The Empress's Own (historical, culture clash, all welcome)

[IrishWolf]

I suddenly have the urge to create the perfect man for Aurora, meet Adelard Bellarose!



He'll woo ALL with his magnificent moustache and a single sexy wiggle of his bushy eyebrows!

Now that is one fine mustache, I must say.

[Question Mark]

I suddenly have the urge to create the perfect man for Aurora, meet Adelard Bellarose!



He'll woo ALL with his magnificent moustache and a single sexy wiggle of his bushy eyebrows!

Hmm, ahem, wow.  That is a moustache.

[Scribbles]

Adelard: "Merci, merci, all the result of proper moustache care, messieurs!"

Thank the gods I can tell you are joking

Poor Addy is just a joke to you? Well, maybe he'll just take himself and his fine facial follicles to other more appreciative quarters!

[Merah]

DEFINITELY interested. What a fascinating scenario--I love it!

Thinking of playing an NCO in the military mission, will start working on a character profile.

[IrishWolf]

Excellent, we'd love to have you Merah.

[Merah]

You seem to be using British ranks for the military mission... was that intentional, or would you rather use French ranks?

[Scribbles]

So, all the RPs I've committed to are sitting in a limbo of sorts, not sure if some are even running anymore. I typed up a brief concept for a character, I just want to know I'm on the right track before going into detail on the minor stuff, like appearance.





Player: Scribbles
Group: Regiment
Name:Akane Onigawa
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Rank: Regiment
Social Standing: Noble
Sexual Preference: Bisexual
Appearance:
Weapons: Katana, Wakizashi, Hankyū
Extra Gear: Sake, Small Bag of Tools, Light Samurai Armour, Sack of Rations
History:
Akane is a widow of a fallen samurai, a man who lost his life in defence of the empire. Keiji Onigawa, the onna-bugeisha's one true love, was ambushed and slain during the task of delivering an important missive to the court's allies. At first Akane blamed the Empress for sending her husband on the mission at all, a mission which she saw as little more than a mad power grab and an attempt to throw away years of culture and tradition. The heartbroken samurai even considered treason during her grief, betraying the ruler both her and her husband had sworn their service to. These thoughts, her tears, were all she knew for the next three days, until finally her eyes ran dry and her mind cleared, leading her to ask one simple question, "Who"?

It was true that it was during the course of an imperial task which Keiji found his death, but Akane had yet to consider the actual culprits behind her beloved's demise, from the nobles who gave the orders to the servants who dealt the killing blow. Akane still couldn't force herself to accept the Empress's new fancy, she felt the barbaric foreigners and their strange ways were little more than a taint; one which had to be stamped out before it could spread any further. Her husband believed in the Empress however as well as her plans for their nation and so Akane served dutifully, following orders like a good soldier, if not for the empire then to honour her beloved's memory.

When not serving the empress, Akane used to eke out a living as an entertainer, but she lost that profession after Keiji's death. She simply lacks the emotion and energy she had in the past. Now she serves the empire full time by training when not following orders and hunting for survival when not doing either. More importantly, she keeps track of the daimyos, pondering on which may have been behind the blade which slew her husband. Now, Akane finally feels she has the opportunity to strike out at the daimyos as the empress has summoned her and others of her regiment. She looks forward to marching forth and slaying all who oppose imperial rule, cutting deep into the murderous bastards which would cowardly assassinate good and honourable men.

[SweetSerenade]

She looks absolutely amazing...

I am contemplating making a male for the Arakian's probably will use ambigious images of a couple of my choice favorite males... (Not Gackt though... I like him too much to do that. )

[IrishWolf]

Merah, it is intentional, its a little easier to write Major, rather than Chef de Bataillon and my mind works better with the British equivalent. Besides, I am also using the American concept of volunteer regiments in the Sesalian Army. Like the Arakians aren't 100% pure Japanese, the Sesalians aren't 100% pure French.

Scribbles, Akane Onigawa looks very very good.

[Lustful Bride]

Im somewhat interested in it but feel like I need to ration my roleplays since my college classes are starting again on Monday.

Question: Would there be a spot perhaps for a foreign mercenary woman?

[SweetSerenade]

Im somewhat interested in it but feel like I need to ration my roleplays since my college classes are starting again on Monday.

