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7deadmemes2024-03-04 12:44 pm
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Entry tags:
TDM #001 / EVENT LOG #001
TEST DRIVE MEME #001 / EVENT LOG #001
INFORMATION
Prospective players are free to utilize the setting to create prompts outside of the TDM prompts if they would like to do so. If you have any questions about the TDM please feel free to direct them to the moderator toplevel!
Our reserves are now open.
Prospective players are free to utilize the setting to create prompts outside of the TDM prompts if they would like to do so. If you have any questions about the TDM please feel free to direct them to the moderator toplevel!
Our reserves are now open.
ARRIVAL
The world has changed although you can't remember it changing. Wherever you were and whatever you were doing you are now reliving one of your most important memories. Good or bad, serious or silly, this was something that impacted you deeply. It feels like you're there again living through it. The temperature, the scent, the sounds - they're all exactly as they were back then...but you can hear something else, too. Voices that are muffled and indistinct and far away. Shadows cast on the scene that fall wrong from nowhere. The faintest shimmer of a purple butterfly may play at the corner of your eye.
You aren't alone. Those figures may remain outside of your memory or they may enter the memory, but no matter what the memory itself does not change. The places and people being remembered play out their parts like a movie you've stepped into...and then the memory will repeat when you've reached the end. The wrongness and sense of others watching may increase with each repetition. City of 7 NPCs will call out vices and virtues in turn: this person is guilty of pride - or was it humility? Greed or charity? Lust or chastity? Envy or gratitude? Gluttony, temperance, wrath, patience, sloth, diligence...all the seven deadly vices and seven deadly virtues might be called out in turn. Player characters who enter the memory will be compelled to cast a vote spoken aloud, though they may use whatever metric they like to determine which of the seven deadly vices or seven deadly virtues the person at the center of the memory is most guilty of.
And perhaps that was the deciding vote. As soon as the final vote is cast the characters will witness the memory...bursting! Like a soap bubble. It shimmers and wavers and then blows apart. After this they will find themselves landing in either the city of 7 or in the Amplitheater proper.
If they find themselves in the Amplitheater they may find themselves drowning...or not. This month's scenery is partially underwater and not every role can easily survive there. They will also be able to see large scattered soap bubbles which they can enter that contain other characters trapped in one of their own memories until they receive enough votes to leave. Once all the characters are freed no more of these bubbles can be found.
Upon leaving their bubble characters will discover that on their body is an emblem. This emblem is an oddly shifting mark of colors much like the Amplitheater itself, and the shape of the emblem seems to shift from moment to moment. Sometimes technicolor lights flicker through it. It will only full settle upon acceptance to the game when a character is fully sorted. The emblem should be at least the size of a quarter and in a location that is sometimes visible.
The world has changed although you can't remember it changing. Wherever you were and whatever you were doing you are now reliving one of your most important memories. Good or bad, serious or silly, this was something that impacted you deeply. It feels like you're there again living through it. The temperature, the scent, the sounds - they're all exactly as they were back then...but you can hear something else, too. Voices that are muffled and indistinct and far away. Shadows cast on the scene that fall wrong from nowhere. The faintest shimmer of a purple butterfly may play at the corner of your eye.
You aren't alone. Those figures may remain outside of your memory or they may enter the memory, but no matter what the memory itself does not change. The places and people being remembered play out their parts like a movie you've stepped into...and then the memory will repeat when you've reached the end. The wrongness and sense of others watching may increase with each repetition. City of 7 NPCs will call out vices and virtues in turn: this person is guilty of pride - or was it humility? Greed or charity? Lust or chastity? Envy or gratitude? Gluttony, temperance, wrath, patience, sloth, diligence...all the seven deadly vices and seven deadly virtues might be called out in turn. Player characters who enter the memory will be compelled to cast a vote spoken aloud, though they may use whatever metric they like to determine which of the seven deadly vices or seven deadly virtues the person at the center of the memory is most guilty of.
And perhaps that was the deciding vote. As soon as the final vote is cast the characters will witness the memory...bursting! Like a soap bubble. It shimmers and wavers and then blows apart. After this they will find themselves landing in either the city of 7 or in the Amplitheater proper.
If they find themselves in the Amplitheater they may find themselves drowning...or not. This month's scenery is partially underwater and not every role can easily survive there. They will also be able to see large scattered soap bubbles which they can enter that contain other characters trapped in one of their own memories until they receive enough votes to leave. Once all the characters are freed no more of these bubbles can be found.
Upon leaving their bubble characters will discover that on their body is an emblem. This emblem is an oddly shifting mark of colors much like the Amplitheater itself, and the shape of the emblem seems to shift from moment to moment. Sometimes technicolor lights flicker through it. It will only full settle upon acceptance to the game when a character is fully sorted. The emblem should be at least the size of a quarter and in a location that is sometimes visible.
AMPLITHEATER: THE LITTLE MARINER
Every month the Amplitheater puts on a grand story which the characters can enter and leave at will. This month the stage is The Little Mariner - an island nation surrounded by open and haunted waters. Characters may be warned by NPCs in 7 that items taken into the Amplitheater will take on the relative technology level of the scene, but if they simply arrive inside the Amplitheater after their bubble bursts they will instead find that all their belongings now fit the nautical/piratical theme and a medieval-fantasy technology level. Their belongings will change back to the appropriate appearance and use once they leave the Amplitheater.
The interior of the Amplitheater does not appear to be a sphere. It appears to be an entire world. The exits to the city of 7 all have the shimmer of a soap bubble and can be found in odd places: in puddles, under rocks, in boots...feel free to have your character locate an exit anywhere should they need or want one or have fun with them having more trouble finding an exit. Any exit in the Amplitheater will randomly deposit your character somewhere in the city of 7 regardless of where they entered. You can use this to get your character into city-based prompts they might otherwise not want to join if you like. Or just to dump them on someone else. Go wild. And yes, these exits to look similar to the soap-bubble memories characters find themselves arriving in.
Please note that just as exiting is random so is entering. Your character may show up on a ship, on the island city, or underwater. This is regardless of whether or not their role is suited to that location so feel free to mess around.
Whenever they leave or enter the Amplitheater characters will hear a voice asking them "What are they guilty of?" Before them will flash the faces of one person of each role found in the Dramatis Personae section. They will know that by the 25th they must assign at least one vice or virtue to one of the roles found within this world.
"There once was a beautiful island kingdom known as Aurelia. Though Aurelia was a small kingdom it sat the the middle of many busy trade routes and ships would often come to the port city in order to trade goods or take a rest on their planned routes. Only minor troubles burdened the people of Aurelia.
This peaceful circumstance was mirrored beneath the waves where the kingdom of Atlantis was found. There the merfolk lived peacefully. While these two kingdoms existed quite close to one another both had little to do with the other. The merfolk feared what the people of Aurelia might do to them as there were sailors who sought to capture merfolk as prizes while the people of Aurelia feared the sirens and sea witches their sailors had met on expeditions...when they even believed these stories to be true.
Most merfolk and most people of Aurelia. One particular merfolk became curious about the world above the waters in which she dwelled. She watched them with her friend the porpoise who followed her faithfully and cautioned her against the world she did not understand. Despite these warnings she chose to visit the sea witch to ask for help to see the world she was so curious about.
A deal was struck. The permanent loss of her voice for a single treasure the sea witch had crafted. The merfolk princess was given a scale pendant that allowed her to shift into human form when she left the waters of Atlantis and stepped onto dry land. Happily she went to Aurelia and walked through the markets and saw how they lived...and there she met the mariner.
They struck up an easy friendship as they learned to speak without her voice. The mariner offered to take the merfolk princess sailing and taught her how to work the sails and how to navigate above the waves while the princess taught the mariner how to find and call the sea creatures she had grown up with.
One day the mariner used that knowledge to call up the porpoise who came to him full of trust - and then he fished the porpoise up. Angry and heartbroken the princess dove away from the ship and went to the sea witch begging for some way to bring back her friend. Magic that brings the dead back to life never comes at an easy cost but she was willing to give anything at all.
She would have to apprentice to the sea witch and give up a portion of her own soul. The cost caused her to become cursed, doomed to never be welcomed in the waters of her homeland again even as her once beloved porpoise friend chose to join her in exile. The porpoise swore to find a way to lift her curse at any cost to itself though she did not regret her actions.
The mariner came to regret the loss of his friend almost immediately and set sail in search of her to apologize. Against the advice of older and wiser sailors he took to the seas in the dead of night and his ship was taken by one of the cursed crews. Aboard the ship he found himself starved enough to take a bite of an apple...and then another, and another.
