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judgementcrime) wrote2025-01-16 01:41 am
⫘ INFO PAGE ⫘
“He'd just return to his high-rent apartment, fire up the hot tub, sit back in it with a little champagne and maybe a lady friend or two - everybody loved a man in uniform - and he'd laugh and laugh and laugh. Laugh until he was sick.”
Determined, charismatic, intelligent, perceptive. Capricious, emotional, ✧･ﾟ:*manipulative*:･ﾟ✧, impulsive; and all that wrapped up in a huge fucking ego you can see from space, unless it's temporarily stuffed behind a mask in the shape of a smile. Rico can look normal. Maybe even act like it. Kinda. He can certainly charm people into liking him, but it can all be thrown away over one bad day.
In his less delightful moods, he can be capable of taking it out on targets in truly hideous ways. What’s “fun” for him might not be as fun for others. Also has an awkward habit of smiling - or laughing - in inappropriate situations. He has what certain people might call "arrogance", but he prefers to call "natural charm". If you're the best at what you do, is it a crime to let everyone know it?
He also has a habit of saddling people with (incredibly annoying and/or affectionate) nicknames. There is basically nothing you can do about it.
Rico has an insanely deep voice that sounds very American (with a tiny, tiny hint of a New York central Mega-City One accent), which has been described as "like gravel passing through an industrial hopper". He moves as if he holds his authority in his body and not just his badge. Lean and muscular, with broad shoulders and thick thighs. Surprisingly agile for his build. Able to drop down to one knee, draw his gun, and fire several times with perfect accuracy in less than the blink of an eye.
He has a notable surgical scar on his upper left abdomen from a splenectomy, a scar on the side of his head that's mostly hidden underneath his hair from a fractured skull, another on his arm from a broken bone, and many others.
AKA Judge Dredd (but he's not the titular one)
TIMEZONE / PACING: PST. Tagging rate and times are ehh variable. Medium-slow pace for chunky tags and faster for texting, more often if the energy/time/brains align. My job’s pretty tiring at times, so most of my activity will probably be on weekends bc I can be braindead on weekdays.CONTACT: PM is fine!
FORMAT: I default to brackets, but I don’t mind switching to prose.
RP STYLE: I'm very 'let's just see where this goes' with threads! IC consequences, success, failure, and unexpected developments are all part of the fun. So if you want to build out the scene, feel free to just throw it in the tag. I also tend to toplevel rather than tag out for new cr, just bc of his content warnings.
MISC: His characterization will be taken from a merged combination of 💖 Wear Iron by Al Ewing 💖, The Third Law by Michael Carroll (and only The Third Law from the trilogy but I'm probably the only person who cares about this**, and SOME aspects from Dread Dominion because I'm an absolute madlad), and the comics. Can do comic or 2012 movie universe, or whatever.
code credit: 10billionghosts, fingerprints and photo styling from tessisamess
NAME: DREDD, RICO
RANK: STREET JUDGE
SERIAL NUMBER: 684911606927
CHARGE(S): SUBVERTING THE LAW FOR PERSONAL GAIN, BATTERY, ACCEPTING BRIBES, POSSESSION OF ILLICIT SUBSTANCES, MURDER, SERIOUS ASSAULT ON A CITIZEN, EXTORTION, POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY, PERVERTING THE COURSE OF JUSTICE, INCITEMENT TO CRIME, DEFRAUDING THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, IMPERSONATING A KNOWN JUDGE WITH INTENT TO COMMIT A CRIME, POSSESSION OF RESTRICTED PUBLICATIONS, ABUSING JUDICIAL AUTHORITY, BLACKMAIL, DERELICTION OF DUTY, NON-JUDICIAL RELATIONS... [CONT. PAGE 2]
SENTENCE: 20 YEARS ON TITAN
GENETIC DATA OF DREDD, RICO IS PROPRIETARY INFORMATION OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
ENTER AUTHORIZATION CODE ▭ ▭ ▭ ▭ ▭ ▭
“America is an irradiated wasteland. Within it lies a city. Outside the boundary walls, a desert. A cursed earth. Inside the walls, a cursed city, stretching from Boston to Washington D.C. An unbroken concrete landscape. 800 million people living in the ruin of the old world and the mega structures of the new one. Mega blocks. Mega highways. Mega City One. Convulsing. Choking. Breaking under its own weight. Citizens in fear of the street. The gun. The gang. Only one thing fighting for order in the chaos: the men and women of the Hall of Justice. Juries. Executioners. Judges.”
