[b]Setting[/b] This is a slightly alternate take on the movie X-Men: First Class. The basic idea applies, that Charles uses his mutant powers to locate different mutants and gather them together so that they can be taught and trained and no longer be alone, however there are some differences that I would like to address. First off, the mob and the dirty, grimy crime syndicate of America during that time will vastly come into play. Ergo, this will be a much more adult adaptation of the X-Men world. Secondly, Charles will not be opening up his home for the kids to live in and learn by. Instead, there will be an underground bunker that hadn't been used from the war that will be their 'main base of operation.' The 'school' will effectively work the same way, however, but there are only three teachers (at this time) and most of their studies focus on helping the 'students' to learn how to control their power in light of math, reading and writing. This will change, however, as time goes on. Thirdly, I'm adding Logan into the mix of things and having him play a larger role than he did in the movies. He will be up there in superiority with Charles and Erik and will help to run the school but as I will be playing him as a main character, he will be the one 'more available' than Erik and Charles unless someone wishes to take one of them over as their character or secondary (you will need to convince me that you will be able to play them convincingly and along the basic structure of which I have already established for their CS. Erik and Charles' CS will be up for review once this gets moved over to the main roleplay once enough involvement is recruited but I am willing to PM it to you if you have such an interest). 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 Maximilian Xavier. The 28 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 genreal public who, for the most part, are currently unaware of their existence. Not everyone can be Captain America. [b]What you need to know[/b] 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. [b]Music[/b] You were 'cool' if you listened to Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller, and Django Reinhardt (Jazz music) [b]Dating[/b] 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. [b]Clothes[/b] 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 men’s 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. [b]Entertainment[/b] 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. [b]CS[/b] Note: At this time, I [b][i][u]WILL NOT[/u][/i][/b] 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. Essentially, I would PREFER if the only Canon characters are Logan, Erik and Charles (Erik and Charles are up for grabs by the way should anyone want them. I have a basic plan for Erik that I will be discussing with you should you want to take him over from me, but Charles is pretty straight-forward) but I won't turn anyone down if they truly wish to play a slightly altered (original) version of someone like Cyclops or Storm (etc...) For now, I am limiting everyone to 2 characters. Once we have a good idea of our 'cast' and things start to move on with a good flow, I will open up the possibility for some people to take on more characters should they so wish (you must prove to me that you are able to handle more than the character[s] you already have at the time). Also, I would like you to decide now on who it was that approached your character to begin with (Logan, Erik or Charles). Once you have made your choice, please PM me and we will work on a sort of flashback collab that will be posted when your character is posted. That way everyone knows where your character came from and how they came to be where they are now and who it was that 'found' them. 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: [b]Have any questions? See if it has already been asked and answered [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/77822-x-men-noire-a-nation-reborn/ooc#post-2466994]here[/url]![/b] [b]Curious if there is enough room for more? First-come-first serve system for completed character (approved) CS'. You can find and keep track of that list [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/77822-x-men-noire-a-nation-reborn/ooc#post-2466994]here[/url]! 12 spots total.[/b]