Sign Up Recruiting for Life, Death, and Love in the City of Money

[Guest Midnight Rush]

In 2020, the world?s nations signed a free trade agreement that froze tariffs and taxes at a fair level. This agreement also created an international business district in which all of international trade could take place in a neutral place. That district is named Pecunia. Pecunia is a massive and sprawling city built on the now neutral Virgin Islands, and a home for the head quarters for the world?s largest organized crime organizations and biggest, most powerful companies.
In Pecunia, anyone can succeed, provided they have both friends in high places and extremely deep pockets. Greed is the driving force for 9 out of 10 actions in the city. Nothing is safe, nothing is sure. Murder is as common as flies and little is sacred. The police, comprised of top officers from every nation in the world, are brutally corrupt. Every man, woman, and the rare child has a price, some higher than others, but all have one.
Lies, greed, corruption, and lust rule the hearts and minds of the inhabitants of the city. All politeness is a formal pretext, only the bare remains of civilization keep Pecunia from becoming an overt war zone.
It is now 2040. The city is firmly established and every major company in the world keeps its head quarters there. Our story follows the lives of 11 very different people, all of which have one common trait: their lives are tied to money and those who have it.
Three companies have established themselves as the dominant players: Tanaka Corp., which is actually a front for the united Yakuza, dominates industry and retailing in all of southern and eastern Asia; Paragon Industries, the American trust that dominates every aspect of American import/export trade; and MacStruan-Forbes Inc., the Scottish owned and run leader in European defense manufacturing and also the front for the largest drug trafficking organization in the world. These three hold more power than most governments because of their endlessly deep pockets and enormous influence in both public and private sectors.

EDIT: I spent all this time setting it up, and I forgot the plot. OMG! BLARRGHH... Anyways heres a basic outline of the plot:

Tanaka Corp. and Pragon Industries are proposing a merger, and the Federal Trade Commission is filing an anti-trust suit. MacStruan-Forbes has secretly offered Tanaka Corp. a better deal than Paragon for the merger, and thus the power struggle begins. Whoever merges becomes the single most powerful entity in the world, and the other is merely the prey. A side plot is mobster wars between the Japanese Yakuza, Chinese Tong, and Chavez's mixed gang. The local geisha are caught in the middle and so are the un-affiliated traders. Nightclubs and bars are the battle fields, and many will die.

These are the characters available(See Below). Feel free to flesh them out however you want, but remember no magic, special powers, or anything that couldn?t possibly be in the real world. Also these people are driven by negative emotions, so avoid innocent/pure characters. Another note (sorry..) keep the characters consistant with the names (Chavez is Hispanic, Tanaka is Asian, ect.).

If you can?t demonstrate at least basic skill with punctuation/grammar, you are out. Creativity is a huge plus as well. I think it will be best to moderate the business aspect of the story (except generally), and focus on the relationships and the characters lives because a wider variety of OB?ers can participate. Any content is acceptable IN CONTEXT. Sex, profanity, and violence are part of these people?s lives and should be included for that reason (Keep it like the Sopranos, Sex and the City, or Nip/Tuck levels, ok?). However this is not a medium for writing pornography, let your readers understand whats happening, (ie- some detail) but do not write porno (that would be gross... lol).


Jack Newman- Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Paragon Industries
Emmanuel Chavez- A minor employee in the MacStruan-Forbes Inc. administration. Underground leader of a large prostitution and loan-shark organization.
Reiko Nakamura- ?Secretary? of Yoshi Tanaka
Yoshi Tanaka- Owner, CEO, Chairman, Lord, ect. Of Tanaka Corp.
Sean Straun- CEO and Board Member of Macstruan-Forbes Inc. Also the descensdant of the legendary Dirk Struan
Edward Wong- Chinese Compradore (basically a very special manager) of Macstruan-Forbes. The supreme leader of the Traids/Tong in Pecunia.
James Henry- Owner of Henry?s Bar, the most popular after work spot for the Americans
Sayuri- Geisha of the 1st Rank, also the ?Close Friend? of Jack Newman. Was trained and raised in the Gion district of Kyoto
Valerie Newman- Teenaged daughter of Jack Newman to Sayuri, kept very hidden from the public to avoid scandal
John O?Connor- He is an Asian-to-American relations expert who specializes in damage control, a corporate fireman of Scottish origin.
Ignatius Latiola- Ex-communicated Jesuit priest who has gone insane, killing those he deems as ?sinners? with his giant cleaver.


