NuttsnBolts

Shine City IV: Romance Forever!

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Shine City IV: Romance Forever!

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A R K H E U S

Ｒ Ａ Ｃ Ｈ Ａ Ｅ Ｌ Ｍ Ｏ Ｒ Ｔ Ｏ Ｎ

Ｔｈｅ ｇｉｒｌ ｋｎｏｗｎ ｋｎｏｗｎ ａｓ Ｇａｚｅ

A searing pain shot through Rachael's back, stinging profusely as her skin opened up to the stagnant, dank air. It wasn't the first, and it surely wasn't the last, but each time she experienced this abuse her eyes would start to water. They filled with salty, cold tears that gently trickled down her face towards the edge of her semi-numb lip; a place where she could taste the sadness and hurt she was expressing. As much as she wanted to wipe away the wet pain from her face, she couldn't do it, not when her hands were bound and lifted above her head.

"How the fuck did you lose sight of her?!?" The violent question had just as much weight as the torture, ignoring every aspect of Rachael's disabilities as Julius demanded answers from his property. He didn't seem to care about his oppressive actions, he only wanted the answers. The gift of sight was given to her through his sources and he believed he had every right to question why it wasn't used to the best of it's ability.

Another agonising snap came towards Rachael's back, a plastic coated cord with lengths of thin metal woven inside. The girl grimaced in pain, attempting to open her mouth in order to speak out, to answer the Leech. Haunting gasps were all that managed to escape, a sign that her body was tensing up too much. Julius noticed this, realising that it was going to be more difficult for him to obtain any more information and so he turned his head around to glance at one of the other gang members. His empty, narrow eyes pierced into the soul of his own underling, giving the man an order without even voicing a single command.

With haste and speed the chosen lackey rushed towards Rachael's side, reached up and unhitched the chain from the hanging hook. Rachael's body fell limp as she dropped to her knees, slipping to the side and hitting the steel floor with her right shoulder. She panted and shivered, breathing out continual cold puffs of air as they left a fog trail on the metal surface. A loose jacket was placed over her half naked body, causing her to tense up in into the fetal position, even as the others lifted up her arms to unbuckle the leather bounds around her wrist. Finally she felt as though she was being released from this horror show that Julius so enjoyed.

As she laid there she could feel the heavy vibrations of feet that came towards her, the sound pounding throughout the room. A boot stepped on her arm, forcing her to roll onto her back and look up to the ceiling. She could see a shadow blocking the harsh light, overpowering her with it's presence.

"Drop the mask..."

Rachael hesitated.

"Drop the fucking mask!!!"

The shield closed down over her eyes and a digital image distorted it's way into existence, revealing a face that instilled fear into the unarmed female. The thick, angular eyebrows; the solid, defined nose; and the wavy, walnut hair... all defining features that she recognised so effortlessly. If the man wasn't sick and twisted in the mind he would have made a pretty attractive squeeze. Still he crouched down to her gritting his razor like teeth, dangling a pistol above her forehead with the trigger millimetres from his finger.

"You're gonna find that Splicer for me, aren't you?"

Rachael nodded instantly, only to see Julius' upper lip twitch.

"I will! I will!!!" She was quick to answer, knowing that by not doing so she was only begging for him to dish out another flogging.

"And you are going to put a bullet in her god-damn-brain!" Rachael's teeth began to chatter at the thought of murdering a such close friend, a changling by the name of Elisha.

Elisha was such a good friend and Gaze didn't understand why she left like she did, why she used the thick crowds of Neon to her advantage, why she escaped the stranglehold of the Leech. Rachael was removed from The Beds several years earlier but remained loyal to Julius, always returning and obeying his every order. Elisha didn't and she used this as an opportunity to find freedom leaving the helpless gearhead to explain why The Leaches were now down one worker.

His hand grabbed the back of Rachael's head clenching her hair into a tight fist, causing her to let out a slight shrill of pain, and lifted it up towards the Gang Leader. He placed his forehead against hers before raising his lips to give her a sweet kiss where they had just touched.

"You'll always be my favourite —" he whispered tenderly with a tone that felt more like a lie than the truth, "—but do not disappoint me."

♦ ♦ ♦

The blind girl wandered the streets of Neon, occasionally bumping into pedestrians when they didn't pay attention to where they were stumbling. Normally she would use her visor to help guide her way and avoid such unneeded confrontations, but instead she wanted to rely on her memory of the world around her. A simple tactic that she used to block out the tormenting memories of people like Julius, and thus allowing her to gradually regain the little humanity that she had left.

