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New Cottington PD (Crime Drama|Char RP|OOC|Open)

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 3:04 am
by Dyelli Beybi
Image
“The man who has a conscience suffers whilst acknowledging his sin. That is his punishment.”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

"We're in the middle of a case... of scotch."
-Martin Riggs

"I promise you; whatever scum did this, not one man on this force will rest one minute until he's behind bars. Now, let's grab a bite to eat."
-Frank Drebin


Co-OPed by Europa Undivided and Khasinkonia





Welcome to New Cottington PD, a crime drama where you get to write the life of a detective in the Serious Crimes Unit of the (seemingly) hopelessly corrupt New Cottington PD. You will be tasked with tracking down and bringing to justice a variety of strange and interesting gangsters and other criminals, a task which is made harder by the fact that half your fellow officers are on someone's payroll and the citizens don't trust you. Will you fall to corruption? Perhaps you go off the rails and become worse than the criminals? Or maybe you might try to be a light in the darkness who can bring some kind of order to the crime ridden city?

'New Cottington' is set in the fictional city of the same name that is more-or-less this universe's version of New York. Other than this one change you can assume that all technology etc. is more-or-less the same as it is today and other places still exist on the map. I have chosen to use a fictional city to allow a bit of creativity on my, and your part regarding places etc. Similarly, the NCPD is not a real police force with real procedures etc; this is a crime drama, not a police simulation so you do not need to go to police college to learn procedure before joining. Someone who I trust to remain active and not abandon the thread unexpectedly will be told their character is the 'Lead Detective' (yes I know that real police departments have grades etc.) though the Captain will be your 'quest giver'... and rip you a new one if you decide to shoot up the casino.

The tone of this RP will not be entirely serious at times. Expect outrageous villains who chew the scenery and big shoot outs, but also plenty of time to develop your character.

Finally, if the RP has started and you still feel like joining, that is fine, there is always room for a new rookie on the squad!



THE CASE



It's another cold, dark day in December. Snow is falling on the city. The Christmas lights up and the shop windows are lavishly decorated, glowing with the promise of festivities, luring you in to spend your hard-earned cash. You, however, are not going shopping. You have been called down to the river to take a look at the latest dead body that washed up. Throat cut, ear-to-ear, gall bladder surgically removed. Why? Nobody is quite sure, just that whomever did it knows how to handle a scalpel. It is also the third in as many weeks.

This one is different though. The first two were bums, but the latest victim is a mob enforcer - Frank 'the Lemon' Scavi. Nobody knows why he was called 'the Lemon'; it probably wasn't for selling lemonade. Either way, this one is going to be missed and people are finally starting to take an interest. Enough that they've called the Serious Crimes Unit in to investigate. You'll need to tread carefully. Scavi's boss, Tony Cardo has connections to the big players in the city who also have 'friends' in the Department. If you screw this one up you might end up igniting a gang war, or worse...



THE RULES


And while these seem totally self-explanatory, once in a while you get someone who really needs it spelled out:

