westwhere | the sunken

the sunken | part i

THE SUNKEN

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Welcome to the first log of Arc VI: the Sunken, which covers 15 May – 2 June and doubles as a test drive meme.

Back/forward date as needed! The calendar date suggestions are indicative.

The TDM is open to everyone! If you decide to apply to the game, you can get an invite from current players or the upcoming enabling meme — or participate in the test drive meme and get in touch @

groundrules to chat things over. We currently have 13 slots available for new players.

Test drivers can use this post for logs and network posts — old timers, please make your network posts at

eastbound.

LOST AT SEA | TEST DRIVE TOURISTS

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You wake, gasping, in a stormy sea, your thoughts slowed to a confused trickle. Skill, floating wood or a kindly stranger — who you can’t understand — help you to reach shore.

Villagers discover you collapsed on sand and provide critical (if rickety) communication and translation devices. They say you are in Sunken Yancai, a fishing village progressively overtaken by waters and cursed by the secretive ‘ladies of the lake’ to transit through time.

■ Rescuers group newcomers and supply questionable village couture, warm meals and accommodations in abandoned, half-flooded homes or spare small boats anchored in Yancai’s waterways. Huddle up, recover your strength and don’t think too hard on why your memories are hazy over the next three days.

■ Come morning, you visit village leader Quanze Tsaymien, then the sorceress Karsa — who explains you are otherworlders summoned into Akhuras by undead lords who wish to weaponise you in their battle against humans and one another. Karsa is an associate of the Merchant, who leads otherworlders towards ancient transport beacons east.

■ One such beacon rests dormant in Yancai. The group must infiltrate the village and wait a few weeks until it shifts to a point back in time when the beacon was active.

■ Newcomers are handed passport papers with their new identities in Yancai, where they may be known as a bankrupt merchant, perpetually drunk sailor, whale hunter, raft surveyor, mermaid who has just gained their legs, crab collector... feel free to invent a dutifully ~~hilarious~~ apt role for their seaside sojourn.

OLD TIMERS | THE DRIFTING

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You dragged yourself here in a haze. You arrived long ago, as if in a dream. You were born and bred in this village. In truth, your memories of reaching lively Yancai feel nebulous and alarmingly inconsequential.

Characters are facilitated new identities and dwellings by the Merchant, or believe they have had them all along.

■ A weary Karsa warns to say nothing to party members with altered memories, until the sorcery that affects them runs its course.

■ Memory-altered characters progressively regain their memories within three to five days (by 20 May). They have their memories partially or fully back at night ( midnight to 5 a.m.). Throughout the day, memory regains can trigger migraines, eerie confusion and paranoia.

■ Hauntings begin once characters have fully regained their memories.

■ Once everyone is ‘back to normal,’ Karsa explains that Yancai periodically transits through time. The memory alterations are a magical solution endorsed by the village council, which ensures locals mentally weather these shifts. Villagers continue to blithely accept you as part of the community.

(DON'T) HOLD YOUR BREATH

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Karsa reunites the existing party and newcomers, issuing first assignments. The Merchants’s information suggests the beacon of Yancai will be online once the village travels in time within weeks. A dubious Karsa asks the party to check on the beacon, located in the former House of Commerce of the largely inundated merchants’ district. Reach it by rowing boat.

■ Villagers say the Master of Commerce, a famous musician, took precautions against intruders.

■ All ground and lower floor entryways of the palatial House were boarded to restrict flooding. To enter, pick locks or climb the putrid stairwell towards upper balconies.

■ Inside, the hissing of running water — and, in the lower levels, of thin, slippery leeches whose bite numbs your limbs, while they attempt to feed. You seem to experience pronounced vertigo when entering any decaying rooms covered in black mould.

■ The beacon is located on a dais in the basement vault room, where water rises near 1 meter. Only a few scattered scrolls and golden decorations remain among decorations, while a large ceiling carving writes, greed deafens man to the cries of his conscience; music sets him free.

■ Some tiles of the marbled floor stand out as you wade — step on one, and all doors abruptly slam shut, while dozens of obscured holes in the wall start to rapidly spill water, threatening to fill the room to the ceiling within the hour. You hear the tinny, waning sound of a village song played from a hidden source.