He lost all track of time and for a long time was part of the ship and the crew. In his free time he would sing to the empy waters of his sorrow and how he regretted the hurt he had caused not only to his lost friend but to the porpoise she had so treasured.
One night long after he lost track of all time she came from the water and offered to him a piece of soggy bread taken from the marketplace. Upon eating it he regained himself and leapt from the ghost ship, the princess helping him to swim to shore. There he asked her to come ashore but she told him she would not, and dove back into the waters to join her companion in the sea caves. In time she would become a sea witch and would never be seen again by the mariner."
NPCs from the city of 7 can be found in the Amplitheater filling out various roles the same as PCs can. There also seem to be NPCs that are part of the setting itself that move about in specific patterns through their own little internal stories. It's usually easy to tell the two apart.
MARINER
Sailors and citizens of the island nation in this setting. If you want to be a random sailor? Cool. If you want to enter and be royalty? Also cool. The logic of the Amplitheater can be messed up and adhere more to dreams and emotion at times so it's possible to have five kings to one nation and seventeen captains to one ship. Mariners will be (mostly) human. If your character is not typically human they can potentially be humanized for this role if you like. They also may remain inhuman if you prefer!
POWERS: Inherent knowledge of sailing & navigation, land/air animal companion optional
COMPULSIONS: Sailing, singing sea shanties, finding buried treasure
WEAKNESSES: They can't breathe underwater :(
CURSED MARINER
Cursed mariners are obligated to remain either in the water or on the various ghost ships sailing around the setting until/unless they either exit and come back with a new role or break their curse while in the setting. The curse can manifest in their appearance as a ghost, skeleton, zombie, or sea-urchin encrusted monstrosity. We're not nitpicking this, do whatever you want. Cursed mariners will find that ghosts and other cursed NPCs in the setting are chill with them instead of trying to scare them. After all, they're bros now. Ghost high five!
POWERS: Inflicting the cursed status on other non-cursed people and animals, not needing to breathe, dramatic ghostly musical cues
COMPULSIONS: Inflicting their curse on other people, capturing merfolk, attacking normal ships, burying treasure
WEAKNESSES: Incapable of going on dry land, may be incapable of leaving their ships
MERFOLK
Merfolk can come in the common or royal variety and have no standard look besides "part fish". Which part is fish and which part is human (or whatever) is up to you. If you want your character to be a top-half fish mermaid they totally can be. As long as there is part human (or whatever) and part aquatic animal going on the world is your oyster. Hey, maybe you can be an oyster merfolk! Your character will be transformed for this role but the degree to which that change takes place is up to you.
POWERS: Summon aquatic animal friends, fish-speaking, mysterious musical backups, alluring song, breathing underwater
COMPULSIONS: Singing dramatic musical numbers, acquiring human legs
WEAKNESSES: Can't remain out of water for very long, no sexy human legs (unless they have no sexy human head)
CURSED MERFOLK
There are two types of cursed merfolk: Merfolk who have simply lost anything thanks to the rampant sea witch problem or merfolk who are some variety of ghost, skeleton, or zombie sea creature. The latter is what any character assigned this role on entry will start as, while someone assigned to be a normal merfolk can change into a cursed merfolk throughout the course of their time in the Amplitheater. Sea witches can also become cursed merfolk if you like.
POWERS: Breathing underwater, summon zombie aquatic animal friends, fish-speaking, eerie ghost singing
COMPULSIONS: Spreading their curse to other people/creatures, drowning mariners, singing haunting songs in the dead of night
WEAKNESSES: Can't remain out of water for very long, instinctively disliked by non-cursed sea animals, smells like rotting fish
SEA WITCH
A variety of merfolk that practice sea magic and deal-based magic. As with normal and cursed merfolk a sea witch can be any variety of merfolk you like and we don't care which half is human (or whatever you started out as) and which half is fish. You can be a very standard looking sea witch if you don't want to think about it or you can play around with it if you do. Sea witches are disliked strongly by the setting-native NPCS but the 7 NPCs won't really care much about "good" or "bad" roles since they're more interested in the vices and virtues a soul is guilty of.
POWERS: Extracting any price from an agreed-upon deal no matter how intangible or odd - souls, voices, sandwiches, etc.; fish-speaking, breathing underwater, some magic, evil fish companions
COMPULSIONS: Making deals, cackling maniacally, singing songs about being an evil sea witch
WEAKNESSES: Can't remain out of water for very long, terrible singing voices unless they steal one, must be totally honest about the terms of their deals (can use legalese and loopholes and technical truths however), instinctively disliked by all mariners and many merfolk
PORPOISE
Congratulations, you are now a fish. Or an aquatic mammal. Or...something that lives under the sea. Maybe you're a crab. Or a sea slug. Or a clam. There aren't hard and fast rules here beyond the fact you are now a sea animal living your best sea animal life. Or maybe your worst sea animal life. What does that look like? Whatever you want it to! Maybe your porpoise wants to be a real human girl or boy and makes a deal with a sea witch and changes categories? Or maybe your character goes "fuck this" and finds an exit to try to be something other than a seahorse.
POWERS: Breathing underwater, summon aquatic animal friends, swims real fast
COMPULSIONS: Helping merfolk, offering advice (does not have to be good advice), providing back-up vocals
WEAKNESSES: You're a fish (or something)!
The underwater kingdom of Atlantis surrounds the island nation of Aurelia. There the Merfolk and Porpoises live in often musically-accompanied harmony. Coral reefs can be found all around the island and many of the corals grow into the homes the Merfolk live in. The grand palace is almost entirely constructed of corals although there are some shells and stone as well. Atlantis is a true underwater city so you can find any variety of shops, eateries, and entertainment...though all of this takes place underwater so obviously everything sold, eaten, or done must be water-appropriate. And also most of it is catered to fish and other aquatic life. So there's that! Cursed Merfolk and Sea Witches are not welcome in Atlantis.
Currently there's a grand musical celebration being planned, but the royal princess is nowhere to be found! If you happen to be a Merfolk who is royal they don't mean you. They mean...your sister? Your brother? Your second cousin twice removed? The Amplitheater's dream-logic will fill in something at random. Or maybe you ARE the missing royal merfolk and you have run away for dramatic teenage reasons or just left the area for normal reasons. Whatever the case, all of Atlantis is trying to find you and you may need a quick getaway. If you're captured they will force you to sing a solo for them in their musical celebration regardless of whether or not you can actually sing. If they can't find a royal Merfolk for this they may settle for a Porpoise. Not only are you a fish, now you have to preform! Fun.
There are various shipwrecks to be found from the many nautical battles above the waves. Some of these ships are now home to Merfolk or Porpoises but many are there to be looted by whomever wants to loot things. The VRealists are diving down and mapping the shipwrecks by persistently exiting and entering the Amplitheater until they get roles that make this possible, so you'll see many Merfolk, Cursed Merfolk, Sea Witches, and Porpoises wandering around these wrecks. They won't usually initiate combat but may ask you to search with them for various lost treasures. These range from mystical artifacts such as a gemstone that when broken will release a storm to a fork that when dipped into water can purify it. A small volume of water, anyway. Feel free to make treasures up! These won't be removable from the Amplitheater.
Also around these shipwrecks are meetings of Porpoises. Since the Porpoise role includes any aquatic animal this means...lots of sea creatures! There's various interest groups here (shiny hooks and why you should or shouldn't avoid them; what is this piece of human debris I found and if I had hair could I comb it with it; are fish friends or food?) which you might be drawn into if you try to swim by. These are the real topics that matter to real animals.
In the sea caves under the city of Aurelia are the Sea Witches. There's more than one of them. The Sea Witches are magical deal-makers who can offer you anything you can think of. Or, well, not game-breaking go home things, but anything within reason that suits the technology level within the Amplitheater. So an undersea giant transforming mecha isn't a possibility but if you want a transforming suit of armor made entirely of shells that shoots out blowfish darts that can totally happen for you. The catch is the price of the deals. Sea witches can ask for anything in exchange for these wishes, be it voices or souls or a really good sandwich. It's up to the witch in question. If you approach the sea caves you may be asked: "What do you wish for?" You may feel compelled to answer the question though you will have to decide whether or not to make a deal on your own. As a note, Sea Witches can cause curses as a result of their deals if the prices aren't paid or if the terms have it that way - and they can also offer to curse curses for a price.
