#cbcchatter

some basics so i can pop my head in before diving back into my app!

his parents are both immigrants (as he loves to remind everyone during his campaigning) and like almost every other politician he’s from a pretty well-off family

born and raised in cali. went to berkeley for his bachelor’s then stanford for his master’s so when i say this boy refuses to leave his state unless absolutely necessary it’s no joke

started in politics extreeeemely young. was interning from the age of 16 in whatever tiny office would take him and has had his sights set on advancing since the very beginning. ambition & ambition & ambition

he’s the face of the New Millenial. he’s young, he’s a poc, he’s very vocally gay, and he’s as left as they come. political analysts have said for years that he shouldn’t stand a chance bc of how isolating his politics are, but oliver has consistently inspired young ppl who previously didn’t give a shit about politics to come full throttle to the polls

became a democratic representative for cali’s 13th district in 2008 by completely targetting a young base and bringing a hella lotta passion into his politics. originally seen as a nobody who won based off pure luck but continuously proved himself and ended up getting reelected year after year

recently ran for senate in 2018 as an independent, saying that he felt his views were too radical to be put under the category of democrat (ie: bernie sanders and his stance as an independent!). some have labeled him as a member of the green party, others stick to “communist piece of shit”, but young people especially have fallen in love with his defiance against the system. in any case, it was enough to get him elected to senate this last year

he recently announced his bid for the presidency as an independent candidate and it’s caused a LOT of trouble. republicans hate it bc they abhor his radicalism and the fact that the young ppl are so goddamn smitten by him. democrats hate it bc they know third party candidates never work and that he’s only gonna end up taking away from democratic votes. it’s a mess but oliver can’t hear u over his chants of “change will come from the children!!” as tho he invented young ppl having a voice

used to be a pawn back when he first started out, but absolute power corrupts absolutely folks. he’s learned the hard way that being polite and legal about things doesn’t accomplish jack shit, and he’s been known to pull a “sheep in wolf’s clothing” where he puts on a nice face and gets u to trust him just to cut ur throat to get his foot in the door and be taken seriously 

his politics are very much based on “draining the swamp” but it’s come to the point that oliver’s really just as machiavellian and corrupt as the rest of them. he says it’s for the greater good, that oliver has to pass his bills and stay in power for The People because no one can serve them as well as he can, but it’s rlly just bs and he’s honestly lost most of the person he used to be. but that’s the biz, baby!

“ Politics requires sacrifice. The sacrifice of others, of course.”

i’m almost finished his app but in the meantime here are some quick basics!

he’s a nyc baby who used to be pretty upper-middle class until his mom cheated on his dad and his dad wanted absolutely nothing to do with her after the divorce (including any child support money) so he lived in a pretty poor neighborhood in brooklyn for most of his teenage years

got a scholarship to yale (fuckin NERD) where he went for an english major and minored in russian literature (this has no significance and isn’t even included in his app i’d just like to think he’s read dr zhivago more times than any person should)

he HATES politics. literally didn’t plan to become a political speechwriter even a little bit, and if he had it his way he’d be on a balcony in copenhagen writing the next great american novel but writing doesn’t exactly pay his and his dad’s bills and he’s never actually finished any of the books he’s started so he’s been one of dc’s top speechwriters since grad school and won’t stop anytime soon

he’s constantly exhausted, generally annoyed, and essentially willing to do anything if you pay him enough (can i get a paaaaawn?). he’s also a staunch moderate that is generally socially liberal and fiscally conservative, but he flip-flops on a few issues. at the end of the day tho he’s very easily able to put his own beliefs aside and write a kickass speech about whatever topic/affiliation his boss demands of him

fucking loves literature. has read everything fitzgerald has ever written twice. DEEPLY infatuated with semi-colons and em dashes, and goes crazy when the little grammar details he puts into speeches aren’t given the care and respect they deserve

i am quite literally open to ANY connections (!!!) you can think of but main ones include:

his boss: the person who speaks the words vir pens. could be someone from either political party (vir has no strict ethics about his political ties) and would be someone that vir is FIERCELY loyal to because they’re the person who’s ensured that vir’s had the money he needs to support both him and his dad for years now

roommate: okay listen rooming in dc is EXPENSIVE and vir’s got student loans he’s still paying off so he’d def be sharing an apartment with at least one other person. they could either like each other/be great roomies or be absolutely terrible at sharing a living space (vir goes to bed at absurd times and is TERRIBLE at forgetting to turn down his music, apologies in advance)

