Chromed Out 2: Shibuya Meltdown sports a rather large amount of individual factions, and foreign groups, purely because of Ukiyo City's general hub of both commerce, crime, and conflict. The three C's of life, in Japanese Hong Kong. This article goes over what you'd be experiencing firstly, at the time of character creation, though it doesn't always have to be exactly like this.
CIVILIANS [Synthetic and Biological, non-Cascadian]
You might've been born in JHK, maybe in Ukiyo City, or you might have immigrated here from somewhere else. You're not a Cascadian, and you've spent most of your life at the complete whim of Corporate Governments. Even those of you who were born in the Soviet Union have experienced some sort of decline in general freedom, due to being at the whim of business-hungry state apparatuses. You may be some sort of rep for a corporation, but one thing's for sure: you're most likely an employ of a Corporation. If not, chances are, you're a criminal. Endless neon expanses, failed attempts to get rich, rain and rusty metal are common sights, for you. Chances are, you have at least a Neural Socket, or some sort of low-grade augmentation or replacement-work done to your body. If you're a normie, the sudden presence of all sorts of foreign entities worries you, but then again, everything does. Life is hard, JHK is one of the few safe places in Asia left, and even then, it seems like war and murder are right around the corner. You're used to jumping through hoops, and doing things that you don't want to do is a common occurrence for you. Chances are, is that you're totally desensitized to sex, drugs, violence, and being sold the type of shit that you don't need. You more than likely spent your childhood on stimulants for the express purpose of extending learning capabilities. You might have been augmented as a child. The law says that children under 6 are not allowed to be modified in any way, but if your parents were techies, geeks, or nerds, then they probably did it anyways. Based on the education system, you're probably experienced somewhat, in programming, or working with technology. There's a high chance that you suffer from some sort of traumatic experience, due to the nature of society in general.
GOVPOL (Government Police)
The world is a mess. The country is out of control, and you've recently taken a severe pay decrease. You're bound by contract to function as the government police, and you're bleeding funding like a stuck pig. The worst part about it is that every government-provided meal for you is now vegan, because it's cheaper. You are, to some degree, an investigator at the state level. There are corporate executives within JTRI that are above you, treat you like an animal, and generally seem like complete sociopaths, to you. You play a massively important role, which usually entails cleaning up things that the security forces have left unattended to, or investigating wrong-doings by them, as well. Your role in the country is essentially to function as an upper echelon of policing by intelligence. Your primary weapon is your brain, your intelligence, and your communications. You're not rated for severe combat, though you can easily participate. You're bound by corporate contracts, and that includes your diet, usually. You're fueled by SoyKafitin, keeping you not hungry, caffeinated, and dosed with a light amount of amphetamines to assist you in long, 12-18 hours shifts. If all else fails, and the security corporations don't police accordingly, you're always available to step in. You probably don't get along too well, with them. You know nothing about The Triumvirate, except that it has completely enveloped the Japanese Government, and that they run the state, now.
JTRI [Japanese Triumvirate Corporate Government]
Lorem Ipsum
SHINJUKU [Both Corporate and Clan]
Discretion and secrecy are key to you, and if you're a member of Shinjuku Corporate, chances are is that you've signed an NDA. You're primarily used to laboratories, and engineering bays. You're paid well, but moved around often. To you, members of the media are the enemy, and no matter what you're working on, you never have any context for what you're creating, and you've never really seen it used. Corporate culture for you has been less thrilling than it is for other corporations. You don't get to speak about what you work on, and you're told to avoid anyone that looks American. Chances are is that you're ethnically Japanese. People that speak in American dialects worry you, and under no circumstances are you allowed to speak to Government Police. When you took your job, the first thing you were trained to do, is to repeat The Script: "Am I being detained? Am I free to go? I'm not discussing my day. I want to speak to my lawyer." and then you remain silent. You don't know your co-workers names, except for their assigned "Tag-Name." During your training, you were taught how to identify members of intelligence agencies, specifically the CIA, and MI6. You were taught how to identify members of the United Nations Security Group, and you also had your Neural Stack modified, so that there is a permanent, un-removable encryption chip taking up an extra space, on a custom stack. You're not sure exactly why all of the security procedures are in place, but they're typically non-intrusive. Regardless of this, you aren't monitored as much as you'd expect, and you're fully aware that Shinjuku Clan itself is some sort of Yakuza group. In typical joking fashion, the idea that Shinjuku Clan is some sort of dangerous, or deeply-entwined organized crime syndicate vying for control is a meme, in the same fashion that people joke about the Illuminati or Freemasons.