Rico is one of those Judges. Freshly graduated with the accolades of broken records and immense expectations, with just a year on the streets. But he’s been busy. And let’s just say he has… ideological differences with whether this system is working or not.* (Spoiler alert: It's complicated. Elaboration on this is in a comment below if you're interested.)
There's the comics universe, and the Dredd movie universe. The movie universe is much more gritty, depressing, and 'realistic' (with sci-fi twists, like psychic abilities via radioactive mutation being a measurable fact of life), while the comics universe is much more satirical, futuristic, and everyday life is weirder with bizarre crazes sweeping the city every week. Plus, huge eagle pauldrons and giant clanking golden chains are part of the official uniform. In the movies, they're much more subdued. But the broad thematic strokes are similar. Think of them as aesthetic alternatives. Rico's a character from the comics, but I draw from or play in the movie setting depending on the thread/character vibes (also since it's an easier setting to get a handle on for the canon-unfamiliar). Let me know if you’d explicitly prefer one or the other!
⁍ I ❤️ crosscanon/medium! Assumed CR great, jumping straight into things in media res even greater. Hashing basics out is fine too before starting. I also love figuring out how he could fit in or merge with other universes if I have the brain for it. I like to switch things up a bit, so he won’t always be 1:1 corrupt law enforcement analogue in his role, since context matters a lot for his specific damage (which might subsequently alter a bit too).
⁍ Rico’s canon is also fun to play in, wink wink.
⁍ Setting genres: Post-apocalypse (zombies, nuclear, other weirdness, etc), superheroes/villains, sci-fi, modern day, supernatural and urban fantasy, horror, westerns, etc.
⁍ Action and adventure, all kinds of gen situations, fights verbal or physical, low to high stakes, flirting with an edge, angst. Slice of life is still fun, bc it's supreme fucking weirdo lying-his-ass-off-about-how-fucked-up-he-is Rico Dredd in that situation. Not a fan of pure fluff, though. I usually like some kind of hook to the situation!
⁍ Positive CR! Friends, allies, one-night-stands, friends with benefits, mentees to take under his wing, people with fresh, out-of-context ideas for him to chew on, partners-in-violent-crime, (morally dubious) shenanigan buddies, normal, well-adjusted people to ground him, people he can't menace, etc. It could take a while for him to sincerely care, but he could genuinely find people amusing, useful, fascinating, tolerable, or attractive in the meantime.
⁍ Negative or mixed CR totally welcomed! Friends-to-enemies, enemies-to-friends, opposite sides, victims and targets, allies of convenience or necessity, rivalries, just plain instinctive dislike, cat and mouse chases, psychological mind games, cold wars or mutual blackmail where stakes are too high to mess up, you-know-that-I-know but I can't do anything about it yet, begrudging mutual respect, coming to the other person for something desperately needed, etc.
⁍ Tense situations between characters, focus on character dynamics and relationships and emotions.
⁍ While I definitely enjoy darker content, it doesn't have to be super grimdark or serious all the time. There can be lighter moments or conversations. His setting is a satire at the heart of it, and shit's pretty funny sometimes. Sugar's illegal, bro. His last name is Dredd. Kneepads are in fashion. He's still a person, and sometimes severely emotionally damaged enforcers of the law get sloppy drunk, get naked tans, turn up at the club, and have hot takes about democracy.
⁍ Slightly fucky interaction dynamics (gen or romantic). Themes of manipulation, effective or not. Identity shenanigans. People slowly (or quickly, or always) realizing how deeply wrong things are under his facade.
