welcome to the kingdom of akvos.It will happen at random- you could be asleep, or wandering the Temple, or a variety of other options. It will feel a little strange, like a sudden warmth spreading across your skin, and then your bracelet will light up. When you blink again, everything has shifted - changed, developed, like in that blink of an eye you have advanced . . . where, exactly? A NOTE FROM YOUR FRIENDLY . . . WAIT, WHO IS THAT?But before anything too weird can happen . . . your watch flashes again, beeps once, and on it has a new message, a hologram-sparkly image with a young man who (to some individuals!) looks quasi-familiar. He is thin, with large eyes and speaks quietly, but with great purpose. Whoever this is, it doesn't seem to be a person that is a fan of much pomp and circumstance. . . but wherever he is, he is speaking on dry-land, though he looks like he's just recently gotten out of a pool.
 "If you are watching this, then you are a member of the Circle, and have triggered a protective rune that I have cast within this Kingdom known as Akvos that has activated this message. I do not have much time, but my name is Kathashun. I need your assistance, and I am not sure whether we will ever find one another again. But if you are listening to this, heed my words: take care, because you know not what your actions do. The magic in this world is powerful, and whatever is seeping through this planet may not be able to be stopped, but trust me when I say that when we meet -- "
There is a noise, a banging on a door, and Kathashun's eyes dart to the left, before a voice off-screen says, "As much as I love listening to you talk, we need to go." There's a moment's pause before Kathashun refocuses his attention on you, and his eyes (normally a deep brown) begin to change into what appears to be a liquid gold color, and the message begins to crackle.
"We will meet again. Heed my words; find the Princess."
And, just like that, the connection dies, leaving you to the depths of the ocean.
Welcome to Akvos.  ARRIVAL A: THE PALACE OF WAHINE.The first group arrives at the Royal Palace of Wahine, smack-dab in the bustling center of what appears to be the lost city of Atlantis. It is in an area of Akvos that is completely underwater, with gentle currents wafting through the water that guide people on their merry way.
There is plenty to locate here, depending on what you want to find. There are dozens of musically inclined merfolk wandering through the courtyards of the Palace, a shopping area selling intricate jewelry and other decorative pieces, and even the Queen herself. Feel free to set up threads regarding any information you discovered in the World OOC post, but here are some ideas for those needing a place to start!
Prompt Ideas:
- Are you musically inclined? There seems to be a band of colorful mermaids striking up a merry tune with reed flutes, horns made out of massive seashells, and is that a bass playing the bass? You bet your ass it is. . There's even a potential spot for the Circle to join in, if you're so inclined! They may even pay you for your services if you're really good.
- The Queen has offered a reward for any information concerning the location of Princess Kea, who has been missing for a little over a week. A band of scrappy young investigators (complete with matching uniforms) is eager to begin, and has a list of potential "clues" to track down in the Palace area, ranging from: the Princess' prized hair-comb, her harpoon, information on her favorite restaurant, and her beloved pet flounder. None of these items are actually within reach except her favorite restaurant, which will happily either (1) talk about how amazing the Princess is or (2) accept help in the kitchens to serve up a busy restaurant time. Either way, you can earn some seashells.
- The Royal Guard is looking for some mercenary work to comb the city for clues, and seeing as the Circle is oh-so-eager to help out with whatever is going on in Akvos, they're willing to give you a shot! The only problem is that you have to be ready to swim, so be prepared to swim endless laps in circles around the perimeter of Queen Wai's massive home to seemingly no avail. . . . do they actually need the help or are they just laughing at you? Dammit.
- The Palace of Wahine has an underwater library, which is pretty expansive . . . how do they have all of these materials underwater? There are several helpful octopus-libraries that are using their various tentacles to grab books, scrolls, and other materials off of the shelves to hand them to nearby patrons, and there's a lot of material here about the history of Akvos! You may also find a pretty interesting comic book series revolving around a powerful mermaid who looks suspiciously like Queen Wai, who thwarts the evils of inequality. If you ask Queen Wai about it, she will assure you that she has nothing to do with it, and her constituents are creatively minded people . . . but she doesn't seem to mind the good press.
 ARRIVAL B: THE DEPTHS OF MARKOLOS.The second group arrives in a rare pocket of air in Akvos -- a massive cavern, with multiple alcoves along the walls. Here, the population seems to be rather bleak in comparison to the rainbow-colored folk in the Palace of Wahine -- merpeople with larger eyes, sharper teeth, and darker scales. You have successfully located the hunting grounds of the Kingdom of Akvos, known as the Depths of Markolos -- an impossibly deep sinkhole that stretches into the depths of oblivion.