partner-in-crime: any and all besties are welcome. whether it’s just someone he gets a drink with (ranging from coffee to vodka) after work or someone who’s been good to vir ever since he moved to dc, he def needs some buddies to vent to

friends-with-benefits/romantic interest: he’s Bisexual with a capital B and def needs the stress relief w/ how much bullshit he puts up with throughout the day, so this would open to p much anyone. i dont think a signif other would be totally out of the question either, especially if they’ve got moneeeeey bc vir is lowkey (read: highkey) looking to marry rich

the pay-off: vir’s trying to support both him and his dad atm and while his job pays well enough for him to get by he’s def somebody that’s willing to do anything if you wave enough money in front of him. could be smthg more lowkey or smthg more sketchy, but i’d def love to see a kind of player/pawn relationship play out here 

CHARACTER GRAPHIC   →  ATHENA VISHAL

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; 37 years incumbent.

One of the last of his generation in the Rutledge family alongside his sister Allison Anne; this reality encourages Jonathan's ‘extra-judicial’ activism in recent years, including (but not limited to) increasing Rutledge contributions to the RNC, and frequently visiting Republican leaders to cultivate a solid conservative agenda in both chambers of Congress.

Doesn’t style himself as a leader of the GOP, but likes to think that he is.

Jon began to lose track when counting from 1 to 20 last year (in May 2018) but hasn’t told anyone. He’s trying to keep the news of his Alzheimer’s under wraps because he refuses to free a Supreme Court seat for President Wright.

Wishes that half the Country (Progressives) were nonexistent, yet since they seem to grow in number an existential fear/apprehension lurks in Jonathan’s head -- socialism? EPA? openly gay? That’s the stuff of Jon’s worst nightmare.

Jon’s been having joint/bone problems for the last four years; it’s only getting worse (your characters may hear crackling when they interact with him) and, along with the Alzheimer’s diagnosis, has lit a proverbial fire under his a** to do something before it is too late.

Pro-Roe v. Wade, pro-Citizens United, anti-Parents/Community Schools v. Jefferson Cty. Board of Education (affirmative action), pro-second amendment; Jonathan’s the standard boilerplate for conservative ideologies. If you’d like an IRL parallel Jonathan is on par with Clarence Thomas and one rung above the preceding Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

Like all of the major Republican players in the 2016 Election, Jonathan (and the Rutledge family) sank millions of dollars, manpower, and resources into the GOP golden boy Leon Solis and LOST! BIG TIME!! The results, to this day, stifle the Chief Justice and he is very much watching and waiting for the next GOP star.

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

The son born for politics: Jon and his wife Savannah never imposed careers onto their children because the Family did, and George F. Rutledge eased into politics when he ran and won the Mayor ship of Greensboro in 1991. From there he incrementally climbed the ladder (Guilford County Executive to Dep. Secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Commerce to State Rep. and finally, in 2018, to Jr. Senator of North Carolina). I imagine that George is between the ages of 41 to 43 and married with children, but his life is generally open for anyone to mold. (0/1)

Fellow Supreme Court Justices  In the SCOTUS ‘make-up’ Jonathan resembles John G. Roberts Jr. (although he is to the right of John ideologically) and thus ascends to Chief Justice in 2005. Obama nominated two Justices and, presumably, Wright has or will nominate two as well. I’d love for Jon to have his collaborators to interact with (they can argue over opinions!) I have a tentative Court composition template on my wanted connections page here. (1/9)

Lobbyists The Rutledge Trilateral Commission (see here) can use a host of conniving/Machiavellian up-and-comers to influence (directly/indirectly/both) legislation on behalf of the Rutledge Banking Corp. (Banking), Blackstone Venture Capital & Riverstone Holdings (Wall Street Finance), Silver Lake (Real Estate) and Frontier Energy (Fossil Fuels/Oil) to name a few. If you’re thinking of creating a lobbyist who’d earn HUGE bucks and enjoy a seat at the table, the opportunities are endless.

