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Bang Up To The Elephant
✖ 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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
no subject
I know nothing about you? I think I've learned quite a lot about you already.
Because you've been needlessly vicious with me for... let's see, what did I do, exactly? [She feigns surprise:] Oh, that's right! I spoke to you. Asked for help. Gave my name, and expected yours in return! I even intervened to keep those lawmen from harassing you.
And while I can't say I'm "looking upon you favorably" right now, you can rest assured it's based entirely on the way you act.
no subject
no subject
Look, I don't expect you to trust me right off the bat, but... do you really think that I'm that much of a threat?
no subject
How are you not getting this? I don't think anything of you. You're noise. That's it. I just want to live in silence.
Do you get it now? Is that plain enough for you??
no subject
[She's clenching her fist in aggravation.]
If you want to live in silence, then you should stop making noise, yourself!
no subject
But if that's all it takes, then fine.
[He pulls his hood back up and heads down the alley, away from the the entrance where they had gathered. He hopes this will be enough to get it through her head.]
[There's no way she's stubborn and dumb enough to follow him now, right? He had to have succeeded in making her think he was too obnoxious to bother with.]
no subject
[And really, right now, she doesn't want to let him have that.]
You could just apologize, you know.
no subject
[Nope, still walking away.]
no subject
[She does learn quickly.]
no subject
[He whips around on her and storms back her way.]
Why can't you take a hint? Why are you so insistent on inserting yourself where no one wants you! I do not want to work with you. I don't want to be friends with you! I'm not even all that interested in figuring out why we're both here.
All I want? Is to be left alone. I have my reasons as to why that are none of your business. Okay? That's it. That should be the end of this conversation but you seem to keep missing the big problem here! If I ask you nicely will you leave? Is that what I have to do??
no subject
And it's not difficult.
no subject
Will you please leave me alone? I'm not looking for any tagalongs or friends. And I'm not going to be of any help to you.
There. Are we done?
no subject
[It's a lost cause. She gives a heavy sigh.]
... fine. I'll leave you be.
[When she turns to walk away, she does mutter something to herself, though:]
... you could be plenty of help, if you wanted to be...
no subject
Believe me when I say it's better this way.
no subject
Why, because you make things worse?
no subject
Yeah.
I do.
[He's not mad anymore. He just sounds...tired. Deflated. Relieved that she finally got it.]
...Good luck. Hope you make it home.
[Hood up, he starts making his way to the other street.]
no subject
[Something in his tone makes her stop. All the accusations didn't make her feel the least bit of remorse, but... that drop in voice did. And for a moment, she stays there, glancing over her shoulder, debating internally if she should act on this or, learning the lesson, leave it and move on.]
[Well, apparently she doesn't learn that quickly. She turns back towards him.]
... wait. Hold on.
no subject
What is it now, your Highness. You got me to ask you nicely. Do I need permission to be dismissed properly too?
no subject
[She almost chases that with an outright apology, but thinks better of it. Wouldn't that just be an open invitation for him to leave?]
... more than that, I swear that I don't mean to tell you how to live your life. I only want to help you. After all, if we'll all be stuck in these realms together, then you're only going to be encountering more problems going forward.
[Hey, Darin, remember how you were worried about getting stuck with her for good?]
no subject
Why not? You aren't wrong.
[He turns a bit to regard her.]
Look, Princess. I hate to break it to you, but maybe it's best you hear this now. Believe it or not, there are people out there who don't want to be helped. What you might consider a 'problem' might be just fine to them. Sometimes people just accept what's happens to them and make the best out of that.
For every minute you spend trying to help me, another minute goes by where someone who actually wants help is left unheard. I can get by. Always have. I'm more resilient than most.
[She'll never know just how resilient, though, and he gives a short, sad, little laugh at his own comment.]
no subject
But... look. Neither of us has any idea how much longer we'll be doing this. Are you absolutely sure that you only want to get by?
no subject
I wouldn't be any help to you because I have no intention of going home.
no subject
... you've decided to seek one of those paradises among the isles, then? Would returning be that awful?
no subject
I'm not looking for any 'paradise.' I don't plan on staying anywhere. I'll just keep traveling the isles.
See if they really are Endless.
[He's not going to answer her second question.]
no subject
[She puts it out there, but immediately thinks better of it. It's remarkable that he's even saying this much. If she presses too much, he might shut down the conversation.]
[So she withdraws by shifting the point of discussion.]
If you're planning on prolonging this forever, then isn't that even more reason to consider the people who will be with you on this trip?
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