The island nation of Aurelia has a ghost problem. Every evening the ships of the dead take to the seas...or the skies in the cases of a few flying ghost ships. While some of these ships are translucent and can only be interacted with by cursed creatures and ghosts many can be boarded by the living and uncursed. The boarding does not have to be willing: characters can find themselves on a ship either from exiting their initial memory or from entering the Amplitheater from the outside. Or they can be kidnapped by ghost pirates which is again a very big and common problem in Aurelia. Mariners are particularly susceptible to kidnappings, while Merfolk and Porpoises may find themselves fished up to be kept captive or threatened with becoming sushi.
These ghosts ships will frequently attack the ships of the living once they descend. The nightscape of Aurelia frequently has nautical battles and canonfire as a part of it, although some areas are less fraught with the obvious dangers of ghost pirate to sailor combat and instead full of less obvious dangers...
If you're a Cursed Mariner and a part of the crew you will find yourself preforming tasks around the ship. These tasks range from legitimate ship tasks such as hoisting and trimming sails seemingly at random to the less legitimate burying treasure on the seabed or even on dry land wearing very fashionable buckets of sea water as shoes. Characters who are not Cursed Mariners may find themselves drawn into the crew if they happen to eat anything from the ghostly feast on any of the ships. If they eat something from one of the feasts and stay on the ship through the night they will become a Cursed Mariner. Taking the character from the ship and feeding them uncursed food will cure them - or any other cure for a curse that characters can come up with.
What feasts, you ask? Elaborate ones with any food characters could imagine...including all their favorites, however esoteric those might be. Ghosts walk through the walls of the ship. There are floating candelabras and sometimes the food set out for the feast will disappear from the plate. Occasionally out of the corner of their eyes the food found at the feast might look different - rotted and in dark shifting colors but that only happens sometimes...and it tastes absolutely perfect regardless. The ghost chef will serve up more and more food no matter how much a character eats. "Don't you want some more? You can't leave the table until you've finished all of it." No matter how much they eat characters will still feel hungry. Worse, the more they eat the more they themselves will begin to change into something more Cursed.
Many times a deep fog will roll out over the sea. Sometimes those who enter the fog will find that they lose something to it. Often this is their voice but it can also be a memory or some sort of item they had or even one of their powers of skills. These things will turn into golden balls of light which dance over and under the ocean leading other people on like will-o-the-wisps. Catching one of these balls of light will immediately give your character the thing that was lost - even if it wasn't theirs! You might find yourself speaking with another person's voice or viewing someone else's memory or suddenly having a new ability until you give it back to them. This can be accomplished by picturing it leaving you and flowing from your hand to theirs. Or by just handing an item over if what was lost was an item.
The island nation of Aurelia is one city on a sunny island with various fields and beaches and mountains and coves thrown into the mix. The city is very large and busy with a huge port for ships and a lively market. The castle where all the royal people live (or Mariners who happen to be royal) is on a nice cliff overlooking both the sea and the city. There are many shops in the market and plenty of eateries and food stalls, and there's a large stage near the biggest plaza where there are frequent plays and performances put on. Anyone who stages their own performance - of whatever they like! - will earn golden coins that when taken out of the Amplitheater will disappear and register as credits to their account.
Currently the city is preparing for a royal wedding. Mariners (royal or otherwise) can be as involved as they might like in this and can be cast as anyone in the wedding party or any of the celebrants. This wedding takes place every single day come rain or shine at the sunniest part of the afternoon. It often takes place on a boat but sometimes takes place on the beach or in the palace itself. None of the Amplitheater-native NPCs seem to realize they're playing out the same storyline with variations. City of 7 NPCs will mention this is normal if asked and seem to enjoy trying out different roles and doing different things from day to day. Occasionally this includes things like Blood-Drinker Cursed Merfolk attacking the wedding ship one day to spread their curse or another day Combatants commandeering the wedding ship for a battle. Yes, Wrath devotees are often a problem, why do you ask?
There's also beach fun to be had! You can go swimming or sunbathing if you like, or be dragged along for fishing and sailing by any of the various ships around the port. Or maybe you will find some buried treasure? There's a Cursed Mariner sloshing around in bucket boots who seems to be burying the treasure, and if you catch him at it he will offer to not curse you for the price of: "Y'wanna help me bury it? Otherwise..." If you say no he will curse you. He isn't even sorry about it. But if you help him he's happy enough to go on his merry way after making you promise not to unbury the treasure. You are of course free to unbury it after anyway if you like to find magical artifacts along the lines of a scrying glass that can show scenes around the Amplitheater, a wand that can call up a sea storm, or slippers that let you walk on water. None of these items can be removed from the Amplitheater.
Sailing is a major area of interest in Aurelia for obvious reasons. The seas during the days are sunny and bright while at night they tend to be choppy and foggy. During the days you might hear Merfolk singing. The songs during the day are alluring but in a more positive way - you just want to stop and listen. During the night you might be listening to Cursed Merfolk who call sailors to them in order to run them aground or into rocks so they can attempt to drag the sailors to the depths of the sea.
Every month the Amplitheater puts on a grand story which the characters can enter and leave at will. This month the stage is The Little Mariner - an island nation surrounded by open and haunted waters. Characters may be warned by NPCs in 7 that items taken into the Amplitheater will take on the relative technology level of the scene, but if they simply arrive inside the Amplitheater after their bubble bursts they will instead find that all their belongings now fit the nautical/piratical theme and a medieval-fantasy technology level. Their belongings will change back to the appropriate appearance and use once they leave the Amplitheater.
The interior of the Amplitheater does not appear to be a sphere. It appears to be an entire world. The exits to the city of 7 all have the shimmer of a soap bubble and can be found in odd places: in puddles, under rocks, in boots...feel free to have your character locate an exit anywhere should they need or want one or have fun with them having more trouble finding an exit. Any exit in the Amplitheater will randomly deposit your character somewhere in the city of 7 regardless of where they entered. You can use this to get your character into city-based prompts they might otherwise not want to join if you like. Or just to dump them on someone else. Go wild. And yes, these exits to look similar to the soap-bubble memories characters find themselves arriving in.
Please note that just as exiting is random so is entering. Your character may show up on a ship, on the island city, or underwater. This is regardless of whether or not their role is suited to that location so feel free to mess around.
Whenever they leave or enter the Amplitheater characters will hear a voice asking them "What are they guilty of?" Before them will flash the faces of one person of each role found in the Dramatis Personae section. They will know that by the 25th they must assign at least one vice or virtue to one of the roles found within this world.
TALE: THE LITTLE MARINER
"There once was a beautiful island kingdom known as Aurelia. Though Aurelia was a small kingdom it sat the the middle of many busy trade routes and ships would often come to the port city in order to trade goods or take a rest on their planned routes. Only minor troubles burdened the people of Aurelia.
This peaceful circumstance was mirrored beneath the waves where the kingdom of Atlantis was found. There the merfolk lived peacefully. While these two kingdoms existed quite close to one another both had little to do with the other. The merfolk feared what the people of Aurelia might do to them as there were sailors who sought to capture merfolk as prizes while the people of Aurelia feared the sirens and sea witches their sailors had met on expeditions...when they even believed these stories to be true.
Most merfolk and most people of Aurelia. One particular merfolk became curious about the world above the waters in which she dwelled. She watched them with her friend the porpoise who followed her faithfully and cautioned her against the world she did not understand. Despite these warnings she chose to visit the sea witch to ask for help to see the world she was so curious about.
A deal was struck. The permanent loss of her voice for a single treasure the sea witch had crafted. The merfolk princess was given a scale pendant that allowed her to shift into human form when she left the waters of Atlantis and stepped onto dry land. Happily she went to Aurelia and walked through the markets and saw how they lived...and there she met the mariner.
They struck up an easy friendship as they learned to speak without her voice. The mariner offered to take the merfolk princess sailing and taught her how to work the sails and how to navigate above the waves while the princess taught the mariner how to find and call the sea creatures she had grown up with.
One day the mariner used that knowledge to call up the porpoise who came to him full of trust - and then he fished the porpoise up. Angry and heartbroken the princess dove away from the ship and went to the sea witch begging for some way to bring back her friend. Magic that brings the dead back to life never comes at an easy cost but she was willing to give anything at all.
She would have to apprentice to the sea witch and give up a portion of her own soul. The cost caused her to become cursed, doomed to never be welcomed in the waters of her homeland again even as her once beloved porpoise friend chose to join her in exile. The porpoise swore to find a way to lift her curse at any cost to itself though she did not regret her actions.