  • Decisions: My word and the word of anyone I appoint as a Co-OP is binding. If you don’t like a decision, you can, of course, ask for us to reconsider it. Once. If we made a decision you don’t like, complaining for pages and pages is not going to endear you to anyone. Not me, not the Co-OPs and not your fellow writers. On that note, I intend to run this thread as an anarcho-communist cooperative. This is an unnecessarily complicated way of saying that my word DOES NOT overrule theirs. If there is an appeal and a dispute amongst the Co-OPs we will take a vote on the matter.
  • Post Quality: I don’t have a problem with short posts, I'd rather a short post than no post, but PLEASE use proper spelling (I don’t care what regional variant), grammar etc.
    Ideally also try to include a 'hook' when you write a post, which is to say something that gives other people something to respond to. If your post is something along the lines of 'Bilbo Baggins stayed in his room and read a book while the world was ending', don't be surprised if nobody responds to you.
  • Posting Commitment: Nothing is worse than making an RP only for it to die. Please try to make at least one post every 48 hours or so. If you find yourself unable to post, please let me know in the OOC thread. If it looks like you've abandoned a character in the middle of a fight scene I might decide to kill them off if I'm feeling particularly malicious.
  • Posting Speed: On the flip side, blitz posting can also be infuriating. So, especially during the important scenes, I recommend giving your fellow players a reasonable time to make a reply. We all have real lives. That being said, if someone leaves everyone waiting for over 48 hours, feel free to carry on the scene without them.
  • OOC thread Manners: This rule can be summarised in four words 'Don't be a dick'. Nothing annoys me more than bad manners on an OOC thread. Swearing, passive-aggressive sniping or any other rude behaviour are not welcome on the OOC. I will warn you once. If you can’t control yourself I will ask you to remove yourself from the thread.
  • IC thread Manners: Remember, we are writing a story together, not playing to win. You are all on the same side anyway. Sort of.
  • Character Death: Player death is possible in this RP, though will be quite rare and easily avoidable. Please don’t write that you have killed another character unless you have OOC permission from the character's owner to do it. Beat them into a pulp or take them prisoner, but don’t kill them. Having said that, if someone does something really stupid, I reserve the right to announce your character has got themselves killed. Likewise, if someone goes inactive in the middle of a fight scene without explanation and cannot be raised, I may decide to kill their character off.
  • Keep it PG13: Shouldn’t need to be telling you this really but keep the erotica and gorn off the thread. Hopefully you all know how to write forum-safe stuff. I will be extremely disappointed if the mods have to pay us a visit.
  • Banning Players: I really don’t want to be doing that but reserve the right to do so if you cannot follow the (hopefully, rather simple) rules above.



CHARACTER APPLICATION


You will notice some things about this character application form aren’t normal.

First, I haven’t asked for equipment. It is assumed you can get what you need from the Police. Wouldn't be much of a Department if you had to supply your own gun and badge! There is a 'personal effects' section, but that is there for things to give your character a bit colour, not to list the contents of your pockets. You may put stuff there if you want, or not if you don't.

I also haven’t asked what your skills are. As I said previously, I’m assuming all characters are generally competent, however, what you’ve written in your background will determine whether I make things easier for you, or not, if you attempt something out of the ordinary.

Finally, there is no personality section. Your backstory should give a good idea of how your character is going to behave, but more importantly, I don’t want you to feel like your character is fixed. In a good RP, characters grow and develop over the course of the story and might end up being totally different from how they started.

All of this is intended to make it easier for you to write an app… while also allowing me to throw an occasional plot curve-ball your way!

When filling this out, delete the bits in parentheses - they are there to give you guidance.

Code: Select all
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[size=150][b]Character Description[/b][/size]
[list][b]Name:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] [spoiler](Feel free to describe with text or put pictures in here)[/spoiler]
[/list]
[b]Personal Effects[/b]: (Note: You are a detective.  It is assumed you have a smart suit and, handcuffs, a badge, a Glock-19 etc, etc. etc.  You do not need to list that stuff out.  This is here for things that make your character unique.  Maybe a gun you prefer using or a cool hat?)

[hr][/hr][size=150][b]Background:[/b][/size]
[b]Backstory[/b]:(How did you come to be here?  Do you have a history before the police?  Are you a fresh-faced newcomer or an old hand?  NB.  Since this is a stripped down app form I expect a decent backstory.)
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 6:22 am
by Talchyon
Roster:


PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 6:42 am
by Dyelli Beybi
Haha yes, despite being a generally organised person, I kinda suck at rosters.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:45 am
by The GAmeTopians
Yo DB, is there room for a forensics guy/gal on the force?

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:49 am
by Barapam
Might as well tag this since I joined the Discord.

Hi Talc!