However, a member of The Shinjuku Clan, knows a little bit more. You understand the reasoning behind everything that Shinjuku Corporate employs are taught to abide by, and not to question. Chances are, that you're somehow close to the Tyoko family. Not having to worry about money or housing is common for you. Japanese Tradition is something that is well-known to you, but is simply a formality. You have a somewhat clear understanding of the dark-side of all things happening in the city, and to you, the law only exists to make money. You have two homes, one in Shibuya Ward, and one in Ukiyo City, maybe. Most of your business dealings wind up being on the less-than-legal side of things. Moderation is not something that you're great at, usually, but you know how to act with discretion. You're privy to some sort of information that 99% of people are not. You've been to both Shinjuku and Shibuya, and know what it's like there, to live in a place where Shinjuku Clan is the "provisional" government. You've visited the Shinjuku Clan Compound at least once in your life, and have seen what life is like for the people at the very center of Shinjuku's operations. To some degree, you understand the Yakuza way of life, in such a way where you consider yourself on a much higher level than other Yakuza groups, and there's a special place in your heart for brutalizing Triads. Intelligence agencies creep you out, but you aren't afraid to drop a CIA agent, if you have to. You may or may not be ethnically Japanese. Chances are, you were brought into this fold on the basis of your technical skill, your capabilities, and your ability to be trusted, and never snitch.
SESU [Special Emissary to the Soviet Union]
Marx defined the classes, but VolksKraft made them equal. Ironically enough, chances are is that you're here to attempt to sponsor some of the more famous bounty hunters, fighters, or anyone who is well-known. You probably take a great interest in AMMAL, if you're not in the league, yourself. You're equipped specifically with VolksKraft augmentations or replacements, and VolksKraft weaponry. You have one contractually bound obligation to the Union, and that is to promote VolksKraft, and do so by any means necessary. Even if that means directly involving yourself in conflicts, with criminals, the British Fascists, or the Chinese Kuomintang. You're both a member of the largest equalized force on planet earth, and a talent scout. You're not used to non-stop neon, sexuality, and advertisements. Where you come from, there are almost no advertisements, because there is only one corporation for everything: VolksKraft. You're here on paper for diplomacy purposes, and to make friends, and even to make people famous. However - you suspect that there's a little bit more than what you're being told by the Commissariat. To you, drug use is out of the question, except in dire emergencies. Alcohol not included.
CASCADIAN CIVILIANS [Synthetic and Biological]
Lorem Ispum
CIVILIANS [Synthetic and Biological, non-Cascadian]
You might've been born in JHK, maybe in Ukiyo City, or you might have immigrated here from somewhere else. You're not a Cascadian, and you've spent most of your life at the complete whim of Corporate Governments. Even those of you who were born in the Soviet Union have experienced some sort of decline in general freedom, due to being at the whim of business-hungry state apparatuses. You may be some sort of rep for a corporation, but one thing's for sure: you're most likely an employ of a Corporation. If not, chances are, you're a criminal. Endless neon expanses, failed attempts to get rich, rain and rusty metal are common sights, for you. Chances are, you have at least a Neural Socket, or some sort of low-grade augmentation or replacement-work done to your body. If you're a normie, the sudden presence of all sorts of foreign entities worries you, but then again, everything does. Life is hard, JHK is one of the few safe places in Asia left, and even then, it seems like war and murder are right around the corner. You're used to jumping through hoops, and doing things that you don't want to do is a common occurrence for you. Chances are, is that you're totally desensitized to sex, drugs, violence, and being sold the type of shit that you don't need. You more than likely spent your childhood on stimulants for the express purpose of extending learning capabilities. You might have been augmented as a child. The law says that children under 6 are not allowed to be modified in any way, but if your parents were techies, geeks, or nerds, then they probably did it anyways. Based on the education system, you're probably experienced somewhat, in programming, or working with technology. There's a high chance that you suffer from some sort of traumatic experience, due to the nature of society in general.
GOVPOL (Government Police)
The world is a mess. The country is out of control, and you've recently taken a severe pay decrease. You're bound by contract to function as the government police, and you're bleeding funding like a stuck pig. The worst part about it is that every government-provided meal for you is now vegan, because it's cheaper. You are, to some degree, an investigator at the state level. There are corporate executives within JTRI that are above you, treat you like an animal, and generally seem like complete sociopaths, to you. You play a massively important role, which usually entails cleaning up things that the security forces have left unattended to, or investigating wrong-doings by them, as well. Your role in the country is essentially to function as an upper echelon of policing by intelligence. Your primary weapon is your brain, your intelligence, and your communications. You're not rated for severe combat, though you can easily participate. You're bound by corporate contracts, and that includes your diet, usually. You're fueled by SoyKafitin, keeping you not hungry, caffeinated, and dosed with a light amount of amphetamines to assist you in long, 12-18 hours shifts. If all else fails, and the security corporations don't police accordingly, you're always available to step in. You probably don't get along too well, with them. You know nothing about The Triumvirate, except that it has completely enveloped the Japanese Government, and that they run the state, now.