The mariner came to regret the loss of his friend almost immediately and set sail in search of her to apologize. Against the advice of older and wiser sailors he took to the seas in the dead of night and his ship was taken by one of the cursed crews. Aboard the ship he found himself starved enough to take a bite of an apple...and then another, and another.
He lost all track of time and for a long time was part of the ship and the crew. In his free time he would sing to the empy waters of his sorrow and how he regretted the hurt he had caused not only to his lost friend but to the porpoise she had so treasured.
One night long after he lost track of all time she came from the water and offered to him a piece of soggy bread taken from the marketplace. Upon eating it he regained himself and leapt from the ghost ship, the princess helping him to swim to shore. There he asked her to come ashore but she told him she would not, and dove back into the waters to join her companion in the sea caves. In time she would become a sea witch and would never be seen again by the mariner."
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
NPCs from the city of 7 can be found in the Amplitheater filling out various roles the same as PCs can. There also seem to be NPCs that are part of the setting itself that move about in specific patterns through their own little internal stories. It's usually easy to tell the two apart.
MARINER
Sailors and citizens of the island nation in this setting. If you want to be a random sailor? Cool. If you want to enter and be royalty? Also cool. The logic of the Amplitheater can be messed up and adhere more to dreams and emotion at times so it's possible to have five kings to one nation and seventeen captains to one ship. Mariners will be (mostly) human. If your character is not typically human they can potentially be humanized for this role if you like. They also may remain inhuman if you prefer!
POWERS: Inherent knowledge of sailing & navigation, land/air animal companion optional
COMPULSIONS: Sailing, singing sea shanties, finding buried treasure
WEAKNESSES: They can't breathe underwater :(
CURSED MARINER
Cursed mariners are obligated to remain either in the water or on the various ghost ships sailing around the setting until/unless they either exit and come back with a new role or break their curse while in the setting. The curse can manifest in their appearance as a ghost, skeleton, zombie, or sea-urchin encrusted monstrosity. We're not nitpicking this, do whatever you want. Cursed mariners will find that ghosts and other cursed NPCs in the setting are chill with them instead of trying to scare them. After all, they're bros now. Ghost high five!
POWERS: Inflicting the cursed status on other non-cursed people and animals, not needing to breathe, dramatic ghostly musical cues
COMPULSIONS: Inflicting their curse on other people, capturing merfolk, attacking normal ships, burying treasure
WEAKNESSES: Incapable of going on dry land, may be incapable of leaving their ships
MERFOLK
Merfolk can come in the common or royal variety and have no standard look besides "part fish". Which part is fish and which part is human (or whatever) is up to you. If you want your character to be a top-half fish mermaid they totally can be. As long as there is part human (or whatever) and part aquatic animal going on the world is your oyster. Hey, maybe you can be an oyster merfolk! Your character will be transformed for this role but the degree to which that change takes place is up to you.
POWERS: Summon aquatic animal friends, fish-speaking, mysterious musical backups, alluring song, breathing underwater
COMPULSIONS: Singing dramatic musical numbers, acquiring human legs
WEAKNESSES: Can't remain out of water for very long, no sexy human legs (unless they have no sexy human head)
CURSED MERFOLK
There are two types of cursed merfolk: Merfolk who have simply lost anything thanks to the rampant sea witch problem or merfolk who are some variety of ghost, skeleton, or zombie sea creature. The latter is what any character assigned this role on entry will start as, while someone assigned to be a normal merfolk can change into a cursed merfolk throughout the course of their time in the Amplitheater. Sea witches can also become cursed merfolk if you like.
POWERS: Breathing underwater, summon zombie aquatic animal friends, fish-speaking, eerie ghost singing
COMPULSIONS: Spreading their curse to other people/creatures, drowning mariners, singing haunting songs in the dead of night
WEAKNESSES: Can't remain out of water for very long, instinctively disliked by non-cursed sea animals, smells like rotting fish
SEA WITCH
A variety of merfolk that practice sea magic and deal-based magic. As with normal and cursed merfolk a sea witch can be any variety of merfolk you like and we don't care which half is human (or whatever you started out as) and which half is fish. You can be a very standard looking sea witch if you don't want to think about it or you can play around with it if you do. Sea witches are disliked strongly by the setting-native NPCS but the 7 NPCs won't really care much about "good" or "bad" roles since they're more interested in the vices and virtues a soul is guilty of.
POWERS: Extracting any price from an agreed-upon deal no matter how intangible or odd - souls, voices, sandwiches, etc.; fish-speaking, breathing underwater, some magic, evil fish companions
COMPULSIONS: Making deals, cackling maniacally, singing songs about being an evil sea witch
WEAKNESSES: Can't remain out of water for very long, terrible singing voices unless they steal one, must be totally honest about the terms of their deals (can use legalese and loopholes and technical truths however), instinctively disliked by all mariners and many merfolk
PORPOISE
Congratulations, you are now a fish. Or an aquatic mammal. Or...something that lives under the sea. Maybe you're a crab. Or a sea slug. Or a clam. There aren't hard and fast rules here beyond the fact you are now a sea animal living your best sea animal life. Or maybe your worst sea animal life. What does that look like? Whatever you want it to! Maybe your porpoise wants to be a real human girl or boy and makes a deal with a sea witch and changes categories? Or maybe your character goes "fuck this" and finds an exit to try to be something other than a seahorse.
POWERS: Breathing underwater, summon aquatic animal friends, swims real fast
COMPULSIONS: Helping merfolk, offering advice (does not have to be good advice), providing back-up vocals
WEAKNESSES: You're a fish (or something)!
UNDERWATER
The underwater kingdom of Atlantis surrounds the island nation of Aurelia. There the Merfolk and Porpoises live in often musically-accompanied harmony. Coral reefs can be found all around the island and many of the corals grow into the homes the Merfolk live in. The grand palace is almost entirely constructed of corals although there are some shells and stone as well. Atlantis is a true underwater city so you can find any variety of shops, eateries, and entertainment...though all of this takes place underwater so obviously everything sold, eaten, or done must be water-appropriate. And also most of it is catered to fish and other aquatic life. So there's that! Cursed Merfolk and Sea Witches are not welcome in Atlantis.
Currently there's a grand musical celebration being planned, but the royal princess is nowhere to be found! If you happen to be a Merfolk who is royal they don't mean you. They mean...your sister? Your brother? Your second cousin twice removed? The Amplitheater's dream-logic will fill in something at random. Or maybe you ARE the missing royal merfolk and you have run away for dramatic teenage reasons or just left the area for normal reasons. Whatever the case, all of Atlantis is trying to find you and you may need a quick getaway. If you're captured they will force you to sing a solo for them in their musical celebration regardless of whether or not you can actually sing. If they can't find a royal Merfolk for this they may settle for a Porpoise. Not only are you a fish, now you have to preform! Fun.
There are various shipwrecks to be found from the many nautical battles above the waves. Some of these ships are now home to Merfolk or Porpoises but many are there to be looted by whomever wants to loot things. The VRealists are diving down and mapping the shipwrecks by persistently exiting and entering the Amplitheater until they get roles that make this possible, so you'll see many Merfolk, Cursed Merfolk, Sea Witches, and Porpoises wandering around these wrecks. They won't usually initiate combat but may ask you to search with them for various lost treasures. These range from mystical artifacts such as a gemstone that when broken will release a storm to a fork that when dipped into water can purify it. A small volume of water, anyway. Feel free to make treasures up! These won't be removable from the Amplitheater.
Also around these shipwrecks are meetings of Porpoises. Since the Porpoise role includes any aquatic animal this means...lots of sea creatures! There's various interest groups here (shiny hooks and why you should or shouldn't avoid them; what is this piece of human debris I found and if I had hair could I comb it with it; are fish friends or food?) which you might be drawn into if you try to swim by. These are the real topics that matter to real animals.
In the sea caves under the city of Aurelia are the Sea Witches. There's more than one of them. The Sea Witches are magical deal-makers who can offer you anything you can think of. Or, well, not game-breaking go home things, but anything within reason that suits the technology level within the Amplitheater. So an undersea giant transforming mecha isn't a possibility but if you want a transforming suit of armor made entirely of shells that shoots out blowfish darts that can totally happen for you. The catch is the price of the deals. Sea witches can ask for anything in exchange for these wishes, be it voices or souls or a really good sandwich. It's up to the witch in question. If you approach the sea caves you may be asked: "What do you wish for?" You may feel compelled to answer the question though you will have to decide whether or not to make a deal on your own. As a note, Sea Witches can cause curses as a result of their deals if the prices aren't paid or if the terms have it that way - and they can also offer to curse curses for a price.
