catcherzw
Catcherzw is a Schevakian politician, lawyer and businessman, currently serving as Lord of the Schevakian state of Jacksonia. A founding father of the nation of Schevakia and a central member of its political elite, catcher has played a key role in southern geopolitical history. Throughout his career he has held numerous positions, most prominently serving as the first and third President of the Republic of Schevakia, in which capacity he is credited with shepherding the Schevakian Nation from a fledgling hinterland community into a major regional power. He is generally considered to have been the greatest president of the Republic of Schevakia.
Early Life
Upon his birth in early November of 2019, catcherzw set out southward by boat with fellow Sche tribesmen thepolg and The_Brunt in search of fertile and uninhabited land to settle. Voyaging past Rhett Island and through the strait of Jacksonia separating Tierra del Fuego from the Ilyrian Isles, the Sche pioneers made landfall in a dense dark oak forest south of the ruins of old Bohemia, where they proceeded to make shelter in a tunnel they dug in a coastal rock face. As thepolg collected resources and landscaped their immediate surroundings to be suitable for building construction, catcher built the earliest Sche structures in Tierra del Fuego: the Schevakia Diplomacy Center, a general store, his own house, and the Schenektengrad Lumber Building. Together, these buildings comprise the historic "Old Town" of Ward Two of Schenektengrad. The historic district was burnt to the ground in its entirety by the Balkan Federation during their sack of Schenektengrad, although replicas of the original buildings have since been constructed.
Political Career
Political Beginnings
Fellow Sche tribesmen thepolg, The_Brunt and Mr_Waffles17 began building in the vicinity of catcher's initial buildings soon after catcher himself, and together these four named their settlement Schenektengrad, of which each founder would control a ward. Following the establishment of their town, the Sche people moved to incorporate themselves politically into a nation, naming their new country Schevakia and crafting a republican system of government, in which each founder would serve as a senator representing the people of their ward (as their country expanded, the ward system grew into a state system). Accordingly, catcher took office as the Senator of Ward Two (later expanded to the state of Jacksonia). When the Schevakian Senate convened as a full body for the first time in the central square of Schenektengrad, it unanimously elected catcher as the first President and head of state of the Republic of Schevakia.
First Presidential Administration
The first catcherzw administration lasted from the inception of the country until February of 2020, and is regarded as the classical era of Schevakia, when the primary development of the Schevakian culture and society took place. While Schevakia experienced famines and significant resource scarcity during this period, it was nevertheless a period of rapid population growth and increased international connections, with Schevakia forging political ties to many major world powers and its developing economy integrating into the global marketplace as a source of raw materials. In what would become a recurring criticism, catcherzw began to take flack from some quarters for disproportionately consuming communal resources harvested by others, causing many to resent the Jacksonian business elite as not pulling their fair economic share.
Waffles Administration
On February 2nd of 2020, catcherzw was impeached by the Schevakian Senate after he authorized the destruction of the historic Yugoslavian Bohemskigrad site in Schevakian land without the approval of the Senate. Mr_Waffles17 was elected as catcher's successor, and catcher spent much of the ensuing weeks out of the political sphere (although he continued to serve as Jacksonian Senator), primarily focusing on building (including reconstructing the Bohemskigrad site). A few weeks into Waffles's administration, after he proved to be a predictably weak and disengaged President, he was removed by the Schevakian Senate, which subsequently moved to reinstate catcher, judging him to have sufficiently atoned for his offense.
Second Presidential Administration
Catcher's second administration was defined by another period of rapid population growth (the "third wave" of Schevakians) and increased Schevakian adventurism in the realm of foreign policy, as well as internal frictions spurred by the country's burgeoning ranks and resulting shifts in power dynamics away from the traditional ruling class. The main foreign entanglement of this era was the Schevako-Wohlstandian conflict of March 2020, in which Schevakia annexed the Wohlstandian Isle of Northbay, ostensibly for the purpose of defending the minority Ilyrian population.