The local population here doesn't actually know what's at the bottom of it, but lately, there are odd happenings in the Depths that the population will tel you about. For one, dead fish seem to be appearing with increasing frequency, and the temperature of the Depths has dropped to a frigid point. Layers of ice have been found below the surface that were not there previously, and there is plenty of talk of whether or not their food supply for the Kingdom is endangered by whatever is causing this random bout of ice.
Prompt Ideas:
- Have you ever tried spear-fishing? An angler-fish mermaid, with haunting eyes and massively sharp teeth, is eager to teach the Otherworlders! She's pretty nice, despite her scary appearance, and will pay seashells to folks willing to stay in the "shallow" area of the Depths to spear pretty easy looking fish. She will also lend out fishing equipment for those want to give it a try!
- The Brig is located in the Depths, and if you violate the law in other areas, you will be brought here. The cells are small and cramped, with no beds or cots to speak of, and you are fed less-than-great quality raw fish while in here. Petty thievery and the like will be punished for two days, and once you are released, you are stuck in the Depths You can also talk to some of the prisoners here, who will be interested in swapping a surprising amount of seashells for fresh raw fish. They also like to gamble. :)
- There are some side-tunnels in the Depths along the walls that contain shellfish to hunt and scavange! The only problem is that some of them have a fairly strong current, and -- voila, it is a massive Slip-N-Slide. Sneaking into one will rocket you through a tunnel and spit you out at a lower level of the Depths, but be careful -- you might wind up face to face with a pretty terrifying looking fish that is a bit too big for you to handle, so explore these tunnels with some care.
- The mermaids here will warn against going too deep into the Depths, but there is nothing to stop you from exploring. In addition to the ice clustered along the western wall of the cavern, there's plenty of creepy looking fish in the depths. In particular, the mermaids will warn you against infuriating a creature named Honohu -- who is this beloved little Leviathian-looking monstrosity who will absolutely attempt to eat you if you go too deep. Enjoy?  ARRIVAL C: THE FIELDS OF AKOVOSIAThe third group will be deposited in a beautiful coral reef, full of color and swaying seaweed. It is an impossibly beautiful sight, and the merpeople here are equally bright and colorful, to blend in with tehir surroundings. There are no shortage of clownfish and angelfish-esque merpeople floating around, collecting plantlife, creating new clothing, or even hunting poisonous smaller fish for usage in their medicinal techniques.
However, the more you explore the fields, the more you begin to notice odd patches of dead coral. It almost looks as if certain random patches were afflicted by some type of illness that has completely robbed it of its color. The merpeople nearby will not know very much about it, but if you continue digging and asking the right people, perhaps you'll find out the source of this sudden illness.
Prompt Ideas
- Have you ever gone dolphin-racing? . . . or, well, they look like dolphins, complete with saddles and harnesses that the merfolk are entirely too eager to pass off onto the landfolk. It seems they race these dolphins in the currents for sport in between their collecting of plantlife and hunting. Feel free to ask the curator of these beings, a burly-looking mermaid who will happily lend you a dolphin for a seashell an hour.
- Batter up! You can find what appears to be a weird baseball/rugby crossover sport, in which the merpeople crack hunks of coral with sticks . . . but then tackle each other at the different bases instead of, you know, tapping them lightly to signify them being out. They're always looking for new players to join, but be warned! They take their sport seriously.
- Investigating the beautiful coral reef will garner a lot of pretty looking rocks and other types of intricate material that could be used for crafting, which is always up for collecting for money. Mermaids will be wandering around with baskets to collect various goods, so feel free to help out!
- Finally, there are a lot of mermaids just sitting around shooting the shit, gossiping, fussing about home, and collecting materials to make what's needed in their day to day lives. A few of them seem to be knitting some type of material underwater -- weird, right? But feel free to obtain some cool textiles fresh off the proverbial racks, for a price.  ARRIVAL D: THE THUNDERDOME.The last group to arrive may think that this is some type of stupid joke, as the merfolk around this area really do refer to it as the Thunderdome. It is a massive underwater cavern, filled with thousands and thousands of jellyfish. It seems that the merfolk tend to these beings for a multitude of reasons -- one, for food, two, for venom, and three, for . . . electricity?
The jellyfish in this area seem to crackle with energy, and the merfolk in this area will inform you that this is where they obtain power which they charge their weapons and lights with. The bioluminescence is pretty startling to see, and the jellyfish themselves seem to be relatively harmless. But there is a certain area of the Thunderdome that is flickering in and out of darkness . . . an area where the jellyfish seem to be a lot less bright. The merfolk don't really understand what's going on, but whatever is happening in Akvos seems to be affecting the jellyfish in a negative way. They don't seem horribly concerned, but. Here we are.
