Out of the Comfort Zone (OOC; OPEN)

[Cylarn]

The year is 1994, and South Africa has begun to undergo major change, with the election of its first black President, Nelson Mandela. With the election of President Mandela and a major rise in the political power of the ANC, institutions of the minority white government such as Apartheid have been struck down, while Mandela makes attempts to bring about reconciliation between the whites and blacks. While many have applauded Mandela for his strong efforts of reconciliation, others have resented the end of Apartheid, fearing as though the blacks would oppress the whites and limit the opportunities of future white South Africans. Violence is not unheard of, and in poverty-stricken areas of the nation, violence between whites and black is all too common. In the coming days, a new violent event would threaten to bring down the growing Rainbow Nation.

Welcome to the city of Johannesburg, capital of the Gauteng Province. In recent years following the striking-down of the Group Areas Act and the end of Apartheid, crime has gone up and Johannesburg has seen many businesses shut down as a result. Racial tensions are high, and many point to these tensions as the cause of the assassination of a prominent ANC politician in the city. Many blacks believe that the assassination is the work of anti-government whites who resent the end of Apartheid, while a majority of the whites are accusing the ANC of assassinating the politician so that they may use the situation as an excuse to further "Africanize" South Africa and to persecute the whites. Race riots and gang violence have begun to increase in Johannesburg, prompting the South African Police Service to respond to the chaos.

In the midst of the chaos, the SAPS is carrying out the investigation of the assassination in a unique manner. For one of the first times since the end of Apartheid, the investigation team is racially integrated, with the hopes that the appearance of a multi-racial investigation team will help to soothe accusations of racism by the police. You are one of the detectives assigned to the case, and whether you are white or black, your job is to get to the bottom of this murder. For all of you, this is a first - to be working alongside someone of a different race. However, you must put aside racial differences if justice is to be upheld.

[Cylarn]

Case Information

1. As the OP, what I say goes.
2. My Co-OPs are an extension of my authority, so only I can trump their judgement
3. Since this RP is set in 1994 South Africa, I expect people to do their research into their characters so that we may uphold some sense of realism.
4. Racism, bigotry, and sexism is for the IC. If you intend on spouting such things on the OOC, see yourself out.

[Cylarn]

Character Information

Code: Select all

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance:
Personality:
Traits and Habits:
Birthplace:
Ethnicity (If it's anything other than Afrikaner, British Diaspora or an African tribe, be sure to explain later on what brought you to South Africa):
Nationality:
Education:
Prior Police Service (State what divisions you've served with in the past, and if you served with any other law enforcement organizations, be sure to state that):
Prior Military Service (State your rank, branch, nation of service, years served, and notable units that you served with):
Religion:
Political Views:
Racial Views:
RP Examples:
Sample Post (2 Paragraphs):
Basic Background (At least 3 paragraphs):


Name: Kurt Venter.

Age: 42.

Gender: Male.

Appearance: Robert Fucking Stack.

Personality: Kurt is a stern, professional former military man, and he's not one to take kindly to bullshit. He is a sensible man, though his racism and political views often get in his way of accepting his black and colored colleagues.

Traits and Habits: He is a heavy smoker, and prefers American cigarettes such as Marlboro Reds. He is an avid drinker as well, and is quite possibly a borderline alcoholic. He tends to curse a lot, especially when he’s angry.

Birthplace: Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (Now Harare, Zimbabwe).

Ethnicity (If it's anything other than Afrikaner, British Diaspora or an African tribe, be sure to explain later on what brought you to South Africa): Afrikaner/American.

Nationality: South African. Formerly a Rhodesian citizen, and he previously held a green card in the US.

Education: Completed all of his required schooling.

Prior Police Service (State what divisions you've served with in the past, and if you served with any other law enforcement organizations, be sure to state that): South African Police; Visible Policing Division, C1 (suspected).

Prior Military Service (State your rank, branch, nation of service, years served, and notable units that you served with): Captain; Army; Rhodesia; 1968-1980; Rhodesian Light Infantry // Captain; Army; United States; 1981-1987; 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne).

Religion: N/A.

Political Views: He is a registered member of the Conservative Party, and opposes the end of Apartheid. He dislikes Nelson Mandela, viewing him as a Communist terrorist. He utterly hates Mugabe for taking Rhodesia away, and he respects Ian Smith, despite despising the man early on after Lancaster House.

