“Most people can’t even see what is wrong. We must show them, us chosen few” Welcome to the city of Confiance, the perfect city. In the year 2068, a city stands tall among the most influential places in the world. It stands tall as the technological center of the world, leading the charge in all forms of advancement. The city started as any other, but as its technological prowess raised, as did the city itself. Tall buildings and overarching walkways between them ensure that most of the population never has to come down from the safety of the upper sections. But some people are not as fortunate. They might have run out of money, gotten fired, had a drug problem, or just even been born into that life, but regardless of how they got there, they are they are all left behind in the lower sections. The long neglected and forgotten slums of the city, teeming with crime and poverty. But things are not entirely perfect in the upper sections of the city either. This utopia of advancement was achieved because there was control and limitations. This seems fine on paper and a lot of people see it as a well-functioning system, but most are unaware of exactly what is limited. The city's governing council decided to become more focused on technological advancement, and as such, they started by limiting creativity. They began by censoring advertisement, but soon moved to outlawing any form of advertisement that wasn't approved by the council. As such, all forms of social media were banned as they could provide uncensored material and were replaced with a system that is used now called the OASIS system. This has since become the only platform for not only communication but also for any form of business. It is also the only platform that the pre-approved advertisements and news stories can be presented on. And so with any form of censorship, there was an outcry. Anyone who was caught trying to work around the newly placed laws were immediately imprisoned. But as the punishments weren't severe enough to dissuade the populous, there was an initiative put in place, and new prison was built especially to deal with repeat offenders and individuals that would seek to destroy the infrastructure that was so carefully put into place. Anyone who was sent to this prison, often referred to as "The Hole", was never seen again. Some theorised that they were sold into slavery, others assumed they were moved to the slums, but the more popular opinion is that anyone sent there is simply executed. But this was enough to establish a certain amount of control. And as time passed, the city moved higher and higher, and as it did, the buildings changed colour. Where there was once a large city filled with lively colours and people there now stands a metropolis of pure white buildings as far as the eye can see. But despite the efforts of the council, there are still some people that would choose to disobey. They are known as guilds and they are commonly hired out to travel either to other parts of the slums or to some of the parts of the upper city and to paint advertisements or pieces of art using bright and vibrant colours using mostly spray paint, or whatever medium they choose. The “Taggers” as they are known, are seen as a menace by the working class and are often hunted by the police. But there are some guilds that believe general rebellion isn’t enough to change things. These guilds operate towards the goal of bringing down the city’s ruling class and righting the wrongs the system has put in place. These are far less popular then the usual guilds, as most that try end up in the Hole before making much progress. There are a lot of guilds, but there are 3 that have dominion over most of the city. Each one has a more distinct art style focusing on a main colour. They each control a section of the slums, as the majority of taggers consist of slums inhabitants. Despite the gang’s actions mostly consist of spraying around the city, they also perform several other jobs around the slums. The members of a guild, while not mobilising to spray an area, patrol around their perimeter ensuring the safety and comfort of the people inside. They cover the roll that local law enforcement would have covered if the city above put any effort into preserving the slums. Every now and then the upper police will come to patrol the slums, but this is mostly used as a method to catch and detain any guild members that are unfortunate enough to be spotted by them. The guilds often engage in direct competition with each other for control of land, each seeking to spray there logo around the slums to claim it. Despite the competition, the guilds do their best to have a sense of security between then, as not to turn the slums into a constant war zone. The smaller guilds often perform contract work for the larger guilds, as the main 3 control the majority of land. They are as follows: • Divinity: They are a guild that controls the majority of the northern section of the slums, being the biggest of the gangs. They are led by a man known as Shaan. He is a reclusive leader, the type to command his chosen few from the shadows while they carry out his will. They are almost militaristic in the training of their members, and are the only guild that operate in a uniform. Despite their appearance as a colder systematic guild, they are known for being especially kind and forgiving with the citizens that live in their sections of the slums, offering a sense of protection and understanding to the people that live in their areas with near constant patrols looking to ensure the safety of the people. [hider=Shaan][img]http://66.media.tumblr.com/586d888713f1a84e6428751fb94a1a1e/tumblr_o26oiucJL31rtriuao1_400.jpg[/img][/hider] • Discord: This guild is in control of the south-eastern section of the slums, holding the smallest total amount of land. Despite this, they are one of the more boisterous guilds. They are very active in their actions, making sure that they are heard and noticed. Most guilds prefer to work quietly in the shadows and then escape before being seen, but Discord seeks to harness the power of recognition by making sure to be seen as they coordinate their work. Their leader, Elise, has the belief that if they are seen as they work it makes their message spread farther. She often ventures into the field herself to make sure that people understand their message. They often engage in competition between any guilds in the area and will often not contract others for work. They are known as the most combative of the guilds, as they often seek to encroach upon the territory of the others around them, often failing, but never quite giving up. [hider=Elise][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/Smocko/narutogirl.gif[/img][/hider] • Dichotomy: A guild that was originally made up of members of the other two larger guilds, but they sought to separate from them to pursue their own idea of art and understanding of what it meant to be an artist. Their goal is less about disobeying the rule of the city and more about trying to teach people to think outside the box. They are creative scholars, as