⁍ Rico enabling or baiting people into becoming more terrible versions of themselves. Vice versa is equally loved. Alternatively: opportunities for Rico to become a better person or genuinely attached to people yet still demonstrating that in his 'unique' way.
⁍ Using, manipulating, cajoling, blackmailing, intimidating, interrogating, or flat out (mentally, emotionally, physically) tormenting people for a purpose or purely for fun, sweeping people up in his criminal schemes whether they want to or not.
⁍ "I'd do anything for you and I’ll prove it".
⁍ Villain besties!!!! Or evil work buddies, or get shit done buddies, you know how it is. I also love contrasts, so bring on the good guys/gals/pals as well.
⁍ Clone brotherrrrrr. Joe (/Joseph) Dredd or other later bros where are you. Love castmates and 2000AD characters in general. I do have accounts for some other 2000AD characters and almost all of them wear helmets. Feel free to ask for my muselist.
⁍ Discussions of THE LAAAAWWW. Things about obligation, duty, clones (especially loved), codependency, identity crises, consequences of exposure to violence and trauma, child soldiers, indoctrination, sibling relationships, living up to expectations or ideals, crime, self-destructive spirals.
ALSO FASHION, DARK HUMOR, SUGAR, DAYDREAMING ABOUT MURDER, DRAMATIC TIMING, COLD HARD CASH, PROVING HE’S SMARTER, FASTER, AND JUST PLAIN BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE.
ALSO MENTIONING HIS BROTHER, FALLING FROM GREAT HEIGHTS, BEING MADE FUN OF, WHEN HIS DICK GETS CAUGHT IN HIS PANTS ZIPPER, THE CURRENT SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE.
ALSO MESSING WITH PEOPLE, POOLSIDE DRINKING, PLOTTING HEISTS, GETTING INTO EMBARRASSING ARGUMENTS, WATCHING BANNED MOVIES, UNJUDICIAL CONDUCT.
FAVORITE WEAPONS: QUICK THINKING, LAWGIVER, DAYSTICK, FISTS, STEEL-TOED AUTHORITARIAN BOOT. ALSO, ✧･ﾟ:EXPLOSIVES:･ﾟ✧
TASTES: EXPENSIVE
FASHION: ABLE, BABY
PSI-RATING: 00 (LOWEST HUMANLY POSSIBLE)
ABILITIES: CAN SOMETIMES TELL WHERE HIS CLONE-BROTHER IS AND EXPERIENCE VAGUE VICARIOUS FLASHES/FEELINGS/HUNCHES, AND VICE VERSA. HAS TO DO WITH
FAVORITE MOVIE: LITTLE CAESAR (1931)
* further self-indulgent elaboration on his unreliable narration
[click here for lots of words:]
Almost all Judges aren't corrupt and uphold the law, as stern and unforgiving as it is. They do save people from fires and kidnappings and worse, and hold the rich and powerful to the exact same legal standards as the poor. But they also genuinely believe that letting any control slip would lead to the city burning down, because they're already barraged at every waking moment by the sheer volume of crime that happens around them and only able to respond to a tiny fraction of it. Too many citizens are bored, stressed, and desperate (97% unemployment rate due to robot labor, the Department provides a basic income and housing - not always in the best locations), unable to deal with life in Mega-City One to the extent that they snap violently. It doesn't help that so much is criminalized and micromanaged (e.g. caffeine and sugar are restricted substances, and yes there are illegal underground teahouses) that citizens often develop paranoia about breaking the law and follow 'safe' behaviors as a result (staying home and watching TV, which is exactly what the Department wants) or get into some seriously crazy shit.So Rico going 'hey, this whole system is a sick lunatic joke that isn't working, crime isn't going down and we're already squeezing down on the law pretty hard, I'm kinda fucked up from executing criminals that are trying to kill us or other people all the time and beating people into compliance and fucking them up and turning them into criminals. Also the nuclear apocalypse from nine years ago when we stomped all over the ashes of a failed democracy to at least put the fires out so we didn’t all burn alive with it. This is completely insane and unmanageable. So can we at least stop pretending that things are totally fine cause I'm feeling mega gaslit over here like I'm the crazy one for having these feelings? Also, let’s cut some slack about relatively harmless gambling because at least they’re not out murdering?' is just met with 'haha, what? are you insane?'