Prompt Ideas:
- The armory is located in the Thunderdome, and you can buy a bunch of cool weapons here! Glow in the dark swords, electrified knives, bows, and harpoons can be found here, varying in price. They all seem to be rust-proof, too, given their environment, and the craftsmanship here is like no other. The people here really take their craft seriously, so happy shopping.
- The main attraction here, though, is definitely the jellyfish. They deliver a rather nasty shock, and anyone who touches them will glow a weird blue color for at least three days afterwards. The merpeople seem to know how to fix this, but likely will not do so because they warned you not to touch the damn things, you stupid landfolk. Navigate them carefully, and you may even be able to earn some coin in helping shepherd them!
- A group of mermaids are looking for people to fish out the sickly looking jellyfish in order to be treated by what appears to be Akvos' version of a veterinarian. The sickly looking ones are the ones that are flickering dim, and while the veterinarian has no idea what is going on with them, they want them out. Just be careful not to touch them, though. You will definitely glow blue for a few days, even though these ones are ill!
- The mermaids in the Thunderdome enjoy practicing their skills with each other, in terms of weaponry, battle tactics, and the like, but they also enjoy their downtime too! Find little pockets of folks hanging out, chatting, and playing some weird game that involves what appear to be coral dice and flattened stones. It almost looks like they're gambling seashells or something . . . time to get in on the action, if you can learn the rules, anyway. Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before! REMEMBER: For the entirety of this log, you can only physically interact with those in your group. For the first two weeks, the network will be completely defunct. After two weeks, you may send intermittent text messages to those in other groups. From this point forward, the Circle has become involved with the Kingdom of Akvos. What your character finds out, decides, and does from here on out will affect the future of this city- one way or another! But what you do is completely up to you. What you discover, explore, and uncover will be yours to discover, explore, and uncover. Who knows what you might find? :) |
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acatamods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
acatalepsy_logs2018-11-12 08:55 am
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H-Hey stop! It's my fault I got stung! I think it's just sick and sort of confused. It didn't mean to hurt me.
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[Then again, with the kind of week he's been having, that could maybe actually happen. Hank tries not to think about that for more than a split second, just eyes the kid, looking deeply unimpressed, then rolls his eyes and takes a clumsy, half-swimming step back.]
Come on, get away from that thing before it gets you again. You know we're not here to help the fuckin wildlife, right?
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It might not be what we're here for but it's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to just let them suffer if there's a way I can help.
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[Hank tilts his head back and puts a hand over his eyes, taking a brief and precious second or two to not deal with any of this. Normally ‘young and stupid’ is something he can more or less handle, but normally went out the window when Hank got sent on this wacky little vacation at the bottom of the fucking ocean. He slides his hand off his eyes and looks at the kid’s fists, not seeming any more impressed than he did a second ago.]
You know what you’re talking about, right? It’s a- Fuck, never mind, look, you think the- the freaky fuckin fish people don’t know how all this shit works? What makes you think you can do a better job at this than they’re already doing?
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[He keeps his tone gentle and gives the guy a look over. He definitely looks... distressed.]
Are you alright, sir?
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He coughs - another stupid, useless try at getting the fucking water out and looks away, holding his breath for a second and then starting to take more normal breaths, careful ones.]
What, you can't tell I'm havin the time of my goddamn life?
[He tries to grin, then runs a hand over his face.]
Hey, if I said no would it distract you from gettin your butt kicked by the local wildlife? That complex for helpin, does that stretch to weird old assholes too or just the dangerous stuff?
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[He might not be able to grin but Izuku smiles back at him, soft but bright.]
Let me know what I can do for you and I'll do what I can.
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[Hank grimaces at the jellyfish in the distance for a second. It’s beautiful, the view in this place, for the couple seconds he can convince himself none of this is happening and he’s just a guy who decided to strap on some diving gear. He sighs and kicks his legs a little, moving slowly away from the jellyfish to see if the kid’ll follow him.]
What’s that even mean, kid? You’ve got to be a veterinarian, a psychologist, and moral support, all in the same day? Sounds like a lot.
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[Izuku follows along, seemingly content with trying to help Hank.]
But I think it also means helping whenever you can even if you're not an expert and even if the problem doesn't seem important.
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[Hank keeps moving back until he's at a big rock nearby, pressing his back to it and grabbing at it to try and anchor himself close to the ground.]
What other unimportant problems you solve today? Help little old merladies cross the deep water current, help a jellyfish out a tree?
[He takes a deep, slow breath, shudders at the feeling, and tightens his grip on the rock behind him. It's fine. If he's making stupid sea jokes, he's probably fine.]
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[At the pointed question, he rubs the back of his neck, looking a little embarrassed.]
Uh well... technically you're the first person I've helped if I'm actually keeping count.
