Pax Americana, or (the end of the fucking world.) [OOC]

[Vienna Eliot]

P A XA M E R I C A N A
or

(feel free to skip this part: it goes into the why of this roleplay)

Part I.
For a few years now, my friend and colleague Arkolon and I have been making what we have variously called “spreadsheet games” and “mechanics-based games,” though the latter has been around just as long in P2TM to describe the sorts of rigorously rules-based RPGs that people like the G-Tech Corporation are experts on. While both Ark and I have great respect for these games, we have relied largely if not entirely on increasingly complex spreadsheets with exclusively numerical inputs for our games, with roleplaying being supplementary: that is, the games exist separate of the roleplays. The roleplays are just stories affected by our calculators.

This is most evident when seeing that we started in F7. I think for about a year and a half, maybe two years, we rarely ventured into serious roleplaying territory with our games. Consequent of the auto-prune there is no proof of this, but our games were successful in F7, with some favorites of mine (maybe you saw them on the side bar) being Yes, Prime Minister! and one particularly popular one that I think was just titled Parliamentary Election Game.

Then we started to try moving into P2TM — Ark’s Governorship was at the time the most complex either of us had made, but it flopped, and his elegant Valley of Revolution had a modest but short lifespan. My electoral calculator for the NSG Senate was popular, and my most recent successful roleplay, The Precedent of the United States, was able to weave a simple, non-stochastic calculator into a character roleplay seamlessly for a roleplay all the participants thoroughly enjoyed.

With that said, Ark and I have talked at length over the past year about rejuvenating the idea of a spreadsheet game. His approach has been increasingly complex spreadsheets computationally — adding more variables, numbers, connections, etcetera. On the other hand, I’ve been interested in raising the stakes not with more numbers, but with new ways of operating on them: using tensors and matrix algebra to get a new take on what can be an input and what can be an output.

The problem is largely that there has to be some analogy to the real world. You can make a pure numbers game, but without an engaging theme nobody will play. Ark has always been better at this with his broad knowledge of economics, but here’s an example: in an election game, if you distribute resources to a region, more of its populace will vote for you. Fundamentally, this is: if you input particular numbers strategically, you can maximize the numbers that are output. We just gave it a theme and added parameters to compel players to make strategic and economic decisions.

Part II.
I’m interested in merging two (or three) epistemological methodologies. These are:

1) quantitative
This is the numbers-based stuff I talk about above. But I concede my desire to use higher math to build more interesting strategies; rather, I can use techniques from linear algebra, calculus, and statistics with a focus on numerical results rather than processes. Just as I might consider whether to use arithmetic operations to construe a number, I can consider different order operations as well if they have a clear analogy to the thematic content of the game.

2a) qualitative
This is where we might be able to take more interesting approaches to game mechanics. A qualitative but still positivist assessment of mechanics would allow us to figure out the inputs as we go along, and to use more intuitive methods of determining the outputs. The key restraint we place on ourselves is generalizability. If we take certain inputs and give an output, then, all else being equal, those same inputs must always yield the same output. And if all else isn’t equal, the process we used to arrive at the outputs originally must meaningfully adapt to give results based on the new conditions of the inputs.

2b) interpretive
Sometimes, though, the above just doesn’t work. Situations where a confluence of many variables, particular conditions, or something else can demand an antipositivist framework that yields outputs for a particular set of inputs. Changes to that set would yield outputs independent from the outputs relevant to the original set of inputs. This category isn’t so much meant to be an equal player in result evaluation, but despite being a subsidiary of the general qualitative analysis it still should play an important role. The willingness to accept outcomes not bound by prior assumptions must be a key tenant of distinguishing a qualitatively evaluated mechanics-based RPG from a roleplay in which actions have realistic and sometimes unpredictable consequences.

In brief, if we’re going to have roleplays, we may as well take advantage of the roleplaying that constitutes them instead of using that as a mere medium for games that might be better otherwise expressed as video game or a board game or math homework. This is my attempt at doing that.

2022
There are no United States of America. How did we get here? Rather than try to explain it — though there's plenty to explain, from the "citizen's militias" that the Republican Party sponsored, to the explosive growth of increasingly militant ANTIFA organizations, to the gradual consolidation of wealth and influence that some very smart people were doing behind the scenes. But I'll let you see for yourself:

2036
There wasn't an official date that the U.S. government stopped operating. Actually, it still operates — politicians still meet in Washington and in state capitals. There are even still some people who go to work at executive and administrative agencies every day. America sends ambassadors around the world and most nations still recognize us. Congress passes resolutions and debates laws. President Cory Booker was elected to his fourth term last month.

But in reality, the U.S. government doesn't govern. There's no money and there's no military at the federal level. Anyone government employee who's paid is paid through bribes. Political parties barely exist — except for politicians themselves, who are either crazy or know that they're powerless, there are no competent people who want to fill the now meaningless positions of party leadership. And most state governments have closed shop.

Some state governments, though, and plenty of local ones, do function. Don't be fooled, though: they aren't in charge. Remember the "very smart people" I mentioned earlier? They spent years watching — and in some cases investing in — the demise of formal government. In each metropolitan area, they are America's modern leaders, but without a democratic mandate they're constantly at risk of falling. There's no shortage of people who want to take their place. Maybe you'll be next.

---

The Roleplay
It is 2036 and America is divided into neo-feudal empires. You can rule one. Or all of them.