Racial Views: Like many other whites, Kurt is a racist and does not feel as though white minority rule or Apartheid should be concluded. He views the blacks as ignorant savages, who are too stupid to run South Africa.

RP Examples: Nop.

Sample Post (2 Paragraphs):

Basic Background (At least 3 paragraphs): Born to an Afrikaner lawyer father and an American missionary mother in Southern Rhodesia, Kurt Venter was born during the waning era of the British Empire. In 1965, when he was only 13, Southern Rhodesia would declare independence from Great Britain, and the young boy would find a sense of pride in being a member of this new nation. When he turned 16 in 1968, the patriotic Kurt would join the Rhodesian Security Forces, serving with the Army’s elite Rhodesian Light Infantry. After reaching the rank of Corporal, the young soldier displayed a keen usage of his leadership and command skills during several operations against ZANLA and ZIPRA terrorists, prompting his commanders to decide that the young man would be wasted as an Enlisted soldier. Instead, Kurt would spend a month or two as an officer cadet, earning the rank of Lieutenant. He was proud to be an officer in his nation’s military, and he would go on to attain the rank of Captain in the Rhodesian Army.
When the Lancaster House Agreement was signed in 1980, the young Captain would feel as though he had been betrayed by his nation’s leaders, who had seemingly conceded to Mugabe’s demands. Like many whites, he fled the country, but instead of heading with his parents to South Africa, he made his way to the United States, where he joined the US Army. Despite the fact that the US hadn’t recognized Rhodesia as a sovereign nation, his military experience would earn him the rank of Second Lieutenant in Military Police. Assigned to the 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), he would see action in Grenada during Operation Urgent Fury and earn the Silver Star, and then reach the rank of Captain before his commission ran its course in 1987. Choosing not to pursue his commission, he made his way to rejoin his family in South Africa. He joined up with the South African Police and served with the Visible Policing Division for 2 years before accepting an offer to join up with C1, a covert counter-insurgency unit in the SAP.
The records of his service with C1 are non-existent, and to this day, he denies ever serving with the unit, due to its actions during the Apartheid era. When Nelson Mandela was elected President in 1994, Kurt would leave C1 and transition into the newly-created South African Police Service. He was assigned as a Detective in the Crime Combating and Investigation Division, and he has done around 4 cases with the Division, mainly involving murders and hate crimes. Now, he has been selected to serve on the team investigating the murder of a prominent ANC politician, who was a member of the Johannesburg City Council.
In his private life, Kurt is married to an Afrikanir woman named Elsa, and the two have 2 children, Liza and Piet. With Elsa working as a legal consultant for a Johannesburg-based private security company and Kurt working as a detective, the two have managed to secure their family in a nice upscale home in the Bryanston suburb of Johannesburg.

[Jessjohnesik]

I can see your Halo.

[Cylarn]

I can see your Halo.

You have a halo.

[Cylarn]

Bump.

[Cylarn]

Bump.

[Jessjohnesik]

Bump.

So you plan on it being historically based more or less?

[Cylarn]

Bump.

So you plan on it being historically based more or less?

More like historical fiction.

[Cylarn]

Man, I thought that this RP was going to go somewhere.

[Jessjohnesik]

Man, I thought that this RP was going to go somewhere.

Same here. I thought that the usual Cylarn-goers, the usual group and mates who like military RPs would swarm this. Considering that the idea is very interesting too.

[Walabam]

I'd love very much to apply, but I simply don't have time for NS anymore. My exams are here, I have to work, and stuff.

[Hornesia]

Man, I thought that this RP was going to go somewhere.

Same here. I thought that the usual Cylarn-goers, the usual group and mates who like military RPs would swarm this. Considering that the idea is very interesting too.

I'm just really bad at portraying racism in my characters, and I know shit all about South Africa, so I decided to skip this one, sorry.

[Cylarn]

Same here. I thought that the usual Cylarn-goers, the usual group and mates who like military RPs would swarm this. Considering that the idea is very interesting too.

I'm just really bad at portraying racism in my characters, and I know shit all about South Africa, so I decided to skip this one, sorry.

Not everyone is going to be a racist, but I understand your concern.