Question: Would there be a spot perhaps for a foreign mercenary woman?

From what I gathered your best bet would be one of the Arakian women who are known for combat... I made Aurora the way I did because the only Sesalians ending up in the Empress' area are those with the Military/Politica (Like the Ambassador and his household.) Most Sesalian women, from what I can tell are slotted down as nothing more than breeding stock (Think about old world views on women) - so I wouldn't know how you could get over. Since the Military men make it pretty well known that they don't believe females capable of combat and thus not viable for the military...

I actually have to keep Aurora and her Maid in their cabin for the trip, because of the prejudiced nature of some of the men on the ship XP

[IrishWolf]

Hmm, yes I think we could work something out.

The best way, I believe to work in such a character would to have the mercenary working for a Arakian noble and sent to join the regiment as a token show of support without that noble family sending any of their sons or daughters. Although it should be understood that while all foreigners are looked down on, it gets doubled for "local" foreigners.

If that direction for the character interests you, send me a PM and we'll hammer out the details

[Lustful Bride]

I see, but I probably should have been more specific. I meant Foreign mercenary as in not from Arakia or from Sesal. She is from another nation in the world only coming for the money.

Possibly even from a rival nation to add some drama to the mix.

Hmm I might need to think more on this before I fully throw in my chips.

[Question Mark]

I see, but I probably should have been more specific. I meant Foreign mercenary as in not from Arakia or from Sesal. She is from another nation in the world only coming for the money.

Possibly even from a rival nation to add some drama to the mix.

For what it's worth, I think this is an awesome idea.  The Sesalians were fairly uniform in the last game (aside from some unspoken friction between Aurora and Gerard/Henry), so the more wrinkles we can add to the tapestry, the better.

I know I'd get a kick out of playing it from Henry's perspective.

[Lustful Bride]

Player: Lustful Bride

Group: Mercenary hired by the Empress's officials since she just happened to be there.

Name: Ada Sanchez.

Age: 23

Gender: Female

Rank: Mercenary.

Sexual Preference: Anything, usually dominant.

Appearance:
Ada Sanchez is a young, light haired, tanned skinned woman from the land of Ersyla. She has a few scars upon her body from fighting in the revolution, the most prominent of which is on her leg where a bullet grazed her. Her hair is black as a crow’s feather and her eyes are a light shade of brown, like that of the rest of her body. Her frame is not very muscular for a woman who fought in a war, mostly due to her having joined the revolution near its end phase and for usually choosing to stay inside and read as a girl instead of playing in the fields as well as skipping out on field work when she could.

She seems to always have a gentle face and never seems to get angry, annoyed yes but never angry. Her hair is usually shoulder length and she rarely cuts it, just not finding the time to do so in her line of work, but at the very least she is able to keep it clean.

Weapons: Revolver rifle (ball and cap) and a machete.

Extra Gear: Two revolvers (which require those fancy new capsules, or bullets as some call them.)
and her 3 ammo belts for them. Small bits and pieces for her to do maintenance on her weapons, as well as clippers and a bandanna she uses to help hold her hair.

History:
Born in 1632, Ada is a descendant of colonists from Soadorien.(this world's version of Spain and was neither enemy nor truly friend to the Sesalian people.) Ada’s family lived in a colony called Eblar in a land known as Erslya. A wide and fruitful continent full of much land and which most nations tried to colonize, in one way or another, and carve out their own piece of the pie. To varying degrees of success.

Five years ago, there was an attempted revolution by the peasantry of Erslya against their mother nation, having finally been pushed to the brink by their abuses and mistreatment of the many workers who shed endless drops of blood sweat and tears to farm and colonize the arid land.( Though the crimes will always be downplayed and denied as falsehoods)
Sadly, despite the bravery and many successful battles, the revolution failed miserably, seeing most of the colonists dead or scattered and the colony placed permanently under military rule to prevent further rebellions.

The irony was that Ada herself had been among the few loyalists of Eblar. But her twin sister Cathrina was a devout rebel supporter and fighter. She was hiding weapons in her home. When the soldiers of Soadorien searched the town for any of the rebel sympathizers they decided to make an example of Ada’s sister, making the entire town watch as they brutalized her and beat her to death before hanging the woman naked with a sign around her throat that read “Rebel whore”.

