New Ancora: District 17
.
.
He couldn’t move his eyes from the raindrops on the window.
“Detective Barker.”
Falling in endless streams.
“BARKER!”
Full wake. “Yes sir.”
“Barker, you gettin' sleep?”
“Enough.”
He was nearly cut off by a full-bellied laugh that dominated every inch of his pathetic office. “You just zoned out for a full minute there, son.” The Chief said, calling him out quite clearly. He looked like he wanted an answer.
“Uhh, new place," he rubbed his eyes and shook his head awake, "it’s a little noisy. Though it’s better than living on North Way, I’m glad I got out. Everyone there's too young.”
“Naw.” Chief said with a snort. Barker tensed in his chair, he could tell he was on the verge of being laid into. “You’re just old kid. You gotta face it head on like everyone else and start gettin’ your fuckin’ sleep, grandpa.” He paused briefly, “I’m serious guy, we need you if we plan to catch that psychopath.”
“You’re assuming it’s been one person doing the murders.” Barker said, folding his arms and leaning back comfortably.
“You little bastard! Got the sleeping pattern of’a fuckin insomniac and you’re throwing shit like this at me. Was I not just saying how much we need your ass?”
“Chief… I get it, you like my ass.”
“Ay! It ain’t just me ask anyone hea.”
Barker smirked and lit himself a cigarette. He bid the Chief a good (late) afternoon, assuring him he’d get "back to work" on the district’s newest serial-killer. Instead he browsed the internet.
cheap noise canceling studio monit-
Close tabs.
Chief poked his head back through to see Barker scramble with a bunch of manilla folders, "Detective, don't forget we got BoD coming at the end of the week. You need to get your shit together, gonna be checking every square inch of this dump. Keep the intel we have on our newest friend outta their sight." He hung on the doorframe as if he were about to make a quick exit, "…and get back to fucking work…” he trailed slowly down the hall, "…no more orderin’ gals off LoveLuck."
Barker looked up at the paneled drop ceiling and wondered how much asbestos he was exposed to on a daily basis.
"Fuck."
New Ancora. Ha, new. Our city is collapsing around us, the bread-makers have realized their efforts aren't worth the means and they cook only for their own now. We’re living the transition period, between the era of shit and the era of rebuilding. From the rubble they will build over our broken skeletons. They want us to believe they can revitalize the city, bring it days of the past, but they don’t recognize that we know the damage has long been done.
Though for all the shit that spews in this city it’s where I’m from and all I know, we have to hope for a better day but not expect one and realize that’s OK. There is a lot I love, and there's a lot I'm used to that I should not be. I believe our district deserves justice and protection, but it is too stunned to move. This is a shithole, but it's OUR shithole, and I’m sure as damn hell not waiting to go outside.
How about you D17?
~~~~
Ugh, slacktivists.
It had stopped raining. A thumping bass line filled the air just as she closed the screen to her laptop. The screams and cheers of a very entertained crowd echoed up through the vertical tunnel of high-rises. Even from her spot in the corner on the balcony, lying on layers of pillow, Elle could feel the music vibrating from the floor level of their building. She also could hear someone over the music, talking through the same speakers (“Now we’re gonna bring it back to the beginning of last century for a bit...”).
As the voice abruptly dropped, the sound system sung. “Oh, oh, luxury…”
"Trina!" She called to her roommate on the other side of the balcony. "Pass that.
"You're funny, YOU can come sit with me." Trina moved a thick bundle of hair from her eyes, pushed it back across her head and it fell to the left; she didn’t look up from her laptop.
Elle laughed and collapsed on the pillows next to her, grabbing the joint with two precise fingers. She inhaled, laid back, and exhaled into the sky’s smeared yellow haze. “What’re you studying?”
“Chaucer. Book of the Duchess.”
“Mmm.” Her eyebrows pointed, “I’ve only read Canterbury. I liked it enough.”
“Well,” Trina trailed, “YOU can borrow my textbook,” she raised the gargantuan text above Elle’s resting head, “when I finish.”
Elle coughed smoke, looked upside down to Trina and started to laugh. She passed the joint. “I’m all set for the weekend, I kind of want to go to a show tonight.”
Trina groaned. “No. Not at Avalon again… it’s enough that we have to hear them all the time.”
“No! Not Avalon.” She said quickly, almost disappointed in her friend’s assumption. “I was going to say The Spit but whatever.”
She slammed her laptop shut. “You’re talking about going to District 10… to see his band.”
“Oh shut up, it has nothing to do with that, they’re actually really good.”
“Let’s do it, I’m done with this.” Trina tossed her laptop where she had been sitting and walked into the apartment. “I’ll make some breakfast.”
Elle rolled her eyes, “Girl, relax, I still have to work today. I’ll eat though.”
“Where you working, the bookstore or the pole?”
“Fuck off… I’m working the club so I’m gonna have to meet you somewhere in D10.”
