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Got the morbs.
✖ VICTORIA'S SECRET
Ⅰ. ARRIVAL & THE TEMPLE
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The ferry pulls into port in the evening, when shadows are long and gas lamps burn through a veil of mist. Dozens of other ships are docked as well, with men unloading crates and boxes from their holds. Beyond the wet wood and lapping sound of the ocean, a city looms like a charcoal smudge on a purple sky. The air is smoggy and thick, and the river that flows from the sea into the city smells foul. Walk the cobbled streets and you will find that the city is crowded and filthy, but full of merchants, pubs, and theatres. Vast wealth and extreme poverty exist side by side.
In the center of the sprawling city is a temple with towering gothic spires and huge stained glass windows depicting all manner of beings that might be gods or angels or monsters. You could look for hours and still be finding new figures plucked straight from books of myth and religion. Inside, the main chamber has a grand vaulted ceiling, and dozens of pews line the aisle up to the altar, which is oddly anticlimactic compared to the lavish surroundings: just a plain stone table with a lit oil lamp in the centre. Two hallways branch off on either side of the room: one leads to private baths and a communal kitchen, the other to monastic style chambers with thin beds. Not the most comfortable place to stay, but it’ll do in a pinch!
Alternatively you can venture into the city and find yourself some other lodging - every Traveler has been supplied with some pocket money. Just be careful that it isn’t stolen by some street urchin. Travelers can also find an era-appropriate outfit that will fit them perfectly laid in the first sleeping chamber they visit.
Ⅱ. SEANCE
CW: grief, past trauma.
Perhaps you overhear talk of it at a pub, or maybe you’re handed a small card as you push your way through the crowded city streets. Maybe you just wander in by accident. However it happens, you find yourself being ushered into the parlour of one Miss Mary Price: Spiritualist.
You and several other people are instructed to sit at a round table in a very dark and musty room. The walls are covered in thick black curtains, and maybe you’re the type to suspect that there’s someone hiding behind them somewhere. Once everyone is seated, Mary Price herself enters the room. The lights are all extinguished save for a single candle.
Mary calls out to the spirits. They communicate through a series of knocks, or the movement of a Ouija board. Someone at the table is put in contact with a deceased aunt who reveals the location of a family heirloom. Someone else is able to say goodbye to a son.
Mary Price looks at you with eyes so dark they look black, and asks, “What haunts you?”
Maybe you answer honestly. Maybe you don’t answer at all, but that doesn’t matter because the spirit tapping around the room is more than happy to narc on you and tell the whole room what or who it is that you cannot forget.
You can deny it all you like, but the spirits don’t have a reason to lie. And if you try to mess up the seance, you will spend a month being hounded by an angry poltergeist.
Ⅲ. THE RIPPER
CW: murder, gore, violence.
You’re lost at night. Maybe you were in the pub too late, or maybe you were searching for more illicit fun - weren’t there opium dens around this time? - or maybe you just weren’t keeping an eye on the time. However it happened, you’re on the streets in the dark.
It’s very foggy; you can barely see a foot in front of you. The streetlamps look like dimly burning ghosts and when the odd person passes you they are felt more than seen, just a darker shadow in a world of shifting shades.
Very suddenly you hear a scream - short, and swallowed up quickly by the fog. Still, it’s enough to get you to turn and hurry down a narrow alleyway.
Sprawled on the ground amid a lake of blood is a body. It’s immediately apparent that this person is probably beyond help - their throat has been slashed ear to ear. Your appearance was not expected, however, and you can see that you’ve startled the killer: they’re running down the alley in the opposite direction.
You have a few choices: you can chase the killer and attempt to catch them, you can try to help the victim, you can get the authorities, or you can just walk away.
What will you do?
Ⅳ. RESURRECTION MEN
CW: dead bodies, grave robbing.
You’re not entirely clear on how you agreed to this. Maybe it was a barroom bet gone wrong. Maybe you’re broke enough that you need money fast. Or maybe you want to help some wannabe medical students. However it happened, you’re in the cemetery.
And you’ve got a shovel.