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 12:38 pm
by The GAmeTopians
Mafia daughter goes modern!
Character Description
    Name: Adelina Sofia Trevisani
    Gender: Female
    Age: 23
    Appearance:
    Image

Personal Effects: While Adelina fits in with the standard suited detective look, just about everything she wears or carries, from her clothing to her phone, is worth more than a year’s salary for her or her colleagues. None of them mean as much to her as her personal handgun, of course - no one’s ever been able to work out where she keeps it at any given time, but many a cocky Trevisani lackey can tell you that she knows how to use it. Particularly of interest is the snow white German Shepherd that seems to follow her around everywhere, though it’s trained well enough to stay away from evidence that might be contaminated by dog hair.


Background:
Backstory: Perhaps some might think it strange for the “Silver Princess” of the Trevisani family to be working in the NCPD, but times are changing - once upon a time her lot in life would have been to sit in her sprawling mansion looking pretty, preparing to be married off to another familia as a political play, but no longer. A recent graduate summa cum laude in Forensic Sciences from UNC (the University of New Cottington), Adelina spent several months preparing to send applications to various police precincts and other institutions - perhaps unaware of, or simply ignoring the fact that her doting “nonno”, patriarch of the Trevisanis, had already “arranged” for her arrival in the NCPD. It was outrageous to even think that a Trevisani would be turned down by them.

Of course, that’s not to say that Adelina is unqualified for her position - quite the contrary. Having grown up as a part of the familia, she grew up around crime, both organized and very much not. She has extensive weapons training (nonno wouldn’t have it any other way), flawless etiquette, and deep connections throughout the city. All this combined with her skilled forensic analysis makes her a formidable new force in the precinct to turn to - assuming her interests align with your own.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 12:50 pm
by Talchyon
Barapam wrote:Might as well tag this since I joined the Discord.

Hi Talc!


Cool! Glad you're in this too. Wonder if any more former Infinites players are going to join.

Now to figure out a character and a good nickname. Because what's a police story without creative nicknames?

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 1:12 pm
by Barapam
Talchyon wrote:
Barapam wrote:Might as well tag this since I joined the Discord.

Hi Talc!


Cool! Glad you're in this too. Wonder if any more former Infinites players are going to join.

Now to figure out a character and a good nickname. Because what's a police story without creative nicknames?

I think I saw Almighty Halfdan in the discord when I checked it out. Btw, I'm curious to see how you'll write when it isn't comedy!

I've got a pretty odd character in mind as well, but not a nickname yet... Maybe something quirky that the other cops decide along the way?

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:09 pm
by Demencia
tentative interest, may delete later

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:49 pm
by Barapam
Character Description
    Name: Eurasia Dahlstrom
    Gender: Female
    Age: 35
    Appearance:
    Image

Personal Effects: Eurasia is, true to her Scandinavian roots, a neo-pagan and carries the hammer of Thor in a pendant around her neck. She's not vocal about it, so the switchblade she carries is probably more noticed, especially for criminals. It's been used on occasion.

Her unusual name of course has a story. It was the stage name of an exotic dancer who in the very last moment saved her mother from being overrun by a drunk driver. This was the same day as her mother had found out she was pregnant, and she took it as a sign, and a way to express her gratitude. Unfortunately they never met again (except in court, where they both witnessed against the driver). Eurasia sometimes wonder what happened to her namesake.


Background:
Backstory: Eurasia grew up in the ghetto of New Cottington, with a construction worker for a father and a nurse for a mother. She also had two older brothers, twins. Her dad was often away on jobs in other parts of the States, but when he was home she liked to watch cop shows and movies together with him, even though they clearly weren't meant to be entirely suitable entertainment for kids her age...

Her brother Billy had other idols. He joined the local gang and ended up dead in a shootout as a result of his crew trying to chew too much off of a bigger fish. He was 18, Eurasia 14. Her other brother, Ken, had a better career. He always studied hard, and recently even managed to land a job as a teacher at Oxford University!

Her dad was her hero, and it was really tough for her when he passed away in cancer last year. Her mom still lives in the same apartment where she grew up, and survives on a meagre retirement. Eurasia visits her fairly often, and calls from time to time as well. She doesn't have the same good contact with her brother in England, but they exchange birthday and holiday wishes at least. His goal was always to get away from New Cottington, and he left their home state several years ago. Time went by, they didn't meet often, but they still love each other.