“Simmer-now, I’m just messing with you.” She cracked a few eggs into a bowl and reached back to the fridge for a carton of milk. “We can meet at Flannery’s for some drinks and then we’ll go to your boyfriend’s show.”
“Bitch.” She mouthed, skimming along the verse of Chaucer’s that Trina had been reading. Elle spoke louder, “Flannery’s sounds cool. I haven’t been there in forever.”
“You want onion on your omelet?” Trina said from the kitchen.
It took her puzzlingly long to find the answer.
"WEL-COME CITIZEN."
New Ancora, a metropolis that's gutsy, grungy, and beautiful if you wish for it to be, if you can stop to appreciate your time and place in the universe, if you can still love to be alive. If you don’t, why aren’t you fighting for something? You must want something, we all want something. More credits? More dope? Less violence? More blood?
Whatever it is New Ancora welcomes you, your dreams, your perversions, and your murderous tendencies… so long as you're acting off the law’s grid and stay in your Zone.
Districts
New Ancora is broken up into twenty-one districts; we consider your individual wealth, familial history, crime records, and profession when providing you with the right fit!
Districts 1-9 are referred to as Zone Alpha. Residents of Zone Alpha can live anywhere they want, but most prefer to take residency somewhere in 1-9. Residents of Zone Beta are not allowed in Alpha, that is without Alpha clearance (Mercenaries who are seeking employment by the Bureau of Defense there’s no need to fret, we’ve got you covered. Read more on attaining your Alpha clearance in your BoD: MERC Handbook).
District Zero (or just Zero) is only accessible by members of the Ancoran Government - politicians, renowned professors, military officials, scientists, their affiliates - and their kin. Zero is a utopia shrouded in secrecy, seen by only the most elite players in Ancora. It has become somewhat of an urban myth and is a punch line just about anywhere in B.
REMEMBER: Sour run-ins with our police or military forces can result in a restriction to a series of districts or in more severe cases a single district, with no legal travel between districts. Violation of a restriction is a federal offense.
Of the twenty-one districts there are only sixteen left, the fallen five went under for two reasons: District 2 and 3 were merged & District 10 and 11 were merged (because why not?), and Districts 18 - 20 succumbed to neglect and descended into anarchy over 50 years ago (survivors fled to District 17 and 16, moving families and bloodlines across flaming war zone). No one’s forgotten the fallen districts, though your government would like you to believe otherwise.
Ganglands
If you were thinking there was no possible way this city could be further compartmentalized you couldn't be more wrong. Gangs are nothing new, it's impossible to sustain a population - as big as Ancora's once was - without expecting localized control of territories and illegal trade of goods or narcotics.
Gangs are deeply rooted in the culture of Beta, having been established very quickly in the early days of Ancora's genesis; early incarnations of these gangs were really just neighborhoods that kept an extra eye open for their blocks, they protected their own. The Fall of D18-20 was the turning point for the legitimacy of these gangs. After the war the remaining resistance groups spread out within the neighborhoods of D16 & D17 and stuck close, over time these communes of refugees became restless, underpaid, and in search of something beyond their means. These groups turned from harmless sub-communities and morphed into street smart traders specializing in the circulation of sensitive materials. The Ancoran Dream, attained.
Gang wars aren't very frequent... well, that's not entirely true. There's two types of gangs in New Ancora, the mafioso types and the nihilist anarcho-punk types.
Most of the wars between the established business types are going on eternally, happening quietly in the thick dark of District 17's backstreets or in a subway restroom in District 13, but a war resembling something out of a history book? A rarity. It's very uncommon to see gangs fight in the middle of a street with guns a'blaze, they've found in years of existence that their type of business works more effective with executions or murder-raids on enemy territory that are played out cleanly and with professionalism, moves that are planned and considered.
Even the anarcho-punks sometimes adhere to a twisted sense of decency, which is not to say you should be flying like a bat out of hell into J-Town. They won't be afraid to leave you laid face pressed in the gutter, bent at the limbs by the sweet kiss of a crowbar. You go about your business, pay them no attention, and hope they don't pass you by on the street when they're pissed off, which is decidedly a lot.
Law Enforcement
Every district in New Ancora has its own fully staffed police department, complete with officers and hardened detectives handling the cases local to their territories. Overseeing these departments, albeit loosely, is the Bureau of Defense, the oppressive forces common to higher level districts like Zero. One BoD agent is assigned to each police department, though he or she is not required to be or stay there, or to enjoy the mandatory visitation hours.
You can sometimes find BoD agents at the gates working with or in place of that district's officers. They are not confined to Alpha yet still don't spend enough time patrolling in Beta, which is one of the two actions they are (technically) required to fulfill each day. BoD agents are equipped with clean white armor.
Ask the local cops and they’ll tell you BoD is a bunch of fancy kids with glitzy tech and daddy issues that don’t give a shit about the city they were sworn to protect, but instead are more interested in the happenings of “that fucking Zone, even though they come down here to get wet.”
