<Snipped quote by Landaus Five-One> I'm aware. That's the RP I was mentioning. I almost joined it before it imploded.
<Snipped quote by LetMeDoStuff> Guess I got a RP to re-read.
A good TL;DR
Winter be setting in, the United States of Vinland has finally arrived with its big force, two battles occurred on our POV, the Battle of Hill *insert number* and the Siege of Amone, all leading across the border of Assen for liberation. Now we got fields 'n' shit
War is the most peculiar of human achievements. Never in any other point of history does the rapid technological development of mankind muster the same drive as it does when it's under the pretences of slaughter, defence, defiance and conquest. Intelligent pools of thought are put together to best figure out how to annihilate the opposition. And it all seems so easy to deny its virtuous place in the world, yet it crawls back over and over, lusting off of the banquets of suffering and hate that so easily fuels its fires. Someday, however, an impasse may arise, where humanity pushes itself so far to brutality that only then will it spend all it has to offer on reversing the carnage it has indulged in for thousands of years.
In 1911EC, the most formidable Empire in history launches the swift invasion of the Eastern fringes of unconquered Europan soil, breaching an unsteady status quo held up by twigs and paper. The reasons behind were mainly driven by the lust for ragnite, the ever-so precious material of Ragnite, a natural resource capable of fulfilling the needs of the fuelling the new age of industrialisation, alongside its only-recent manipulation for medicinal and wartime practices. Only a year before, the Atlantic Federation had been birthed out of a taped-together defensive pact, opposing the ideology of the Eastern Autocratic Europan Empire. Whilst the first troops swept through its border nations, such as Assen and Wesel, the mass mobilisation began for the largest military conflict mankind had seen. Many feared for what the war would bring, but the most optimistic of politicians, commentators, generals and citizens slated a year long engagement that would see a rise and fall of one or more great powers. What followed, however, was soon to be known as the Great Europan War.
It is now December 30th, 1914. Four long, gruelling years of violence has seen the greatest loss of life in any existing conflict. The harsh realities of trench-based warfare has set the world continent into chaos. Things have improved little. On one side, the Imperials were halted before their advance could overwhelm the Federation - and over time, the attrition has slowly begun to whittle down the lonesome giant that persists in claiming the valuable resources and expanding its continental ambitions. However, as the Federation's offensive to liberate Assen and Wesel has progressed at an aching pace, the winter has once again settled in. Now, the frontline sits static once more. The Empire holds heavily entrenched ground with the Federation forced to dig in out of fear of losing its gains. And now, with the long-awaited arrival of Vinland soldiers, it's unsure if the coming days will see any victories for the foreseeable future, or if the war will forever persist until it perpetuates humanity's very destruction.
Hello all, and welcome to Valkyria Chronicles: Changing of the Guard, a lite-fantasy-esq historical war drama focusing on the narratives of characters forced to endure its horrendous conflicts. Now, first thing to put out there, yes this is derived from the universe of the same game name, SEGA's Valkyria Chronicles, however I will immediately say that prior knowledge of the series is nothing much of a bonus rather than a requirement. Returning group members range from long-time fans to those who've never even touched or had heard of the source material anytime before what we did, and we don't so much follow the canonical events. For example, the games follow the Second Europan War in 1935, whereas we're currently exploring EW1 in its closing years, before transitioning over to EW2's inception when we eventually conclude its former self, showcasing the chance of technology, ideologies, character development and more.
For those unaware, CotG was a long-running roleplay that started in 2018 and lasted until early 2020. It achieved over 410+ posts and to this day stands as the most successful thing I've ever miraculously ran on this website. You can find the old thread HERE. With this in mind, it should be a clear that this is a continuation from where we left off, yet jumped ahead to the next arc to openly welcome and accommodate new players that wish to partake in this gritty and downtrodden world our characters find themselves within. When the OOC is posted, there will be a summary of existing overarching events that crossed our characters.
Backdrop tiiiiime! So, the existing cast are all members of the Federation's 15th Atlantic Rifles, an infantry regiment posted along the central frontline. However, our characters come from across an array of nationalities both under the Federation's umbrella, neutral volunteer forces, colonial dominions and more. The war itself has been ruthless to most of the cast, whilst rewarding to others finding what they sought. Whether they're a failed poet, a nationalist uplifting the spirit of their fallen nation, misguided volunteers, terrified conscripts or members of an upper-class fulfilling their duty, the scale of personalities, opinions, inputs and outputs set within the conflict are a great source of development, interaction and storytelling! We don't want it to remain a closed club, however, for just returning members, and are actively seeking an ever growing number of roleplayers who want to throw their character into the midst.