This is a character, faction, and nation roleplay driven by quantitative and qualitative mechanics with interpretive influences. The last part essentially means that actions have consequences, and doing the same thing twice will yield the same results, so history is bound to repeat itself. See Part II of "Underlying Philosophy" above for a comprehensive breakdown.

Time - 1 OOC day is roughly 1 IC year — but more generally, n OOC days is n IC years. An IC conversation might be written over multiple OOC days. That doesn't mean the conversation ICly takes years. So the longer the time period, the more accurate the rule.
Characters - Everyone plays a primary character. They might be the ruler of a metropolitan area, they might be subordinate to the ruler, or they might be actively resisting the regime.
Factions - Everyone has the choice of playing a faction in addition to their character. This is fundamentally playing many characters, plus the institutions and organizations they are a part of. Factions might rule regions, be used to rule regions, or seek to take them over. Other players' characters can join factions. Broadly, the leader(s) of a faction have control over what the members of the faction do, but things like internal politics may be flexible and/or governed by mechanics.
Nations - These are the metropolitan regions that form the basis of the roleplay. The map below shows how they start off, but over time they might merge or split. As with factions, the leader or leaders govern the nation, but misuse of political capital (which is not, for the record, a quantified thing in this RP) can lead to a leader's demise.

Rules
1. OP Rights. I reserve the right, as OP, to control this roleplay in order to make it better for everyone participating. That includes enforcing these rules.
2. Real Life Characters. Characters can be completely fictional. They don't have to be. But for both real and fictional characters, in the case of nation leaders, you'll need to convince me that they would have had the resources to take control of the region. This might be easier with real life characters, but I'll also hold you to accurately representing them. Regardless, remember that it's been 18 years since 2018.
3. Posting Frequency. Post regularly. If you can't, let everyone know. Announce here if you are leaving the roleplay for good.
4. Cheating. Please don't cheat: this means no substantively editing posts after you make them, no godmodding, no metagaming, and no looking things up when your character is in a situation that they wouldn't be able to do the same.
5. Respect. Respect other players, respect the roleplay, and follow NS site rules.
6. History. Everyone has fair game to worldbuild history as they please. I'll be sure to keep a regularly updated record of American history post-2022 and post-2036 as the roleplay progresses.

Applications
To rehash — everyone plays a character, anyone can create or join a faction, and only regional leaders can create nations. Credit where due to the NSG Senate.
Since we're at the beginning, you can claim any of the 11 regions on the above map to lead. Fill out a nation app in addition to others if you're doing this.

Code: Select all

[box][size=120][b]*FULL NAME*[/b][/size] - *FACTION (if applicable)* [floatright][img]*ADD PICTURE NO BIGGER THAN 350x350px HERE*[/img][/floatright]
[b]Account Name:[/b] *ADD NS ACCOUNT NAME HERE*
[b]Occupation:[/b] *ADD OCCUPATION HERE*
[b]Family:[/b] *ADD SPOUSE/CHILDREN HERE*

[b]Motivation and Ideology:[/b] *ADD MOTIVATION/IDEOLOGY HERE*
[b]Background:[/b] *ADD BACKGROUND HERE*

[b]Miscellaneous[/b]
[list][/list][/box]

Code: Select all

[box][size=120][b]*FACTION NAME*[/b][/size] - Municipality/Company/Political Party/Criminal Group [floatright][img]*ADD PICTURE NO BIGGER THAN 350x350px HERE*[/img][/floatright]
[b]Account Name:[/b] *ADD NS ACCOUNT NAME HERE*

[b]Location:[/b] *WHERE DOES IT OPERATE*
[b]Size:[/b] *ADD SIZE HERE*

[b]Objective:[/b] *MANIFESTO/PRIMARY AIM*
[b]Structure:[/b] *DESCRIBE STRUCTURE*
[b]Background:[/b] *ADD BACKGROUND HERE*

[b]Miscellaneous[/b]
[list][/list][/box]

Code: Select all

[box][size=120][b]*INSERT NATION NAME*[/b][/size] [floatright][img]*ADD%20PICTURE%20NO%20BIGGER%20THAN%20350x350px%20HERE*[/img][/floatright]
[b]Account Name:[/b] *ADD NS ACCOUNT NAME HERE*
[b]Metropolitan Area(s):[/b] *ADD REGIONS GOVERNED*

[b]Leader:[/b] *ADD LEADER HERE, IF APPLICABLE.*
[b]Governance:[/b] *DESCRIBE GOVERNMENT/STRUCTURE HERE*
[b]Miscellaneous:[/b]
[list][/list][/box]

Here are three example apps that I've written. They're not real apps, you can still claim these regions and/or characters.

Donald Trump - The Trump Family
Account Name: Vienna Eliot
Occupation: President of Florida
Family: Melania (wife), Don Jr. (son), Eric (son), Ivanka (daughter), Barron (son), Tiffany (who?)

Motivation and Ideology: Trump is quite satisfied with how his life turned out, and hence simply wants to remain in charge of Florida. As long as he remains well-liked and popular with a lot of people, Trump will be happy. Thus, he has two major objectives: first, keep Florida safe from external (or internal) forces that would do it harm (ie, people who want his job); second, keep the people of Florida happy enough that they don't revolt or anything.
Background: After an increasingly tumultuous presidency ended with nationwide riots and a two-year government shutdown, Trump decided to move somewhere he had always been well-liked: Florida. Having taken a bit of a financial hit, he decided to splurge on real estate development up and down the coasts. It paid off. As the state government declined from a starvation of funding, the lines blurred between public law enforcement and the private law enforcement in the neighborhoods Trump had built up. With some investment from friends like Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, Trump was able to gradually consolidate power over the region, and when Florida formally seceded from the Union, the Florida Senate elected Trump President. He is serving his third consecutive five year term.