Balkan Troubles and Schevakian Civil War
On April 20th, 2020, the Confederated Schevakian Alliance seceded from Schevakia in protest of acts from catcherzw that they perceived to be undemocratic, and of the response of other citizens to those acts. This secession began the Schevakian half of the Balkan Troubles, and two days later catcher himself resigned the presidency and seceded from Schevakia with his state of Jacksonia.
Fearing his homeland would be gobbled up by predatory foreign powers, catcher pledged Jacksonian military support to the People's Republik of Schevakia when the Balkan Federation laid claim to the PRS-owned Isle of Ilyrdom. Jacksonian forces were then the first and only Schevakian army to fully mobilize, making landfall on Ilyrdom and driving Federation forces out, besieging and recapturing Fort Ilyrdom. Upon returning victorious to a jubilant but still tense and divided Schenektengrad, catcher was ambushed and assassinated by PRS Chairman Mr_Waffles17. Waffles subsequently attacked CSA Senator thepolg in an attempt to fully eliminate the leadership of his rival splinter states, but was killed by thepolg's Fenian fiancé, Doctor_Hound.
The residents of Schenektengrad and their allies retired for the night with the understanding that Waffles and the Balkan Federation had agreed to a peace deal, only to be awoken in the middle of the night when CSA Senator Banksy007 discovered that a huge chunk of the city had been torched or blown up, with the most severe damage being in catcher's home of Ward Two. After an FBI (Fianna Bureau of Intelligence) investigation concluded that the Balkan Federation was the culprit, Jacksonia joined its fellow Schevakian splinter states in declaring war on the Federation, with catcherzw leading Jacksonian forces on the southern front, making a point to destroy one building in the Federation town of Schavick for every Ward Two building destroyed in the sack of Schenektengrad.
In the aftermath of the Balkan War, catcher was a primary member of the Schevakian Bloc, which worked to counter the terrorist threat from former members of the Balkan Federation. Within this bloc, he tended to be of the more hawkish group that included the PRS, the CSA, Fianna and Ozai, in contrast to the more conciliatory approach favored by Sylvia and the DRA.
During this time period, catcherzw directed most of his energy internally, working to rebuild the vast destroyed portions of his country and, at the behest of the Jacksonian business elite, constructing large numbers of automated factories, transforming Jacksonia (in particular its suburban Schenektengrad capital of Westward) into the industrial heart of Schevakia. Throughout the industrialization process, Jacksonia was an active participant in the Schevakian Civil War, clashing repeatedly with the PRS over the former Schevakian Federal Territory and the Senate building (which Jacksonia was able to briefly capture), with the Schevakian Apostolic Church of the Grove over religious differences, and with the DRA over the notorious PG Field of Ward Three, from which hundreds of monsters spawned and terrorized Jacksonian civilians. Jacksonian military adventurism in PG Field came to an end when Ambrosian forces decisively defeated a combined Jacksonian-CSA army in the Battle of Schenektengrad, killing catcher and forcing CSA Senator thepolg to surrender unconditionally.
Reunification and Imperial Era
Their lack of martial success notwithstanding, the international teamwork between catcherzw and thepolg against the DRA inspired further cooperation between the two and their countries, and in response to their shared perceived threats of the mass foreign immigration to the DRA and a resurgent Yugoslavian state, they together founded the Schevakian National Party, which aimed for greater unity and cooperation between ethnic Schevakians. The formation of this party ultimately catalyzed the reformation of a single Schevakian Empire, in which catcher now serves as Lord of Jacksonia. Within the new Schevakian nation, catcher's views have generally aligned with those of his countrymen, which have trended increasingly hawkish and unapologetically belligerent towards perceived enemies, transformed by months of war and betrayal.
Personal Life
Considered by many to be the quintessential member of the Schevakian aristocracy, catcher has held political office in Jacksonia for his entire adult life and is known to have a taste for the finer things in life, consorting with the Jacksonian business elite in his free time. And avid builder, he has created more structures in Schevakia than any other individual and is considered by many to have defined the architectural aesthetic of the country, including the iconic Ward Two waterfront. He is a non-practicing member and founder of the Church of Scheslam, in which capacity he occasionally finds himself in conflict with members of other religions within Schevakia.