Key: - BLUE - Atlantic Federation Nations - RED - Eastern Autocratic Europan Empire, including puppets and allies - PURPLE - EW1 Participants, non-Federation - WHITE - Neutral Nations
Our characters will be, as previously stated, under the command of the 15th Atlantic Rifles. This continuation is set to begin during the Winter of 1914, in the final days of the year, with new introductions of technological prowess, conflicts and spouts of character interaction to happen across its time. Though there will be better detail in the OOC, our characters split into 5 infantry roles - Rifleman, Shocktrooper, Gunner, Sapper and Marksman; these serve more as identities and lore guidelines for equipment, potential skills and all that jazz, nothing too gamey.
Seeing as this is just the interest check, that extra detail (like character sheets) will be left out until we launch it completely. I sincerely hope you are interested in the idea, as the rest of us existing members are, and are as excited as we are to relaunch and continue the unfinished story of Valkyria Chronicles: Changing of the Guard! If you have any questions about the roleplay whatsoever, feel free to leave it down below. We will have a discord invite thrown into the check here when more interest comes around, which will lead to an additional OOC chat just to make it more fluid and convenient for chatter there as opposed to forum posting on the website (just like last time). And for that, I look forward to seeing where we will go from henceforth!
”I'm like Japan's little pit bull. They beat it, starve it, mistreat it, and once in a while they let it out to attack somebody.”
Name Christian Alexander Bell
Nationality American
Age 34
Sexuality HeteroSexual
Birth March 14, 1997; Pensacola, Florida
Appearance Christian stands tall at 6’3. Well built muscles, and a strict grooming regime are his attempts at standing out in a world he’s categorically alienated from.Despite a long career of warfighting, Christian has been lucky enough to keep himself safe from injury that would require need of cybernetic prosthetics, as such he’s kept away from cybernetic enhancements of any kind, preferring a well toned physique to well toned clockwork machinery as part of his physical aesthetic.
While on duty he wears a clean set of the NSF uniform, no deviations from the regulations,his military background making it almost second nature to maintain a uniform. His armor on the other hand is the closest thing to cybernetic enhancement as he’ll allow himself. Heavily modified to fit his needs on the battlefield, he’ll routinely have the tech specialists work with him to keep the hardware battle ready and pristine.
Outside of his duties as an NSF operative, he wears casual clothes, jeans, hoodies,and baseball caps. Height 6’3”
Weight 195
Personality
Christian is a flippant individual by nature. He’s as quick with a joke as he is with an insult in most situations, although that's not to say he can’t take things seriously. He just prefers to approach problems with a lighthearted attitude, as opposed to a bitter one. Nobody wants to be around someone with a rod up their ass their whole lives.
His long career has molded him into a mercenary, he doesn’t care for causes, or doing the ‘right’ thing. In his experience noble causes and pretty mission statements were just tools used by people with stars on their shoulders and flags pinned to their suits to sell the idea of war to the young and stupid. The young die for their profit. If the old can make a little money starting wars? He could make a little fighting them.
Role Rifleman
Equipment
Chris has modified his armor to suit his needs on the field, it fields things such as a PHUD, a Compad, Pneumatic strength Assist, Weight dispersion pneumatics, Movement Assistance Systems, Integrated Ballistics Computer,Threat Analysis System, ID Lock.
Previous Careers
United States Marine(10Y) Blackwatch Mercenary(5Y)
Biography
Christian Alexander Bell was born in Pensacola Florida to parents who were entirely too young, and too dumb to raise a son. His father knew that early, because not long after his birth, he abandoned his family. Not long after his father's abandonment, whether it be because of the hardships of life or addiction; Chris never cared to find out which, His mother left him at the steps of a fire station. A safe haven baby, and a ward of the state.
The beginnings of Chris’s life were hard, being an orphan, he bounced from foster home to foster home, school to school. As a result of this Chris found it hard to make friends, and his peers found it easy to pick on him as a result. Chris figured out early that it was easier to make his peers like him if he could make them laugh, and that influenced his personality. Nobody wanted to punch the comedian in the classroom.
Being the clown of every social circle would be his identity for the majority of his high school career, his flippant and nonchalant attitude made him popular with his peers, but he also found it was easy to annoy those who were supposed to be in charge of him. After high school his friend group evaporated all but his highschool girlfriend, Claire Belgrave. He married her right out of highschool. Abysmal grades limited his prospects for school. And faced with a budding new family, Chris felt he had little choice but to enlist in the United States Marines not long after his marriage to Claire.