Trump Family - Family
Account Name: Vienna Eliot

Location: Florida (HQ: Palm Beach)
Size: 7

Objective: The Trump Family's purpose is simple and modest: to ensure that the Trump assets are protected. Right now, this means ensuring Donald Trump remains President of Florida, and it might entail getting another Trump in the office after he dies. At the very least, it will always involve ensuring someone friendly to the Trump Family is in power in the region.
Structure: The family has a streamlined, hierarchical structure. Donald Trump makes all the decisions, but he'll often take the advice of his children. Still, once he dies — he's 90 now — there's no clear indicator of who is to succeed him as leader of the faction (and, probably, Florida).
Background: The Trump Family consists of:

• Donald Trump — the leader of the family and the President of Florida.
• Melania Trump — the wife of Donald Trump. She is a minor player in the politics of the family, but has some influence over Donald Trump personally.
• Don Jr. — Donald Trump's eldest son. Still the main force behind the Trump Organization, he knows the ins-and-outs of the family's finances: something he regularly leverages to his advantage.
• Ivanka — Donald Trump's eldest daughter. She is closest politically to her father, and with her husband Jared has broad influence over major political decisions.
• Eric — Donald Trump's son. Resents his siblings.
• Barron — Donald Trump's son.
• Tiffany — Donald Trump's younger daughter. Lives in the Northeast. Has not spoken to the rest of the family in 8 years.

Miscellaneous

Florida
Account Name: Vienna Eliot
Metropolitan Area(s): Florida

Leader: Donald Trump
Governance: Florida is formally governed by an elected Senate of 50 members, plus a President, Attorney General, and Comptroller elected by the Senate. The Senate has all legislative powers, while the executives exercise separate executive powers. Judiciaries are elected at a local level, but can't review the actions of the government.

In practice, the Senate is filled with wealthy benefactors of the state, many of whom were involved in either business or conservative politics before the fall of the U.S. government. The Senate acts as a rubber stamp for the plans of executives, in part because its senators are busy either running businesses or ruling over their own local regions within the nation. At the same time, because of the fairly specialized roles of each executive office, each has a lot of autonomy that is rarely impeded by the other executives.

Smaller regions and cities are really governed by wealthy individuals, or in a few cases by corporations. Because of the business-oriented nature of the government, Trump is able to keep local governments in check by threatening to undo business deals to financially hurt the individuals who govern local areas. The Floridian government has little in the way of a military or police force, though, so law enforcement is generally the purview of local governments.
Miscellaneous:

Texas-Mexico Border

The Southern Watchers (Eagle's Company)

Great Lakes

Duchy of Detroit

General Motors

Mary Teresa Barra

Cascadia

Empire of Columbia

Northern California

United States of San Francisco

Democratic Socialist Party of San Francisco

Katy Tang

Unincorporated

The Regulators

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Aye, I’ll be making an app later today!

[Helowi]

I’ll make an app soon. Can I reserve a nation? If so, reserve The Great Lakes.

[New Cobastheia]

Tag, if we can reserve nations, I'll reserve the Northeast

[Likar]

/le tag/

[Zjaum]

A most assured tag. I'm working on NaNoWriMo, but I'll try to post when I can.

A significant deviation from your normal hyperrealistic political scenarios, but your quality is gold standard. This should be very fun.

[Holy Tedalonia]

The Southern Watcher’s (Eagle Company) - Municipality/Company/Political Party/Criminal Group

Account Name: Holy Tedalonia

Location: Eagle Pass
Size: A handful of about 157 men

Objective: Protect the southern border from foreign threats.
Structure: A elective absolute dictatorship. The leader, The First Commander, makes the decision and calls the shots. No one can challenge his rule, and all must listen to his orders, lest they are named traitors and executed.

However to become First Commander demands respect from fellow Watchmen. For to be elected First Commander they must receive votes from their comrades, to be elected for life as the First Commander. There are also traditions and vows that one must commit to that even the First Commander can’t break.

There are advisors to aid the First Commander, the Lord Marshall, The Lord Architect, The Lord Scholar, and the Lord Commander. Lord Marshall commits to training the troops, the Lord Architect manages the structures and buildings, the Lord Scholar deals with knowledge and studies that most would not know of, and the Lord Commander is the Second in Command and temporary leader until a election can be held.

Background: The Southern Watchers (Their original name long forgotten), is a military company, along the Texas border. After the eventual degradation of America, most men guarding the border returned home, returning to their families and friends, however the men who stayed, formed the South’s Watch. A organization bent on deterring and protecting America from foreign threats seeking to invade the wounded eagles state.

Once being a organization one could take pride in the Southern Watcher’s used to have 56,800 men to guard the border. The organization spread across the Southern border, splitting in 5 groups, Eagle Company, Bear Company, Coyote Company, Ferret Company, and Lion Company. Eagle Company guarded Eagle pass, TX, and the regions adjacent to it, and Bear Company guarded the Californian region. Coyote, Ferret, and Lion Company guard the in between regions of the border often aiding one another when things became tough.

