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? :) |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
acatamods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
acatalepsy_logs2018-11-12 08:55 am
no subject
Guarded, with narrowed eyes:]
What're you gonna do?
no subject
no subject
[He chokes off in the middle of the sentence and looks away again. He can feel himself starting to stutter in prudish horror at the thought of marching up to (well, swimming up to) a half-clothed woman and asking for the dog back.]
no subject
[Hank opens his mouth, frustrated, about to lose it again, maybe. Then he closes his mouth, his expression going stubborn.]
You know what? I can't deal with this right now. I'm going to get my fucking dog.
[He bites his lip, looking up, then goes for it. But she's kind of a long way away, and his swimming, well, it's never been great.]
no subject
[Well, Hank's not doing anything objectionable yet, so Firo supposes he really has no ground to stop him, not unless he starts offending the mermaid once he gets there. Firo dithers a moment, then kicks off to swim after Hank. He's a decent enough swimmer, though now he's hindered by keeping his eyes carefully downcast.]
Shouldn't he be looking for you? I thought dogs did that.
[Is he trying to distract from how awkward he finds this situation? You bet. But he also thinks it's a fair question, given the knowledge he's gleaned about dogs from movies and stories and tales of brushes with the law. Namely that they sniff and find stuff.]
no subject
[Hank glances at Firo and seeing the way he's not even looking where he's going, actually does a double take, slowing to a stop.]
What the hell are you doing?
no subject
Following you.
[Somebody has to be there to intervene in case Hank does anything untoward or rude--Firo has to be concerned given how Hank... is. Just in general.
Plus, he assumes that they'll continue their joint roaming once they secure Sumo, so what else is he supposed to do?]
no subject
no subject
[Yes, you, Firo. He presses his lips together and frowns even deeper. He's tried to explain already, and Hank either doesn't get it or doesn't have the decency to admit that he does.]
I'm not the one who's--who's just going up to her like n-nothing's wrong! If you were polite, y-you'd look away too!
no subject
Is there something really fuckin rude about fish that no one told me? Were mermaids just really kinky in the early nineteen hundreds? What the fuck's happening here, FIro? I think you're gonna have to spell it out for me.
no subject
You--come on, you had to notice... She's ah--I mean, she's barely--she--she's not dressed like she's expecting... y-you know, company.
[He gestures between himself and Hank. Male company, specifically.]
W-we should leave her alone.
no subject
Wait. Okay. Wait. So here we are in Little Mermaid land, drowning, and I'm the asshole for losing my shit about not actually breathing, but you, like, the local wildlife isn't wearing a wimple and a cloth bag and that's what wigs you out? Seriously?
[Did you like being squinted at, Firo? Here's Hank squinting at you some more.]
Look, I never really thought about it before, but... How old are you?
[That's the only explanation, right? Aren't girls scary, at a certain age? Is that what's happening here?
Firo have you ever touched a boob.]no subject
...No.Don't be stupid, Hank, nobody wears a cloth bag as clothes. Firo's opening his mouth to explain that when the age question comes and catches him off guard.
It's hard to straighten up to appear tall under water, but Firo tries nonetheless, immediately defensive. Surely Hank knows he's a fellow adult, yet he doesn't seem to be asking to make fun of Firo.]
How old? I'm 22.
[Said with a hint of "duh" as if that should be obvious, even though pretty much no one ever gets his age right.]
no subject
[Then again, given what Firo's already said, how long would that take to actually explain? Hank tries to imagine himself, right now, keeping his shit together long enough to try to get something like that.]
Nevermind, I don't care. How about we just go up to her and ask if she wants us to go away, alright? She's a grown-ass woman- maid... fish. [Yeah. That sounds right.] If she's going to eat our faces for just being here she'll just do that. You don't gotta-
[He waves a hand at Firo.]
Whatever the hell this is, you don't have to do that. We can just grab Sumo and get out.
no subject
He sighs.]
If she eats our faces, we'll probably deserve it... I just don't wanna make her uncomfortable.
Make it fast, all right?
[If Hank starts swimming, Firo'll follow and not make a peep once they get nearer to the mermaid--so much for announcing themselves politely. His eyes are downcast, his face is red, and his throat seems to have closed up entirely.]
no subject
[But once he gets up to her - well, shit, it looks like Firo's not going to be any use. Which makes sense, as much as any part of Firo's reaction right now makes sense. But Hank-]
Look, sorry to bother you-
[His own phrasing gets to him. It's so normal, the way he's saying this. Like Sumo just ran off at the dog park. He pauses, then coughs a little.
It's a dream. A weird dream. It even kinda feels like one, right now. Dream logic. Dream logic, he can do.]
But uh, my dog ran off a little bit ago and I see you found him so uh, I'll go ahead and take him off your hands.
