(The Gunslinger)
Disclaimer: Expect strong language, violence, and other mature themes in this thread.
Note: With the exception of this introduction, English will be used almost exclusively among characters in the thread. This is simply for the purpose of ease of reading. You may find subtitles for the introduction at the bottom of the post.
May 8th, 1887
Approx. 7:35pm
Southern Texas
"Euh.. Monsieur Baudin?"
The French bartender looked up from the oaken planks he had been polishing, locking eyes with the duster-clad bandito standing in the doorway of his establishment. The man wore a dirty black Stetson hat and a bandana across his nose and mouth, further stifling his heavily-accented voice. His left hand rested on his hip, gently clenching the fabric of his overcoat, while his right was poised outward, ready for anything the bartender might throw at him.
"What do you want?" Baudin barked, his beady eyes glancing about the bar. The sun was setting and most of the tables were empty - only a few of the regulars remained, playing blackjack and continuing to down their bourbon. Baudin didn't recognize the bandito, but the man's voice struck him as being eerily familiar; cautiously, he slid one hand underneath the bar and gently grasped his Colt, leaving the other lying unassumingly across the oak.
The bandito took a two steps forward and then stopped again, now taking his turn to look around the bar. He noticed one man sitting by his lonesome to his right, and two shuffling cards to his left. The bandito pulled back his coat, revealing a holstered Schmidt M1882. With his other hand he drew the gun, first pointing it at Baudin and then at the man to his right.
"Get out!" The bandito yelled, his English a bit slurred. The lonely - and presumably very drunk - man looked at him for a moment, but remained seated and drew his eyes back to his drink. But once he heard the hollow click of the Schmidt's hammer, he looked back at the bandito and jumped up, stumbling out the door through which the masked man had just come.
He then looked to his left, where the two card-players were already standing. One had his hand on another holstered revolver, while the other looked away from the bandito.
"You too." He uttered, and while the second gunman hesitated, he and his companion too left the bar.
Now, the bandito approached Baudin. Having been distracted by the bandito's audacity in driving the others out of the bar, Baudin had entirely forgotten to draw his own weapon while the bandito wasn't looking. It was too late now - the gunman's iron sights lined his vision with Baudin's nose, and he was cornered like a rat.
"What do you want?" Baudin repeated, maintaining his calm even while looking down the barrel of the bandito's revolver.
"Monsieur Díaz sends his regards, Baudin," said the bandito, before dispatching one of six golden bullets through the bartender's skull.
At the sound of the gunshot, a horse whinnied outside and the sheriff lying dormant in his office down the road jumped up, grabbing his bolt-action Mauser as he went. The bandito strolled casually back out of the bar, firing two shots through the sheriff's window in an attempt to subdue him. With a heavy kick, the sheriff opened his door and readied his rifle, quickly firing a shot at the bandito but narrowly missing.
The bandito slipped around the corner of the bar and took cover, leaning outward to fire one more shot. Recognizing his newfound danger, he sprinted across the dusty road to where he'd tied his horse, just barely avoiding another shot from the sheriff. He quickly untied the horse and climbed onto its back, digging the spurs of his boots into its sides. The horse reared and began to run back out into the street, where the bandito fired a fourth shot at the sheriff.
The sheriff cried out in pain as the fourth shot connected with his right knee, sending him sprawling to the ground. His rifle clattered into the dirt and discharged on impact, sending the bandito's horse rearing again. He smirked, trying to ignore the pain in his leg, and reached for his rifle. The bandito fired again, perhaps intentionally missing the sheriff's hand, and spoke before riding away into the desert:
"Manger de la merde, le Texan écume." (1)
---
May 10th, 1887
Approx. 10:15pm
A small town in Coahuila, Mexico - near the border
"Putain! Ne reconnaissez-vous pas le danger ici?" (2) A well-dressed Frenchman exclaimed, bringing his fist down upon the long table that he and six other men shared.
"J'ai fait cela pendant des années. Je ne suis pas inquiet, Monsieur Cousineau," (3) responded a Mexican-born man sitting across from the angry Frenchman, looking around the table calmly. He opened his mouth to speak again just as Cousineau raised his arm in another aggressive gesture, so the Mexican man withdrew and looked at Cousineau, indicating that he had his permission to continue.
Cousineau sunk back into his chair before doing so. "Nombreux sont ceux qui vous voulez sortir du bureau, ou pour le pire - mort, monsieur," (4) he spoke, trying to remain calm. Still jittery, the Frenchman twiddled his fingers under the table while the Mexican man stroked his thick white mustache, considering Cousineau's words.
"Je comprends. Que proposez-vous que nous faisons, alors, monsieur Cousineau?" (5) the Mexican man responded after a few moments of pondering.
Meanwhile, outside the stucco walls of the town,
Another Mexican-born man raised his revolver into the air with one hand, waving a lit torch with the other. Though the inside of the town was nearly empty, a crowd of about thirty other men and women surrounded him and his horse, chanting.
"Por la libertad de México!" (6) he roared into the night sky.
"Por la libertad de México!" the crowd repeated after him in unison.
