"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." - Benjamin Franklin
It is the year 2030, and America has been dead for some time. It is a husk of what it once was, with pieces cut off into independent states or corporate puppets. The federal government was once a body that, while having issues, was still accountable to the people. Now, the executive branch is controlled by Militech, and the legislative and judicial branches are a joke and a husk, respectively.
After the crash of 94 and the following economic collapse, coup attempts, and plagues the population was cut by tens of millions. America became reliant on outside economic forces as Arasaka ate up many of the smaller and mid-size corps and the Eurodollar took precedence as people lost faith in the US Dollar. And then the DataKrash hit and the world went even more to hell as technology regressed until the fragmented new net was finished with the completion of the Blackwall.
What was once a nation stretching Sea to Shining Sea now only had firm control over the corridor of cities from Boston to Washington and land past the Mississippi was a chaotic wild west ruled by gangs and nomad clans. Even in the "lawful" regions of the east, it is a functional dictatorship where the government hands out favors to the corps like candy on Halloween, a celebration you have only ever heard about.
This would not stand, this could not stand, you were born in 2010s and you grew up on books about the history of your country. From its War for Independence to the Civil War that eliminated slavery and the battles of WWII that defeated the Axis powers. You have decided to do something not too unprecedented, form an organization in an attempt to change things. But unlike some groups that try to look to the future for inspiration, because with how fast tech is changing why would someone not look to the future.
Instead, you are looking to the past, looking to people who believed in the cause of liberty and democracy even before America was just a collection of semi-independent states under the control of a body they have no say in, a situation that feels similar to the current state of things. You look to the old secret society, the Sons of Liberty for inspiration. They were the first revolutionaries and you want to follow in their footsteps.
But first before any of that, who are you?
Name
[] Only pick a first name.
Gender
[]Male
[]Female
How old are you
[] Write in your age (Preferably 18-21)
What do You look like
[] Describe yourself
Background/Lifepath
[]Slum Kid- You are a kid who has lived on the streets your whole life. You never knew your family and if they are willing to abandon a child then maybe you are better off without them. You survived only out of the kindness of the local priest and as you grew up you became a religious individual. You had learned about the USA of old from local libraries and the church's book collection and those moments of joy when reading were some of the best of your youth. It was a hard youth but it was in no way a horrible one.
(Street Kid like Life Path, Gain trait Religious, Will have grown up in City)
[]Lost Farm-kid- From what people tell you your parents were farmers. Your family had been farmers for generations, but when your mom and dad died for reasons you can't seem to figure out as no one else knows, the local AgriCorp took control of the land through bribery. Without a home and only a young child, you became somewhat of a local project with everyone your parents helped, and it was a lot of people. You grew up learning about the USA from a few books but also the vibrant local storytelling tradition.
(Nomad like Life Path, Gain trait Storyteller, Will have grown up in a small town)
[]War Orphan- Your parents died in war a year after you were born, that is what the records told you. A local corp, trying to win public sympathy, built an orphanage for children of soldiers. For the first ten years, life wasn't too bad, the facilities were funded well enough and you received a good enough education, but eventually, the corp was bought out. The orphanage was de-funded and things went to shit, but you rallied the local kids along with one or two teachers who refused to leave and rebuilt. During your free time, you read stories about America from the library and whatever books you could get your hands on.
(Corpo like Life Path, Gain trait Organizer, Will have grown up in a smaller city)
What Region of the Country did you grow up in as the diversity of this nation will shape you into different people depending on where you're from?
[]Minnesota- The land of 10,000 lakes, or to you home. During the multiple crisis of the 90' and till the present Minnesota was hit hard. The great lakes were polluted, and so were many of the smaller bodies of water. It was a land that was only barely controlled by the NUSA, their only presence being a base by Rochester to keep the Mayo Clinic open. And while the mayor of Twin City derives some legitimacy they barely provide him any support. But ten miles north there is little centralized control as independent farmers battle it out with AgriCorps for their independence.
[]Tennessee- Land of Music City, U.S.A and home to many of the largest musicians as inside Memphis songs are made in a manner not too different from a factory, churning out soulless pieces of mass media garbage. But outside of that bastion of money and music its just a swamp, or at least that's what the NUSA says. In reality there are many independent towns clinging together and working to eke out a living, but with all things in the current world the Corps are slowly moving in.
[]New Mexico- When people talk about the west of America being a wasteland there is no better example than New Mexico. There is a total lack of any organization or body even claiming to control the state. In this desert there is the Unified American Nation to the northwest of the state, a collection of native tribes that banded together after the collapse. There is the city of Albuquerque, that while having shrunk to a population of 50,000 it is a rest stop for any convoy across the nation.
Where you are from is all well and good, but you are a revolutionary. And every good revolutionary needs an Idol to look up to and follow. Not to mention you should probably get a last name, so why not adopt one from your personal hero. But among all of America's leaders there are three that stand out to you the most. Who among them is the president you want to model yourself after.
(Each President Has a goal attached to their ideology, one you will want to follow in their footsteps to accomplish.You will also take their last name for yourself.)
[] Roosevelt- The legacy of Roosevelt is a two parted one, it is the legacy of both Frederick Delano and Teddy Roosevelt. Theodore watched over a breaking of the monopolies and a restriction of the large trusts of his day, a fact that makes you smile. While FDR saw over a mass program of government projects meant to improve the lives of everyday citizens and pull the people out of a depression.
(Goal Gained- "Breaking Business and Building Bureaucracy": You want to build a government that holds the companies accountable and works for the people.)
[] Lincoln- The legacy of Abraham Lincoln is a great one. A man often considered to be one of America's best presidents, he freed the slaves and reunited the nation before being cut down too soon. Like Lincoln you see people being held in bondage, not chattel slavery like old, but a new type of slavery. Where people will replace parts of themselves to be more efficient and have those parts repossessed once they are let go. One where people will become indebted themselves with no way of emancipation just to afford basic necessities, you would not have it, you will see people freed from this form of bondage.
(Goal Gained- "Those Who Deny Freedom": You have Seen the corporation force people into modern slavery. These are Americans and you will see them freed)
[] Washington- The legacy of George Washington, the legacy that would be hardest but most worthwhile to live up to. He was a flawed man, a man of contradictory beliefs, but he tried to make this country a better place, and in the end he did. He set preconditions, oversaw the birth of a nation and helped turn the office of the President into one that could be respected. He set the foundation for a free nation full of promise, and that is what you strive to do as well.
(Goal Gained- "First Citizen of a Reborn America": It is your goal to lead by example and reforge America, into the nation it once was and lead its people to greatness.)
(I would like to say that you can not be a communist, in this world the cold war never technically ended, even if most people consider the soviets to be the winners in the end. Americans still have a distrust for communism, one that is a holdover from the cold war and modern Corpo propaganda, and you have adopted the dislike of it during your studies. But remember that Socialism does not equal communist, but a large amount of the population dislikes and fears both.)
Voting will open up at 6:45pm EST
Update: I will use my veto on any attempt to make the character An expy. You can use reference images works but please be creative. I want to allow for creative discussion and but I don't want to write what amounts to a crossover fic. I dont mind if side characters are Inspired by other franchises, but this is the MC please be original.