In a situation like that, Rico can’t do anything but get drunk and have fun, throw his head back and laugh about the absurdity of it all. honestly he’s in desperate need of actual therapy but good luck getting him to express his genuine thoughts to a Justice Department psychologist. He’s not going to get anything that won’t be the usual platitudes about how the system is necessary or to just focus on the job, and the second he leaves the room, that file is going straight to the Chief Judge’s desk and reviewed by five different people. Can't talk to his brother about it, that's unjudicial thinking and he just won't get it. So he just sits and stews and spirals while he keeps his mouth pressed together in a smile. Is he insane? Is there something wrong with the world, or is it just him? He's the best at what he does, but why does he feel so sick to his stomach sometimes? And why is nobody else saying anything?
then he goes, yeah, ok fine I guess am. I am exactly what you made me, and I have better ideas on how to fix this mess. also, holy shit do I want to bone, enforced celibacy sucks ass and having sex is amazing. And then his corruption starts small and slow and well-meaning (in his mind) for a bit, and then he goes absolutely apeshit buckwild down to crazy town, doing shit that absolutely isn't justified according to any of his initial beliefs.
Basically: the Justice Department causes a lot of its own issues, but they're so deeply entrenched in this system that it's impossible to let up at this point. Also note: plenty of Judges have doubts but they don't make the leap to murdering people for fun and profit. That's on him.
** yet even more self-indulgent elaboration on his unreliable narration
If you're wondering to what extent you can't believe the shit he puts down, please consider the following example:
[click here for lots of words (also brief description of a murder/torture):]
Canon: pretends to be his concerned identical twin to lure his mentor figure out to kill him (who was suspicious of his increasingly strange behavior, but literally all he wanted was to see if the situation "could be salvaged" without needing to get the higher-ups involved). Decides to kill him by setting him on fire, shooting his limbs while he's staggering around (reminder: while he is on fire), and denies him a mercy kill while laughing hysterically the entire time. And also goes the extra mile to mock this poor man for believing the situation could be salvaged at all. And then dumps the body into a rad pit. Gets away with the murder, never admits to killing Kenner even after getting caught and arrested for everything else.
Book: "boldly claims" he didn’t shoot Kenner at all because that would've been too suspicious if discovered, and that his death was unfortunately slow but he "had" to put him in a rad pit so he wouldn't leave a trace. And then it's literally, :'( I regret killing him but he gave me no choice, I didn't want to :'( but he was old and I'm young and smart and sexy 😘😘 and he would have died anyway righttttt
I consider Rico to have not necessarily intended for this to happen when he set up the trap, but he completely snapped when Kenner suggested dealing with this discretely off-the-books (which is technically, corruption) and was projecting a tonnnn of issues onto him.
He also completely glosses over horrible and extended acts of violence involving four broken fingers and several smashed windows in order to get a criminal to "see things his way" and is super casual about kicking down doors of new gangs setting up in his territory and murdering second-in-commands just to hammer in the point about there being a "tax". Apparently it's not atypical behavior for Rico to just break into his target's apartments while they're sleeping and loom over them purely to fuck with them, either. So you know, there's some light reading between the lines and creative interpretation involved when adding this material to the mix. He’s a pretty fascinating bundle of contradictions, cognitive dissonance, justifications, blind spots, and moments of self-awareness.
Anyway, the reason why I only use The Third Law is because the other two entries in the Titan trilogy does kind of veer off into questionable characterization by trying too hard to make Rico a sympathetic anti-hero (on top of not being very good books) and it's like... yes there's sympathy in his situation and circumstance, but he's definitely a sympathetic villain. Like I'm pretty sure you can only use someone as an unwitting human bomb once (he does that twice, actually) before you‘ve dug yourself really, really deep into the moral hole.
