Post by Elise Von Eisenberg on Nov 23, 2019 21:28:09 GMT -4
The state of affairs in Belgium
The Beginning of turmoil
The start of the 21st century initially allowed a short time of prosperity within Belgium, once renown as the center of the European Union. However, amidst the relative period of peace that the world enjoyed, Belgium was one of the first countries to start showing signs of turmoil. A result of their way too open policies for immigration, a lack of background investigation in so-called refugees led to less savory individuals to wringle their way in the shadows of Belgian society. At first it were small incidents, an increase in crime rates in the larger cities throughout the country.
Rise of a Liberator
2041-2042
Unfolding alongside the revelation of the first Quirkers in history. increased crime within the country, paired together with increasing dissatisfaction with the way the government ran the country caused a group of Belgian citizen to consider the state of affairs. The politicians were simply too greedy and adamant about their own agendas and looking favorable to the outside world, the lack of solutions offered to the various difficulties in sectors like healthcare and dealing with the increasing rise of poverty amidst their own people led to a charismatic young man called Tom Peeters to make the decision that if the government refused to care about the woes of its own people, then someone else needed to take charge.
Providing clear solutions to the problems which the government refused to address, for example, the restoration of healthcare by the canceling of all the ridiculous investments that the country did in payments to high-ranked officials, and focusing on balancing the wealth between the rich and the poor, his initial suggestions were met with some minor protests from obvious factions, but with the majority of the country dealing with the economic crisis, the promise of increased living standards made him gain an immense following, to the point his motto 'Own People first!' became increasingly popular.
However, it was also during this time, with the revelation of Quirks, that Tom proved to be a Pro-Quirker, rallying the citizen to focus less on the matter of possessing a special power or not, and more on the true evil they were dealing with: The corruption within the government. As a result of this, Tom amassed an immense following of Quirkers, and yet few had anticipated what the future would hold
The birth of an empire
2043-2070
In the following years Tom Peeters didn't just gain the support of the people, but with more Quirkers supporting him, he also gained a steady increase in militaristic Power, secret educational programs were started to hone people's quirks, later becoming known as the Mensen Liberatie Eenheid, although they would later become known as the H.L.F, or the 'Human Liberation Front'. In 2050 things finally escalated, Tom Peeters demanded for the government to be absolved, and when the demands of the man and the country were essentially ignored he staged a Coup d'état.
Of course, little did the government expect that a majority of the military and the authorities would have been part of the side supporting Tom, although history doesn't tell us what happened to the politicians after Tom seized control, hushed whispers say that their fate was left in the hands of the people, and with the dissatisfaction among the citizen, their fate was brutal.
And yet, what might had been the story of a hero, would soon be corrupted into the tale of a tyrant. With power at his fingertips, Tom knew that the first thing he had to do was secure his position. In the wake of the Coup d'état Belgium closed its borders, the other countries too occupied with their own individual problems to interfere and for a while little contact came in and out of the country.
The first signs came when it was revealed that Tom Peeters was actually a Quirker himself, and concerned for the state of the mindset the other nations showed Quirkers, he had decided that it was in his best interests to ensure Quirkers would not suffer the same treatment.
Indeed, the Human Liberation Front had been praised as the protectors of Belgium, the people who had helped ensure the Coup d'état would happen, and as such were held in high esteem.
Whispers of a tyrant
2071-2072
In the last few years Belgium has changed remarkably from how we known it. Although the people believe themselves to be in good hands, Tom Peeters has pretty much turned Belgium in his own empire, holding all the power and influence the government once held. It is one of the few countries where Quirkers and Quirkless people live peacefully side by side, in fact most Quirkers are indoctrinated into the Human Liberation Front to serve as Tom Peeter's private military and those who don't, either are forced to hide their quirks or disappear under mysterious circumstances, for it is believed that having a Quirk gives one the responsibility to be a guardian of Belgium.
However, some rumors suggest the Human Liberation Front has been involved in some shady business in other countries as part of deals to gain resources not naturally found within Belgium.
(I know this likely will get heavily modified or denied, but it was still fun to write~
The Beginning of turmoil
The start of the 21st century initially allowed a short time of prosperity within Belgium, once renown as the center of the European Union. However, amidst the relative period of peace that the world enjoyed, Belgium was one of the first countries to start showing signs of turmoil. A result of their way too open policies for immigration, a lack of background investigation in so-called refugees led to less savory individuals to wringle their way in the shadows of Belgian society. At first it were small incidents, an increase in crime rates in the larger cities throughout the country.
Rise of a Liberator
2041-2042
Unfolding alongside the revelation of the first Quirkers in history. increased crime within the country, paired together with increasing dissatisfaction with the way the government ran the country caused a group of Belgian citizen to consider the state of affairs. The politicians were simply too greedy and adamant about their own agendas and looking favorable to the outside world, the lack of solutions offered to the various difficulties in sectors like healthcare and dealing with the increasing rise of poverty amidst their own people led to a charismatic young man called Tom Peeters to make the decision that if the government refused to care about the woes of its own people, then someone else needed to take charge.