Things would reach a climax for the Watchers as the Mexican government (which had been undergoing its own turmoil due to America’s decline) declared a ‘reconquista’ for the old Mexican empire borders, hoping they could beat the declining USA. It would meet the Eagle Company at Eagle Pass. The Watchers had fortified the settlement to prevent any army from crossing the bridge, attempting the thwart Mexico’s plans.

After several long nights of trying to push through the Eagle Companies resistance, reinforcements from the other companies engaged the Mexican army from the back, successfully surrounding and routing the Mexican forces. After that the Mexican government no longer engaged the American territories, after that crushing defeat. However small skirmishes have been recorded throughout the Watch’s history.

However without this threat of the Mexican Government the companies declined, and eventually broke off communication from one another the 5 First Commander’s had stopped meeting one another 6 decades ago. Now, to Eagle Company is now ignorant of the state of affairs of the other companies. The Southern Watchers are now a shadow of their former glory. With a weak group holding the border, there is a high risk of a foreign threat seizing the advantage if they were to find out the vulnerability of the border guard. It has become so bad, that the local governments send their criminals rather than soldiers to join the border guard.

If this were to continue, threats from across the border may return sooner rather than later. The fate of America, hangs in covering the border, lest more power hungry powers may move in and take the decaying lands of America.
Miscellaneous
Notes:

• In control of Eagle Company, the other companies were left for lore/other players who wanted to use them.
• Mexican Intervention a possible plot point in the future.
• Local regions conscripts criminals to join the border guard, since they join it for life. Execution for those who fail to meet that clause

[Vienna Eliot]

Welcome everyone, hope to see you app!

The Southern Watcher’s (Eagle Company)

Tentatively accepted, with the following notes:

• Be sure to create a character app (probably for the First Commander) as well
• Eagle's Pass is pretty far from any of the metropolitan regions/nations. You might find more opportunity to roleplay with other players by shifting the location to somewhere like south of Corpus Christi, in the Gulf Coast region.

[Holy Tedalonia]

Welcome everyone, hope to see you app!

The Southern Watcher’s (Eagle Company)

Tentatively accepted, with the following notes:

• Be sure to create a character app (probably for the First Commander) as well
• Eagle's Pass is pretty far from any of the metropolitan regions/nations. You might find more opportunity to roleplay with other players by shifting the location to somewhere like south of Corpus Christi, in the Gulf Coast region.

I intend the company to travel plenty. To guard the border, and gather potential recruits. I may have them abandon Eagle Pass in search for a better base of operations, but I like eagle pass as a name and as a location for being rather centralized on the border. Makes a good historical base at the very least.

I’ll make the First Commander, and my main character in a second. Just wanted to establish my faction.

[Helowi]

I’ll have all my stuff done by tomorrow. Can’t wait to see this RP in action.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

A work in progress!

Mary Teresa Barra – Duchy of Detroit

Account Name: Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States
Occupation: Chairman and CEO of GM-Ford Group, Duchess of Detroit
Family:
Spouse: Count-consort Tony Barra (73)
Children: Elizabeth Barra (45), Tony Barra Jr (42)

Motivation and Ideology: Mary Barra is somewhat of a benign ruler. Her first priority is to get obscenely wealthy, which is something she has already quite achieved. Having done that, she looks to improve those under her rule. Of course, improving Detroit directly leads to her position being stronger, and to her making more money, but that is an added benefit. She sees herself as an enlightened ruler who uses her business instinct to improve the lives of her subjects. She likes pomp and circumstance as well, of course, as can be seen from her lavish palaces and her usage of feudal titles.
Background: When the federal government fell, its anti-trust laws fell with it. The Big Three automotive companies, Chrysler, GM and Ford, after a short scare, decided to sign the Pact of Detroit, in which they laid out the general rules they would abide by with the disappearance of the federal government. They would not attempt hostile takeovers, for instance, and they would provide a minimum quality standard to ensure trust in the three companies.

From the beginning, GM CEO Mary Barra saw the potential there was with the disappearance of the federal government, and almost immediately she began to scheme behind the curtains. First of all, she made a secret deal with Chrysler, in which they divided the American markets among themselves. Due to these oligopolic arrangements, both GM and Chrysler could ask a lot more for their cars, while Ford stayed behind.

With the newly-found wealth, Mary Barra went about secretly buying up stock using various empty shell companies and fake names. Before Ford and Chrysler had time to react, she called a meeting of the shareholders, in which she held 51% of the vote. With the stroke of a pen, the merger between Ford and GM was signed, under GM leadership. There was some opposition, but those wealthy opponents and the former Ford leadership would find themselves conveniently murdered in the following months.

In this time, Mary Barra also started a political party for the Detroit legislature. Her company began to provide much-needed poverty alleviation in the crime-struck city, and she expanded her company security to provide policing for areas in which many of her employees lived. These services were expanded to include fire fighting services and other emergency services. In return, the employees had to sign contract in which they signed away most of their labour rights, much to the chagrin of the Detroit legislature. Bribed by Chrysler, which felt rather betrayed by the Ford merger, they adopted sweeping anti-GM legislation. The pseudo-state was forbidden, all labour contracts were invalidated, and GM was marked to be divided into about 10 smaller companies. Further mergers were made illegal.

Of course, they could not enforce any of this. Out for vengeance, Barra began buying up essential city infrastructure, such as roads, water and electricity. She also bought fire trucks, computers, food production… Everything the city would need to survive. On the 5th of December 2028, with snow two feet high in the streets, she cut off the city from gas, water and electricity, and blocked emergency services from responding to emergencies. The Detroit Siege lasted for three days, and on 5 pm on the third day, the Detroit legislature caved. They elected Barra mayor and disbanded themselves. Within hours, Barra’s shovels began cleaning the roads, power came back, and emergency services resumed work. Dozens had died due to cold, malnutrition or simple medical difficulties, but Barra was now in charge.