GHOST SHIPS
The island nation of Aurelia has a ghost problem. Every evening the ships of the dead take to the seas...or the skies in the cases of a few flying ghost ships. While some of these ships are translucent and can only be interacted with by cursed creatures and ghosts many can be boarded by the living and uncursed. The boarding does not have to be willing: characters can find themselves on a ship either from exiting their initial memory or from entering the Amplitheater from the outside. Or they can be kidnapped by ghost pirates which is again a very big and common problem in Aurelia. Mariners are particularly susceptible to kidnappings, while Merfolk and Porpoises may find themselves fished up to be kept captive or threatened with becoming sushi.
These ghosts ships will frequently attack the ships of the living once they descend. The nightscape of Aurelia frequently has nautical battles and canonfire as a part of it, although some areas are less fraught with the obvious dangers of ghost pirate to sailor combat and instead full of less obvious dangers...
If you're a Cursed Mariner and a part of the crew you will find yourself preforming tasks around the ship. These tasks range from legitimate ship tasks such as hoisting and trimming sails seemingly at random to the less legitimate burying treasure on the seabed or even on dry land wearing very fashionable buckets of sea water as shoes. Characters who are not Cursed Mariners may find themselves drawn into the crew if they happen to eat anything from the ghostly feast on any of the ships. If they eat something from one of the feasts and stay on the ship through the night they will become a Cursed Mariner. Taking the character from the ship and feeding them uncursed food will cure them - or any other cure for a curse that characters can come up with.
What feasts, you ask? Elaborate ones with any food characters could imagine...including all their favorites, however esoteric those might be. Ghosts walk through the walls of the ship. There are floating candelabras and sometimes the food set out for the feast will disappear from the plate. Occasionally out of the corner of their eyes the food found at the feast might look different - rotted and in dark shifting colors but that only happens sometimes...and it tastes absolutely perfect regardless. The ghost chef will serve up more and more food no matter how much a character eats. "Don't you want some more? You can't leave the table until you've finished all of it." No matter how much they eat characters will still feel hungry. Worse, the more they eat the more they themselves will begin to change into something more Cursed.
Many times a deep fog will roll out over the sea. Sometimes those who enter the fog will find that they lose something to it. Often this is their voice but it can also be a memory or some sort of item they had or even one of their powers of skills. These things will turn into golden balls of light which dance over and under the ocean leading other people on like will-o-the-wisps. Catching one of these balls of light will immediately give your character the thing that was lost - even if it wasn't theirs! You might find yourself speaking with another person's voice or viewing someone else's memory or suddenly having a new ability until you give it back to them. This can be accomplished by picturing it leaving you and flowing from your hand to theirs. Or by just handing an item over if what was lost was an item.
ISLAND CITY
The island nation of Aurelia is one city on a sunny island with various fields and beaches and mountains and coves thrown into the mix. The city is very large and busy with a huge port for ships and a lively market. The castle where all the royal people live (or Mariners who happen to be royal) is on a nice cliff overlooking both the sea and the city. There are many shops in the market and plenty of eateries and food stalls, and there's a large stage near the biggest plaza where there are frequent plays and performances put on. Anyone who stages their own performance - of whatever they like! - will earn golden coins that when taken out of the Amplitheater will disappear and register as credits to their account.
Currently the city is preparing for a royal wedding. Mariners (royal or otherwise) can be as involved as they might like in this and can be cast as anyone in the wedding party or any of the celebrants. This wedding takes place every single day come rain or shine at the sunniest part of the afternoon. It often takes place on a boat but sometimes takes place on the beach or in the palace itself. None of the Amplitheater-native NPCs seem to realize they're playing out the same storyline with variations. City of 7 NPCs will mention this is normal if asked and seem to enjoy trying out different roles and doing different things from day to day. Occasionally this includes things like Blood-Drinker Cursed Merfolk attacking the wedding ship one day to spread their curse or another day Combatants commandeering the wedding ship for a battle. Yes, Wrath devotees are often a problem, why do you ask?
There's also beach fun to be had! You can go swimming or sunbathing if you like, or be dragged along for fishing and sailing by any of the various ships around the port. Or maybe you will find some buried treasure? There's a Cursed Mariner sloshing around in bucket boots who seems to be burying the treasure, and if you catch him at it he will offer to not curse you for the price of: "Y'wanna help me bury it? Otherwise..." If you say no he will curse you. He isn't even sorry about it. But if you help him he's happy enough to go on his merry way after making you promise not to unbury the treasure. You are of course free to unbury it after anyway if you like to find magical artifacts along the lines of a scrying glass that can show scenes around the Amplitheater, a wand that can call up a sea storm, or slippers that let you walk on water. None of these items can be removed from the Amplitheater.
Sailing is a major area of interest in Aurelia for obvious reasons. The seas during the days are sunny and bright while at night they tend to be choppy and foggy. During the days you might hear Merfolk singing. The songs during the day are alluring but in a more positive way - you just want to stop and listen. During the night you might be listening to Cursed Merfolk who call sailors to them in order to run them aground or into rocks so they can attempt to drag the sailors to the depths of the sea.
CITY OF 7
Welcome to the city of 7, a floating technological metropolis that seems to be suspended in the midst of an infinite void of space. The city is divided into seven more or less even wedges centered around a huge iridescent multi-colored sphere at the center known as the Amplitheater. You can read in-depth about the city on our setting page.
Early on in the month the city is bustling and citizens are leaving and entering the Amplitheater very frequently, trying to generate more power for their city. Many are willing to direct new characters to Charimedic clinics where members of the Charimedic order are willing to explain how things work in the city of 7. The Amplitheater generates the power their entire city runs on. It's called a soul-weighing ceremony, although many people refer to it as simply the ceremony.
Characters are encouraged to participate in the ceremony but aren't obligated to do so. There's plenty to do and see within the city itself, and each district is celebrating the current ceremony in their own unique ways.
The eternal summer and aquatic theme of District 1 fits in quite well with this month's ceremony. Stepping through the elastic surface of the Amplitheater one can almost get confused about if they actually went anywhere - until the more technological details of District 1 come into focus. The denizens of the 1st district are enthused about this and have begun setting up water slides which lead into the Amplitheater to allow people a more "fun" entrance. They might not explain this properly the first time you queue up for one of the slides, however, leading to a surprise destination at the end of the ride.
Floating throughout the air are holographic and mechanical jellyfish. The holographic versions will occasionally float through people or objects while the mechanical versions seem to be used as extremely slow and often confused messengers. Some of these jellymechs will wander up to your character. Sometimes right up to your character. Like...floating into your character and continuing to try to move like they will somehow learn to phase through solid objects. They do this to walls as well.
Occasionally you will find them stuck in random locations like this and they will only after a long struggle ask for help. A small, shy robotic voice may sound out: "Um...sorry...dunno how to get out of this...can you help me out...?" They might also ask for directions to some location in 7. If you choose to help one of the myriad lost or stuck jellyfish they will reward your character with credits and a pretty seashell bracelet. The jellymechs made them themselves.
Various people dressed in fashions modeled off of jellyfish can be found following the jellymechs around. The jellymechs mostly ignore this but you might find one hiding behind you timidly. "They're...being weird again...dunno what to do..." Again, helping the jellymech out will net you thanks, credits, and this time a crayon drawing of your character that is printed out and handed over. So...crayon-ink? This may or may not have been worth it.
You can read more about District 1 over here.
Now that a new ceremony is underway District 2 is moving to capitalize on it. The entire place is full of holographic advertisements, statues, and movies all projected into the air and on various platforms or even coming out of digital billboards. Many of these holo-ads are themed on The Little Mariner. Do you want your Little Mariner commemorative shirt? What about a jacket? A hat? A mug? Hey, they have this EXCLUSIVE recording of one of the top Envidols talking about the newest ceremony location...a low, special price JUST for you...but only if you buy now! While not everything is themed, those who follow Greed know how to cash in on a new business opportunity. They do this every month.
Even the vending & gacha machines have been taken over by the craze. Quickly manufactured figurines of characters found within the current ceremony can be found inside the gacha machines. These figurines can include your character in any role - even multiple ones! The rarity of all these figurines value, so your character might be only a 1 star pull...but they might also be a 5 star pull. Something to be happy or sad about, maybe? Or to not care about at all. The vending machines, meanwhile, will sell various aquatic supplies which can be taken into the Amplitheater. Though...they might change inside of it to match the technology level. Buyer beware!