He again was a favorite of his squadmates within the marines, but he drew the Ire of those who were above him in the rankings, from Drill instructors during basic training, to his lieutenants in the middle east when he served overseas. When Christian first enlisted he learned to believe in the cause of the military he served, bringing stability to the region he was in, fighting the terrorists there. Over time however, as he watched more and more of his friends die with every combat, and the officers struggle with bureaucracy, being consumed by it themselves or offering their men to stave off the damage to their own careers, the causes stopped meaning anything to him. He stopped caring about them, they all seemed like lies to him when stacked next to a fresh row of black body bags. The only thing that mattered was the money he made.
He eventually made the rank of Staff Sergeant, and he led his Marines under that premise, hearts and minds came second to coming home and getting paid for Christian, and he enforced these rules with his squad. Chris’s downward spiral culminated in Afghanistan, with half his squad dead on a Lieutenant’s glory run. By the time the sun set that day, the Lieutenant’s nose was broken in three places, and Chris had two choices: Take the Lieutenant to trial, maybe get some justice for his Marines, but go to Leavenworth in the process...or let it go, be released on a simple Bad Conduct Discharge, he and the Lieutenant walk free. In the end, Chris couldn’t throw his own life away like that, with a wife and child to care for and so many years ahead, instead; Christian went home, but he found home had stopped being in the states long ago. Ten years of being a Marine had made his relationship with Claire hard as it became harder and harder to see her world, as she could never see his. He was away for long periods of time, and when he was home he was either drunk, or arguing with her. Under those conditions, divorce was a foregone conclusion, and Claire took their son Chris Jr. with her to Texas, leaving Chris alone with his nightmares.
With no family, and no other prospects after a lifetime of soldiering. Chris found his new home to be the bottom of a bottle for a time, until a recruiter for a Mercenary company by the name of Blackwatch found him. Someone in Chris’s old unit had recommended him, a member of the outfit himself apparently. Child support now being a looming obstacle in Chris’s life; he quickly accepted. The work suited him well, war suited him well, even if sometimes at night, he saw places long destroyed, and Marines long dead. He fought in jungles, deserts, and destroyed cities, dragging himself through bloody battlefield dirt in every conflict zone the world over. However, his time with the Blackwatch Mercenaries was cut short after a VIP escort went sour. Chris led the security detail for a South American politician, currently working for re-election in his province. The politician was an idealist, who believed that the voices of every person counted and thus, political outreach was a necessity. Chris argued vehemently against a planned route the politician wanted to take, snaking through gang territory in the poorer districts, but the man would not hear any of it. They were attacked along the way; turns out progressive activism makes you an enemy of criminals who benefit from the status quo. He once again lost half of his team in the ensuing six hour gunfight through urban terrain to save the Politician. At the end of their gauntlet, Chris was exhausted and enraged. In the politician's face he saw his old Lieutenant, another baby faced bastard on a glory run, Chris lost it. He doesn’t remember much of what followed, but instead of continuing the campaign trail, the Politician found himself going through months of therapy to get over the injuries Chris gave him. And Chris found himself summarily fired from Blackwatch, with a strong warning never to return to that part of the world.
Chris found himself at the bottom of a bottle again, swiftly watching his money fade away, running through his hands like water as child support and cost of living tanked his savings, leaving him nearly back where he started. Things might have ended like that were it not for a lucky break: one of his old comrades had something for him. Yui Kategawa was a fiery brunette with a fierce loyalty to her own men, including her one-time comrade Chris, and her country. Chris isn’t sure how or why she heard about his fate, but one day at the bar was interrupted by a size five armored boot kicking the door open, and an offer for a new job: The NSF. While Chris was initially unsure, Yui was persistent, and after a few days, Chris agreed to uproot his life and come to Japan, becoming one of few foreigners to enter the NSF’s ranks.
Affiliations
BlackWatch Mercenary Company
Relationships [Optional] Claire Belgrave- Ex wife Christian Bell Jr.- Son Yui Kategawa- Former Blackwatch Comrade, Friend
Extra A brief description of the Armor modifications. Pneumatic Strength Assist: A series of subdermal pistons and metal plates fixed about the skeleton of the armor allow a user to make use of greatly enhanced strength in the arms, the metal plates providing the durability to support hits
Weight Dispersion Pneumatics: A series of pneumatic presses in the legs allow the user to disperse weight as kinetic energy through the armor's frame instead of in one concentrated burst, allowing the user to fall great distances without damage
Movement Assistance Systems: The user's armor is fitted with a thin kinetic gel layer to absorb impacts from running and to provide additional assistance to the user's motion, increasing their speed tremendously
PHUD: A personal heads up display of a jumble of icons and information, sorted into a screen by an onboard computer to provide combat and tactical assistance for the HID
COMPAD: Wrist mounted Comlink.
