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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acatalepsy_logs2018-11-12 08:55 am
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She smiles wide when she hears him join in on the cheering. ] Yeah! I think they can hear you!
[ They can't, but let her pretend. Seashells have a strangely new identity when you can control them. ]
Almost ... there ... [ And now she reaches her fingers in as far as she can get them, hooking them onto the shells and pulling them out of the hole. They're actually rather pretty shells — shades of pink and yellow, which probably helped her spot them in the hole earlier — and she's totally overjoyed that it worked, holy crap. ] Got 'em! We did it!
[ We!!!!! ]
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Yeah!! Way to go, shells!
[ He doesn't miss the we and he smiles harder. That's so nice of her and he clicks his tongue thoughtfully. He never really bothered using his powers for himself, but he does sort of really want to see her smile more, and seashells seem to do it...
Suddenly looking deep in thought, Beat focuses on seashells. He wants seashells. Really wants them. C'mon seashells!
And just like that, it's suddenly raining small pretty shells. Most of them aren't too big, and look a lot like the shells Kairi coaxed out early, but a few here or there sparkly with more vivid, swirling colors. Beat looks immensely proud as the small shells float serenely down from... no where, really. ]
Uh... looks like you got a gift.
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Kairi is totally shocked to see all the shells suddenly floating downward around them, and she sort of looks between the shells in her hands and the ones that just appeared. ]
Did they call their friends?!
[ WAS SHE RIGHT ALL ALONG? CAN SEASHELLS COMMUNICATE? WAS BEAT RIGHT ABOUT THEM JOINING THEIR FRIENDS?
She's not quite getting the connection between Beat and the shells yet. She appreciates this gift just let her be shocked for a moment. ]
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[ Not mocking her in the least, it had been rather easy to conjure up the shells. Maybe being in the water around other shells had given it a boost? Well, no matter. Opening his hand upwards, he catches a few shells to examine them. Not bad. ]
You know, this prolly makes you pretty dang rich now. [ Look at him, not swearing around a girl, what a bro. ] Whatchya plannin' on doin' wid 'em?
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There's no way I could spend these. I'll have to make some charms with them. And maybe they can help me practice my magic! [ These shells have got to be more receptive than normal ones, right?? They came to her on purpose!! From ... no where!!
But wait. ]
What about you? Don't you want some?
[ He makes it sound like all these shells belong to her, when she wasn't even aware of that. ]
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Uh... well. You seemed so happy wid the ones you got, it seemed like a good idea to give you more?
[ Moving to start picking the shells up carefully, he looks around briefly before removing his beanie and placing the shells in there for now. It's a good enough bag as any. ]
These are all yers!
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Huh?! You mean you made these?!
[ Wow she can barely control seashells and he can make a whole bunch pop out of thin air. She's ... going to need to step up her practicing. ]
Now I really can't spend them! You need to let me do something to make it up to you!
[ SHE CAN'T JUST TAKE ALL THESE PRETTY SHELLS FOR NO REASON ... ]
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[ He waves his hands back and forth, sending seashells everywhere again as they bounce out of his hat, as she tries to offer them up to him in return. ]
'Sides, I can't make any more of 'em. I think my powers only lemme do it once per person? Or per day or something', I dunno, I ain't used them that often.
[ Oh his hats empty again. Watch him scoop them back up and dump them back in, then offer the hat to her until she can figure out somewhere better to hold them. ]
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But okay wait that first bit warms her heart to hear. ]
Wait, you made them to make me happy?
[ That is ... ridiculously kind. They've only just met and he's practically throwing seashells at her all because she smiled over some. His rampant kindness sort of reminds her of Sora, actually. This is definitely the kind of thing he would do.
She accepts his hat from him when he offers it, and looks in it at all the sparkling, interestingly colored shells. And she can't help but smile over them, before getting an idea. ]
Then ... at least let me do this.
[ Reaching into her pouch to get some of the string she keeps in it, and then searching through the shells he's given her to find certain sizes with holes in certain places ... give her a moment ... ]
no subject
He blinks when she pulls out a string? and then starts searching the shells. Curious, he settles in by crossing his legs like he's going to sit down, only because it's water around them, he just kinda floats. Tilting vaguely to one side. ]
Arts an' crafts? Is that why you wanted them?
[ No judgement in his tone, just pure curiosity. He knows shells can make pretty necklaces, his sister liked to look at them, but these don't seem big enough for a proper necklace. ]
no subject
[ Half to make arts and crafts, half to use them for her powers. She's planning on bringing a good amount of them back out of this world, if and when they leave it, so she can keep practicing with them. And make more charms if she feels like it.