The very next night after burying her sister, Ada was part of the rebel retaliation party which set fire to the nearby Soadorien fort and left no survivors. For the next two years Ada fought and shed blood alongside her rebel brothers and sisters, never giving the enemy an inch until finally they were expelled in one final push from their home nation. But it mattered little for Ada, she had nothing to go back to and turned mercenary. Working anywhere except her old home of Eblar.

Most recently Ada was hired by a Sesalian merchant going across the Doldrum, to try to open trade with some of the other nations there. Her job was to protect this man and ensure his safe arrival to land. However, after crossing the Doldrum, the ship was wrecked. By a miracle Ada somehow survived and managed to get the other survivors down the coast to the Araki Empire without much incident, where they were escorted to Kōzu. While in the capital, Ada was hired by one of the Empress's officals to join the regiment and even offered a nice contract for her work, and since she wasn't getting paid for her last job, there was no way she would turn down a job, especially not from royalty.

[IrishWolf]

Very nice, welcome to the game

[Lustful Bride]

Very nice, welcome to the game

Thank you for having me/ making such an awesome game. 

[Merah]

Player: Merah
Group: Military Mission
Name: Frederic Bugeaud

Age: 34
Gender: Male
Rank: Colour Sergeant
Highest Rank Held: Captain (brevet, Soadorien expeditionary forces)

Sexual Preference: Heterosexual
Appearance: Frederic is six feet tall with a broad frame. His limbs are thick and firm with muscles built over ten years of campaigning, but he has a bit of a gut hanging over his belt from three years of heavy drinking. He has blond hair with a thick but well-groomed mustache, and troubled hazel eyes. Puckered craters remain from bullet wounds in his right shoulder, left calf, and stomach, and there is a graze track across his neck. There is a long white line along the front of his left forearm from where he blocked a knife slash and there are two marks on his right thigh where an epee bayonet pierced it.


He still wears his Zouave uniform (crimson trousers, crimson shirt, blue jacket with details in crimson, crimson kepi).


Weapons:
Pattern 1640 Bosc Rifle

Pattern 1620 NCO's sword


Zouave sword bayonet (20in blade)

Lefaucheux 20-round revolver

Fires 7.65mm pinfire cartridges. Barrel length is 4 3/4 inches; weight is just over 2 lbs empty, just under 2 1/2 lbs fully loaded. Triple action trigger (allows inner and outer cylinders to fire separately).
Pros - Can fire 20 rounds without reloading. Pinfire cartridges are more reliable than ball-and-cap rounds (can't get wet, don't jam or misfire as often). Faster to reload than empty ball-and-cap cylinders.
Cons - Ammo is incompatible with other weapons. Small caliber bullets have less stopping power. Slower to reload than pre-loaded ball-and-cap cylinders.

Extra Gear:
Equipment
Personally-altered Soadorien marching pack, bedroll, small pot, small pan, ladle, spoon, leather waterskins, coil of light rope, whetstone, flint and steel, weapons cleaning kit, straight razor, comb, scissors, sewing kit, pocket flask, and spyglass.
Clothes
Spare trousers, two spare shirts, two spare sets of drawers, and six spare pairs of socks.
Ammunition
80 rounds of percussion caps and .58 balls (8x 10-rd boxes, 4 of them on belt), and 200 rounds of 7.65mm (4x 50-rd boxes).



History:
Son to a wealthy Sesalian family, Frederic rejected that life when he dropped out of university at twenty years of age and enlisted in the colonial forces for the adventure, rejecting the chance at a commission so that he could be in the thick of things. After four years fighting in various campaigns across Erslya, he had achieved the rank of corporal.

Yet he dropped out once again when conflicts died down in the Sesalian colonies, joining the Soadorien expeditionary forces in response to their call for volunteers to put down the Eblar Revolution--this was just after the rebels had defeated the initial Soadorien garrison and burned their fort. A Soadorien general recognized something in Frederic, and gave him a brevet rank of captain among the volunteers--and Frederic decided to try being an officer out.

The Eblar campaign was a hard-fought two years that left a sour taste in Frederic's mouth. He had seen things in that war--atrocities committed by Soadorien soldiers and other volunteers that had shaken his faith in his fellow man. So he turned down the general's offer of a permanent commission in the Soadorien army and returned to Sesal, where he resumed the studies that he had forsaken six years prior.