She listened to the ambient sounds, hearing through the music and voices a set of pinging steps that was currently in use by the general population. She knew exactly where she was, she had been here many times before. Her arms were wrapped around her body and holding in what little warmth she had. As she pulled out her right hand from the tight grip she reached for her wrist watch and tapped the screen; she needed confirmation from another source. A light beeping sound was announced before a digitally announced message called out to her.

>Location: Neon Magrail Network

The device was a godsend at times, helping Gaze know exactly where she was if she wasn't quite used to the area, but it was also a curse. The locator doubled as a beacon and sent back information on her whereabouts to Julius. Every little gift that she had to survive in this world had some way to hold her down, to keep her chained up and subject to the control of others. The one gadget that didn't fall into this category was her Magrail Boots.

Gaze entered the rail network, stepping onto the platform as her boots latched into the magnetic field. She felt a sudden rush as she began to accelerate forward; wind whipping through her hair, the sense of speed pressing against her body. It had a relaxing effect much like the feeling of running away from her problems. This was something she needed as she tapped the screen once more.

>Destination: The Slums

It wouldn't take long for her to reach the district, completely unaware of what nightmares she was walking into.

Clocku's Derp Pad

Also,

Testing

[Pre]
Testing
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A R K H E U S

@Esoteric Thanks for the Accept

A R K H E U S

Arkheus Identification Card

Bureau of Public Citizen Management

_{Artistic Impression}

Name: Rachael Morton

Aliases: Gaze

Gender: Female

Age: 26

Job Title: Slave/Gang Member

Extended Description

Height: 157cm (5" 2')

Weight 67kg, (148lbs)

Hair Color: Silver Blonde

Eye Color: Haze Grey

Skin Color: Caucasian

Scars:

• Chest scar that extends from her left shoulder to under her right breast.
• Several slash marks across her back.
• Puncture scar in her stomach region.
• Multiple puncture marks on her inner elbow from needle injections

Tattoos:

• A small barcode on her hip, indicating her property number to Julius.

Modifications:

• None

Cybernetics:

• Military Grade Tactical Visor [x]
  
  • Class: Military

  Rachael's vision has been vastly improved through the use of a specially designed head visor that connects straight into her optic nerves. The visor itself usually rests up upon her forehead but will lower itself in front of her eyes when she wishes to see the outside world, giving the appearance that she has part of a face shield equipped.
  
  This visor is designed with an array of cameras and sensors that can easily switch between night vision, infra-red, and regular sight; although normal sight can appear somewhat digitised and lacks the typical colour range.
• Assisted Aim
  
  • Class: Military

  Due to the limitations of Gaze's visor, whenever she uses any firearms she has to retract the face shield and aim manually like any other militant. Since she is normally unable to see what is down the scope, her personal weapon is equipped with a camera and a short range transmitter that sends the video signal into a receptor located behind her right eye. The result is a shooter that has precision and accuracy of a marksmen so long as the camera and barrel line up.

Other:

• Blindness
  
  Rachael was born with almost zero vision. She has a rare condition where the natural receptors and nerves at the back of the eye deteriorate over time and by the time she was old enough to walk and talk it had reached a point where she could only make out the shadowy figures of someone and the difference between night and day. This crippling illness made it extremely difficult for cybernetic engineers to grant her sight and thus when they added the neural links, they had to delve deeper into her skull and latch onto the optic nerves directly.

Appearance

Torso Appearance || Rachael's Visor
♦ ♦ ♦
Default Clothing Style || Alternative Clothing Style

Rachael is a rather fairly attractive young woman who unfortunately has had some of her beauty spoiled by those that have harmed her over the years. Her skin is covered in an array of scars and marks through either drug abuse, violent customers or Julius himself. Julius was also the one who gave her the cybernetic visor and while it can be removed for cleaning and maintenance, the nodes that are implanted into her skull and neck are there to stay.

Her clothing attire, while stylish, completely resembles the lower class of people that live or work around the Slums and Neon. She doesn't have a real shortage of clothes as the best dressed women always attracted the most income, however she does have her favourite styles.