You might be pulled aside by one of the Gambliars, many of whom run and work at any of the various mega-casinos or malls, and asked: "Hey...I hear there's pirate treasure inside this time. Think you can bring me some out? I'll make it worth your while..." The Gambliar will then supply characters with a treasure map that they can take inside of the Amplitheater. If characters are willing to bring out pirate treasure (after, you know, finding and/or stealing it) they will get an absolutely terrible exchange rate of credits to treasure that favors the Gambliar. But at least it's something?
You can read more about District 2 over here.
In District 3 there are many nautically themed lanterns and kites to be found in the sky almost constantly depending on whether it is night or day. These sometimes float entirely free on the breeze that blows constantly through the district but many times can be found being released or flown by the residents of District 3. Denizens of the 3rd district can be found making and painting these kites or selling them. The price is fairly cheap and reasonable and mostly citizens seem to be making a lot for fun and then just asking a few credits for all the extras they end up with.
There are flowering trees found all throughout the district. Cherry blossom, Magnolia, Crabapple, and strange alien options that characters may or may not recognize from home or from other worlds. The scent of it is heavy but pleasant - unless you're not into florals. It's pretty common at this time of year to find various people picnicking under the trees. Various hobby groups will put on demonstrations of skills or will have storytelling time in order to entertain anyone who happens to pass by.
Music can constantly be heard. Most of it is pleasant and joyful, but you may hear a particular compelling song that has you following it...only to end up in the middle of a hobby meeting. Are you being forced to quilt? Do you find yourself painting miniature figures? Or maybe you're suddenly being cast in a play? The Hobbyists are all about the mermaid and pirate themed plays right now and are even writing a few of their own...with varying results as to quality. One of the very impassioned amateur directors will insist you get their story just right even if the story is, in fact, terrible.
There are various small open-topped airships that fly through the district. Several offer rides to the Amplitheater if you don't wish to walk, passing through the bubble with no trouble and transforming instantly into a scene-appropriate ship as the sailor NPCs take anyone who wishes to go to Aurelia city into port. Being attacked by pirates may happen, so take care.
You can read more about District 3 over here.
The denizens of the 4th district are organizing themselves around the entertainment offered by the newest ceremony much like the other districts. In the multiple shopping centers around District 4 are many goods that could be considered useful in the current ceremony alongside the usual fare. The top piratical fashion, guaranteed not to change inside the Amplitheater!
While they keep up their usual reality shows and Envidol streams, many Envidols are streaming about the Little Mariner. Holo-memory recordings of their time in the Amplitheater can be found alongside reaction videos. Your character might feature in any of these, including videos the Envidols make mocking players within the game...so if you had an embarrassing moment and an Envidol happened to be nearby you now get to share it with the entire city of 7. Isn't that lucky?
Meanwhile there are various new VR releases built around the Amplitheater's current ceremony that come out through the month. Many of the VRealists are releasing strategy guides for the current ceremony, although most citizens of 7 will tell you that living out whatever experience you have in the Amplitheater in whatever way you want is the best way to go about things. If you want a guide to how to find the most treasure!!!! or TOP RANKED roles for this month to see how you stacked up against everyone else according to a group of VR nerds, though, you can definitely find those things.
The Thankfools are currently active as well, passing out informational pamphlets on their order. Do you want to loiter near doors waiting for people to open them for you? Do you want to thank everyone you meet for existing or other amazing traits? Do you want to always smile and never frown? Join today!
You can read more about District 4 over here.
What matters most about any new Amplitheater setting is obviously the food. What kind of cuisine do they have? Whatever it is, District 5 is replicating it and expanding on it. This month that means there is seafood everywhere. There are fish themed and shaped snacks being sold out of many of the hover-trucks and while you can find many other types of foods almost every place is running a special on "Mariner-themed" meals.
There's supposed to be boats running off one of the tributaries of the river and straight into the Amplitheater but...there aren't. That just isn't happening. Instead there is a huge water traffic jam on the river and you're better off just walking into the Amplitheater from District 5. It's almost possible to walk along from ship to ship on the river right now without missing a step they're that packed. No one seems that worried about it, though...except some very annoyed Rational robots who nevertheless respect the current order of dis-order and don't try to hurry people along. But you can tell they're thinking it.
There seems to be an ongoing war with the vending machines of District 5. If you go to buy anything you're going to have to fight off a group of people with silly food themed hats (mostly cheeseburger) or much more sensibly dressed robots (and some people). Both groups will buy everything out of whatever vending machine they've descended on. This happens in every district although it's most frequent in District 5. Luckily the Rationals will sell you back items, although with a reasonable limit. They will not sell to Vendingmacs and will get upset if you give the Vendingmacs anything you buy from them.
You can read more about District 5 over here.
All the nautical battles going on in the Amplitheater are more than fine with the residents of District 6. In fact, they seem to be mobilizing to enter the Amplitheater in groups. Characters are welcomed - and in some cases forcibly press-ganged - to join any of these groups to march into the Amplitheater and acquire ships in order to have elaborate and deliberate nautical battles. They're not exactly playing it safe and easy so be careful of injury...or death, but that's best avoided.
There are also sword-fighting matches and a few people offering lessons if you want to be an authentic warrior inside the Amplitheater for the time period. Because that's important to some people, apparently. The weapons shops are all selling period-appropriate weaponry in addition to the usual stuff - though the merchants will clarify anything technologically advanced will simply morph inside the Amplitheater. Still, some people really want the authenticity!
Inside the Amplitheater you can hire a group of Combatants as guards...or you can come across a group and fight them in skill matches. They're going to be sailing around challenging anyone and everyone to a fight. On the other side of things the Blood-Drinkers will be entering and exiting the Amplitheater until they get their preferred roles of Cursed Mariner or Cursed Merfolk. They will then proceed to fight anyone and everyone and bite them to drink their blood and spread the curse so...watch out for that!
The Brewers are in the meantime offering nautically-themed teas which they are brewing from scratch on inspiration. The worst one tastes rather like rotting fish. The Blood-Drinkers love it.
You can read more about District 6 over here.
Currently in District 7 the the days are twice as long as the nights. This does put the District somewhat out of sync with the rhythms of the rest of 7, but devotees of Diligence barely pay that any heed. You, however, may notice that you can step from night into daylight when coming from another district, or may experience the opposite when going.
Perhaps suiting the strange hours and cycle of long days and short nights, shadows inside District 7 behave strangely. Occasionally they will slip free of their owners and move independently, a pantomime of work played out on the streets and walls of District 7. These shadows can affect the actions of their owner at times, forcing the owner to work in District 7, or may be (semi?) permanently lost if citizens aren't careful. Shadowmen consume lost shadows although they also will steal the shadows of loiterers within the district. If you aren't behaving in a diligent manner your shadow is at risk. A new shadow can be gained through an extreme act of Sloth or Diligence.
Hovering and walking and rolling throughout the district are the Schedulebots (their members with working biological limbs walk). They can be found in nearly every district offering to help anyone who needs assistance or providing free labor. Many can be found going into the Amplitheater and working in the city marketplace. Though they appear human at first glance, sometimes seeing them sideways you'll catch a hint of the metal they're actually made of.
The electric lazy river that serves as the major street(s) of District 7 is anything but lazy. There are various control craft that direct traffic and ensure everyone is moving according to schedule and plan. Deliveries are made efficiently and transportation is easily among the fastest across the entire city. There are regular scheduled transports offered going into the Amplitheater with stops at Aurelia city as well as Atlantis and a few of the ghost ships.
In a quiet moment when the shadows seem to be behaving normally and none of the Schedulebots are around you may be drawn to the side by one of the Nap Peddlers. These are mostly cat people and actual cats with tech-based collars that allow them to speak, although there are a few less feline members in the group. "Psssst. Hey, you. Yeah, you. Come over here, you have to see what I got..." What the Peddler has is...pillows! And fuzzy blankets. "Goose down pillows, and look at these blankets...the blend is top notch! And hey, all you gotta do to get 'em is use 'em! I know a place right down the street..." If you choose to follow the Peddler you can be led to an underground nap café which fronts as either a cat café or some other kind of shop. Inside are cozy napping areas for groups or singles and lots of places to lounge around and do absolutely nothing. Come inside!
You can read more about District 7 over here.
Welcome to the city of 7, a floating technological metropolis that seems to be suspended in the midst of an infinite void of space. The city is divided into seven more or less even wedges centered around a huge iridescent multi-colored sphere at the center known as the Amplitheater. You can read in-depth about the city on our setting page.