But she quietly weaves a small bracelet out of the seashells she's picked out, not taking particularly long, and then she holds it up to show him. ]
Here! It's for you. I guess ... to remember the time you helped some seashells find their friends.
[ Because from how he acted earlier, she's hesitant to tell him that it's also a thank you and she wants him to keep some of the seashells. ]
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And more than a little touched. ]
Yo, I... that's...
[ Now he's not just thinking of his sister, he's thinking of Shiki as well. Kairi you have successfully almost single-handedly reduced Beat to almost tears. Almost tears because he's fighting to not destroy his big tough guy image any further. Scrubbing at his face, he reaches out his hand for it. ]
Thanks...
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And she hands that bracelet over to him, leaning in in the process and looking at his face. ]
It's nothing. Not compared to what you did for me, at least. [ A pause. ] Are you okay?
[ Don't cry??? ]
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[ His words are interrupted because he sniffed super hard and now he's dealing with the weird sensation of water flowing through his sinuses, ugh! Coughing it back out, he rubs his cheek and grins a little. ]
Yeah I'm aight, promise, it's jus'... I ain't really the type peeps give presents to, you know?
[ With all the focus of a guy taking an SAT, Beat carefully fits the bracelet onto his right wrist. The small colorful shells look out of place with the rest of his outfit, but he beams at them like their the best part. ]
no subject
What do you mean? What about your birthday? Or Christmas?
[ Look if he needs presents for Christmas she has connections to Santa, she can hook him up so long as he's not naughty. But she's definitely assuming he means he literally never gets presents.
And she's glad to see him placing the bracelet on, happy about it. She didn't think it'd affect him like that, but she isn't complaining. ]
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[ Surprise, Japan celebrates Christmas very differently. ]
An' 'til recently, I di'nt really hang out wid the type of peeps who'd give each other birthday gifts.
[ He doesn't seem so upset about the idea though, shrugging with a grin. ]
Parents ain't really the celebratin' type, I guess, plus I was kinda a shit an' wid my grades, really didn't earn much. Always got somethin' from my sis though. You kinda remind me of her.
[ That's all he'll say about his parents but woo boy don't get him started on his sister. Returning his attention back to his new bracelet, he pauses for a moment then grins, teasing. ]
First time gettin' jewelry though. Aintchu s'posed to buy me dinner, first?
no subject
She's interested in hearing about his life, though. And feels kind of sad that he hasn't been given a bunch of presents. Kairi herself has had a ... strange life, having changed to a different world when she was a child and not having any blood relatives there. But the people on Destiny Islands were great, and her friends were even better. So she doesn't feel like she's missed out.
But WOW, she doesn't have a chance to respond to any of that because he's making weird jokes!! ]
Wh-What? You don't think I gave it to you because of ... that, do you?
[ Sora already has her heart. Half literally. ]
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Nah yo, it's jus' fun to tease. I don' even really know you, you ain't gotta worry 'bout that.
[ Oh, that makes Beat blink and look back up. Oops. ]
Uh... Shoot, yo. Maybe shoulda said hi way earlier. Hey, name's Beat. Thanks fer the bracelet.
[ He even holds out his hand for a handshake. ]
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She'll go back to smiling, then, when he introduces himself, and laughs softly. ]
It's okay, I forgot about that, too. [ They were so wrapped up in their little seashell retrieval. ] I'm Kairi.
[ Shaking his hand!! ]
It's nice to meet you, Beat.
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An' you! Whatchu plannin' on doin' wid the rest of the shells? Same thing?
[ He shakes the bracelet a little to indicate what he means by same. ]
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Yeah, mostly. And to practice my magic with.
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[ Though he's not sure how useful her power will be once they leave the water, he's sure she'll get plenty of practice while they're here. ]
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[ She hadn't really thought of the concept before, but now that she's thinking about it, she's literally making arts and crafts out of the things they use for money. ]
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Nah, I doubt it! Where I came from, it was kinda common to make necklaces out of coins. People kinda used 'em as good luck charms fer money. It'd jus' be like you sayin' you wish them loads of money an' happiness!
no subject
Oh ... that's right! It would! [ And now ... determination! ] All right, then I'll get to it! I'll make sure every mermaid I pass gets a good luck charm!
[ She certainly has enough shells for it. She just needs to get to making them ...... ]