Job Description

Gaze was once a worker at the Leeches' home turf, servicing the various customers that would enter into Julius' establishment. As she grew older, and thanks to the augmentations that he placed on her, she became less useful at the business end of things and was instead moved into a position that resembled more of a gun for hire. Gaze somewhat welcomed this change but it allowed her to venture away from Neon and gave her some freedom. While she still hates Julius for his treatment of her, she still remains loyal because of the fear of what he might do if she betrayed him.

These days she picks up the random jobs of people that need to be removed from existence and will do so without a second thought.

Biography

Julius the Leech was a powerful yet dangerous man that resided within the hub of Neon. A man who owned a series of establishment full of beautiful women, all of which unwillingly sold their bodies to the city's paying customers. His reputation increased when the word spread of how he had the ability to suck the humanity out of his workers, leaving them first as husks of their original selves, and also leaving them covered in a variety of scars and brandings from his sad and sadistic ways. It was a dangerous game that he enjoyed playing; evading the Watchmen, risking his life, and overpowering the weak. A man of this much infamy needed his own protection and that came in the form of Rachael Morton, the killer known as Gaze.

Rachael was one of his favourite girls, an abandoned child he collected from the slums in order raised in his own twisted and distorted way. There was something about her that he found quite beautiful, unique, and even mesmerising and that was her ability to see the world from the darkest of shadows, to live with little fear of what she could not see.

This didn't change her feelings towards the parasite as she hated him to his very core. The hatred increased yearly, monthly and daily, eventually to the point where she pulled a knife on him during one of their private sessions and attempted to kill him. The foolish maneuver was thwarted as he was able to avoid the attack and instead pin her down carved a scar across her exposed chest and stabbed her in the lower abdomen. He could have killed her in that moment but instead opted for an even greater punishment, the gift of sight.

The crime lord knew that Rachael's strength came from her ability to not see the world. He collected a team of cybernetic engineers and together they forcefully augmented the girl, adding neural implants into her skull and attatching them to her optic nerves. It was a living nightmare as she screamed from the burrowing pain inside her head, a result of Julius instructing them to use less anesthetic than normally required.

On the day that she awoke she could see the world for the disgusting nature that it truly was, and worse of all she could see him. The strength that she once had disappeared as the very sight of his face pierced into her memory, filling her with an element of fear that she had never felt before. This time instead of being forced to work for him, she chose to serve by his side as one of his henchmen.

Inventory

Weapons:

• Tarkus Series K Assault Launcher [x]
  
  • Class: Illicit
  • Type: Semi-Automatic/3 Shot Burst
  • Range: Mid (400-500m)
  • Magazine Size: Clip size of 45 rounds. Additional 5 shots for the Grenade Launcher
  • Scope: Custom (Digital scope with a short range video transmitter)

  
  This wonderful machine is a Frankenstein of several different, military grade weapons with the added bonus of a digital scope that has been specially fitted for Rachael's use. While the rounds are of a common type, the grenades are of a HE design making them difficult, and costly, to replace whenever used. Whenever the Tarkus is not in use the weapon can be mechanically collapsed and stored on one's back for easy transit.

Armor:

• None, however her visor can act as a makeshift guard for any light damage towards her face.

Gadgets:

• Wrist Watch Communicator [x]
  
  A simple wrist piece that doubles as a communication device.
• Mag Rail Boots
  
  Boots with Magnetised soles that allow for travel to other areas.

Key Items:

• N/A

Miscellaneous:

• A shoulder sash that can be used to hang her rifle on her back
• An extra magazine of ammunition.
• An additional 5 grenades for her launcher, attached to her Shoulder Sash.
• A quick drug injector filled with a chemical concoction (Sedative and Purple Dust) that can be used to hinder the paranoia for a while.
• A secondary false ID card for ease of travel.

Proficiencies:

• Superior Accuracy:
  
  The design of Rachael's weapon makes it pretty hard for her to miss a target, so long as the one being shot as is within the crosshairs. This however only applies while she is scoping as her hip fire aim is absolutely atrocious.
• Fearless:
  
  The lack of sight means that any dangers that are presented to her are quite often missed. Crossing the road and almost being struck by a vehicle, having a gun pulled to her face and even venturing into areas that are classified as dangerous simply don't phase her. It's not that she's not scared by them but simply isn't aware of the immediate threat.
• Observant:
  
  As odd as this sounds, Rachael is highly observant all of her other four senses. She has the hearing that can pick up slight changes and fluctuations, the ability to smell the faintest of smells, to feel and memorise changes in texture, and taste any abnormalities in her food.
• Backstreet Specialist:
  
  Growing up in a world of crime, Rachael is well aware of the hell hole she lives in. She has several contacts through her owner, Julius, and is quite comfortable moving around many of the hubs in The Core on her own. If you ever need to know a back route to get to a location then Gaze will be your person of choice. She just can't guarantee that it'll be safer...

