Bang Up To The Elephant

[polymods]

✖ VICTORIA'S SECRET

Ⅰ. ARRIVAL
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The fog that has blanketed the city for a month finally lifts a little - there are days with actual sunshine now! Not many, and the sky is still frequently thick with smog, but every so often light pours through the holes in the clouds. The river that flows from the sea into the city still smells foul, but maybe you’re starting to get used to it.

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!

The High Temple has also reappeared at the edge of the city, with its considerably more comfortable lodgings.

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. The High Temple and anything you may have stored there is available to all characters 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. COME UNDONE
CW: dead bodies, archeological graverobbing.
Somehow, some way, you find yourself with an invitation card:

Lord Trewlaney at Home: the Unwrapping of
THE JEWEL OF THE SEVEN STARS!
Half-past Eight
Unwrapping? How saucy! Or perhaps you have an inkling of exactly what that means.

The invitation gets you entry to a well kept home on the more well-to-do side of the city. There are plenty of servants circulating with food and drink of which you are welcome to partake. Society’s elite chatter and mingle all around you; maybe you fit in, and maybe you don’t.

Regardless, you don’t have to wait very long for the main event. The host of this little soiree - presumably Lord Trewlaney himself, a little man with a weak chin and an impressive mustache - stands at the front of the room and holds his hands aloft.

“Ladies and gentleman,” he says in a clear voice. “BEHOLD! We shall now commence with the unwrapping of this, a fine example of Egyptian mummification, who was once called the Jewel of the Seven Stars!”

A wheeled table is brought forward, covered in a purple velvet cloth. Dramatically, Lord Trewlaney flings it back to reveal a body wrapped in ancient linen bandages. The crowd sighs, and Trewlaney’s eyes scan the crowd.

“Ah, you there!” he cries, pointing at you. Or maybe the person beside you.

“You folk there! Here, come up, my friends! You may have the honour of being a part of history!”

The crowd pushes you and your companion forward with excited murmurs. Soon enough the two of you are beside the mummy, and Trewlaney is handing you a pair of scissors. Up close the body smells of cinnamon and something else, something familiar.

“Reveal its face!” he urges you. And so, you cut.

Much to your surprise what is revealed is not a desiccated corpse, but your own likeness. Before you have time to react the mummy sits up and turns to face the audience, who oohs and ahhs.

The mummy’s lips part and it speaks. What does it say? Something extremely revealing; in plain terms, the mummy reveals something an aspect of yourself that you would rather have kept hidden.

Oh dear! You can shut yourself up, of course, but before you do maybe you ought to consider that interfering with a mummy was considered a surefire way to fall under a curse…

Notes:
1. What is revealed can of course be of any degree of seriousness. Murder? Or do you just secretly enjoy RomComs?

2. Shut the mummy up before it has its say and you will suffer the Mummy’s Curse: bad luck that will plague you for the rest of the month!

---

Ⅲ. IMAGINARIUM
The sign above the door simply reads Cabinet of Curiosities. How intriguing! And at the very least you can get out of the chill.

Inside there are dozens of wooden cases with glass fronts, each filled with shelves of all manner of objects. Some look expensive and exotic, while others are almost painfully mundane. There are taxidermied animals, wet specimens, fossils, glass eyes, rocks and crystals, pottery, statuettes… There’s a little of everything.

As you peer amongst the stuffed ducks and fossilized plants, you’ll spot something familiar. It’s an object that you recognise as personally significant whether because it’s from your life back home, or because it’s symbolic. It represents a dream or a hope you have for the future.

If you take the object out of the cabinet for a closer look, you and whoever happens to be standing nearby will instantly be transported to a hazy vision of what that lovely dream is. It won’t last forever - indeed, maybe only a moment. Depending on what that hoped for future is, you might have some explaining to do.

Notes:
1. All futures are something hoped for. They may be completely unrealistic and bittersweet, but they are something wanted and not feared.

---

Ⅳ. GARDENS
CW: mind altering substances.
If there’s one spot within the city where you might be able to find some refuge from the dank scent of ocean rot and the sour smell of body odour, then it’s going to be the Gardens. A jewel toward the west side of the city, you will find a greenhouse containing all manner of tropical plants, and a rose garden with over a 100 different types available for you to enjoy.

