowboy hat may be hilarious though. lol Right because according to Japan all American Rednecks have Cowboy hats right? And according to me a damn dirty Yankee that you guys all are cowboys anyway? XD But do whatever the hell you feel like.

@Turboshitter
Oh don't worry it may seem like MPS are super happy and helping everybody right now but that definitely won't be the case. And well you have to remember even if they are benefiting from the surgery what they are doing is two steps away from Child Slavery with Guns its not like once they sign up they can go you know what this is a bad idea and I'm going to go rethink my options. Faustian Bargains may still be Bargains but that don't mean your not selling your soul to the devil. :D

And for the 400-XL pick which ever one you really want to pick!

OKAY, back to work. Last few days were kicking my ass so I decided to take it easy without really doing any roleplaying stuff. Anyway I'm promising a finished CS within a few hours.

@Hexaflexagon

Thanks for the mention in the interest check - I've subscribed this thread to keep myself up to date on this RP. :)

A character that requires low maintenance huh... I'm in the process of creating the character sheet (which I find intriguing, albeit a little overwhelming in terms of details). I'm making him in such a way that depending on the IC progress he may become a possible threat and can be killed off if needed to, heh.

(I dunno about other rpers, but personally I'm not squeamish about killing off my characters - if we can die, so are the characters.)

Hmm... It occurs to me now that my character would be about three years old at the oldest upon getting trapped in the Zone, so I guess he wouldn't have developed southern mannerisms yet. That is kind of a bummer.

Whatever, though. I'll have my CS posted up tonight.

Sorry, but I'm gonna have to withdraw from this RP. There's been a conflict of interest and I don't think I'll be able to keep up.

Ignore this because reasons.

@Hexaflexagon So... are we giving up, or are you still waiting for more people to make a CS; or just get more interest in general. Not gonna lie, it'll be shame to see this die before it even had a chance to live.