Providing clear solutions to the problems which the government refused to address, for example, the restoration of healthcare by the canceling of all the ridiculous investments that the country did in payments to high-ranked officials, and focusing on balancing the wealth between the rich and the poor, his initial suggestions were met with some minor protests from obvious factions, but with the majority of the country dealing with the economic crisis, the promise of increased living standards made him gain an immense following, to the point his motto 'Own People first!' became increasingly popular.
However, it was also during this time, with the revelation of Quirks, that Tom proved to be a Pro-Quirker, rallying the citizen to focus less on the matter of possessing a special power or not, and more on the true evil they were dealing with: The corruption within the government. As a result of this, Tom amassed an immense following of Quirkers, and yet few had anticipated what the future would hold
The birth of an empire
2043-2070
In the following years Tom Peeters didn't just gain the support of the people, but with more Quirkers supporting him, he also gained a steady increase in militaristic Power, secret educational programs were started to hone people's quirks, later becoming known as the Mensen Liberatie Eenheid, although they would later become known as the H.L.F, or the 'Human Liberation Front'. In 2050 things finally escalated, Tom Peeters demanded for the government to be absolved, and when the demands of the man and the country were essentially ignored he staged a Coup d'état.
Of course, little did the government expect that a majority of the military and the authorities would have been part of the side supporting Tom, although history doesn't tell us what happened to the politicians after Tom seized control, hushed whispers say that their fate was left in the hands of the people, and with the dissatisfaction among the citizen, their fate was brutal.
And yet, what might had been the story of a hero, would soon be corrupted into the tale of a tyrant. With power at his fingertips, Tom knew that the first thing he had to do was secure his position. In the wake of the Coup d'état Belgium closed its borders, the other countries too occupied with their own individual problems to interfere and for a while little contact came in and out of the country.
The first signs came when it was revealed that Tom Peeters was actually a Quirker himself, and concerned for the state of the mindset the other nations showed Quirkers, he had decided that it was in his best interests to ensure Quirkers would not suffer the same treatment.
Indeed, the Human Liberation Front had been praised as the protectors of Belgium, the people who had helped ensure the Coup d'état would happen, and as such were held in high esteem.
Whispers of a tyrant
2071-2072
In the last few years Belgium has changed remarkably from how we known it. Although the people believe themselves to be in good hands, Tom Peeters has pretty much turned Belgium in his own empire, holding all the power and influence the government once held. It is one of the few countries where Quirkers and Quirkless people live peacefully side by side, in fact most Quirkers are indoctrinated into the Human Liberation Front to serve as Tom Peeter's private military and those who don't, either are forced to hide their quirks or disappear under mysterious circumstances, for it is believed that having a Quirk gives one the responsibility to be a guardian of Belgium.
However, some rumors suggest the Human Liberation Front has been involved in some shady business in other countries as part of deals to gain resources not naturally found within Belgium.
TLDR Notes:
- Belgium is currently ran by a single man with absolute power (pretty much an emperor/replaced the entire government)
- The citizen in general live peaceful and comfortable lives
- Quirkers are recruited in a special organization where they are trained and in general receive favorable treatment (so they are kind of held at a higher level than normally, as long as they behave) or are forced to lie low or flee the country
- Police still does their work, with military in general being left to keep an eye on the borders
- Belgium has a special Quirker-based private military/mercenary organization that usually is called upon to deal with Quirker threats (a much more militaristic version of the hero program)
- Vigilantism is generally non-existant since Quirkers either join the aforementioned organization, lie low or are forced to flee.
- Crime in Belgium, and as a result the existence of villains is rumored to be few, especially since the general treatment Villains receive is much harsher than elsewhere, with the death penalty for Quirker Villains being introduced as the mindset that using your gift selfishly against the people, is a sin deserving of death.
- Belgium is currently ran by a single man with absolute power (pretty much an emperor/replaced the entire government)
- The citizen in general live peaceful and comfortable lives
- Quirkers are recruited in a special organization where they are trained and in general receive favorable treatment (so they are kind of held at a higher level than normally, as long as they behave) or are forced to lie low or flee the country
- Police still does their work, with military in general being left to keep an eye on the borders
- Belgium has a special Quirker-based private military/mercenary organization that usually is called upon to deal with Quirker threats (a much more militaristic version of the hero program)
- Vigilantism is generally non-existant since Quirkers either join the aforementioned organization, lie low or are forced to flee.
- Crime in Belgium, and as a result the existence of villains is rumored to be few, especially since the general treatment Villains receive is much harsher than elsewhere, with the death penalty for Quirker Villains being introduced as the mindset that using your gift selfishly against the people, is a sin deserving of death.
(I know this likely will get heavily modified or denied, but it was still fun to write~