[She's staring at him. He frowns. She's staring at Firo, too, and her eyes are wide. She's focusing on Firo at the moment, leaning toward him and reaching out curiously with one webbed hand and talking to him.]
Oh! I knew there were men here but I never thought I'd meet one! That is what you are, isn't it?
no subject
I--no! [He shakes his head frantically, trying to get his thoughts in order.] I-I mean--y-yeah, we are, b-but--
[The mermaid observes him a moment with a confused tilt of her head, then seems to realize that she's probably not going to get any useful information out of that one. Are all men so skittish? She turns to the one who seems more capable of speech--Hank--and glides closer to him with a slight twitch of her tail.]
So... That means you are men? Both of you? [Brightly:] I won't hurt you!
no subject
[She does look different from the ones that tried to fuck Hank up back at the lake, so she probably means it. But Hank’s mostly thinking about Firo, looking at him with an unimpressed expression and pursing his lips.]
He just thought you might not be expecting company, that’s all.
[She looks confused and Hank just shrugs, so she directes her attention to Firo instead.]
Well, we do normally stay with the jellies down there but anyone on a break can come up and swim wherever they like. So I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.
[And Hank’s less than interested in helping out with an explanation, so. Good luck, Firo.]
no subject
I just--W-well, you... S-since you don't get many guys around here, I thought--
[The mermaid idly reaches out to flop one of Sumo's ears back and forth--so like a fin in its shape, yet it doesn't seem functional--but keeps watching Firo expectantly, dashing any hopes he has that she'll just let him stop talking.]
--I-I thought you might be...um, uncomfortable if we just showed up... And you, know, you're dressed like that, so I figured--I figured you wouldn't want guys to see you... And we're guys, so...
[Isn't it all completely clear now? He glares again at Hank--say something, damn it!]
no subject
Or, uh. By this point it's at least sort of explicable. So maybe it's just time to mess with the guy. It's already been a shitty fucking day, no one can begrudge Hank a joke. So he raises his eyebrows in the face of Firo's glare and joins in.]
I guess he thought you wouldn't want us guys seeing you and getting jealous of that outfit. Which, you know, too little, too late. Where'd you get it?
[She still looks confused but smiles anyway.]
Oh, there's a wonderful tailor just west of the palace that made it up for me. I thought it would be nice to have something a little more modest. I could give you directions if you'd like to give her a visit yourself!
no subject
He's--
[You know what? He can't even get himself together enough to argue, so he's going to ignore that issue for now. And she said she wanted modest... Whatever he'd call her current attire, it isn't that, but maybe he can help. He slips out of his jacket and holds it vaguely in her direction.]
Here. Just, like, if you want it.
[She gives one of those polite smiles that you might give to a child offering you a poorly constructed pottery mug. That's nice, dear, but like hell is she going to find a use for it.]
Sorry? I wouldn't be able to swim very well in that, would I? ...Do you two need advice on your clothes? You seem-- [A diplomatic pause. She's really trying her best here to be nice.] --ill-prepared for the water.
no subject
Yeah. Yeah, sure, advise us. I could use a little advice.
[She looks over the both of them again.]
Well, you've done well [She gestures at Firo,] by taking that off, the fewer layers you have the less drag there's going to be. You'd really need something that fits a little better, like...
[She tugs at Hank's shirt, holding it flat over his gut. Which Hank decides to be cool with, in large part because he wants to see the look on Firo's face through this whole helpful explanation.]
Maybe if you tucked it into those... Ah...
[She frowns at their pants.]
What are those, exactly? They look very- well matched with the rest of your clothes, but they'd really create a lot of drag themselves.
no subject
You know what, Firo's going to slip back into his jacket--to be more accurate, he shoves himself back into it, almost desperately, like it's a shield.]
They're--uh, I guess that makes sense that you guys wouldn't need, um, slacks and stuff here. Since you're...
[You know. Half a fish. It feels weird remarking on a woman's bottom half, though, so he lets himself trail off. Besides, he needs to muster all his strength to try and put a stop to the clothing situation, so--face completely red, shoulders hunched like he's a turtle--]
No offense, b-but we've gotten by fine so far. S-so we'll be fine.
no subject
Yeah. My swimming's pretty shitty anyway, so. But I'll keep those tips in mind, thanks.
[The mermaid nods, looking doubtful but polite enough to let them swim badly if that's what they want to do. But she does have questions.]
Are 'slacks' something all men wear? What do you use them for?
no subject
[Everyone wear pants; they're the best.]
They're for, uh...
[He scratches his head and finds himself looking at Hank, even though he knows he'll be no help. How do you explain something so fundamental to someone?]
...They're to stay warm and stuff. To look presentable.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)