Sign up form-

Characters Name: Select from untaken Choices above
Age-Anything realistic, most characters will be 20+
Physical description: duh?
Personality: perhaps the most important one, so please do it well
Biography: the characters story, again do it how you?d like, just keep the character in context
Education and Training: what education does the character have? Do they do martial arts? Music? Ect.
Driving Emotion: Pick from the following- Greed, lust, ambition, revenge, hatred, honor (ie a promise), or sadness. I know they are all neutral/bad, but remember these are mafioso, ?courtesans?, and thieves. Keep this driving force in mind at all times when writing the character/story.

My character:

Characters Name: Jack Newman

Age-35

Physical description: 6?1?, Caucasian, slightly tanned skin, roughly 190 lbs. With quite athletic build. Black hair and green eyes. Bears himself well and with poise.

Personality: Driven. Extremely focused at the problem at hand at most times. Relaxes among close friends, but rarely. Merciless but fair, he sees things with an unbiased perspective and great insight. Is not beyond using illegal means to meet his goals, although he tries to do legal things first. Keyword is tries.

Biography: Newman was born in Hong Kong, the son of the American Ambassador to the People?s Republic of China and his English wife. Jack was raised in Hong Kong but went back to the US for his university education. He graduated from Harvard School of Business with an MBA and large debts (his father was very loose with spending). Jack got a job at Paragon Industries as an assistant marketer, within two years paying off his debts. The next ten years were boring ones as he slowly climbed the ladder and finally made CEO. Then he met Sayuri and everything changed. Up until this point, he was just an over achieving pencil pusher, a wall street shark if you will, living a normal life with normal rewards.
The first time he met Sayuri, he was at a party as his company?s representative, the party was thrown by Tanaka Corp. He was there to try and strengthen Paragon?s ties to the Asian sector, as Asia?s market was white hot and they wanted a cut of the profits. The next several meetings of the two companies were flavored with various parties, occasionally with Sayuri as a geisha. They became friends, as a geisha and her paying customers might be, but nothing special.
One evening however, as he was leaving (one of the last to leave), enemies of the Tanaka organization (Chavez?s org. to be exact) attacked the Tea House. Yoshi Tanaka, Sayuri, and Jack were talking together just as the assassins hit. Tanaka?s gun jammed and Jack Newman killed the assassins with his, thus saving the lives of both Sayuri and Tanaka. Tanaka was deeply grateful, and the two became fast friends. Tanaka left that night and Sayuri and Jack were the last there. Sayuri?s apartment was near Jack?s, so he offered he a ride home. She accepted, being deeply curious and somewhat attracted to this crazy gai-jin, and ?forgot? her keys. The rest is history.

Education and Training: MBA from Harvard with focus on Oriental culture and relations. Also trained by the US military in the use of firearms, and is an accomplished master of a special form of kenjutsu.

Driving Emotion: Honor. A promise to his dying mother that he would not fail like his father did (his father failed to protect them from the Tong (Chinese gangsters also known as Triads) Jack escaped by going to the US for college).

Ok guys, 10 slots left to fill! The quicker they are filled the quicker this can get rolling. Have fun with it and keep it real.

[Dmitri_Dragoon]

[B]Characters Name: [/B] Ignatius Latiola

[B]Age: [/B] 45

[B]Physical description: [/B] Ignatius has jet black hair that is starting to gray on the temples. He has very dark eyes that are full of hatred. His skin is dark and leathery from staying out in the sun to long. He sports a black bushy mustache that he keeps neatly groomed. He stands at an even 6', including the slouch. He continues to wear black robes, even though he was excommunicated from the Jesuits.

[B]Personality: [/B] He was once calm, and easy going. Now he can be anything at any moment. Mostly it is angry, but sometimes it can be morbid humor. He hates most people... well, all people. He sees them all as sinners, and in need of a good cleaving...