As the first order of business, she invalidated all anti-trust laws on the books. Then, using collapsing stock prices of Chrysler, she did another hostile takeover of the company, just like she had done with Ford. After that was successful, and the former heads of Chrysler were prosecuted for ‘financial fraud’ under the new city courts, Barra began privatising all city services, selling them to herself in the name of the city. Ports, land, railways, toll stations… You name it, it was privatised and sold off. Government ceased to exist, making way for contracts between the monstrous GM-Ford company and its citizens, much resembling feudal Europe as this point. The difference being, however, that there were no levels. Everyone worked for GM in some capacity.

Over the next few years the chaos would settle down. Barra consolidated her power until the empty husk of Detroit city and its surrounding municipalities were officially discarded in 2033. In its place came the personal domain of Barra, who had officially bestowed on herself the old title of duchess. She has ruled the Duchy of Detroit with a fair hand ever since, although more as an ancién regime ruler than as a modern president.

Duchy of Detroit - Municipality

Account Name: Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States

Location: Detroit
Size: 4.000.000

Objective: *MANIFESTO/PRIMARY AIM*
Structure: *DESCRIBE STRUCTURE*
Background: *ADD BACKGROUND HERE*

Miscellaneous

GM-Ford Group - Company

Account Name: *ADD NS ACCOUNT NAME HERE*

Location: *WHERE DOES IT OPERATE*
Size: *ADD SIZE HERE*

Objective: *MANIFESTO/PRIMARY AIM*
Structure: *DESCRIBE STRUCTURE*
Background: *ADD BACKGROUND HERE*

Miscellaneous

[Rodez]

Tag for militant Bengals fans.

[The Imperial Warglorian Empire]

German-American Empire

Account Name: The Imperial Warglorian Empire
Metropolitan Area(s): North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsen and Kansas

Leader: Kaiser Adler I
Governance: Absolute Monarchy
Miscellaneous: After the beginning of the collapse of the US, many right-wing elements in several states started to see this as an opportunity to liberate themselves from the weaknesses of the US. Though the right-wing had considerable support, it desired more and started to appeal to an unexpected side: the German population in several states, calling for a new Germany in the US. Surprisingly, many German-Americans were up for this idea and started rallying together, calling for a new Germany inside the US. This led to the creation of the New German Empire in the so-called "Seven Imperial Regions," all 7 having the largest percentage of Germans in there states.

[Zjaum]

I'll get something up soon. I think folks can guess my faction from my myriad of factional RPs, but I'll leave it a surprise for everyone else.

[Likar]

Montana Revolutionary Republic

Account Name: Likar
Metropolitan Area(s): (The City Bordering Oregon And Montana)
Leader: Marshal Khan
Governance: A communist state, born out of the flames of the collapsing US. Went from Military Junta, to now a War Council. Centrally Planned Economy, with small amounts of private businesses allowed.
Miscellaneous: After the collapse of the US, a radical socialist movement began in Montana, in hopes to kick out the warlords. They succeeded, and for 15 years, Military Junta was declared, before the first elections for the new leaders. The War Council was elected, and quick established order over West Montana, and parts of Oregon. When republican movements formed, a 2 month civil war ensued, resulting the death of 900. Now, Montana remains somewhat stable, with a large population of Canadians, White, and Hispanic citizens. Now, they are generally stable, and are a "dominant party system", where they are 3 parties:

The Communist Party
The Republican Front (de-facto)
The Moderates Union (small, and generally opposed).

[Duestchstien]

The Empire of Columbia

Account Name: Duestchstien
Metropolitan Area(s): Coastal Washington, Oregon and Northern California (As far south as Sacramento)
[Largest Cities - Portland, Seattle, Sacramento, Redding, Salem, Olympia, and Eugene]

Leader: Felix DeMantis
Governance: An Aristocratic Republic in which only a certain group of people can run for the senate, once elected you are a member for life, senators can be elected for a variety of positions such as Chief Magistrates, Judges, and Governors, the highest office is the Lord Protector who is the head of Government and State and is elected every 5 years. In order to keep power the economy is strictly controlled by the Aristocrats with over 95% of the country being controlled by a series of conglomerates. This includes Starbucks, Boeing, Costco, and Nike which are the four largest and hold dominance over the Food, Construction & Aerospace, Retail, and Clothing industries respectively.
Miscellaneous:

[Vienna Eliot]

Mary Teresa Barra

Character accepted! Looking forward to seeing the other two apps.

German-American Empire

Please identify major cities and metropolitan areas rather than states, since states don't really exist anymore. Also elaborate on the chain of command. Lastly, please create a character app for Kaiser Adler I.

I recommend establishing why Kaiser Adler was able to take control, as well as who enforces the laws over this large jurisdiction.

Montana Revolutionary Republic

There is not, to my knowledge, a city bordering Oregon and Montana. I suggest choosing a region on the above map — perhaps the Front Range? Also, elaborate on the chain of command and who enforces the laws. Lastly, please make a character app for Marshal Khan explaining who he is and why he was able to take control of the Republic.

The Empire of Columbia

Tentatively accepted, but would you consent to the Empire ruling over the Cascadia region (see map above) instead of both Cascadia and Northern California?