Eurasia's goal in life was different from Ken's. She wanted to make New Cottington a better place, which is why she stayed and became a detective. However, after a decade on duty she's grizzled and jaded beyond cynicism. She's at a crossroad: Either she'll give up and end on some gangster's payroll (her mother could use the money), or she'll become a rabid renegade and uphold the law by any illegal means necessary.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 3:01 pm
by Lara Monia
I assume based on all the current technology being the same and other places existing that world events also happened the same way and only the city is different?

Behold, a recycled character from a 7 year dead RP!

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 4:56 pm
by Grenartia
Character Description
    Name: Allison
    Gender: Woman
    Age: 30
    Appearance:
Personal Effects: (Note: You are a detective. It is assumed you have a smart suit and, handcuffs, a badge, a Glock-19 etc, etc. etc. You do not need to list that stuff out. This is here for things that make your character unique. Maybe a gun you prefer using or a cool hat?)


Background:
Backstory: Born in Nashville, Allison and her family moved to Bayside Bridge, one of New Cottington's suburbs, when she was 15. After graduating high school she decided to join the BSBPD. Due to a mix of shenanigans (both on and off duty, including a notable incident involving helping several college seniors mount their school's toilets on the roof of the building for their senior prank) and undisclosed, unrelated office politics, she moved to New Cottington proper and joined the NCPD.
[/list]


Character Description
    Name: Allison McCray
    Gender: Woman
    Age: 30
    Appearance:
    Image

Personal Effects:


Background:
Backstory: Born in Nashville, Allison and her family moved to Bayside Bridge, one of New Cottington's suburbs, when she was 15, after starting her transition and getting bullied in school. After graduating high school she decided to join the BSBPD. Due to a mix of shenanigans (both on and off duty, including a notable incident involving helping several college seniors mount their school's toilets on the roof of the building for their senior prank) and undisclosed, unrelated office politics (she suspects related to her transition, though she has no hard proof of this), she moved to New Cottington proper and joined the NCPD.


Link to the old RP: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=294296&hilit=senior+prank
Link to the app: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=294296&p=19945912#p19945912

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 5:18 pm
by Grenartia
Lara Monia wrote:I assume based on all the current technology being the same and other places existing that world events also happened the same way and only the city is different?


That's what he said in the OP.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 5:52 pm
by Lara Monia
I was just making sure if the fictional replacement for New York was a 1:1 for real New York, I was thinking of possibly making a character of Middle Eastern descent and a fictional Sept. 11 or not would make a big impact on that

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 6:17 pm
by The GAmeTopians
Lara Monia wrote:I was just making sure if the fictional replacement for New York was a 1:1 for real New York, I was thinking of possibly making a character of Middle Eastern descent and a fictional Sept. 11 or not would make a big impact on that

Let's be real, even if there wasn't a 9/11 equivalent, given the country this is set in you'd still have plenty of discrimination to bring up.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 6:36 pm
by Lara Monia
The GAmeTopians wrote:
Lara Monia wrote:I was just making sure if the fictional replacement for New York was a 1:1 for real New York, I was thinking of possibly making a character of Middle Eastern descent and a fictional Sept. 11 or not would make a big impact on that

Let's be real, even if there wasn't a 9/11 equivalent, given the country this is set in you'd still have plenty of discrimination to bring up.


That's why I asked if everything else was the same, or if political scorn had shifted to another group (or stayed with Eastern Europeans)

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 6:45 pm
by Grenartia
Lara Monia wrote:
The GAmeTopians wrote:Let's be real, even if there wasn't a 9/11 equivalent, given the country this is set in you'd still have plenty of discrimination to bring up.