Limitations:

• Submissive:
  
  Julius owns Rachael, and Rachael is his slave. She has been granted a fair amount of freedom but if he instructs her to perform a task, then she simply has to obey. Failure to do so often results in a backlash, either through torture or forcing her to activate her visor for hours at a time.
• Migraines:
  
  Rachael's visor is a wonderful creation, a gift that has granted her the sight that she never had, but the vibrant images and continual inputs into her mind do cause her migraines. The intensity of these headaches will vary depending on the length of time that the visor has been used, with each use causing her some eventual discomfort.
• Paranoia:
  
  This is a condition that presents itself once Rachael starts to use her visor. The overload of imagery and inputs that she experiences overpowers her fearless nature, causing her to freak out about the world around her. Eventually it can get to a point where it breaks down the female, causing her to collapse under her own weight.
• Range of weapons:
  
  Rachael is severely limited to what weapons she can use and her Tarkus Rifle is the one one that has been set up for her. This creates a huge problem if she gets into a heavy fight as she does not have te ability to switch up guns like many others.
• Known to Authorities:
  
  While Gaze doesn't have any warrants out for her arrest, she is known to the authorities due to line of work. This does sometimes present challenges when moving to different locations and sometimes has to utilise a false identity in order to avoid questioning.

Likes:

• Freedom from control
• Drug use
• Friendly Company (Even if she can appear snarky)

Dislikes:

• Julius the FUCKEN Leech
• Augmentations and Cybernetics
• The Adult Industry

Important People:

• Julius the Leech

A R K H E U S

Got a character in the works, but it might be Friday before I complete her. I know roughly what I want but it's a matter of formulating the right picture, lore and design that happy with.

🅰🆁🅺🅷🅴🆄🆂

@Esoteric
Got a few questions.
- When it starts, do you have an idea of where you would like players to begin, or are we free to choose an area? Wondering cause the world is pretty huge.
- With laws and Sector Three, if someone was to go to prison is it always for life? Could there be cases of people being released, either through time served or bail (cash or breakouts)?
- Are cybernetics powered through gems?
- Are gems just like different types of power sources or will there be more to them as time goes on? (Don't spoil anything too critical for the story)
- With the CS and gangs, we can create our own for our characters to interact with?

🅰🆁🅺🅷🅴🆄🆂

<Snipped quote by Kangaroo>

I have no doubts about your ability haha, I hope I didn't go overboard with the lore. I really wanted to show my vision, and I've had a lot of help doing it.

@Esoteric

I've been reading though small bits when I've had time and while you have a lot of info, your reference to the Hunger Games is an example of why you can't really skip out on any bits. Hunger Games had different districts, it had rules, laws, status and uniqueness. The Tracker Jackers was an insect and yet it lead to some big parts within the story.

You can't really create a world of this depth without writing up a mini documentary. You've got vehicles, places, gangs, VIPs, factions. there's a lot to offer and a heap of opportunity for players.

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

I've said this before and I'll say it again.

It frustrates me with people who do not reply to PMs. I go into the 1x1 interest check forum and look through the threads. I find a few that I find interesting and send off an message to ask a bit more and see if they are available... AND THEY DON'T MESSAGE BACK! What is then stupid... Like SERIOUSLY and COMPLETELY...

...STUPID...

...is when I see the person decide to bump the thread.

I do not understand!!!!

Yes I see your rules. Yes I see your preferences. I have offered you a sample of my writing. I can match the length you ask. No I don't write in first person. Yes I can play characters of either gender. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes! So what part did I fail? What secret aspect are you looking for? I sent you a PM, a... PERSONAL... MESSAGE!!! DO YOU EVEN WANT TO ROLEPLAY?!?!?! I reply back to all my enquiries and tell them why I'm not sure they are suitable. Sometimes it's minor like post length, other times it's major like theme that I do not want to RP... but I message back. How hard is it to reply back to someone that god damn wants to Roleplay with you!!!!

GAAAHHHHHH!!!!
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

_{*Breathes slowly*}

On another note I started two 1x1s with some lovely people. (◠‿◠✿)