Enemy Journalists: I suspect as the game proceeds one-to-three journalists will come into possession of compelling evidence (Jon’s medical records) that will metaphorically ‘unleash the dam’ and call Jonathan’s competence into question. Oh, this will create a media frenzy and all-around political circus, and the stakes are high (Jon could be ousted from the bench!) As you can imagine Jon will deploy every weapon and tactic at this disposal: mud-slinging, attempts to discredit, exhuming personal histories/locating scorned lovers, HITMEN? to ensure that he remains on the bench. HOWEVER, my endgame is that Jon IS thrust from the bench (as early as 2020/’21) so we could potentially make someone’s career. (0/3)

let me introduce you to the lawful trash none of you asked for and america definitely deserves:

LEON SOLIS. bio. stats. things he says. 

tl;dr:

engineering grad from stanford who grew up to be america’s jock sweetheart such irony

former astronaut; original area man who said that theresa wright would not make america great again; disgruntled senator from florida

more red than mars

former golden boy of the GOP

is he white? is that just a year-round tan? he plays golf, so we’ll never know

his best kept secret is that he’s more queer than a three-dollar bill

permanently suspicious of everyone else on the hill. especially that vice president. he looks like a bad ‘un

extremely personable, good-humoured, “all-american man”-passing

actually: ambitious, cutthroat, reckless, never went to anger management therapy when he really should have

SOME WANTED CONNECTIONS:

the evil mentor/the puppeteer/the power behind the man/satan. leon didn’t get anywhere in politics because he’s a national hero. it was in someone’s vested interest that he succeed and eventually take theresa head-on, and leon was more than happy to make a deal with the devil, except now…

his drinking buddy on the hill. they don’t just brood over glenmorangie together, it’s a way of extracting (and passing on) information, favours, and other little things. look i tried to make this sound funny or ~*~mysterious~*~ didn’t happen but you know what i mean.

the secret keeper. but not in the charming james potter and sirius black sort of way. someone who knows one of leon’s laundry list of secrets: why he’s no longer with nasa, how unfaithful he is to his wife, the number of shady deals he’s cut, that he’s had a hand in the senator egbert scandal, or really we would work out some new one. someone who’s not above leveraging the knowledge.

a member of his staff. i would LOVE someone who works with him and keeps his career from going off the rails (chief of staff, press secretary, personal assistant, LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL, go wild.)

anyways !! i’ll be applying with my character naomi carstairs, representative for massachusetts’ 3rd congressional district (and fc actual love of my life alicia vikander). she’s a bit of an amalgamation of a series of characters i’ve played before and have wanted to play, so i’m very excited to get to flex her a little!

without giving too much away, naomi is a keen little bean who’s holding her first official position and eager to cut her teeth on some new reform on the heels of wright’s energy bill. she’s been called everything from shrill to incorrigible by her opposition (in public and private, respectively), but she’s the one with the office on capitol hill, now.

naomi comes from a very political family – but not necessarily in the ~traditional~ way, which means she’s equal parts trying to stand apart from them and prove herself to them as a worthy member of their political dynasty (not her words)

very, very, very much a pawn, naomi is far too eager to , ahem, “do right by her constituents” and make a name for herself as some kind of liberal champion that she’s much more likely to find herself in over her head and taking raw deals than she is to come out unscathed 

julian berkeley - vice president - mark consuelos

likes: twisting his mustache and cackling as he makes evil plans, power, his bbs, occasional and totally justified murder, rihanna

dislikes: president wright

some connections I'd LOVE: his chief of staff, his press secretary, his political strategist and:

PAWN TO HIS PLAYER— Someone that is either as corrupt as him and does things Julian asks, or someone who isn’t necessarily corrupt themselves but contribute to Julian’s plans or illegalities. They can either be doing this just because, or because they aren’t aware they’re being played, or for something they could get for themselves too, or they can be under Julian’s payroll. (unlimited)

DEAL WITH THE DEVIL— In the past, Julian has done something for them and now it’s just a matter of I owe you. Of course, he did it exactly because he knew he would be able to collect the debt at one point or another, when it was most favorable for him. This could be a small favor or something really big. (0/3)

COMMON GROUND— Probably a Republican (but not necessarily) who shares very different ideas on what’s important for America. Perhaps they have one major idea or objective they share, or something else that leads them to be just a bit more allies than enemies. (1/3)

KNOWS TOO MUCH— When his corruption allegations came up, Julian was quick to pay off whoever he had to to make it all go away. This person would have accepted a bribe to make that happen. I can see this being the president of a major news outlet or something like it; basically someone that does have the power to say whether or not something gets out there. (½)

SOMEONE THAT HAS SHIT ON HIM— Someone that knows something about him that he would like to keep underwraps (personal??? criminal?? idk). They can either be indifferent about it and not use it against him (even though Julian would still be highly uneasy), or they can be blackmailing him to stay quiet.

*

johannes 'hans' starke - big oil lobbyist - aaron tveit

likes: fuckin bitches n getting money, his own reflection, big corporations fuckin up the american people, any time there's chaos in congress

dislikes: the planet apparently

I don't have any wanted connects for him right now, but hmu if you do and think hans could help out <3