But why stop there? There are also areas where you can stop and have tea with a friend. They even have those little sandwiches with the crust cut off! They have cucumber, egg, and cream cheese. Each of these has a different effect: cucumber sandwiches will provide a mild sense of euphoria, while the egg will give you a lot of energy (and maybe some gas). Cream cheese will make you very relaxed and prone to oversharing. There are also perfectly regular cakes and biscuits available, as well.

Maybe you’re feeling a bit more somber. In the northeast end of the park there is a secret pet cemetery with over 300 tiny tombstones paying tribute to the tragic losses of many much-loved pets. The area is disused, overgrown with ivy and ferns. Sitting there evokes a sense of peace.

Prefer to see some living wildlife? Fear not, the park seems to attract several different types of songbirds which makes it a hotspot for birdwatching. There are binoculars available to use for that purpose. Or you could use them to peer into the city’s seamy underbelly. Just don’t get isolated and weird about it.

Sometimes I can still hear his voice...

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Comments

Sephiroth | OTA

[unkindled_madness]

I. Imaginarium

[Well, he is a curious man. The items in this place--he isn't actually sure if it's a shop or not--they may be improperly catalogued, but not all of them are worthless trinkets. Sephiroth moves away from the wet specimen jars and towards the rocks and statuettes that may be of a more archaeological nature...]

a) Lab (CW: murder, blood)

[Among the items is a pair of round, dark glasses, the lenses cracked. A fitting addition to a future effigy, perhaps. When he picks them up, he finds himself in the Shinra Building.

You may be able to identify your surroundings as some sort of research laboratory. You stand inside an observation deck, glass separating you from the rest of the lab. Beyond are metallic grey walls and low, green-ish lighting.

But you might not look around. Against the control panel is a man in a white lab coat, pinned there by Sephiroth's sword, his eyes already gone vacant behind his glasses. Blood stains his coat and drips from the panel to the floor beneath him.]

b) Portal

[This object fits right in among the fossils. It's a stone fragment bearing some sort of inscription in the language of the Cetra--something Sephiroth can only recognize, not read. But of course he's drawn to it.

This vision is much less grounded in reality. You stand on a hill overlooking a shoreline, and before you rises a stone arch with more of those inscriptions. The Cetra are more commonly called the Ancients, like the Ancient who serves as their captor. So, maybe it would look something like this. A portal to other worlds.

Through the arch a different place is visible. Sephiroth has never been to Earth, but the world beyond might resemble something out of a movie he glimpsed at the mall's electronics store, or a photograph in some encyclopedia. Probably, it isn't accurate. But it isn't Gaea either.]


II. Gardens

[After the poison garden, Sephiroth is cautious of entering the greenhouse. He watches from outside until he's observed others entering and exiting undeterred. He still isn't going to eat any of the food so politely laid out, though.

But it does smell better in here. Flowers aren't really his thing, so ultimately he finds his way over to the pet cemetery. After weeks of being harassed by a ghost, he relishes the quiet. You might come across him here reading a book, or perhaps watching the birds rather intently, as if he can will something to happen by staring at them. One wonders if they find his cat's eyes unsettling.]


((Feel free to hit me up at yinza if you'd like to plot anything!))

( i.a )

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki looks at the body. looks at sephiroth. in the driest of voices. ]

I'm shocked by this turn of events.

[unkindled_madness]

...the illusion is a bit unexpected.

[And maybe something about it is going to bother him in a moment, but for once... he's going to enjoy it first. He's imagined killing Hojo many times, but this is particularly vivid. He takes hold of the Masamune so he can experience the sensation of wrenching it back out of Hojo's body. The corpse slides to the floor.

This is even better than the abstract thought of Hojo being dead sometime in the future.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki clicks his tongue. ]

I take it you're in a good mood.

[unkindled_madness]

It's a pleasing sight.

[And he didn't even have to listen to Hojo speak beforehand, as he likely will when this happens for real. Didn't have to walk through the lab. Won't have to concern himself with consequences.

If only it could be so easy.]

[dothelokimotion]

So this is the man who was haunting you?

[unkindled_madness]

...yes.

[If it was him. Sephiroth's smile slips a little, but then he lifts the Masamune to stab it down into Hojo's corpse--

And the vision is gone. The Masamune strikes the floor. Which is strange in itself, considering he didn't bring it into the shop with him.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ hmm. ]

Were you related?

[unkindled_madness]

[There is a swift and severe shift in his mood at that question. Why ask that? What could possibly have given him that notion?]

No.

[And he does not want to hear any more questions in that vein.]

