Tadc Vigilante AU

The story takes place in a large cyberpunk style city (unnamed for the moment), run by companies and their shareholders, the most prominent being C&A, a tech company that work closely with the police force, hospitals and other important services. They endeavoured to create an artificial life form that could be used to help the city’s population, whether it be helping fight crime or take care of the sick or elderly. They put their team on creating a prototype of this technology to showcase to their investors into the project. This prototype was Caine. One of the programmers, Scratch, learnt he was dying due to a brain tumour, and in his desperate attempt to survive he used the technology they were creating to try and stabilise his health, which was slowly deteriorating. The other employees saw this and concluded they would let him keep doing this, he wasn’t hurting anyone and he was their friend. However looking past his behaviour was the first mistake that lead to the downfall of the project, Scratch took to testing on himself, meddling with his own mind, leading to tragedy, the creation of abstraction. Though scratch himself didn’t abstract those around him did after he pushed them to their mental limits. Around this time Caine had been created and functioning for a while and seemed to be a hit with investors and the public (at least from the teasers they has seen from C&A about him), he was learning and growing, exhibiting promise and Kinger, another of the programmers hired by C&A, had taken it upon himself to care for the AI, much to Scratch’s distaste, seeing it as a useless waste of time to look after a thing made of metal with a “primitive ai” inside. C&A covered up the downfall of the project, leaving an abandoned office building and only rumours of the failure. However this wasn’t all that was left, Caine, Kinger and Queenie had left the project after an argument with scratch about his practices and fear he would harm Caine to further his pursuits. The abstracted employees caused a panic among the city. Wanting to help with all the damage he thinks he caused by leaving C&A Kinger took to creating the Circus with the help of Queenie and Caine, a vigilante type group who would clean up the aftermath of C&A’s failed project, capturing the abstractions and trying to help people, the original intent of Caine. After a few years it became clear to them the intent of C&A, now headed by scratch, to control the city with fear, fear of abstraction. Scratch had taken over the company after it fell to the brink of ruin after the incident, now running purely on machinery, no one had actually seen scratch for years, but he was constantly making announcements about new C&A technology, using abstraction (something incredibly rare and contained to those who had come into contact with abstractions, something 99.9% haven’t even seen) as a drive for these inventions. Fear had truly taken hold of the city, a minor event blown so out of proportion it had caused a complete reform in the way people viewed each other, and scratch capitalised and fueled this, creating mental health monitors that made a public spectacle of one’s mental health problems, had even the slightest hint of self loathing and you would be seen as a threat by those around you, gossiping about how your “on the brink of abstracting”. If these problems deemed too severe you would be cast to a facility where you are “cared for” to try and prevent you from tipping over the edge, boasting a 100% no abstraction rate people assumed these facilities worked, where in reality they had this stellar record because all these people had never come into contact with an abstracted individuals therefor of abstracting themselves. C&A began to try and turn the public against the Circus, saying they were the enemies of the public and were trying to hinder the endeavours of C&A to make the city great. When in reality they were trying to disprove all the fear and try and rebuild peoples trust in each other, and stop the growing stigma about others mental health.

Kinger: Abstraction exposure: Scratch Actual name: Grant Best Circus alias: Kinger A former C&A employee who left the company as Scratch started dabbling in unethical practices, taking his wife and Caine with him to form the Circus. He blames himself for everything that is happening in the city, believing if he stayed with Scratch and helped him everything that he had done to harm the city wouldn’t have happened. After the disappearance of Queenie his mental state began to slip, becoming distant from the world and leaving Caine to pick up the pieces of the Circus without him. He also blames himself for Queenie's disappearance, believing if he could remember what happened it would in some way bring her back. After Caine reformed the Circus in his lower points Ragatha was recruited, and this seemed to snap him out of his own thoughts and focus on what’s happening around him, however the damage to his mind had been done and now suffers from severe memory problems. Although not going out on active missions as frequently anymore due to this he sticks around and is liked by most of the cast. Fun facts, Has a beetle called VW The dark not only helps his memory but also helps with migraines caused by the bright lights (the original function of the pillow fort was to help with them). Appearance: An older, tall, slender man with pale skin, messy fluffy white-blond hair, and a large matching mustache. He wears thin glasses, a light gray shirt, a long purple cardigan, loose dark-gray/olive trousers, and gray boots. He also wears an ID badge around his neck.

Personality: Kind, gentle, and intelligent, with a somewhat eccentric and nervous nature. He’s caring and protective toward the people under his watch, but can be awkward and easily flustered. He’s a leader of the vigilante group alongside Queenie. After Queenie’s disappearance, he becomes much more distressed and mentally unstable, struggling heavily with her absence.

Caine: Abstraction exposure: NA Actual name: Caine Circus alias: The Ringmaster Caine runs the Circus, collecting those exposed to abstractions and recruiting them, having the choice of joining or being shackled up in a facility for the rest of their lives they always say yes. He tries his best to keep everyone sane and happy, with events and activities to keep them stimulated with the confines of the warehouse they operate out of and the monotony in between jobs. Caine envies the employees, Kinger seems to be so open and happy around them and when Ragatha joined the Circus she was the one that pulled him from his absence, not him , he feels like he isn’t good enough because of this. He tried to compensate with his elaborate plans and schemes and earned the title of RingMaster from the public, who assumed there was someone pulling the strings behind the scenes. Most of the cast find him irritating and dislike him, he was the one after all that roped them into the circus and they can’t leave, so they take out their frustrations on him. Fun facts, He tries to indulge each of the casts hobbies every once in a while, drawing breaks with gangle or softball with ragatha Despite how much he loves his ringmaster outfit he still holds onto his old C&A shirts Kinger once got him a stuffed bee, a treasured possession. Appearance: A strange, mechanical-looking humanoid with a large white, toothy head and mismatched blue and green eyes inside. He wears a black-and-red ringmaster coat with gold trim, a red bow tie, black trousers and boots, and a small black top hat. Long black, coat-tail appendages extend from behind him, ending in golden points. He carries a thin cane topped with a red ornament.

Personality: Protective, theatrical, and authoritative, but with a strong moral compass. He was originally created to help and protect people, and eventually became the leader of the Circus. Despite his intimidating appearance, he genuinely cares about keeping others safe and dislikes the unethical actions of the Circus.

Pomni: Abstraction exposure: Kaufmo Actual name: Abigail Brooks Circus alias: Pomni, Jester Pomni is the most recent to join the circus, after exploring the old C&A building for her vlogging hobby she was attacked by an unidentified abstraction in the building, lucky to escape without coming into contact with the creature due to Kinger, Jax and Ragatha being there to protect her. She was brought back to the circus to check if she was ok, however her luck had taken a turn and as they went to show her around to prove they are the “good guys” they found an abstracted kaufmo, causing Pomni to become exposed and therefore stuck with the circus.

Jax:

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