That's why I asked if everything else was the same, or if political scorn had shifted to another group (or stayed with Eastern Europeans)


You could always do an Eastern European Muslim.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 6:49 pm
by Lara Monia
Grenartia wrote:
Lara Monia wrote:
That's why I asked if everything else was the same, or if political scorn had shifted to another group (or stayed with Eastern Europeans)


You could always do an Eastern European Muslim.


I have a plan already, I was just checking some technicalities

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 7:05 pm
by Dyelli Beybi
Lara Monia wrote:
Grenartia wrote:
You could always do an Eastern European Muslim.


I have a plan already, I was just checking some technicalities


I think we can go with negative perceptions etc. still exist, without there needing to be a carbon-copy event that sparked it.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 7:11 pm
by Dyelli Beybi
The GAmeTopians wrote:Mafia daughter goes modern!
Character Description
    Name: Adelina Sofia Trevisani
    Gender: Female
    Age: 23
    Appearance:


Barapam wrote:
Character Description
    Name: Eurasia Dahlstrom
    Gender: Female
    Age: 35
    Appearance:


Grenartia wrote:
Character Description
    Name: Allison
    Gender: Woman
    Age: 30
    Appearance:



I'm going to accept all of these. Gren, your one doesn't look quite finished, you haven't said WIP, but I know you so I'm sure it will be fine either way.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 7:21 pm
by Lara Monia
Dyelli Beybi wrote:Gren, your one doesn't look quite finished, you haven't said WIP, but I know you so I'm sure it will be fine either way.


It's the post title

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 7:45 pm
by Grenartia
Dyelli Beybi wrote:
The GAmeTopians wrote:Mafia daughter goes modern!
Character Description
    Name: Adelina Sofia Trevisani
    Gender: Female
    Age: 23
    Appearance:


Barapam wrote:
Character Description
    Name: Eurasia Dahlstrom
    Gender: Female
    Age: 35
    Appearance:


Grenartia wrote:
Character Description
    Name: Allison
    Gender: Woman
    Age: 30
    Appearance:



I'm going to accept all of these. Gren, your one doesn't look quite finished, you haven't said WIP, but I know you so I'm sure it will be fine either way.


I did say WIP in the subject line, actually.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 8:08 pm
by Lara Monia
Character Description
Personal Effects: The item most likely to see use is her grappling gloves, though Daniyah also maintains a series of personal journals written in Arabic. When not undercover, she keeps an old photo of her parents in her wallet.


Background:
Backstory: Daniyah is a second-generation immigrant of Lebanese heritage. Her parents fled the civil war, and ended up staying in a small apartment in uptown New Cottington. Her father worked as a taxi driver for years until ridesharing services like Lyft and Uber forced the company to lay him off. Refusing to work for the companies that had killed his job, he drank himself into an early grave at the age of 54.

Her mother worked part time jobs as a housekeeper, maid, seamstress, etc. anything to try to make ends meet. Once Daniyah was born, she spent more time doing childcare so that she could bring her daughter along with her and still be able to work. Once her husband passed, she became a tragic shell of her former self. Dani described it once in her journal as "the light had left my mother's life, and the laughter was gone from her soul." She was initially hesitant about Daniyah joining the police force, fearing for her daughter's safety, but she was supportive and proud of her girl's drive to give back to the community that had welcomed them.

Daniyah joined the undercover division, using her imposing size to her advantage. She was frequently employed as a bouncer to illegal clubs, a prizefighter in underground rings, or as hired muscle be it a bodyguard to other undercovers or to criminals themselves. She felt her upbringing as a Levantine Druze in a world that assumes she's an Arabic Muslim was its own form of living undercover. She was the target of Islamophobic bullying in school, and still experiences the looks and whispers today despite her people's complicated history with Islam.