"¡Adelante!" (7)
With the man on horseback leading, the crowd rushed through the gates of the town and into the square. Many held handguns and torches, some machetes, pitchforks, and blunt weapons. Hearing the ruckus in the square from the balcony of the rambling estate where Cousineau was speaking with the Mexican man, one armed guard turned to another and warned him: "Mira: los rebeldes." (8)
The mob tore through the town, climbing the hill to the estate with speed that was hard to believe. By the time the first guard had made it to the conference room, shots were already being fired. Both the guards and rebels fell, firing back and forth for nearly ten minutes. At long last the rebel leader and his six remaining men charged the estate, pillaging and smashing everything in sight as they went.
After a few minutes, the rebel leader reached the door of the conference room, which was barricaded from the other side. One guard and the seven men meeting were still inside, the guard pointing his rifle at the door.
The rebel leader rapped on the door three times, barely audible over the chatter of the other rebels.
"Abre la maldita puerta, cobarde!" (9) was the only thing the men inside could make of the rebels' chanting and yelling.
"Baje ahora antes de que llegue el refuerzo, escoria rebelde!" (10) the guard yelled back. The rebel leader saw through his bluff and began to pound harder on the door, calling his fellows to join him. The guard fired a shot through the door, downing a man just to the left of the leader, so he stepped back. The leader ordered the others to continue ramming and battering the barricaded doors, while he readied his own gun for whatever may lie in wait inside the conference room.
Only moments after the rebel leader pulled back the hammer of his revolver, the door burst inward and the rebels stumbled forward, but did not rush the men inside. Sensing that their leader knew what he was doing, they parted like a sea to allow him through. He trained his sights on the Mexican man Cousineau was conversing with, clearly the objective of the rebel attack.
"Su reinado termina aquí, el diablo francés," (11) the leader spoke. He fired three shots at the mustachioed Mexican, but Cousineau dove in front of him just in time to take them. He dropped to the ground and the guard began to fire at the rebels, quickly dispatching of two men standing behind the leader.
"Soy Aniceto Ortega, y voy a terminar esta noche!" (12) the leader exclaimed after diving behind a plump couch for cover, watching his men fall behind him as victims of the guard and Frenchmen defending his target.
As the last of his men were shot, Ortega leaped up from behind the couch just as the guard swung the butt of his rifle downward, sending the rebel sprawling onto his back. His revolver slid across the polished wood toward where one of his men lay, while the guard ran to him and drove his boot into his chest to keep him down.
"Esto no ha terminado, hijos de puta!" (13) Ortega roared as he was bound and dragged away from the conference room.
---
Subtitles, in case you don't speak French or Spanish (you scrub), or Google Translate isn't accurate:
Character Creation:
You can either fill out the following biography format, or use what is known as a "non-bio introduction:" introduce your character via a regular in-character post, doing your best to describe him or her and include all the categories specified in the biography format. You'll need to include your EL PICAS points as well, in a spoiler.
Biography Format:
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance (both physical and general style of dress):
Personality (optional, but encouraged):
Weapons (if any - keep it period-correct and don't go overboard):
History (optional, but strongly recommended):
Other:
EL PICAS:
What is EL PICAS, you ask? Well, it's a special points system designed to distribute points into different skills that each character possesses. These skills are:
Endurance
Luck
Perception
Intelligence
Charisma
Agility, and
Strength
(What do you mean, "That's just the SPECIAL system from Fallout reorganized so that it makes a Spanish word?" No, it's not - I promise. Okay, it is.)
Each skill starts with a base of five points (making for 35 total). You receive an additional five points to add to whichever stat you would like, and you can also redistribute points that you already have. Basically, what this system does is give you an idea of what your character is capable of - since you are an omniscient controller of him or her, you know their limits and how they will act. Your character's Intelligence stat is only three? They're probably not going to get out of a gunfight by using their wits. Your Charisma is only four? You most likely won't be smoothtalking the bartender into a discount. It is effectively an honor system to limit each character in a unique and different way.
Please specify how many points you would like in each category (totaling 40 points) somewhere in your bio or non-bio introduction post.
---
Rules:
1. This one is honestly the most important to me - use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If you don't, I will edit your posts so that they are proper. I won't take anything out, I'll just fix the grammar and spelling mistakes ... and be a bit frustrated.
2. You're free to get to know each other and develop friendships, relationships, story arcs, and the like among yourselves, but I will advance the main plotline on my own. Anyone is free to participate in it, and quite possibly have an effect on how it turns out, but no major changes will occur without my presence or approval.
3. Don't powerplay - for those of you who aren't familiar with roleplaying, this is basically just being a dick. It goes by several names, including Godmoding and powerplaying, and it includes being overpowered, killing other characters unrealistically (be wary that if you are to engage another player in battle, it's very possible for either of you to die), and just generally dicking around. It's not okay here.
4. Try to keep out of character chat to a minimum. If you do need to say something, at least have some in character post along with it, or just say it in IRC.
5. Be realistic! Seriously guys. Both be true to the time period and world view at the time, and play according to the stats you chose with your EL PICAS. Just use common sense and be fair and fun.
Sound good to everyone?
Character Summaries