stated by their leader Jayce. He is a creative, focused on the idea that nature has been all but forgotten by the inhabitants of the city. The art of his guild is often focused around the idea of nature and consists of vibrant greens and browns in contrast with each other. Their section of the slums is vibrant, as they have made the effort to have the area covered in trees and plants. They are well known as being respecting of the borders of other guilds, seeking only to enlighten the ones that choose to come to them of their own volition. [hider=Jayce][img]https://www.rpnation.com/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-voZy7EgbtFE/VJXPw1TWonI/AAAAAAAAW4s/LdRbaaUkgzw/w525-h875/LG84Voo.jpg&key=80d6445d63872ec8e203754d9e10319e88cecf836a302bd3ee555ced4bb7e82c[/img][/hider] These three are the governing bodies of the slums, but there is one other guild that lives in infamy as only choosing to strike at the most vital of times. They are a guild that centres more on the idea of exposing the city for what it is. They consist of only a chosen few Taggers, the ones that stand out in their field and are then chosen to prove themselves. Not much is known about them except for the name. They are known as ‘The Ratpack’ [hider=Ratpack Logo][img]http://pre07.deviantart.net/49fb/th/pre/f/2016/282/c/b/cbad0fc84b1a8443271d77fb54b70fa0-dakh5cf.jpg[/img][/hider] And this is where our story begins, as your character is contacted by the use of a letter given to them one way or another. The letter is pure black and contains the infamous Ratpack logo. The letter invites you to meet in an abandoned warehouse in a long since abandoned section of the slums at the very southern end of the city. And from there will be explored in character. Gears: Just a little info regarding the main method of getting around for Taggers. The Gears. A set of futuristic roller-skates that are powered by a small motor in the heel. They allow the user to move very quickly around the city, but they also have another interesting function. After getting their hands on the city’s hover engine prototypes, the mechanics in the slums were able to work a small hover engine into the Gears. This allows for use to reduce friction allowing for much faster speeds and longer jumps. It can also be used to create a downward force centred on the base of the Gears pulling the user down and increasing friction. This allows the wearer to stick to walls or stop very quickly in the right circumstances. This engine is referred to as the Drive. The controls for the Drive are usually located around the Tagger’s hands, mostly consisting of gloves or a controller, but this differs for each individual Gear. The Drive automatically restores power as the Gears are used as it harnesses some of the friction produced to power it, but without careful monitoring, the Drive might run out of power. The power can usually be viewed on the controller, but some higher end Gears come with headsets showing statistics like Drive charge. Despite most gears being roller-skates, there are a number of Gears that look very different, it all depends on the used. CS Guide: Name: Title: (Your character’s nickname, as using real names while working can be dangerous) Age: Appearance: (Preferably a picture, but a description is fine if you can’t find any) Personality: Bio: (Your history, your life and how you got your letter) Art style: (So what your Tagger likes painting, again, a picture is preferred) Extra: (any hobbies, interests, skills or anything like that.) Gear: (A little description of your Gears, are they super fast or do they have a bigger drive engine allowing for longer jumping, anything like that ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My CS [hider=Kacey "Free" Spade] Name: Kacey Spade Title: Free Age: 21 Appearance: [img]http://data2.whicdn.com/images/77926106/large.jpg[/img] Personality: A quiet guy, isn’t one for being friendly to people that he doesn’t have a connection to. But once you become his friend, then he will do whatever is required to keep you safe. He has a simple outlook on life and wishes only for freedom, and so he strives to offer that to everyone he can. He is a big fan of the idea of anonymity especially around new people so he tends to keep his gas mask on at most times, since it helps him spray, contains his drive HUD and keeps him from being recognised. Bio: What can be said about Kacey. Growing up in the slums makes thing hard for a kid, especially in times like this. While the other kids were working or running around, Kacey would just sit and stare at the clouds as they wafted over head, forming amusing shapes that would enrapture Kacey for hours. It was when he was 10 that he finally saw something different. After watching the clouds for years he thought he had seen everything there was to see, all the birds and all the shapes. That’s when he saw it. A mural on the side of a building that in an instant captured everything he had ever felt. Bright and vibrant colours, the likes of which he had never seen. The whole thing was amazing, but one part drew his attention the most. Right in the middle was the word “Free”. That was it, but to Kacey it was everything. So Kacey decided he would learn how to paint. How to make art that might affect others someday. And he did. He worked long and hard and became one of the more known Taggers around the city, until one day he disappeared. No one knew what happened to him, so most just assumed he had been taken to the Hole. But he had been recruited. He had become a member of the Ratpack and had been working towards the end goal. After about 2 years, he has been put to the task of recruiting some new members, so he took to the streets and found some interesting possible members. He left them all letters and invited them to meet at an old warehouse. He now sits in wait for the new possible members to arrive. (Intentionally a bit vauge since he is basically the story NPC :lol) Art style: [img]http://65.media.tumblr.com/b512a8f06ceb68e1a403c46b37f76522/tumblr_nlbfk3vaKm1upbn1no1_1280.jpg[/img] Extra: Kacey is an adept mechanic, working mostly to fix and modify his and his friend’s Gears. They don’t always look very pretty but they are effective. He is a bit of a Gear dork, often getting distracted from his goal to study someone’s gear and offer them a tune up. He loves watching the sky any time he can, and spends a lot of time listening to music. He can be quiet, but if you get him talking about Gears you would be lucky to stop him from there. Gear: His gears are somewhat of a homebrew effort, looking a little like they were stuck together with super glue. They are roller-skate styled, and despite the appearance they are very effective, despite being somewhat slow. They are a Gear with a relatively normal engine, but part of the momentum of the engine is used to direct power the drive. It has been specially modified to allow for longer use, maximising battery life by using the motor as a generator as well as propulsion. It allows him to use a more powerful drive that he uses mostly for climbing vertical walls. [/hider]