Time to rob some graves! You’ve convinced yourself somehow that this isn’t morally reprehensible, and so you and your partner are just going to get down to business! What corpse should you unearth? You feel like a kid in a candy store!
The problem comes once you’ve unearthed the body because it seems terribly familiar. Which is… creepy. Creepier still when it starts talking.
Maybe it’s a family member, or an old friend. Maybe an ex partner. Whoever it is, they immediately start telling your fellow grave robber about some incident from your past that you just. Can’t. Let. Go. Of. And even if you whack it with a shovel it won’t stop. Bad corpse! BAD Corpse!
Which of course is exactly what you have to try and do if you want this chatty Cathy of a corpse to shut the hell up.
Sometimes I can still hear his voice...
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The ferry pulls into port in the evening, when shadows are long and gas lamps burn through a veil of mist. Dozens of other ships are docked as well, with men unloading crates and boxes from their holds. Beyond the wet wood and lapping sound of the ocean, a city looms like a charcoal smudge on a purple sky. The air is smoggy and thick, and the river that flows from the sea into the city smells foul. Walk the cobbled streets and you will find that the city is crowded and filthy, but full of merchants, pubs, and theatres. Vast wealth and extreme poverty exist side by side.
In the center of the sprawling city is a temple with towering gothic spires and huge stained glass windows depicting all manner of beings that might be gods or angels or monsters. You could look for hours and still be finding new figures plucked straight from books of myth and religion. Inside, the main chamber has a grand vaulted ceiling, and dozens of pews line the aisle up to the altar, which is oddly anticlimactic compared to the lavish surroundings: just a plain stone table with a lit oil lamp in the centre. Two hallways branch off on either side of the room: one leads to private baths and a communal kitchen, the other to monastic style chambers with thin beds. Not the most comfortable place to stay, but it’ll do in a pinch!Alternatively you can venture into the city and find yourself some other lodging - every Traveler has been supplied with some pocket money. Just be careful that it isn’t stolen by some street urchin. Travelers can also find an era-appropriate outfit that will fit them perfectly laid in the first sleeping chamber they visit.
Notes:
1. Unless this is your character’s first island, the High Temple and anything you may have stored there is off-limits this month.
2. Please remember to mark threads appropriately with Content Warnings when necessary.
3. The city greatly resembles Victorian London, and the technology and general way of life is all of that era. Feel free to explore the city! These prompts are a jumping off point - how they affect your character and their development is up to you.
4. Most food is safe to eat, and is consumable by non-human entities. Most. Some of it’s going to be pretty gross or cooked improperly, so be careful.
5. The people in the city are normal humans unless otherwise indicated. Killing them is possible and will affect the colour grading of your Scrywatch depending on the situation.
6. Have fun!
Ⅱ. SEANCE
CW: grief, past trauma.
Perhaps you overhear talk of it at a pub, or maybe you’re handed a small card as you push your way through the crowded city streets. Maybe you just wander in by accident. However it happens, you find yourself being ushered into the parlour of one Miss Mary Price: Spiritualist.
You and several other people are instructed to sit at a round table in a very dark and musty room. The walls are covered in thick black curtains, and maybe you’re the type to suspect that there’s someone hiding behind them somewhere. Once everyone is seated, Mary Price herself enters the room. The lights are all extinguished save for a single candle.Mary calls out to the spirits. They communicate through a series of knocks, or the movement of a Ouija board. Someone at the table is put in contact with a deceased aunt who reveals the location of a family heirloom. Someone else is able to say goodbye to a son.
Mary Price looks at you with eyes so dark they look black, and asks, “What haunts you?”
Maybe you answer honestly. Maybe you don’t answer at all, but that doesn’t matter because the spirit tapping around the room is more than happy to narc on you and tell the whole room what or who it is that you cannot forget.
You can deny it all you like, but the spirits don’t have a reason to lie. And if you try to mess up the seance, you will spend a month being hounded by an angry poltergeist.
Notes:
1. The spirit can communicate through knocks, the Ouija, actually vocalising through the medium, or via ectoplasm.
2. What haunts your character does not have to be the memory of a dead person. It can be an event - maybe they’ve never gotten over losing that science fair in grade three. It is the feeling of being haunted that is important.