[B]Biography: [/B] Ignatius was born in Spain to a wealthy family. He lived a pampered life as a child, given anything he desired. When it was time for him to go to college his parents sent him to the best place they could think of, Oxford. There Ignatius studied to become a Mathematician, and took Culenary Arts on the side.

When Ignatius graduated it seemed as if a light dawned on him. He disowned his family and became a Jesuit priest at the age of 29.

He took the tests and pledged his Oath and became a priest. For the next several years he Missioned to many countries teaching the Word. Eventually he settled down in Pecunia, thinking that he could make a difference in the corrupt place. He was gravely mistaken.

He was 42, and in Pecunia. He had already spent 6 years there trying to reform the inhabitants, failing in each attempt. Eventually one day, while speaking the word, he was rudely interrupted. Something inside of him snapped and he grabbed the nearest thing to him, a meat cleaver. He stormed over the the person that interrupted him and stuck the cleaver into the person, killing him instantly.

With the corruption of the police Ignatius got off easily. His only punishment being excommunicated from the Jesuits. Since then he has kept the cleaver, and went on a holy crusade in Pecunia, killing sinners, and worshipers of Satan.

[B]Education and Training: [/B] Ignatius is an excellant chef. He is fluent in three languages, English, Spanish, and Italian. He majored in Math at Oxford.

[B]Driving Emotion: [/B] Revenge/Hatred/Insanity

[Muad'Dib]

Well this is certainly... unique. Count me in dude!! And, uhhh... don't pay attention to the slang... lol.

Name: James Henry

Age: 26

Description: 5'11'', and not as formal or important looking as most within the city. He has dirty brown hair, wich comes down past his ears, and green eyes. His build is tough, as it has to be in most situations, but he carries himself in a way that makes him seem, well, not so tough.

Personality: He finds humor in many things most people wouldn't dream of laughing at, and isn't afraid to laugh at them. His sense of trust is running thin, but you can get him on your side with a bit of persuasion. He keeps his cool most of the time, but sometimes gets caught up in a tight situation, and doesn't think straight.

Bio: James was born and raised in Florida, by two, let's just say, not so good parents. As a child, he was silent and often shy, but seemed to but into other's problems, only to be shoved around by someone. After completing middle-school, he left Florida with some extra money he had saved up, and tried to get a job in Georgia. Failing to do so, he found a local school and completed high-school.
His life didn't change for a while, and his social life wasn't looking so hot. The few friends he made were never around, and he was struggling to find a girlfriend. At age 22, he left for Pecunia, in the hopes that he would be swallowed up in some corperate dealings and make something out of his life.
Again failing, he used the little money he had left to get a small space in the city. For a while, it was his life. He slept, ate, breahted, and did just about everything else in that little spot. By some kind of irony, he got a hold of some money through a desperate triad, and added to his little corner of the city little by little, until he actualy made it into a half-decent bar.
The msot amazing thing was, he got customers, and the number slowly grew, until word spread, and he was making a noticable profit. Hard working American corperates would come in after a long day, and sit down with their friends, or even chat with James occasionaly.
With the money he earned, he was able to turn the place into a hot-spot for American workers and business men, and thus he stands.
One thing he learned... always keep a gun in the back... just in case.

Education/Training: A high-school level education, and a good idea of corperate functions. Nothing special. He does know some Japanese.

Driving Emotion: Ambition. He just wants to make something out of life (not necesarily his) from the ruin that was his past.

OK... I get everything in there? This looks like it could get interesting fast.

[Guest Midnight Rush]

nice to see you firepheonixand dmitri, and welcome to my first RPG. I haven't seen anything like this at all yet, so I thought it would be cool. Both of you good job on the write ups. Here are the onese left to pick from for lazy people:

EDIT1: Welcome to the story cyriel! Wonderful write up, I am very impressed in how you showed the dynamic nature of her character and a little insight into this complex girl's complex mind.

EDIT2:Welcome to the team Balinese, great to have you ^_^

UPDATE ON WHO's AVAILIBLE 2:

Emmanuel Chavez- A minor employee in the MacStruan-Forbes Inc. administration. Underground leader of a large prostitution and loan-shark organization.
Yoshi Tanaka- Owner, CEO, Chairman, Lord, ect. Of Tanaka Corp.
Sean Straun- CEO and Board Member of Macstruan-Forbes Inc. Also the descensdant of the legendary Dirk Struan
Edward Wong- Chinese Compradore (basically a very special manager) of Macstruan-Forbes. The supreme leader of the Traids/Tong in Pecunia.
John O?Connor- He is an Asian-to-American relations expert who specializes in damage control, a corporate fireman of Scottish origin.