JTRI [Japanese Triumvirate Corporate Government]
Lorem Ipsum
SHINJUKU [Both Corporate and Clan]
Discretion and secrecy are key to you, and if you're a member of Shinjuku Corporate, chances are is that you've signed an NDA. You're primarily used to laboratories, and engineering bays. You're paid well, but moved around often. To you, members of the media are the enemy, and no matter what you're working on, you never have any context for what you're creating, and you've never really seen it used. Corporate culture for you has been less thrilling than it is for other corporations. You don't get to speak about what you work on, and you're told to avoid anyone that looks American. Chances are is that you're ethnically Japanese. People that speak in American dialects worry you, and under no circumstances are you allowed to speak to Government Police. When you took your job, the first thing you were trained to do, is to repeat The Script: "Am I being detained? Am I free to go? I'm not discussing my day. I want to speak to my lawyer." and then you remain silent. You don't know your co-workers names, except for their assigned "Tag-Name." During your training, you were taught how to identify members of intelligence agencies, specifically the CIA, and MI6. You were taught how to identify members of the United Nations Security Group, and you also had your Neural Stack modified, so that there is a permanent, un-removable encryption chip taking up an extra space, on a custom stack. You're not sure exactly why all of the security procedures are in place, but they're typically non-intrusive. Regardless of this, you aren't monitored as much as you'd expect, and you're fully aware that Shinjuku Clan itself is some sort of Yakuza group. In typical joking fashion, the idea that Shinjuku Clan is some sort of dangerous, or deeply-entwined organized crime syndicate vying for control is a meme, in the same fashion that people joke about the Illuminati or Freemasons.
However, a member of The Shinjuku Clan, knows a little bit more. You understand the reasoning behind everything that Shinjuku Corporate employs are taught to abide by, and not to question. Chances are, that you're somehow close to the Tyoko family. Not having to worry about money or housing is common for you. Japanese Tradition is something that is well-known to you, but is simply a formality. You have a somewhat clear understanding of the dark-side of all things happening in the city, and to you, the law only exists to make money. You have two homes, one in Shibuya Ward, and one in Ukiyo City, maybe. Most of your business dealings wind up being on the less-than-legal side of things. Moderation is not something that you're great at, usually, but you know how to act with discretion. You're privy to some sort of information that 99% of people are not. You've been to both Shinjuku and Shibuya, and know what it's like there, to live in a place where Shinjuku Clan is the "provisional" government. You've visited the Shinjuku Clan Compound at least once in your life, and have seen what life is like for the people at the very center of Shinjuku's operations. To some degree, you understand the Yakuza way of life, in such a way where you consider yourself on a much higher level than other Yakuza groups, and there's a special place in your heart for brutalizing Triads. Intelligence agencies creep you out, but you aren't afraid to drop a CIA agent, if you have to. You may or may not be ethnically Japanese. Chances are, you were brought into this fold on the basis of your technical skill, your capabilities, and your ability to be trusted, and never snitch.
SESU [Special Emissary to the Soviet Union]
Marx defined the classes, but VolksKraft made them equal. Ironically enough, chances are is that you're here to attempt to sponsor some of the more famous bounty hunters, fighters, or anyone who is well-known. You probably take a great interest in AMMAL, if you're not in the league, yourself. You're equipped specifically with VolksKraft augmentations or replacements, and VolksKraft weaponry. You have one contractually bound obligation to the Union, and that is to promote VolksKraft, and do so by any means necessary. Even if that means directly involving yourself in conflicts, with criminals, the British Fascists, or the Chinese Kuomintang. You're both a member of the largest equalized force on planet earth, and a talent scout. You're not used to non-stop neon, sexuality, and advertisements. Where you come from, there are almost no advertisements, because there is only one corporation for everything: VolksKraft. You're here on paper for diplomacy purposes, and to make friends, and even to make people famous. However - you suspect that there's a little bit more than what you're being told by the Commissariat. To you, drug use is out of the question, except in dire emergencies. Alcohol not included.
CASCADIAN CIVILIANS [Synthetic and Biological]
Lorem Ispum