3. If you choose to trash the seance, the spirit will follow you for the rest of the month. It can range from annoying to actually dangerous.
Ⅲ. THE RIPPER
CW: murder, gore, violence.
You’re lost at night. Maybe you were in the pub too late, or maybe you were searching for more illicit fun - weren’t there opium dens around this time? - or maybe you just weren’t keeping an eye on the time. However it happened, you’re on the streets in the dark.
It’s very foggy; you can barely see a foot in front of you. The streetlamps look like dimly burning ghosts and when the odd person passes you they are felt more than seen, just a darker shadow in a world of shifting shades.
Very suddenly you hear a scream - short, and swallowed up quickly by the fog. Still, it’s enough to get you to turn and hurry down a narrow alleyway.
Sprawled on the ground amid a lake of blood is a body. It’s immediately apparent that this person is probably beyond help - their throat has been slashed ear to ear. Your appearance was not expected, however, and you can see that you’ve startled the killer: they’re running down the alley in the opposite direction.You have a few choices: you can chase the killer and attempt to catch them, you can try to help the victim, you can get the authorities, or you can just walk away.
What will you do?
Notes:
1. The inspiration for this prompt is Jack the Ripper but you do not have to use that case as a basis for your killer.
2. You can get as involved with this as you would like. You can have your character catch the killer in a chase, or form your very own detective squad and hunt them down that way.
3. Naturally, walking away from a potential serial killer might not be great for your Scrywatch grading!
Ⅳ. RESURRECTION MEN
CW: dead bodies, grave robbing.
You’re not entirely clear on how you agreed to this. Maybe it was a barroom bet gone wrong. Maybe you’re broke enough that you need money fast. Or maybe you want to help some wannabe medical students. However it happened, you’re in the cemetery.
And you’ve got a shovel.
Time to rob some graves! You’ve convinced yourself somehow that this isn’t morally reprehensible, and so you and your partner are just going to get down to business! What corpse should you unearth? You feel like a kid in a candy store! The problem comes once you’ve unearthed the body because it seems terribly familiar. Which is… creepy. Creepier still when it starts talking.
Maybe it’s a family member, or an old friend. Maybe an ex partner. Whoever it is, they immediately start telling your fellow grave robber about some incident from your past that you just. Can’t. Let. Go. Of. And even if you whack it with a shovel it won’t stop. Bad corpse! BAD Corpse!
Which of course is exactly what you have to try and do if you want this chatty Cathy of a corpse to shut the hell up.
Notes:
1. If you do NOT let go of this past event, the corpse will follow you the rest of the night singing Henry the Eighth I am, I am.
no subject
There might be some place that serves wine nearby. [That she could pay for and that was far more needed than sweets. After arrival and settling, she was very much in need of something to relieve her stress.] Thank you.
[It was kind of him to offer though and she was grateful, enough she flashed him a smile.]
no subject
Wine....yeah sure. I can probably find us a nice tavern to stop in at if you'd like a glass of wine. If I remember my history correctly I think gin was pretty popular during this time as well if you'd like to try that.
no subject
[She probably shouldn't be seeking something strong. It wasn't that she couldn't handle such things, but she recognized that it was merely a comfort and an escape from everything that happened. Still, it would at least make this easier to bear.
And if that meant trying gin, she was willing.]
I would. Maybe we can find where many of the natives go? There must be a popular place.
no subject
[He explains as he leads them further down the street, which conveniently has a tavern on the corner. He motions towards it with a smile.]
We're in luck, seems like this place is pretty popular. Shall we?
no subject
[She laughed, shaking her head. This would likely be a common thing for her. Something would be explained and she would still be lost. This island would take time to settle in her mind.]
You don't mind the crowds?
[She should have asked that right away, but it slipped her mind.]
no subject
[He says blushing a little bit.]
Oh? Uh I should be fine, crowds only really effect me if I'm in them for long periods of time.
Will you be okay? We can find somewhere quieter.
no subject
Crowds don't trouble me. I enjoy my privacy, but it would be nice to see the natives and to explore what they love. I'll try my best to not take long for your sake.
no subject
No worries, I should be fine for a few rounds of drinks.