[Cyriel]

[B]Characters Name:[/B] Valerie Newman

[B]Age:[/B] 16

[B]Physical description:[/B] 5'3", with a typical slender Asian build. Pale skin, black hair, and misty-green eyes, her features are more of her mother's than her father's, much to his relief.

[B]Personality:[/B] She is extremely bright and intelligent. She has the poise of her father, and the grace of her mother, but has a sinister air about her. While not obvious, people in her company seem to shift in their seats uncomfortably. Her odd smile is hinted on her face, and her eyes seem to focus entirely on you. This may seem pleasant, but in fact, the strange force that seems to shine from her eyes makes one's hands start to become sticky with sweat, and their lips will become dry. In short, she's an odd child, who can have the charm and grace of an adolescent starting to bloom, which she can turn into a trap in a split second, so quickly that her guest will not even notice that they have walked into the net of her words. If you are going to visit her, be cautious, and make sure you're intelligent enough for the pitfalls that she prepares. The few visitors she has are always unnerved afterwards, and she will periodically send the servants from her room in tears. Valerie loves basically to study and manipulate human emotions, while still getting interesting bits of information and gossip. She has somewhat of a twisted sense of humor, and one can never tell if she's being serious, sarcastic, or spurious. In other words, she's caustic to one's soul, but in a way that one can never tell. She also has random bouts of depression, in which she will lock herself in her room and receive no one. The servants have grown wise enough to let her be, as she can very easily make their life living hell and terror. She has the habit of being able to discover secret bits of information that others would like to keep hidden, and is very talented at it.

[B]Biography:[/B] Valerie is the teenage daughter of Jack Newman and Sayuri. All her life, she has been very hidden from the public, and thus has been very isolated and sheltered. As a child she lived with her mother Sayuri, with her father secretly providing for her financially. However, at the age of 12, Valerie finally became thoroughly sick of living with her mother, tired of her mother's line of work, which Valerie thought was disgusting and demeaning. It wasn't as if they had a close relationship anyway; Valerie had been raised mainly by nannies and private tutors. Bodyguards were also another normal constant in her life. Sayuri, on the other hand, was not. Valerie finally refused to live with her mother, and contacted her father, Jack Newman.

Her father, who had had very minimal contact with Valerie, agreed to provide for her separate household, which is kept in an isolated part of his estate. Disguising her as a geisha, he moved her in, and she has lived in the grounds ever since, very rarely being allowed to go out in public. As it is, she must be satisfied to watching her father's guests secretly, or getting info from computers. From a result of her childhood, Valerie detests men, mostly businessmen, and is fascinated in a disgusted way by their greed and manipulating, dishonest ways. She also hates her father, but has a grudging respect for him, and won't do anything against him. Her mother she refuses to see.

Valerie has an odd hobby of revealing gossip. She is especially interested in adultery, and many times has made the odd phonecall to newspapers and revealing the affairs of an important person. She remains anonymous behind the political falls of several people, again mostly important businessmen, and loves watching the quiet chaos that ensues. And while Jack Newman suspects his daughter's antics, he says nothing, letting her do what she will.

[B]Education and Training:[/B] Tutored privately from early childhood, Valerie has already earned the equivalent of a high school diploma. She is now continuing in university studies, especially interested in history, medicines, and politics. Her tutors are skilled professors paid highly by Jack Newman, and she is basically receiving the best of educations. Valerie devours books, and Jack Newman has recently had additions to his vast library due to his daughter's hunger for all areas of literature and science. She is wellread in almost every material and genre, and is fluent in Japanese, German, Russian, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and is currently studying Chinese.