Also, please make a character app for Felix DeMantis.

[Duestchstien]

Mary Teresa Barra

Character accepted! Looking forward to seeing the other two apps.

German-American Empire

Please identify major cities and metropolitan areas rather than states, since states don't really exist anymore. Also elaborate on the chain of command. Lastly, please create a character app for Kaiser Adler I.

I recommend establishing why Kaiser Adler was able to take control, as well as who enforces the laws over this large jurisdiction.

Montana Revolutionary Republic

There is not, to my knowledge, a city bordering Oregon and Montana. I suggest choosing a region on the above map — perhaps the Front Range? Also, elaborate on the chain of command and who enforces the laws. Lastly, please make a character app for Marshal Khan explaining who he is and why he was able to take control of the Republic.

The Empire of Columbia

Tentatively accepted, but would you consent to the Empire ruling over the Cascadia region (see map above) instead of both Cascadia and Northern California?

Also, please make a character app for Felix DeMantis.

I just wanted northern California cause it has more farmland and I'd like that.

[Pasong Tirad]

Tagging! I'd like to make an app for San Francisco and the whole nine-county Bay area and Sacramento if that's alright with the guy claiming northern California.

[Zjaum]

Bloody heck. Never mind; can't do Jefferson Republic anymore (Hey, Empire of Columbia, that place is called the State of Jefferson; I'd advise changing the name).

Regardless, I'll think of something else.

[Pasong Tirad]

Heavy work in progress! None of them are complete yet, I'm still at work. Hoping to complete them within 24 hours!
Finished with my character app! Will work on nation and faction applications after I wake up.
Done!

Katy Tang - Democratic Socialist Party

Account Name: Pasong Tirad
Occupation: Senator from the State of San Francisco, Chairperson of the DSP
Family: One son, Marlon Tang (b. 2014)

Motivation and Ideology: Katy Tang is a staunch democratic socialist. While many consider her to be more of a social democrat due to her willingness to compromise with Silicon Valley. She's a pragmatist when it comes to the San Francisco economy, recognizing that they still do need Silicon Valley, which contributes nearly half of the Bay Area's $900 billion dollar GDP. She is, however, not a "conservative socialist," and is in fact a big believer in slowly reforming the economy into a fully democratic socialist-model, albeit rather slowly. She loves San Francisco, it was the city that she grew up in and the only home she knows, and she wants to do everything in her power to make sure San Francisco and its values remain independent from the fractured and powerless United States of America. She grew up a "San Francisco liberal," but was radicalized as early as 2016 upon the election of Donald Trump and the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America, which turned her from a progressive liberal into a proper social democrat and, now, a democratic socialist. She fully believes that the means of production must be democratically owned, but unlike the many more radical members of the DSP-SF, she's a believer in progressively transitioning to this model of an economy and in allowing capitalists and CEOs more legroom when it comes to the transition, which has earned her a bad reputation among many in the Communist Party. The DSP-SF still very much loves her, however, and is still willing to accept her presence as their chairman, and seeing as how she's just been elected to her first term as president, that won't change anytime soon.
Background: Katy Tang had little to do with the creation of the USSF, but she was there since the very beginning. Born 1983 to Taiwanese immigrants, Katy became heavily involved in local government as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2013 - 2019. She ran for mayor in 2019 by riding on the back of a wave of support from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and from the heavily mobilized grassroots initiatives of the San Francisco chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Even though her platform contained the promise of increasing the levels of worker unionization in San Francisco, the tackling of the city's problems with homelessness, drug use and rent prices, further investments to infrastructure and public transport, she still lost to incumbent London Breed, coming in second place.

A large amount of refugees flocked to San Francisco through the years for its status as a sanctuary city, many of whom were people of immigrant backgrounds and people who just wanted to run away from the rampant chaos. San Francisco, with the vocal support of people like Katy Tang, welcomed them with open arms (being an immigrant herself). She was thrust into the spotlight for being one of the many people who organized and mobilized San Francisco and the Bay Area into not cooperating with the federal government's crackdown on immigration, barring the entry of ICE and federal immigration officers into the limits of the nine counties. This led to several clashes - some of which became violent - between protesters and federal units attempting to enter the Bay Area. San Francisco was cordoned off by thousands upon thousands of protesters, aided by the ever-growing unions.

At the same time of the government shutdown, the people of San Francisco were basically autonomous, acting virtually independent of the rest of California due to the widespread lack of proper government control. Wanting to reestablish order and security, Katy Tang and the dozens of other leaders of the nine counties came together to form Bay Militias, which were supposedly to help "keep the peace" in the Bay Area - which was technically true, but their main goal was to make sure that any Federal units from outside of San Francisco would be kept out - federal units that never really came, due to the systemic breakdown of government all across the United States of America.

San Francisco mobilized its trade and labor unions in order to rally for a proper government to be pronounced, as opposed to the weird "revolutionary government" made up of the over one hundred cities and towns. Thus, in early 2023, a republic was formed, with London Breed as the first president of the Republic of San Francisco. The federal government attempted to push back, but by this time there was really nothing more they can do due to the lack of proper strength that Washington could muster due to the rampant uprisings happening throughout America, and due to Trump running off to Florida.