Integrated Ballistics Computer - A high-tech computational device hooked into the data-flow from the PHUD, this device calculates distance, gravity, atmospheric and all other relevant factors to allow Chris to make shots under any circumstances
Threat Analysis System - Hooked into the output of the PHUD, the TAS can detect chemical imbalances, muscle tension, electrical activity and other contributing factors to determine the likelihood of a given individual or system being a threat to the armor’s wearer, namely Chris. This grants him the information he needs to know when he needs to be ready to fight, and when he can take it easy
ID Lock - Chris’s Armor is keyed to his specific genome, and coded to respond to his voice print. This system prevents the armor from being removed by other people without Chris’s vocalized approval, and prevents it from being donned by other individuals without the same.
When the door slid open, he turned his head over to the beating rhythm of cane-foot-cane. He kept a straight expression for the duration of his arrival and introduction. Ah, the Board of Administration - at least one of them. Mr Ochisuita: a man of many straight lines and black ink splodges seen only by the keenest of eyes. Through and through, he had been one of the most interesting assets placed at the helm of the organisation, with his extremely direct connection to the very force they were tasked with countering. It was a risk, and a gamble, but men like Konno Mashai were eager to see where things went. Never tried, never learnt. And if he lost, he lost. It was how things were, and he'd come to peace with the lottery of life, politics, espionage and malpractice. It was important for a man who came out of nowhere, popularising the steadfast reconstruction of Japan back to its pre-2012 self, a nation with an identity.
As expected, Mr Ochisuita took a collected lead of the processions. Though Mashai ruled the Kingdom, this was the director's castle. And, most importantly, it was respectful to that of his fellow workmen and figures in the struggle against the Jinrai. Any cameraman would have slaughtered thousands to have seen the noir tension lift as soon as the door slid shit behind the director, and with the instruction to take a seat, the proceedings began as intended.
"Mr Ochisuita; it's wonderful to be able to meet on such short notice." As he moved to the seat, just before he placed himself upon the throne, he held out a stiff hand to be shaken with a half smile on his face. He followed with the usual formalities. "How's Anya?"
"We've just talked last night. She's doing great." Takeda answered, meeting the handshake with a firm grip from his other hand. "How about yours, Mr Prime Minister?"
"Please, Mr Mashai is more than enough. And she is doing well enough, though even after three years she still can't quite adjust to life in Tokyo. She hasn't quite enjoyed the looming threat but takes it each day with a smile." As the two separated their grips, he finally sat down in his seat and let his head tilt up toward the blackened ceiling. The polish of the room was much to admire and he did enjoy the astuteness of its pristine perfection. All perfect for the means of ensuring its members knew that a 'job-well done' meant flawlessness. "Mr Ochisuita, as I said, I am more than happy to have been able to meet you on this busy schedule but I think it's about time we get the simple matter out of the way first. Please, do update me on the routines of the NSF these last few months? Have we gotten any closer to finding any insurgent cell within our ranks?"
There was a brief silence as he reached into his suit-jacket and pulled out a small, aluminium flask, unscrewed its lid and doused his tongue in its bitter yet refreshing sustenance. It smelled rich, at least more than the average beverage, but nothing too extravagant. After all, what would a middle-man have without his middle-of-the-spectrum drink?
"Certainly." Takeda reached into his suit pocket in the meantime for the tablet. "Data is ready on the mainframe for viewing."
He cleared his throat as he waited for Mashai to be on the same page as him. "Our internal investigation yielded some results. There are some unrelated cases of corruption within the government here and there like insider trading or electoral manipulation, but the more interesting information unearthed is the man called Honda Iwanami."
Scrolling to the man in question, Takeda continued. "Interrogations yielded not only his affiliation with Jinrai figures, but also the fact that he also has links to a tech company called Ansoft. It's an American-based company with a track record of foreign interference for resources. We have yet to discover if this company is involved in providing the Jinrai with the equipment or intel to carry out their operations or not, including the coup. However, we also have identities of the Jinrai officials in charge as well. More information can be extracted from them if we proceed forward from here."