1A

[neverwither]

( Considering their conversation following the seance, the scene conjured around them seems... apt. First and foremost, she's curious about the surroundings themselves. Different to CyberLife, different to the tech lab at the house, but reminiscent nonetheless.

She does also look to the slain figure. This isn't real, and so Chloe can remain calm about it. That, and there's almost an inevitably to it. Dark as the path seems to her, Sephiroth may always decide to walk it.

So she quietly asks him: )

...What's it like?

( The act itself? Whatever feelings could be present in the aftermath? The idea of the man being gone? All of the above, really. )

[unkindled_madness]

[It's been on his mind, naturally, with that damn ghost pestering him for weeks for refusing to acknowledge Hojo's significance.

But he isn't significant in this vision. Just an empty corpse, a sack of flesh. He'll never say another word, never return Sephiroth's anger with that smug, knowing expression because there's always been something to hold him back from this.]

...satisfying.

[Maybe that isn't quite the right word, but it's the closest he can think of.]

[neverwither]

( Chloe would argue that Hojo’s presence in the vision at all points to his significance.

Right word or not, Chloe nods at it. It’s what she thought he might say. And maybe it is for him. )

The doing of it or knowing that the deed is done?

[unkindled_madness]

...both.

It would still be something, for him to die in some other manner-- [It actually made the ghost situation briefly enjoyable, when Loki suggested it] --but this is better.

This is how I want it.

[Alas, it's beginning to fade. He keeps his eyes steady on that corpse until it's gone.]

[neverwither]

( Hmm. She wouldn't have thought Hojo passing through means other than by Sephiroth's own hand would necessarily be... acceptable.

She watches him as he watches the body disappear. Despite how firm he's seemed on the matter, she does wonder if it is how he wants it or if he's telling himself he does. )

Is part of it knowing he'd definitely be gone?

[unkindled_madness]

Of course.

I never want to see him again. I don't even want him to think that it's possible.

[Hojo's death is really the only solution to that.]

[neverwither]

The way you spoke about ghosts before... Is it possible he could come back as a spirit?

( Raining on the parade a little there, but he also they can manifest and be burned so... Double death? )

[unkindled_madness]

[Sephiroth quirks an eyebrow at her, then shakes his head.]

Not in the way everyone here seems to think of them. Ghosts aren't complete individuals. They're fragments of spirit energy which failed to return to the Planet. They aren't even necessarily human.

When he dies, he will return to the Planet, and he will cease to be.

I.B.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Being the curious tinkerer that he is, Darin had no idea how long he'd been inside the shop of curiosities. What shook him from his thoughts and ministrations were the footsteps of a tall man with long, silvery hair.]

[Darin couldn't be sure if he was a denizen of this city or if he was transplanted like he was, but he watched through the corner of his eye as the man made his way around the shop.]

[Darin was about to go back to his business when he's suddenly standing on a hilltop overlooking a shoreline. He has just enough time to scan his surroundings, to see the archway, before he's shunted back into whatever reality this is.]

[He stumbles, dizzy, almost falling back into a rack of old time pieces. But he manages to stop himself, looking to the tall man.]

What...what the hell was that...?

That kinda looked like my home for a second...except for the weird archway...

[unkindled_madness]

[Sephiroth doesn't startle, but he does stare for a moment even after the vision is gone. Of all the things to show him... Is the Ancient taunting him?

His eyes flick aside to the stranger. With hair that color, he certainly isn't one of the locals either. Sephiroth supposes there are worse things that he might have seen uninvited.]

...an illusion. You'll find magic like that is not so uncommon here.

[Carefully, he replaces the stone fragment where he found it.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Oh good, another reason to hate and distrust this place.

[Darin huffs in annoyance as he crosses his arms over his wide chest.]

But...you saw it too, right? Or did we both see different things?

[unkindled_madness]

[Well, he's come into it with the appropriate attitude, hasn't he?]

Usually these things are shared. You said you saw the archway.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Yeah, I did, but I've never seen anything like it before.

It looked like...a gate or something. Did you recognize it?

[unkindled_madness]

No.

I think perhaps it was an invention.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

An invention?

[Darin rubs his chin in thought. He's not sure why this stranger came to that conclusion but they might as well continue down that particular avenue.]

Alright...if it was an invention, what was its purpose? And more than that, why show it to us?

[unkindled_madness]

[Oh, he's just politely being a dick.]

I don't know.

Are you certain it was unfamiliar? You said some part of it looked like your home.