Also in 2023, Sacramento County, wanting and needing help in keeping itself stable, petitioned the new Republic of San Francisco for membership, to which the new Republic gladly accepted, turning the county into its tenth state. During this time, a proper constitutional convention was also held, but unlike the original American constitutional convention, this one was open to all. All ten states decided amongst themselves what kind of government they wanted, and then submitted their proposals to a united body that convened in San Francisco. Thanks to the massive grassroots campaigning of labor unions and the DSA, a proper socialist-inclined constitution was created, promising a Scandinavian-model economy which will then transition in the near future to a fully democratic socialist welfare economy. Districts were replaced with communes which should have on average ten thousand people each, and redistricting was given off to a proper independent commission. Communes were further subdivided into small neighborhood wards with, on average, 150 people in order to hopefully help further engage the population as they would be governed by their literal neighbors on the lowest local level. And where was Katy Tang in all of this? Right next to London Breed. When the constitutional convention passed and created a directorial system of government, Katy Tang ran for one of the open seats for senator in San Francisco, winning by a healthy margin, and being elected by the senate as one of the first Directors of the United States of San Francisco, a position she would hold for the next eight years.

In 2032, she ran for the presidency but lost to Amy Farrah Weiss of the Green-Social Democratic Party, but lost. In 2035, after announcing her own intention to once again run for the 2036 presidential election, she was able to easily breeze through the DSP's primaries by becoming more of a progressive socialist and less of a moderate social democrat (hopefully in an attempt to pull more progressive votes away from the G-SDP). Now, in 2036, with Senator Tang poised to go up against the incumbent as well as the other challenger from the Communist Party, early polls have her at a comfortable lead. Now, she just has to continue campaigning and to continue the momentum.

Miscellaneous: Katy Tang was never married. She's unsure of where her son's father is. Marlon Tang, her son, grew up in an independent San Francisco, and is about to graduate from Loyola Marymount University with a History degree. He appears to be readying up for a possible career in the civil service.

United States of San Francisco

Account Name: Pasong Tirad
Metropolitan Area(s): The nine-county San Francisco Bay Area (the nine states of San Francisco), consisting of the counties of: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. And, later, the USSF included the county (now state) of Sacramento.

Leader: The San Francisco Directorate, with Amy Farrah Weiss as the President
Governance: The main Wikipedia description of the USSF's government is that it is a: "Federal directorial republic with elements of direct democracy under a three-party system. The USSF has a bicameral legislature, collectively known as the San Francisco Congress, with a Senate with senators that represents the ten states as a whole and each state having three senators each, and a House of Representatives made up of congressmen who represent the communes, the name of the congressional districts. Each commune has a population of ten thousand people on average (with communes that have over 20,000 and under 5,000 people not uncommon). Senators, like in America, serve for six-year terms and one senate seat is up for election every two years, and congressmen would serve two year terms. What makes it sufficiently different from the old United States of America though is how the executive is led by a nine-person executive council known as the Directorate. Seven of the members of the Directorate are chosen from the senate and are elected by both houses of Congress to a four-year term, with the remaining two members, the president and the vice president, being directly elected by the whole population to a four-year term and are eligible to be reelected to one full term. The president will submit to congress his nominations for the Directorate from among the members of the senate (usually having to choose several senators not from her own party to be able to garner enough votes), and these nominees are then submitted to the House of Representatives, who will confirm each Directorate nominee individually, and then pass on the nomination (if it succeeds) to the senate, who will then vote on whether to confirm each one. The Judiciary is represented by the Supreme Court, which is this time represented by 15 justices appointed to life terms.
Miscellaneous: San Francisco has three main parties: the Democratic Socialist Party (left), the Communist Party (far left), and the Green-Social Democratic Party (center-left), a union of the Green Party and the more centrist-inclined Social Democratic Party. While "fourth parties" and non-socialist parties are legal and always run in elections, they never get much representation. The largest of these "fourth parties" is the San Francisco Libertarian Party, which regularly pops up during elections in Santa Clara State, but they never gain enough representation to ever matter, and end up caucusing with the Green-Social Democratic Party because they're the most "free market" of the three mainstream parties. Santa Clara State, home to Silicon Valley, is pretty distinct from the rest of the Bay Area States because of the presence of Silicon Valley which, while having slightly diminished in economic power, is still a large center of the tech industry, and many tech giants like Apple, Google, and Facebook still make their home in Silicon Valley - although many of their more "rampant" capitalist practices have been reined in by the socialist government.

The Directors, the other seven members of the Directorate plus the vice president, are all expected to also be part of the president's cabinet, which means leading executive departments of their own. USSF has eight executive departments, which are: 1) Defense, 2) Interior, Energy, and the Environment, 3) Foreign Affairs, 4) Treasury and Commerce, 5) Justice and Labor, 6) Transportation and Housing, 7) Health, Education, and Welfare, and 8 ) Agriculture and Fire Services. Whenever executive decisions need to be made by the Directorate as a whole, all eight members vote on it first and if no clear majority is reached, that is the only time when the president can vote.

On the nomination for the seven other members of the Directorate, a "magic formula" was agreed upon (though not legally) upon the first election of London Breed of 4-3-2, 4 members of the Directorate (including the president and the vice president) will be chosen from their own party, and then the other two parties will be given a chance to agree on which party will get three seats and which one will get two. If they are unable to come to a decision, then the president will make the decision for them. On President Breed's first term, Communist Party was given three seats and the Green-Social Democratic Party was given two, and then she reversed this on her second term in 2028. This regular formula was overturned, however, by President Weiss, who nominated 3 other members of her party to the Directorate, giving her party a simple majority of 5, as opposed to having a plurality. This was assisted by the fact that the Green-Social Democratic Party had a healthy majority in both the senate and congress and pushed her nominations through, leading to a drop in popularity for both President Weiss and the Green-Social Democratic Party. However, this is still not grounds for any recall or impeachment because, technically, the "magic formula" wasn't made into a legal thing.