But not one year following, Sesal went to war with Tauacia and Frederic found his loyalty to his homeland compelled him to go to war once again. Quickly granted the rank of sergeant, he was appointed 'chief of scouts' for a Zouave (north Erslyan colonial forces) brigade due to the tracking skills he had picked up in pursuing Eblarin rebels. Four years followed, of bitter fighting over remote Sesalian and Tauacian colonies, of countless marches and a cacophony of skirmishes, raids, and battles. Two months before the war ended, Frederic guided his unit to a strategic port colony through a desert previously considered impassable. There, they surprised and annihilated a much larger Tauacian garrison. But their messages requesting reinforcements were intercepted... and the Tauacian counterattack stormed the port, slaughtering half of them before they could even escape the city. Frederic led the survivors on a desperate flight back into the desert, but without adequate supplies, most of the Sesalians died on the second crossing. Less than twenty men from his brigade survived to see the end of the war.

Frederic was promoted to colour sergeant, handed a medal, and sent to run a training program for scouts, where he stayed for the next three years of mind-numbing peace. He knew he should quit again, but he didn't dare. He felt too old to take up any other career at that point--he was thirty-one, but he felt a thousand. He began drinking himself into oblivion every night.

At thirty-four, Frederic was close to being quietly retired because of his growing state of constant drunkenness, when the Araki mission came up. He swore to sober up; he would NOT be denied a spot on that mission. So his superiors relented and so he met his new commander, sergeant major, and other comrades for this adventure. They were good souls, hardened by war just as he, and he finally felt at home once again. If only this interminable voyage would end and they might embark on a harsh land against armies of hostile men once more!

[Lustful Bride]

Hmmmm an Eblar rebel and an officer who fought for the Soadorien's......I smell delicious drama in the future. 

Bitter sweet.

[Question Mark]

So many good characters!

I'll post mine in a bit.  Hopefully he'll be able to hold his own.

[Merah]

I hope I didn't screw the timeline up too badly in his history... if my years don't all add up properly, just pretend they do.

[IrishWolf]

Oh Gods, a twenty round, over and under double barreled revolver. I love how weird some of the weapons people have invented have been. Hell, I recently learned about the Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon.

Anyways, welcome aboard Frederic Bugeaud.

I will have the IC and OOC threads open by monday.

[Merah]

Oh Gods, a twenty round, over and under double barreled revolver.

[Question Mark]

Player: Question Mark

Group: Sesalian Military Mission

Name: Henry Jean Vesalier

Age: 42

Gender: Male

Rank: Captain

Highest Rank Held: Major

Social Standing: N/A

Sexual Preference: Heterosexual

Appearance: Tall, nearly 190 cm, with a willowy build and long legs that make him a naturally good runner.  Maintains a bushy brown mustache on a handsome, albeit worn, face.  While in uniform, wears a red and blue kepi, a blue single-breasted shell coat with golden buttons and epaulettes, white gloves, and dark blue straight-legged trousers with a golden stripe running down the outside leg.  Out of uniform, Henry will wear simple trousers, boots, and a tunic left open at the chest.

Weapons: At all times, Henry possesses a standard Le Hir Revolver, loaded.  When in uniform, he will also carry a Pattern 1633 Cuirass, which he bears with great pride.  Finally, he maintains a standard 1630 Bosc rifle, which he keeps in his quarters.

Extra Gear: The usual toiletries.  In addition, Henry possesses an older style pocket watch, the outer casing of which bears a map of the (then) known world, itself ringed by an artistic representation of the Doldrum.  He also carries a handkerchief for his persistent cough and a finely carved wood pipe inlaid with brass, although he does not smoke it.

History: Henry was born into poverty in the year 1613 to his father, Jean, and his mother, Amelie.  A clotheswasher, Amelie died during childbirth.  Jean, a factory worker deep in debt, frequently took out his anger and grief on his young son, indirectly blaming him for his wife's death.  Henry grew up covered in bruises and reeking of the gin his father had bought with money he didn't have.  He loved his father despite the harsh treatment, and being an intelligent and surprisingly emphatic child, often worried after his health and fortunes.