[He opens the tavern door for her and motions for her to enter, the inside is full of dark wood tables and there's a large stone fireplace at one end of the room, oil lamps are strung up above their heads giving the whole room a warm glow. Carter leads them over to the bar where he orders two glasses of wine and one glass of gin for her to try, once they have their drinks he manages to find them a little table to sit at in one of the corners.]
no subject
It's a comfortable place, far better than some of the inns she had seen. The oil lamps fascinate her. There had been such things in Essos, but Westeros seemed more interested in simply using candles. This was warmer, brighter and likely more efficient.
There is a fire in the fireplace. Seeing something so comforting, it helped ease her even more. This was the sort of place she could imagine others coming to here after a long day of work. Or with a sweetling to get to know them better.]
This is lovely. We were lucky to find it. Should we sit near the fire?
no subject
[Once they are situated at their little table near the fire he passes her one of the wine glasses, keeping one for himself and then puts the glass of gin between them.]
I got us wine to start and in this glass is the gin, feel free to try it and if you hate it I'll just drink it.
[He pauses before taking his first sip.]
Uh, is it customary where you're from to do a toast? Or cheers before you drink?
no subject
She might return to it, but two glasses of gin would risk becoming more than relaxed. So for now, she poured both of them a glass of wine.]
Sometimes, it would depend on the occasion. Unless you feel there is something you wish to toast?
no subject
How about we toast to meeting new people?
no subject
[She raised hers as well, tapping it against the side of his glass.]
To new friends?
no subject
To new friends.
[He takes a sip, nodding a little to himself at how nice and deep the wine tastes.]
So, as new friends I guess we should get to know one another better. Do you have any questions you'd like me to answer?
no subject
I suppose, explain more about this.
[She showed the bracelet, pulling up her sleeve a little. There were a few shocked looks, which seemed rather odd. Was skin scandalous?]
I was told a little, but I can't say I was focused.
no subject
[He rolls up his own sleeve to show her his Scrywatch.]
So I already mentioned that the colors on these things change, based on what I think is what you do on the islands, but there are other uses for it. You can actually use it to communicate with any of the other Travelers on the island. You can send both private messages as well as group ones. Here I'll show you.
[He moves a bit closer and then types out a small message that reads 'hello!' and sends it to her Scrywatch directly.]
no subject
What colors have you seen? What do they mean?
[He's at least more careful to spell everything out for her while the ferry had been...rather rushed.]
I have never seen anything like this before.
no subject
No one really knows what the colors mean but mine started Yellow and then turned to Orange when I wasn't doing so well mentally. A friend of mine, hers has been Green this entire time. So your guess is as good as mine.
no subject
She realized that her features had turned serious, slightly dark with annoyance. She relaxed, doing her best to return the levity they had before.]
Do you plan to stay at the temple or somewhere else?
no subject
I was probably going to just stay at the Temple, I don't think any of the inns around here would be much better for what I can afford and I'd rather keep my money for things like supplies and drinks with new friends.
Sorry for slowness. I was really sick this week.
I can't imagine sleeping on those beds. There has to be something better in this city.
[And not that costly.]
Perhaps somewhere close to this inn?
No worries, I hope that you're feeling better
They're not so bad, I've slept on worse back home.
[He says with a shrug and then takes another sip of wine.]
But if you're really not enjoying them then yes, you could probably find lodging somewhere around here. If things are too costly you could see if anyone wanted to share a room with you, one of the other women Travelers maybe.
no subject
[And she is stubborn enough to not relent on that step backwards.]
I would offer that to them if I knew anyone else. You are the first person I've met or really gotten to know.
Are there other women? Do you know any?
no subject
[Now he blushes.]
I uh...I would share one with you but that probably wouldn't be...uh...you know...I mean we just met and....
[He clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair.]
Yeah, so far I know Roxy and Chloe the best. Chloe is very nice and polite and Roxy is.....uh...very energetic and willful.
no subject
I wasn't suggesting we room together. I merely meant you're the only person I know for now. There's no one else that I can turn to.
I should be able to rent on my own, I think.
[And privacy was something she wanted.]
Energetic and willful? That sounds like a kind way of putting something?
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