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[Hank squints at the kid. He's not at his best right now, but there's something weird about that. It's just the 'person saying shit that makes no sense' kind of weird, though, and he can handle that, he can go back over the sentence again and figure it out.]
Your license to what? Did I zone out and miss something? If you help enough people you get to drive all by yourself, or- please don't confuse me right now, kid, what the fuck are we talking about?
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Um, well, where I'm from, almost everyone in the world has powers like the ones Miss Astoria gave us. So there are pro heroes that go out and help people in disasters or stop villains!
Right now, I'm in a hero course at my high school so I can be a pro when I graduate.
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[Hank does not sound impressed, when he says that. In fact, he sounds the opposite. He tilts his head back, looks up, looking for the sun. He doesn't see it any more than he could the last time he looked; he's too deep. Would of been nice, though, just to look at it, look away from the mermaids and professional fucking heroes and look at something normal.]
Being called up to help 'miss Astoria' must of been a w- [Okay. Okay, no. See, he's in his right mind; would someone who's freaking out have enough presence of mind to stop themselves from saying the words wet dream in front of a kid? No, they wouldn't. Hank's doing good. His voice goes pretty flat after this, admittedly, more sarcasm weighing it down the further he gets into saying it, but maybe he's kind of sort of almost doing good.] -a dream come true for you, huh? You get to practice saving entire civilizations. What an opportunity.
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[Hmm. This guy doesn't really seem to... be into this whole idea at all, huh? Izuku exhales and tries to contain his excitement over just getting to talk about heroes.]
But I hope we are able to help here too.
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[It’s not the kid himself Hank means to call out there, as much as the system he’s so excited about- and even then Hank’s tone isn’t the tone of someone super invested in the accusation he’s making. His tone is slow and tired. But what the hell, why not play along with this dream for a little while and address what the kid’s saying like it’s a real thing that’s really happening somewhere. That’d be pretty shitty, though, if it was.]
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Well, I'm not even close to a celebrity or a pro or anything like that. I'm still in school and not even at the top of my class or all that good with my quirk. And even then, being a pro is about a lot of things beyond that. Most of which, I'm not really good at...
[He trails off, knowing he's too shy, too awkward, too lacking in style or sex appeal to be a shoe-in for being a top hero. But he's working on it. Well, most of it. Still, he looks up with a smile.]
So. This can be good practice! Helping people and smiling but I don't have to worry about people being in danger.
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[That gets Hank to at least roll his head to look at the kid again. I was calling you shallow, you know that right? is right on the tip of his tongue, but this kid - he's young, god he's young, and happy, and if Hank did say it he's not sure his self esteem could take the hit. He sighs and leaves it, rubbing at his eyes. If he did sleep right here, he'd probably float right away. He'll just have to stay up and figure it out later.]
You're telling me you have a problem with smiling? Cause it doesn't look like you need the practice from where I'm standing. Or, floating. What the fuck ever.
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[He wouldn't really deny that there are parts of hero culture that are absolutely shallow. But he's so devoted to the idea behind it that he would never be able to write it all off that way. He sees too many people doing good for that.
At the comment about smiles, he looks a little sheepish.]
Well, I've been practicing most of my life so I can smile in the face of danger because when you're saving people from a bad situation, a smile can give them comfort! That's why I've looked up to this one hero, All Might, my entire life. He's always got a smile on his face so I try to too.
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[Izuku's body language changes completely, from soft and demure to outspoken and more sure of himself. He stands up straighter and clenches a determined fist without really even noticing that he's doing it. But to the outside, his complete and utter passion is obvious. ...And maybe a little overwhelming.]
There's no hero better than All Might and his smile brings people comfort because it shows that he can handle that sort of situation without any problem! When he smiles, they know everything is going to be alright. It's easy to be afraid when things are hard and overwhelming, but that's why you smile to show that you're strong! It makes them feel at ease to know that someone who can do that is watching over them...!
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[Hero worship from the hero wannabe. It's not exactly unexpected, but that doesn't make it any less disconcerting. It always feels so... well, bad. It just feels bad, talking to kids when they get like this. Like talking to Icarus, pre-wing.
Hank sighs.]
Well, if it's smiling you wanna work on maybe you should go find a photoshoot or somethin instead of hanging around here. I've never smiled a day in my life.
[Well. It feels true.]
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I'm actually terrible at pictures. I get a little... nervous and freeze up.
[So they all turn out like someone's holding a gun to his head. Still, he looks Hank over, trying to figure out if he means it... literally. He certainly doesn't look happy now.]
...Why not?
[Even back when he was quirkless, trying desperately invent a a world where his dreams could still happen, he could still smile. Not smiling... that's a lot.]
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1/2
[THE MERE IDEA IS CLEARLY... DISTRESSING.]
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