Early on in the month the city is bustling and citizens are leaving and entering the Amplitheater very frequently, trying to generate more power for their city. Many are willing to direct new characters to Charimedic clinics where members of the Charimedic order are willing to explain how things work in the city of 7. The Amplitheater generates the power their entire city runs on. It's called a soul-weighing ceremony, although many people refer to it as simply the ceremony.
Characters are encouraged to participate in the ceremony but aren't obligated to do so. There's plenty to do and see within the city itself, and each district is celebrating the current ceremony in their own unique ways.
DISTRICT 1: HUMILITY
The eternal summer and aquatic theme of District 1 fits in quite well with this month's ceremony. Stepping through the elastic surface of the Amplitheater one can almost get confused about if they actually went anywhere - until the more technological details of District 1 come into focus. The denizens of the 1st district are enthused about this and have begun setting up water slides which lead into the Amplitheater to allow people a more "fun" entrance. They might not explain this properly the first time you queue up for one of the slides, however, leading to a surprise destination at the end of the ride.
Floating throughout the air are holographic and mechanical jellyfish. The holographic versions will occasionally float through people or objects while the mechanical versions seem to be used as extremely slow and often confused messengers. Some of these jellymechs will wander up to your character. Sometimes right up to your character. Like...floating into your character and continuing to try to move like they will somehow learn to phase through solid objects. They do this to walls as well.
Occasionally you will find them stuck in random locations like this and they will only after a long struggle ask for help. A small, shy robotic voice may sound out: "Um...sorry...dunno how to get out of this...can you help me out...?" They might also ask for directions to some location in 7. If you choose to help one of the myriad lost or stuck jellyfish they will reward your character with credits and a pretty seashell bracelet. The jellymechs made them themselves.
Various people dressed in fashions modeled off of jellyfish can be found following the jellymechs around. The jellymechs mostly ignore this but you might find one hiding behind you timidly. "They're...being weird again...dunno what to do..." Again, helping the jellymech out will net you thanks, credits, and this time a crayon drawing of your character that is printed out and handed over. So...crayon-ink? This may or may not have been worth it.
You can read more about District 1 over here.
DISTRICT 2: GREED
Now that a new ceremony is underway District 2 is moving to capitalize on it. The entire place is full of holographic advertisements, statues, and movies all projected into the air and on various platforms or even coming out of digital billboards. Many of these holo-ads are themed on The Little Mariner. Do you want your Little Mariner commemorative shirt? What about a jacket? A hat? A mug? Hey, they have this EXCLUSIVE recording of one of the top Envidols talking about the newest ceremony location...a low, special price JUST for you...but only if you buy now! While not everything is themed, those who follow Greed know how to cash in on a new business opportunity. They do this every month.
Even the vending & gacha machines have been taken over by the craze. Quickly manufactured figurines of characters found within the current ceremony can be found inside the gacha machines. These figurines can include your character in any role - even multiple ones! The rarity of all these figurines value, so your character might be only a 1 star pull...but they might also be a 5 star pull. Something to be happy or sad about, maybe? Or to not care about at all. The vending machines, meanwhile, will sell various aquatic supplies which can be taken into the Amplitheater. Though...they might change inside of it to match the technology level. Buyer beware!
You might be pulled aside by one of the Gambliars, many of whom run and work at any of the various mega-casinos or malls, and asked: "Hey...I hear there's pirate treasure inside this time. Think you can bring me some out? I'll make it worth your while..." The Gambliar will then supply characters with a treasure map that they can take inside of the Amplitheater. If characters are willing to bring out pirate treasure (after, you know, finding and/or stealing it) they will get an absolutely terrible exchange rate of credits to treasure that favors the Gambliar. But at least it's something?
You can read more about District 2 over here.
DISTRICT 3: CHASTITY
In District 3 there are many nautically themed lanterns and kites to be found in the sky almost constantly depending on whether it is night or day. These sometimes float entirely free on the breeze that blows constantly through the district but many times can be found being released or flown by the residents of District 3. Denizens of the 3rd district can be found making and painting these kites or selling them. The price is fairly cheap and reasonable and mostly citizens seem to be making a lot for fun and then just asking a few credits for all the extras they end up with.
There are flowering trees found all throughout the district. Cherry blossom, Magnolia, Crabapple, and strange alien options that characters may or may not recognize from home or from other worlds. The scent of it is heavy but pleasant - unless you're not into florals. It's pretty common at this time of year to find various people picnicking under the trees. Various hobby groups will put on demonstrations of skills or will have storytelling time in order to entertain anyone who happens to pass by.
Music can constantly be heard. Most of it is pleasant and joyful, but you may hear a particular compelling song that has you following it...only to end up in the middle of a hobby meeting. Are you being forced to quilt? Do you find yourself painting miniature figures? Or maybe you're suddenly being cast in a play? The Hobbyists are all about the mermaid and pirate themed plays right now and are even writing a few of their own...with varying results as to quality. One of the very impassioned amateur directors will insist you get their story just right even if the story is, in fact, terrible.
There are various small open-topped airships that fly through the district. Several offer rides to the Amplitheater if you don't wish to walk, passing through the bubble with no trouble and transforming instantly into a scene-appropriate ship as the sailor NPCs take anyone who wishes to go to Aurelia city into port. Being attacked by pirates may happen, so take care.
You can read more about District 3 over here.
DISTRICT 4: ENVY
The denizens of the 4th district are organizing themselves around the entertainment offered by the newest ceremony much like the other districts. In the multiple shopping centers around District 4 are many goods that could be considered useful in the current ceremony alongside the usual fare. The top piratical fashion, guaranteed not to change inside the Amplitheater!
While they keep up their usual reality shows and Envidol streams, many Envidols are streaming about the Little Mariner. Holo-memory recordings of their time in the Amplitheater can be found alongside reaction videos. Your character might feature in any of these, including videos the Envidols make mocking players within the game...so if you had an embarrassing moment and an Envidol happened to be nearby you now get to share it with the entire city of 7. Isn't that lucky?
Meanwhile there are various new VR releases built around the Amplitheater's current ceremony that come out through the month. Many of the VRealists are releasing strategy guides for the current ceremony, although most citizens of 7 will tell you that living out whatever experience you have in the Amplitheater in whatever way you want is the best way to go about things. If you want a guide to how to find the most treasure!!!! or TOP RANKED roles for this month to see how you stacked up against everyone else according to a group of VR nerds, though, you can definitely find those things.
The Thankfools are currently active as well, passing out informational pamphlets on their order. Do you want to loiter near doors waiting for people to open them for you? Do you want to thank everyone you meet for existing or other amazing traits? Do you want to always smile and never frown? Join today!
You can read more about District 4 over here.
DISTRICT 5: GLUTTONY
What matters most about any new Amplitheater setting is obviously the food. What kind of cuisine do they have? Whatever it is, District 5 is replicating it and expanding on it. This month that means there is seafood everywhere. There are fish themed and shaped snacks being sold out of many of the hover-trucks and while you can find many other types of foods almost every place is running a special on "Mariner-themed" meals.
There's supposed to be boats running off one of the tributaries of the river and straight into the Amplitheater but...there aren't. That just isn't happening. Instead there is a huge water traffic jam on the river and you're better off just walking into the Amplitheater from District 5. It's almost possible to walk along from ship to ship on the river right now without missing a step they're that packed. No one seems that worried about it, though...except some very annoyed Rational robots who nevertheless respect the current order of dis-order and don't try to hurry people along. But you can tell they're thinking it.
There seems to be an ongoing war with the vending machines of District 5. If you go to buy anything you're going to have to fight off a group of people with silly food themed hats (mostly cheeseburger) or much more sensibly dressed robots (and some people). Both groups will buy everything out of whatever vending machine they've descended on. This happens in every district although it's most frequent in District 5. Luckily the Rationals will sell you back items, although with a reasonable limit. They will not sell to Vendingmacs and will get upset if you give the Vendingmacs anything you buy from them.
You can read more about District 5 over here.
DISTRICT 6: WRATH
All the nautical battles going on in the Amplitheater are more than fine with the residents of District 6. In fact, they seem to be mobilizing to enter the Amplitheater in groups. Characters are welcomed - and in some cases forcibly press-ganged - to join any of these groups to march into the Amplitheater and acquire ships in order to have elaborate and deliberate nautical battles. They're not exactly playing it safe and easy so be careful of injury...or death, but that's best avoided.
There are also sword-fighting matches and a few people offering lessons if you want to be an authentic warrior inside the Amplitheater for the time period. Because that's important to some people, apparently. The weapons shops are all selling period-appropriate weaponry in addition to the usual stuff - though the merchants will clarify anything technologically advanced will simply morph inside the Amplitheater. Still, some people really want the authenticity!