AUS THAT I LIKE
[ ☞ CLICK HERE FOR VARIOUS AUS AND ~VIBES~ ☜ ]
⁍ or violent anti-hero. or shady government agent. or anti-hero pretending to be a villain to get the underworld deets and really committing to the bit.
⁍ only human with preternaturally good aim and reflexes. he might not have fancy powers, but what he does have is an adorable gun with six different ammo types (that he calls his 'lawgiver' because his sense of humor sucks). all of them will fuck you up.
⁍ still manages to punch well above his weight class by beating the piss out of you with intensely targeted psychological harm.
⁍ he likes to scroll through all the thirst comments on his most recent insta post while he's mixing red bull into his top-shelf whiskey for breakfast.
⁍ he might have killed a man last night.
⁍ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
⁍ For supernatural/urban fantasy: one half of an incredibly dysfunctional but effective hunter team with his brother. Loves his job and does it for the thrill (of getting to ethically kill things). May be playing with things he should not be playing with on the side.
⁍ Or he could be something wearing a nice human suit :)
⁍ he sure loves his exotic ammo types and improvised explosives. most likely an independent merc. his aim is disgustingly good and he's an expensive hire, but he always gets the job done.
⁍ has a bulletproof vest and metal road-sign pauldrons for that wasteland fashion™.
⁍ bad karma companion 🙂❤️ he decides when he's going to be dismissed, not you
⁍ his backstory's pretty fucked up. don't ask him about it
⁍ [click for all perks:]
intense training (agility)intense training (perception)
lady killer
confirmed bachelor
rapid reload
toughness
terrifying presence
comprehension
heave, ho!
ranger takedown (don't ask him about it.)
shotgun surgeon
mad bomber
action boy
Companion Perk: All Teeth. When Rico Dredd is your companion, gain access to Terrifying Presence dialogue options.
⁍ never got sentenced to 20 years of prison. slowly dialed down the worst of his excesses and gave up his luxuries to slip under the radar.
⁍ now a 30-year-old senior street judge. legendary lawman with a reputation just as notorious as his stone-faced brother. But unlike him, rico's been gathering political power and social capital, friends & allies, ranging from the deputy head of the Special Judicial Squad to two-bit gutter thieves.
⁍ cleaned up loose ends from his old indiscretions. traded in his lux-apt and expensive toys for making new ones that are better thought out.
⁍ change comes from within 🙂 and he's playing the long con
idk, I'll give pretty much anything a try to see if it sticks to the wall or not.
Naruto
Special jounin rico dredd? (weird clone experiment? enemy from a different hidden village? missing nin?) Taijutsu specialist maybe, definitely some weird bloodline bullshit somewhere. Let's AU this former child soldier supercop into a former child soldier ninja and see how he feels about feudalistic military dictatorships, dattebayo
Dead by Daylight
I’m kinda canon familiar! (Not intimately aware abt the gameplay mechanics tho, so do forgive me if I fudge details). Down to clown in this setting with modern AU fbi agent Rico Dredd as a survivor. He’s a golden boy serial killer catcher who loves the attention (and accidental killer during arrests, oopsies 😊 good thing the public and papers love him), is a little fucked up himself. Honestly, there isn’t too much separating him from his prey, except that he loves his job and proving he’s smarter, faster, and better than the wannabe-predators. His vibes can be a little weird at times yeah, but he’s a survivor so… how bad can he be?
Star Wars
Yeah this one he could be pretty much anything. Force-sensitive and really good with a lightsaber and combat skills. Left the Jedi order when he was 20-ish for his own reasons. If set during the clone wars, probably a celebrity-war-hero-politician. Really flexible, depending on scenario. Could be a darksider instead, tbh. Timeline wise: KOTOR 1 era-ish, clone wars/prequels, modern stuff, etc all good.
Warhammer 40k
ARBITER FOREBODING…… let the in-universe tv show be based on an in-universe arbiter dredd, that would be 2x funny 🙏 ok jokes aside: Darling son of a planetary governor, a true princeling of a hive world. Joined the Arbites (obviously), then an inquisitorial retinue - probably Ordo Hereticus. Tbd on the rest, but I’m flexible.