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 Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:42 pm
   ❁Owner❁Thornwick❁Moderator❁Thornwick❁Graphics & Formatting❁Thornwick❁Theme Song❁The End Is The Beginning Is The End - Smashing Pumpkins There once was a man who did terrible things…
In spite of all he had done, he raised two children and taught them everything he knew, until the day arrived for the little birds to leave the nest. And so they did. But no matter how hardened, no matter how prepared the children were… Regardless of the bond they shared…
The world tore them apart.
Now, they carry out their “services” as separate entities - and only to serious clients, with deep pockets and tight lips.
~*||*~
There's always a job to be done.
You don't just hire anyone; you hire the right one. Someone who knows their trade.
Someone who takes pride in their profession and treats it like an art. Someone who never asks questions besides "who".
And they never come cheap.
In the city of Ezra, hidden beneath its glimmering facade, there are always jobs to be done. But not everyone wants to get their hands dirty.
It just so happens that there are two individuals willing to do just that.
For a price.
Sometimes, business is slow, and that's alright; a single job can make up for the dry‐spell.
Sometimes, competition is fierce, and that's alright too; employees need to stay highly motivated.
At the end of the day, the blood‐money still flows. ~* Introduction || Story || Cast || Inspiration || Miscellaneous *~
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:51 pm
 Levi Evenstryke wasn’t destined to be a family man. With his line of work, how could he possibly be? While the average man sought to make a name for himself, meet a girl, and settle down in quaint little cottage with a white picket fence, Levi spent his days on the road—a list of names in his pocket, his finger ready to pull the trigger. He preferred it that way. There’d be no one to fuss over him when he trudged through the front door; no one to question the mysterious wounds on his body; no one to beg him to stop killing. (Of course, there was Archibald Aloysius Twitch, his faithful butler; but the other man was dutiful in that he never questioned Levi’s hazardous activities, nor did he reprimand his employer for them.) As it was, Levi Evenstryke never entertained the notion of “family” for many years.
But life had a funny way of throwing Levi for a loop.
One fateful mission saddled him with a young boy, and on another mission altogether: an even younger girl. Had it not been for the fierceness in the boy’s teal-colored eyes and the determined set to the girl’s jaw, Levi would’ve deposited them at the nearest orphanage and be done with them (he didn’t know the first thing about children). Instead, he took them in, gave them a home, and formed a “family”. With Archie at the helm of their general upbringing, Levi took it upon himself to train them in his craft. He soon discovered both children to be quick on the uptake, witnessing as they effortlessly adapted to the harshest of situations. Levi remained quiet about their progress, careful not to inflate their egos with needless words of praise; what they trained for wasn’t a game. Archie was the only one to ever notice: two children stepped over the threshold of the Poppy house and a pair of warriors took their place.
A time came when Levi put one of his protégés to the test with a solo mission. Everything changed that night: the mission did not go as planned and the Poppy House’s rising star deserted without a word to anyone, leaving the family down by one. Levi brushed the matter off and continued with life as usual. Only Archie knew better.
It wasn’t long before the girl left the Poppy House to make a name for herself. Everything was as it was in the beginning, and Levi would only cross paths with the deserter once, years after that fateful evening; the girl—never again. Accepting the circumstances, he took to the road again, with a list of names, and a gun in his hand, never to think of the children again.
Only Archie kept tabs on them.~* Introduction || Story || Cast || Inspiration || Miscellaneous *~
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:52 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 2:42 pm
 While Steampunk is summed up as ‘Victorian Science Fiction’, I can’t quite categorize this role-play to be such; zilch on the ‘steam’, heavy on the science fiction. It is what it is: a modified steampunk setting. Wikipedia describes it best as a “…hypothetical future or a fantasy equivalent of our future, involving the domination of steampunk-style technology and aesthetics.” (Best examples: Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Doctor Who’s A Christmas Carol, Android Karenina, 2000 Leagues Under The Sea, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, The Golden Compass, and Trigun.) Visually speaking: a modified future with hi-tech gadgetry and all the modern world swathed in Victorian and Edwardian (art nouveau) elegance; add pinches of Dune (circa 1984), Star Wars, Space Pirate Captain Harlock (both animation and cg-animation), Hellboy, and Thor (Asgard). (Though I’m a big fan of the era, avoid wandering too far into the roaring 20’s.)
Treasure Planet had a cornucopia of alien races; The League… bathed itself in gothic horror with werewolves, vampires, and other classic monsters; and daemon companions and talking polar bears (among other things) gave The Golden Compass it’s whimsical allure. Loved all that, but I’m afraid there will be none of that for this role play. Options offered: human, android/automaton, and cyborg.
As far as lingo and speech goes, you don't have to worry about bedazzling the way your characters speak; the way you and I speak, today, is just fine.
~* Introduction || Story || Cast || Inspiration || Miscellaneous *~
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 2:44 pm
Just so we're all clear:
Both firms have existed before the start of the story, and their members have been members for a long while now. So it goes without saying that the characters have had the time to get to know each other.
It's odd, I know ‐ having characters act as if they've known each other for a long time, when in actuality they're interacting for the very first time. And, with my decision to omit important information like back-stories, it might be difficult to play off one another. Or not. (Who knows? It might be fun.) This is all very experimental, but we may get interesting reactions out of our characters this way.
The Firms
(Firms, not factions. I apologize for the confusion.)
The Greenhouse & The Gardener
(I'd wanted to avoid giving out too much information, but I don't think this would reveal too much.)
Due to some unforeseeable circumstances, Zedd separated himself from the 'family' business and went off on his own. But he couldn't bring himself to go solo, and dropped off the grid for some number of years. In that time, he discovered a hidden talent in caring for flora, and easily found a job as a florist and as an assistant at a floral nursery. He'd almost forgotten his previous occupation, until one fated delivery dragged him back into the game.
If you can put two and two together, then you can probably see where I'm going with this.
What you probably should know is that Zedd freelances: he does not work for any government, military, or important family; he hides in plain sight. Zedd is very cloak and dagger, preferring old‐school methods (dead drops, various method of code, etc.) to conduct his business.
What you also need to know is that Zedd wasn't always a cyborg; up until he went off on his own he was very human.
The Clock Tower & The Watchman
The Bloody Rose had been so attached to the bond she had developed with Zedd. So strong she thought their bond was that when their master passed she was sure that Zedd would pick up where their master had left off. Suddenly, he was no longer there. He left her a note that basically said that they should separate and not contact each other anymore. She was wrought with anguish and sorrow. In order to be able to continue living, she established the Clock Tower! An assassination organization based in an actual Clock Tower, they carry out assassination contracts for various governments around the world. Though, they say that the leader is extremely choosy about which ones she takes. They also say that she is extremely skilled in the business and has a success rate of nearly 100%! 'Tis a very impressive record. Some of the members that are with her are not as skilled, but they tend to get the job done as well.
Skills
I know that this storyline seems centered around "wet work", but characters may also possess a set of secondary skills: B&E (breaking and entering), engineering, medical, etc. If killing people isn't your cup of tea, then that secondary skill‐set may become your character's primary.
~* Introduction || Story || Cast || Inspiration || Miscellaneous *~
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