Inside the Amplitheater you can hire a group of Combatants as guards...or you can come across a group and fight them in skill matches. They're going to be sailing around challenging anyone and everyone to a fight. On the other side of things the Blood-Drinkers will be entering and exiting the Amplitheater until they get their preferred roles of Cursed Mariner or Cursed Merfolk. They will then proceed to fight anyone and everyone and bite them to drink their blood and spread the curse so...watch out for that!
The Brewers are in the meantime offering nautically-themed teas which they are brewing from scratch on inspiration. The worst one tastes rather like rotting fish. The Blood-Drinkers love it.
You can read more about District 6 over here.
DISTRICT 7: DILIGENCE
Currently in District 7 the the days are twice as long as the nights. This does put the District somewhat out of sync with the rhythms of the rest of 7, but devotees of Diligence barely pay that any heed. You, however, may notice that you can step from night into daylight when coming from another district, or may experience the opposite when going.
Perhaps suiting the strange hours and cycle of long days and short nights, shadows inside District 7 behave strangely. Occasionally they will slip free of their owners and move independently, a pantomime of work played out on the streets and walls of District 7. These shadows can affect the actions of their owner at times, forcing the owner to work in District 7, or may be (semi?) permanently lost if citizens aren't careful. Shadowmen consume lost shadows although they also will steal the shadows of loiterers within the district. If you aren't behaving in a diligent manner your shadow is at risk. A new shadow can be gained through an extreme act of Sloth or Diligence.
Hovering and walking and rolling throughout the district are the Schedulebots (their members with working biological limbs walk). They can be found in nearly every district offering to help anyone who needs assistance or providing free labor. Many can be found going into the Amplitheater and working in the city marketplace. Though they appear human at first glance, sometimes seeing them sideways you'll catch a hint of the metal they're actually made of.
The electric lazy river that serves as the major street(s) of District 7 is anything but lazy. There are various control craft that direct traffic and ensure everyone is moving according to schedule and plan. Deliveries are made efficiently and transportation is easily among the fastest across the entire city. There are regular scheduled transports offered going into the Amplitheater with stops at Aurelia city as well as Atlantis and a few of the ghost ships.
In a quiet moment when the shadows seem to be behaving normally and none of the Schedulebots are around you may be drawn to the side by one of the Nap Peddlers. These are mostly cat people and actual cats with tech-based collars that allow them to speak, although there are a few less feline members in the group. "Psssst. Hey, you. Yeah, you. Come over here, you have to see what I got..." What the Peddler has is...pillows! And fuzzy blankets. "Goose down pillows, and look at these blankets...the blend is top notch! And hey, all you gotta do to get 'em is use 'em! I know a place right down the street..." If you choose to follow the Peddler you can be led to an underground nap café which fronts as either a cat café or some other kind of shop. Inside are cozy napping areas for groups or singles and lots of places to lounge around and do absolutely nothing. Come inside!
You can read more about District 7 over here.
Emet-Selch | Final Fantasy XIV
ARRIVAL
AMPLITHEATER
I. Something fishy afoot
Re: I. Something fishy afoot
"Mayhaps..." He's a new arrival who has done limited exploring, it's difficult to give a definitive answer either way on that front. "If we've the script to go from, then it becomes easier to judge how many are participating in earnest."
A page is torn out from the script and offered to his new acquaintance (much to the guards dismay). "Shall we put it to proof?"
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He reaches out one gloved hand to take the page, reading through it with a speed borne of long practice. "I believe we should. Memorization happens to be part of my skillset."
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Emet-Selch's curious glance wanders over to his newest co-conspirator. "And what are the other facets of your 'skillset'?"
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So, any skills that fall into those categories are his to claim. He doesn't specify at the moment because not all of them are immediately useful, but: "I believe I should be excellent support for any experiments you wish to run."
Sry Dreamwidth decided not to send me notifs. :(
"If there are actors in this play, then there are likely stagehands or patrons present to play witness. Use this page of the script to see if passerby's know of it. That should find us our answer and a potential way to leave." Hopefully this stranger is up to the task.
put a spell on you
I formally request a hug from your most illustrious self. Why? Why ever not, I should think. It's long overdue. In return I will offer you the shiniest scale from my behind. I am sure you would treasure it always.
Sincerely, Hythlodaeus
Re: put a spell on you
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I am quite frankly surprised and disappointed by your refusal to hug me. If that is the case and you will not take my scale, I will instead offer naught but my silence and despair, for my dearest friend has forsaken me and I am alone and friendless in this empty expanse of water.
Forever lonely, Hythlodaeus
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It appears as though you meant to sign this "forever overlydramatic", but have instead misplaced the proper word for a less accurate one. Please modify your proposal and re-submit it forthwith with the proper wording.
- Emet-Selch
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I will do no such thing!
Still lonely, Hythlodaeus
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I
At the sound of Emet-Selch's questioning, he turns and strides. "They're reading from a book? Really?" The question is rhetorical in nature, because he continues without waiting for an answer. "This place is fucking weird."
He shakes his head. "None of it makes any sense."
Re: I
"IT seems we've found ourselves as the unwitting participants in their little performance." He snaps the script shut. "Charming." Emet-Selch concludes flatly, obviously not very charmed.
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He stands, looking at the guard for a long moment like he wants to say something, but seems to think better of it. "With all of this going on, it's like the people here were waiting for people to start showing up out of the blue. I really don't get it."
It's not the first time he's woken up not sure how he arrived somewhere, but it is the first time he's woken up somewhere with a lot of strangers poking around in his head. "But not too willing to help. Otherwise there'd be a lot more answers."
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He looks surprised, thumb rubbing at his beard idly for a long moment. "The whole place seems to run on it. It's not something I've ever heard of before." He gestures vaguely. "Sins, I mean. Not in the way they talk about them here, anyway. Blaspheming an Innocence is considered a sin, not... wrath or lust or whatever."
Not that he doesn't have way, way too many vices, but he has enough self-awareness not to unload on a complete stranger. "I... didn't introduce myself, did I? Harrier Du Bois. Just Harry is fine."
Sorry dw didn't send me a notif :(
He looks back to the script in hand. "I don't suppose you've seen your fair share of theater in the past?"
rude, dw
very!
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arrival
There's PTSD and past trauma rising up in her like she ate something sour. She still remembers the smell of burning and seeing a place fall to ruin. There's also a guy who looks like (at a glance) someone who's wealthy, or powerful, or probably both? Not only that, but an intense guy who just crushed a butterfly in his palms before gravely intoning something or another and all of this is a lot.
He notices her. Guinaifen yelps, and looks behind her in case someone else is there. (There is not. He's clearly talking to her.) She looks back at him. She holds both of her hands up. Nothing in them! She's innocent! Harmless! "I'm really sorry. I got...lost!"
Lost.
"I would have asked directions but I didn't want to interrupt whatever it was you're doing."
Re: arrival
Emet-Selch begins walking into the burning city. It's not until he gets some distance away that he pauses and calls back to her. "With me. There are monsters in this place who do not take kindly to solitary wanderers."
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But this is an invitation, so-
"Right." She trots on over like this is perfectly normal and nothing weird's going on and she's perfectly comfortable with the dramatic monologuing guy. (She's not, but fake it until you make it. It doesn't feel like he's bad in the murdering poor innocent maidens who invade memories by accident sort of way, anyway, so much as he might be one bad day away from dramatically throwing a glass of wine to the side and ordering some atrocity or another. It's all in the vibes.)
Guinaifen remains a half-step to the side and a couple of steps back, a sort of nice...respectful distance. Like she's a retainer following a lord, as she remembers that much from her childhood. "Rough city, I take it?"
dw didn't send me a notif :( aaaaa
"Not usually." The thrust a hand up at the city around them. "This city once earned the title as the crown jewel of the planet, for it was unmatched in its countless marvels." Everything around them pauses as the memory starts to replay again in earnest. The building seems to reset itself and the two of them find their way to the beginning of the path they had just started on.
"However, It appears that whomever has conjured these memories would rather see this than see the world at peace."
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Guinaifen's pose grows a bit less tense, going from an oh shit, this eccentric rich and/or powerful guy might be trouble grip to something more...relaxed. A little. She's still trapped in the memory of a crumbling city. "I didn't get out of mine until enough people yelled a...personality trait?" Was that the word for the things yelled at her? It's good enough.
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He puts a hand on his chin. "Several people shouting it at once, you say...?"
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