At the conclusion of his update, Konno looked studied the tablet and Honda Iwanami. It wasn't a name he was inherently familiar with, but the practices of of Jinrai affiliates to the outside world was something he'd expected, but not fully prepared for. And more so, the existence of Ansoft was something he had definitely known about. Their foreign activities weren't to his best knowledge but he knew that they spelled a great deal of trouble. The nationalists, ironically, outsourcing to gaining ammunition, weapons, equipment and potential enhancements pulled the heavier strategic and logistical advantage away from the NSF.
Konno frowned and leant back in his seat, pressing his fingers together just before his nose. It was a lot to take in, but it hadn't overwhelmed him. It further solidified the unfavoured myth some of the NSF operators held: the Jinrai were nothing more than ideologues that were driven by their fantasies over reason. And whilst he still considered them far too unreasonable to be welcomed in Japan, let alone NeoTokyo, seeing that untrue notion collapse further made a lot more sense. They wouldn't let their ultranationalist ways block them from their means to continue the fight. Victory was going to be achieved and by means that were both logistical, strategic and most importantly in favour of the public's perception. Despite the shadowy nature of the war, each faction had set in stone the pretences to if it went live in the mainstream world - and whoever was exposed would want and need all the cards they could play to win the love of the public.
"They are but caged rats, Mr Ochisuita. And like trapped rodents they'll take any handouts and deals they can with the outside world until they are strong enough to gnaw their way outside. I'll review your accepted means of squandering this in a moment." As he set aside the director's new and exciting piece of information, he reached into his own suit jacket and pulled out his own tablet. After fiddling for a second with the screen's slow start-up, he placed it on the table and waited for a short digital document to appear on-screen. He sat back in his chair and let it present itself.
"As for you, Mr Ochisuita, I'd like to bring forth a little bit of extra information." He took another swig from his flask and tucked it away back into his jacket, clearing his throat once it had cleared his tongue. Suddenly, a unceremonious woman, in her 30s, appeared on screen. Whilst the picture wasn't too flattering itself, it had clearly been taken from a series of off-side official documents, espionage reserves or paparazzi takes. "I'd like to introduce another individual to our scope. Michiko Sato, a relatively small official within my cabinet. She once tried her hand at ascending to Govenor of NeoTokyo, but hasn't seen too much success. Either way, she's been relatively under my radar until as of recent. She's disappeared from view, gone without a trace, as far as the police are aware."
Konno swiped through the tablet's presentation, bringing up a small corporate logo. It wasn't anything exciting nor was it anything infamous to the eyes of the NSF. Something with barely the notoriety to be recognised outside of those who dealt with such business models and products as they produced. Kizou Corp.
"See, a personal investigation by my security detail came across a lot of links to her involvement in Kizou Corp, a localised mid-grade corporation who deals in small-arms manufacturing and, as of recent, research into lightly armoured vehicles. Standard practice. As we investigated into the corporation, we have evidence heavily suggesting that one of their factories and warehouses has been supplying the Jinrai since 2029, mainly in ammunition and the occasional firearm that won't alter their product inventory too much. Ms. Sato has been making many encrypted phone calls with them, which we've yet to really uncover." With a long and arduous breath, he looked on to the director with a straight glare, showing that he was in fact serious with his next propositions.
"Mr Ochisuita - I'm granting you temporary special powers for these circumstances. I can forward over some more documents before I leave, but here this carefully. You, and the Board of Administrators, are to allocate reasonable resources into looking into what I present to you today, until you succeed or until something of greater importance shows itself - from this I hope you will also take action against the factory and ensure it isn't arming our adversaries. As for Ansoft, I'm willing to give you one chance at a 'strike' against them at an opportune moment. I suggest, greatly, that you catch them when meeting with the Jinrai as to lessen the impacts, but if no opportunity arises then I trust you will find ways to see into their influences and shut down their interests in the Jinrai to the best of your ability."
He paused, standing up from his seat and adjusting his suit jacket. He cleared his throat for a second time and stretched, retrieving the tablet from the desk and sliding it back into his pocket. For a short second, he smiled the same kind smile he did for his speeches, public rallies and broadcasted appearances. It wasn't one of deviance, but of an ounce of trust.
"Keep up the internal investigation. And let your subordinates know of what the NSF must do. I'll send over the same funding we always do, and maybe a small bonus from my own pocket," before he made his way outside of the door, he turned and smiled back at Takeda, "so long as you don't tell my wife."
Banned