For the most part the police departments alone deal with all of the crime that happens in the lower districts. BoD agents will sometimes work alongside local cops in big cases like gang raids or drug busts, but those occurrences can be rare. The police, at this point, prefer it that way; their time to be angry about BoD's general negligence has been exhausted for a long while, and the current social climate between the two forces is the less they have to see of each other the better.
Police armor is a black variant of BoD armor, though produced at a slightly reduced level of quality. The suits in circulation are a tad bit on the used side but the AH-114 name is known specifically for its longevity and solid build. Detectives and officers typically wear some kind of jacket over their armor.
Nightlife
When the sun falls the districts become awash in a neon haze of night culture. From beautiful clubs featuring the best sound systems and soaring sky-bars to rougher dive-bars with seedy back rooms and seedier patrons (the kind to find whatever drug it is you’re craving), there’s something for everyone to enjoy on a weekend.
Places of Interest in Zone Alpha
- TBD
Places of Interest in Zone Beta
- Flannery's: Your classic Irish bar, chock-full of: regulars, alcoholics, and rowdy drunks looking to have a fun night. Lot's of sports, lot's of fights. D10.
- The Spit: Looking for loud guitar music or girls and guys with neck tats? Here's your place. The Spit is one of the oldest rock clubs in New Ancora, originally establishing itself strictly as a venue for hardcore punk bands they've expanded their resume to include most rock music with an edge. Countless local punk bands - playing stuff from 1980s style hardcore, to the catchy vibes of late 70s punk - have walked through the back door and have delivered head-splitting riffs and quick bass lines. D10.
- Eclipse: probably THE cleanest club in Zone Beta and the closest to anything like the clubs in Alpha, a favorite of university students and young professionals. There’s a VIP floor at the club’s very top that is rented out practically every night. D10
- Avalon: ground level club that hosts live MC's and plays a lot of hip-hop, trap, and golden oldies. Avalon can be described as: unpretentious, easy-going, and “one love”. Come here if you’ve been hitting the herb and want unwind with a few drinks and talk to the local dudes or ladies. It can get wild on the dance floor, so be sure you make friends or you might feel a little lonely when everyone’s getting close. D17
- Bennie’s:
- WEREHOUSE: scuzzy rock bar featuring live music every night. Cool but rowdy music venue that can hold 2,500 occupants, don't plant yourself in the front of the stage if you're not comfortable with being apart of the mosh or potentially kicked by stage divers.
Though Zone Alpha’s nightlife appears more refined, they indulge in the same vices as Zone Beta (sometimes even in B), they’re just quieter about their sins.
Transportation
[there should be stuff here eventually]
Thread is very much so under construction, I'd love to hear feedback from people interested. Many of your questions may not have answers - as I'm still trying to develop the world, and would prefer to develop it with you! - but regardless, shoot them my way if you have any.
It’s early into the new century, probably somewhere around 2118. I really like the cyberpunk idea of low life/high tech, though I’m not an expert and will have to research a bit. I'm not sure if it's even possible for the citizens to thwart the government nor do I think that will be a focus of this thread, I think the idea of following characters that create their own destinies and have nights of self-discovery and catharsis within a place of hard violence, crime, and death, could be quite beautiful. A people that have been, for too long, broken and ignored by their government but are too alive to not seek love, sex, drugs, knowledge, laughs, and friends. The question is, will you give it to them?
Gameplay is completely sandbox, there are some plots (ie. serial killer) I have in mind that will tie into bigger issues, but there really isn’t a solid unifying plot-line (at the moment). The way to think about it is there’s problems in your society and what you chose to do with them – fight, ignore, inspire – is completely up to you. The better part is WE can be the ones creating these problems; we react off the ripples of a different character’s action and watch how something in District 4 could bring devastation to D17.
Want to live in Zero? Go for it, I won’t be focusing much on that anyway so if you want to have a big control over these organizations that’s completely cool, just PM me so I can confer some things with you (sidebar: both of my characters will be residents of District 17). If you want to get really philosophical and follow around a drifter character that’s trying to find identity, sounds good! Want to be a detective or officer and work on cases you invent? OK. How about a psychotic-killer, the techie in a team of bank-robbers, a drug/gang lord, a frontman/woman in a band, or maybe the bassist? Do it! I don’t care, just interact with the people around you. I want sub-plots galore!
It’s about making this city come alive and breathe by filling it with subtle nuances, scenes, and exchanges of dialogue, while getting comfortable in that world and seeing how our characters will fit. I’m hoping that this freedom will allow plots to spring up naturally and frequently, so that if you’re bored of your current situation a new one is just around the corner, waiting to be typed! I want there to be something that brings these characters together, we just have to find it together.
The Horror tag (will be explained better in the Law Enforcement section once I finish that stuff) is here because since the fall of D18-20, violence in the lower Districts has increased exponentially. Not just in frequency, but in its sheer brutality.
You will be allowed multiple characters and I don't think there'll be any reason to limit the number of players.
+ for my fans of TDE, yes, there was a ScHoolboy Q reference in the intro.