Democratic Socialist Party of San Francisco - Political Party

Account Name: Pasong Tirad

Location: United States of San Francisco
Size: Approx. 500,000 full-time and part-time members and affiliates

Objective: The main goal of the Democratic Socialist Party of San Francisco (DSP-SF) is to help slowly transition the economy of San Francisco from its current social democratic-Scandinavian model economy to a more egalitarian democratic socialist-welfare and market socialist economy wherein the workers have full control over the means of production. They're different from the Communist Party (CP-SF), which wants to demolish the Scandinavian model economy, and from the Green-Social Democratic Party (GSDP-SF) which wants to maintain the economic status quo.
Structure: The DSP-SF has a very democratic way of running things, with every decision the party makes run through a committee that decides on consensus. Every member (those who register as members of the DSP-SF) of the party gets a vote on who gets to be the party's presidential nominee. The party is split into several factions: 1) the Progressives, the actual democratic socialists, 2) the Radicals, those within the DSP-SF who consider themselves to be anarchists or syndicalists, and 3) the Liberals, who consider themselves to be more of the social democratic variety.
Background: The DSP-SF was born out of the San Francisco chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). They officially separated from the larger DSA network when the first Republic of San Francisco declared independence, and the DSP-SF began to mobilize and agitate for a more socialist government and not just a West Coast rehashing of the old United States of America. They were able to garner a large amount of popular support for this movement, further aided by London Breed, the first president of the Republic of San Francisco, and Katy Tang, a senator and grassroots organizer for the DSP-SF network, who helped it reach out to the less urban counties (states) within the Bay Area. With the help of marginalized communities and the progressive, economically left of center elites of San Francisco, the DSP-SF was able to garner enough support to properly organize the Bay Militias, the forerunner of the San Francisco Armed Forces, that would help keep out ICE and what little Federal intervention attempted to break through into the Bay Area. The DSP-SF turned into a proper political power almost overnight, and the democratic socialist fist and rose symbol was everywhere. People put stickers of the fist and rose on their front doors as a sign of solidarity, people hung the plain red flag above their rooftops, socialist pamphlets were being distributed in person and offline. When the proper constitution of the United States of San Francisco was created, the DSP-SF was the leading party that helped shape the current form of government that the Bay Area has today, catapulting London Breed into the first official presidency of the new USSF.

Miscellaneous The Democratic Socialist Party of San Francisco was one of three leading parties that gave San Francisco its independence in 2023.

[Arvenia]

Are there any good metropolitan areas still available amid several applications made here?

[Vienna Eliot]

Let's aim to start the IC in about a week.

I just wanted northern California cause it has more farmland and I'd like that.

I'd say you can claim that land as part of your jurisdiction, but I should add two caveats: 1) Sacramento is also claimed by the United States of San Francisco, which probably has more power to enforce their laws there since it's closer to their center of power, and 2) the rural areas will be difficult to govern, especially as they get farther from the central metropolitan areas. But keeping these things in mind, the nation is accepted. Please remember to create a character app, though.

Katy Tang
United States of San Francisco

Both accepted — welcome!

Bloody heck. Never mind; can't do Jefferson Republic anymore (Hey, Empire of Columbia, that place is called the State of Jefferson; I'd advise changing the name).

Regardless, I'll think of something else.

Of course, you always can start a power-seeking dissenting faction within another nation...

Are there any good metropolitan areas still available amid several applications made here?

Cascadia, Northern California, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast have been claimed. So you can still start a nation in Southern California, the Arizona Sun Corridor, the Front Range, the Texas Triangle, the Gulf Coast, Florida, and Piedmont Atlantic. Alternatively, you can do like some players are doing and start smaller states that span cities or rural regions.

[Duestchstien]

Let's aim to start the IC in about a week.

I just wanted northern California cause it has more farmland and I'd like that.

I'd say you can claim that land as part of your jurisdiction, but I should add two caveats: 1) Sacramento is also claimed by the United States of San Francisco, which probably has more power to enforce their laws there since it's closer to their center of power, and 2) the rural areas will be difficult to govern, especially as they get farther from the central metropolitan areas. But keeping these things in mind, the nation is accepted. Please remember to create a character app, though.

Katy Tang
United States of San Francisco

Both accepted — welcome!

Bloody heck. Never mind; can't do Jefferson Republic anymore (Hey, Empire of Columbia, that place is called the State of Jefferson; I'd advise changing the name).

Regardless, I'll think of something else.

Of course, you always can start a power-seeking dissenting faction within another nation...

Are there any good metropolitan areas still available amid several applications made here?

Cascadia, Northern California, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast have been claimed. So you can still start a nation in Southern California, the Arizona Sun Corridor, the Front Range, the Texas Triangle, the Gulf Coast, Florida, and Piedmont Atlantic. Alternatively, you can do like some players are doing and start smaller states that span cities or rural regions.

I'd be willing to give u[ my claim there but in return i'd like the island of Victoria and Vancouver. This can replace the lost farmland and population.

[Zjaum]

OOOOH, I just got a really good idea. Let me work on something; I should have the application done by tonight, hopefully within an hour.