By the age of 6, Henry was working 12 hour shifts as a chimney sweep.  Several years later, Jean was jailed in a debtors prison.  As a result, Henry began boarding with his father's sister.  Despite her close relation, she maintained that it was Henry's responsibility to pay down his father's debt, and so he continued working.  Her husband, a Lieutenant in the army named Picard, returned later that year on a brief leave.  A kind man, he persuaded her to release Henry to the army, and to use part of her considerable savings to make Jean's debt solvent, allowing Henry to stop working and attend a private school as a ward of the army.

Despite his late start, Henry proved to be a voracious student, excelling in reading, arithmetic, and oration.  On Picard's advice, and inspired by his grand tales of soldiering abroad, Henry applied and was quickly accepted into the Malix Military Academy.  He again excelled academically, but received poor marks in the areas of leadership and military strategy.  Upon graduation at the age of 21, Henry was assigned as a 2nd Lieutenant to the 12th Logistics Corp and stationed in a city garrison as a supply officer.  Proving adept at maintaining the supply chain, he quickly rose to the rank of Major over the next decade.  Henry set aside a percentage of his wages to paying off his father's debt, but was unable to keep up with the accruing interest.  Growing desperate, Henry entered into the contraband black market.  By changing numbers in supply ledgers, he could reroute weapons, food, and clothing to illicit buyers without arousing suspicion.  With this robust income, he quickly paid down the interest, released Jean, and even bought him a small apartment in the city.  However, he was forced to discontinue sending money after an investigation nearly uncovered his role in the contraband racket.

Two years later, war broke out with Tauacia.  Henry was commissioned as a chief logistics officer for one of the many fronts, and was moved out to a supply camp near the fighting.  A month into the war, a misled Tauacian force assaulted the depot, having incorrectly believed it to be a staging area.  Although the force was quickly rebuffed due to the timely arrival of an Osoren regiment, Henry took a ball to the chest in the chaos and nearly died of pneumonia the following week.

While recovering from his injury, a messenger arrived bearing a formal accusation of Henry for contraband smuggling.  He would later learn that a captured fence working for the contraband ring had given up his name under duress.

Despite the ongoing war, Henry was forced to return and stand trial.  As it turned out, the evidence against him was not especially strong, and Henry was able to narrowly evade a conviction by nullifying the incriminating testimony and citing his distinguished service.  Fearing an incorrect verdict, the military tribunal nonetheless busted him down to a Lieutenant, docked his pay, and assigned him as a "morale officer" to a 9th Infantry fort on the fringe of the fighting, far away from any major supply lines.  The remote assignment was intended as an indirect punishment, and Henry spent the remainder of the war pacing the walls of the fort and cleaning equipment, growing resentful and bitter.  His wound, although fully healed, had left him with a persistent cough, and the cool, damp climate only exacerbated the problem.

After the war ended, Henry repeatedly petitioned for reassignment, and was repeatedly turned down.  Even when he received a rain-soaked letter telling him of Jean's death, the Osoren army refused to grant him leave to return home and bury his father.  The fourth year of his assignment crawled by, and Henry began contemplating desertion.  Before he could steal away across the border, a letter arrived bearing his name.  His sixteenth reassignment request had been granted: he was ordered to immediately report to the nearest port and rendezvous with a mission to the distant Araki Empire.  Included was a parcel bearing the epaulettes of an Osoren Captain and a signed order confirming his promotion.

Dismayed at what seemed to be an even worse punishment, Henry decided to use the command as a cover-up for his desertion.  Three nights after leaving the fort, Henry encountered an Osoren military convoy led by a man who recognized him from his highly publicized trial four years earlier.  After a brief inquiry, Henry was forced to reveal that he was destined for the nearest port.  Surprised, the leader of the convoy insisted that he travel with them since, through sheer luck, that was where they were headed.  Unable to decline without revealing his desertion, Henry found himself unwillingly escorted to the port.

[Merah]

We really need someone to play a strong Sergeant Major... my character is good to be a primary trainer, but he's not the type to actually run the whole program.

An Araki male retainer in the Regiment might help balance things \as well. I'd run one, but I'm thinking there'd be too much of him and my colour sergeant together. Maybe I'll play the ambassador? Someone in the court as well as someone in the field sounds like a good mix.