Although she would rather forget her mother's heritage, Jack Newman has also employed several geisha to educate Valerie in their skills, in an effort to reunite mother and daughter. She is exceptional, and her father will sometimes allow her to entertain his guests as another one of the geisha, as she is completely unrecognizable in the disguise. That is the only reason why she puts up with the training. She welcomes the martial arts training much more than the arts of the geisha. Her father, very realistic about his enemies, has had Valerie training in several martial art forms since the day that she was moved to his estate. She is quite accomplished in kenjutsu, wushu, tae kwon do, karate, and several others, but has never experienced real combat. She also has some training in fire arms, but just enough so that she can effectively use one if in dire need. However, she is still quite knowledgeable in the area, and can identify, take apart, and reassemble almost any weapon if she has the correct tools. She seems to be able to just immediately absorb information, and never has to be told anything twice. Valerie also plays the cello with mastery, and it's one of the few things she enjoys doing for no reason. However, she often plays it when in one of her depressive moods, and so it's like a warning of a hurricane.

[B]Driving Emotion:[/B] Hatred/Sadness - Valerie has alot of hate in her heart, mostly at her mother, some towards her father, and much towards the corruption of the world. She directs it in the only way she can - towards the shameful downfall of people of importance by turning their lives and pasts against them. However, her hatred disguises something deeper - the sadness of a lost childhood, and the absence of loving parents. So in reality, Valerie is just another teenager wishing for a happy family, who has quickly turned into a sadistic but extremely talented person.

[Guest Midnight Rush]

I apologize in my first post I didn't convey what I think the flavor of the story should be. The way I wrote it made it sound like the Big O meets suicidal teenagers... not my intention, so sorry. It should be more crazy, not unrealistic but slightly lighter, along the lines of a Kill Bill or a Once Upon a Time in Mexico. That is not to say, however, that the intellectual element is lost, but only clarifying my mistake.

Another thing, although I wrote up a frame for the characters to be, this story is driven by the characters, not vice versa.

[Balinese]

Name: Reiko Nakamura

Age: 25

Physical description: 5'4", black hair and eyes. Her face shows her Eurasian heritage although not to the extent that Tanaka-san's does. Reiko wears dark suits and white shirts while on the job, but prefers brighter colors while at work.

Personality: Called insensitive by some, Reiko is simply an honest person, and very to the point. She's calm and collected, which are very highly valued qualities in her line of business.

What is this business? Yoshi Tanaka's secretary handles everything that goes on in his world. Appointments, business lunches, scheduled hits, it's all in her little black book. Things in her hands will always be done, and be done well.

Reiko spends her evenings hanging out at Henry's Bar, where the beer is good and the conversation will tell you things you never asked.

Education and Training: Reiko is a graduate of the University of Southern Colorado (CSU), with degrees in accounting and business writing, and minors in Spanish and Theatre Arts. The second serves her well in her business life, since she has to pretend friendship with many people. The merger between Tanaka Corp and MacStruan-Forbes/Paragon is giving her a huge ulcer, but you'd never know ^_^

Driving Emotion: Ambition/Honor: Reiko wants to live up to her name ('little ruler') and become a higher-ranking person in the corporation. She's extremely talented... now if only people could really see it......

[Skye]

Characters Name: Sayuri Damen

Age: 31

Physical description: 5?5?, 137 lbs, wiry, tan, butt-length black hair, deep green eyes, rimed by thick black lashes, slender hands, a quick smile and ready laugh, wears a short pleated skirt, thigh-high socks, buckle up boots, a black business jacket, over a white button up shirt, often gets mistaken for her daughters sister.

Personality: Playful, with a quick smile, ready laugh, and an even readier flirt. She often has a short temper, but is very calm under stressful situations. She loves her daughter to death, but doesn?t embarrass her like most moms do to their children.

Biography: She got into dancing and singing at the tender age of five. She was always great at it, and got a ton of compliments. She started to perform in public for things like the 4th of July and block parties. When she was seventeen, she was picked up by some guys who thought she was good, and they ended up raping her. She hated it, and often avoided people after that. Then she met Jack. They ended up together one night, and she ?forgot? her keys. After that? well, its history.

Education and Training: She was trained at just about everything she could want. She is fluent in many languages, and can sing in just about any of them. She went to UGA for a while, and was excellent at math and science. Sayuri was in a small gang when she was a teen, and so knows basic self-defense.

Driving Emotion: Ambition; she was always ambitios, and now is no different. She has an ambition to find her daughter, Valerie.