Dani uses a large portion of her salary as an officer to care for her ailing mother, with the rest of it going to maintain her one bedroom apartment. Most of her free time is spent in the boxing gym she's been going to for almost two decades, as she finds the only time she can truly relax is when she lets out all of her anger against the world in the form of a fist to another person's jaw. The people there at Equinox Gym are her second family, with her teaching classes to the younger generation of kids that remind her so much of herself.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 9:22 pm
by Talchyon
Character Description
    Name: Marco Lanzetti. Behind his back, he gets called "Nutjob" (or other less than flattering names beginning with "Nut-").
    Gender: Male
    Age: 49
    Appearance:
    Image

Personal Effects: Always has some container of nuts (peanuts or cashews, preferably) in his desk and his car. Pops them constantly
- extra zipties in case he needs to cuff more than one suspect
- keeps a pair of drumsticks in his desk, just as a personal item. Reminds him of his school days.



Background:
Backstory: Marco Lanzetti is a blue-blood through and through. From a family of law enforcement officers going back four generations, Marco's fate was laid out for him the moment he was born. Raised in New Cottington (in the blue-collar Duchess district, one of the Italian neighborhoods), Marco took up the drums in the band at his large school, mostly as a way to harness his nervous energy. He had little interest in schoolwork his first few years. But he became motivated to make something of his life, and especially as he saw more and more of his friends squander their chances and either become marks, criminals, or dead.

Living in New Cottington his entire life comes with both advantages and disadvantages. He has a good area knowledge for various areas of the city - especially the lower-class neighborhoods. Marco has an "in" with certain older officers who knew his father. From his family, he also speaks fluent Italian and has picked up some Spanish too. However, for disadvantages, Marco also has friends on the criminal underside who sometimes can press their friendship into leniency from Marco or the police looking the other way. It's not quite like Lanzetti is dirty... it's just hard to come down on a long-time family friend. Needless to say, Marco's been doing this a long time. While he isn't exactly thinking seriously about retirement, but let's just say it's crossed his mind.

He takes about 4-5 pills a day, all prescribed, for things like high cholesterol, hypertension, and clinical depression.

Marco is married to his wife of 12 years, Eliza. They don't have any children. Eliza works as a travel agent. He met her on a case and followed up with her after the case was closed. They began seeing each other and later got married (at St. Mary DePere's, her home church). He goes to Mass with her occasionally, but isn't big into it.

This is Detective Lanzetti's 26th year as an officer, and 16th as a detective. Before this, Lanzetti worked in the narcotics unit, and can pull favors from some of the guys down there from time to time.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:24 pm
by Europa Undivided
Character Description
    Name: Aurelio Estrella
    Gender: A Man
    Age: 30
    Appearance:
    Image

Personal Effects:
- A fedora that he will often wear when on the job.
- A cane whose top is a sculpted bronze head of a tiger. It can hurt if used as a blunt implement.


Background:
Backstory: Aurelio Estrella has come from a very long line of enforcers, soldiers, judges, and detectives, the latter of which he had decided to take out of the rather limited choices that he had been given. He grew up not experiencing the festering rot within the city's heart, as the Estrellas lived further out in the suburbs, which has earned him the nickname of 'rich suburb boy' in the precinct, though he is seen to rarely appreciate it now that he lives right here in the middle of New Cottington.

From the get go in his earlier days, Aurelio was not the typical guy that actively sought trouble and pranks. One could say that he is no fun at parties, having a rather serious demeanour most of the time. That is, if he ever went to those, since he was typically untrusting and a bit isolationist, going only with the same two or three friends he'd always known.

Who cares, though? Aurelio would just go on to university and then graduate in proper time, and after a few years in the police force, was promoted into a full blown detective. Before that, he had plenty of weapons training, whether it be with pistols or rifles, and was taught takedown techniques to subdue someone with just his bare hands.

After all this time, Aurelio remains the same. The job is as follows: take a case. Follow it and solve it. And abide by the code, something that many of his fellow officers were failing at spectacularly. Worse, even, the higher ups don't seem to care. Of course they didn't. They're all in this together like the trash bags they are. Almost everyone here sucks, he tells his one and true confidant for life.

All Aurelio can do, then, was hope that change will come. But that hope faded day by day, and the temptation of migration to some other city that isn't as corrupt grows by the second.
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