■ To stop the pouring water and open the doors, sing the song you hear, or find the music box that produces it amid debris on the water-covered floors. Wind it, and it plays its song in reverse, revealing the voice of a laughing elderly man who says, Depressingly, Anurr was right to worry.

■ Don’t forget to check the beacon — and report back to Karsa that it looks structurally untarnished.

THEY SLEEP

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After surprising revelations at previous citadels, Karsa tasks you to investigate just how… permanent death is in Yancai. Villagers share that their dead are buried in a strange rite at sea — part of which will take place within days.

■ The dead are ‘entombed’ in one-man sarcophagi ships with carved and chained lids that depict their likeness. These burial boats are set at sea on the first day of each season and return three months later.

■ Join the harbours around 22 May, when mourners gather to receive the burial boats. Characters must pretend to be greatly anguished relatives, acquaintances or debt collectors to join the grieving.

■ The boats float towards you, seemingly of their own volition. Gaze afar and spot a boat carrying a man in black — the same who haunts some characters — who observes until the last burial ship has reached the piers, before he disappears.

■ Sailors draw up the boats and unpeel the untouched chains and lids, to reveal… no corpses. Peer closer and find neither biological signs (stench, liquids) of discomposure, nor the magical chillness of spaces where cadavers have lingered long. Scratch marks litter the inside of some boat lids.

■ Mourners seem grateful that the waters have ‘accepted’ the bodies. Some say that their relatives whose boats have yet to return must have been stolen by the ‘ladies of the lake,’ a villainous witch coven. Speak to mourners or sailors for clues.

■ Linger long near opened burial boats, and you feel tempted to throw yourself into the sea, slowly losing consciousness — until someone rescues you.

AMONG US

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On 25 May, village leader Quanze Tsaymien drags the chained and half feral mistress Miang-si to households and Yancai’s largest market square.

The young woman, he says, was seduced by the ladies of the lake — the furtive witch coven that condemned Yancai to time travel. Luckily, the village elders have… coaxed Miang-si back onto the righteous path.

■ Miang-si is brought door-to-door to point out her 'accomplices.' Ill at ease, villagers whisper of similar witch hunts leading to false accusations and blood-curdling repercussions.

■ Both men and women are suspected and brought before Miang-si. Perhaps she takes an eerie interest in you, getting especially close to catch your scent, touch or remark on (in)visible hurts, or even dotingly kiss you. If you whisper quickly while she’s near, you might be able to ask one question.

■ If you are patient and kind to Miang-si, she briefly squeezes your hand as she withdraws. Within the hour, you find blood writ on your palm that warns, Our fat moon rises red.

■ If you are agitated, or if Quanze rushes her during your visit, Miang-si erupts into sudden, side-splitting cackling — while you find yourself croaking like a toad, or transforming into one and retaining human speech. The spell dissolves after eight hours.

■ Quanze’s long-suffering men say this sorcery breaks faster if you kiss one of the curmudgeonly emerald toads that hide in some of Yancai’s lakes. Catch one such delightful, slime-spitting creature or barter it from merchants at a costly premium.

ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT

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A full moon is set to rise within days of Miang-si’s visit, on 27 May — just as Yancai shows signs of time shifting. Villagers are prone to stilling and staring askance, seeming lost or adrift.

The village itself evolves: one moment, the same house appears freshly new, then drowned, while waterways overfill with water, then seem barren. Overall, the village deteriorates.

■ That day, the sun suffers a midday eclipse, while droves of black birds circle the woods and village outskirts, attacking those who come close.

■ The waters increasingly thicken and darken, preventing boats from entering certain waterways.

■ An exceedingly bright moon and a diffuse lunar replica rise with nightfall. Come midnight, the village is alive with the sounds of ripping, structural collapse and shrieks. Tar-covered corpses emerge from the waters, clawing on and climbing up piers. They swarm, drawing passers-by into waters to drown them. Help them — and foremost, yourself.

■ Light and fire keep the dead at bay. On some waterways, wildfire now spells, WHAT IS WET WAS WRONGED

■ Weaker alone, fresh corpses climb into your rowing boat, pretending they are innocents who seek shelter. They betray themselves by speaking very slowly, struggling to keep track of the conversation or obliviously peppering it with details of their death. They stubbornly ask questions about you, repeating your answers, and become violent if you say they are dead. Push them into the water at first opportunity.

■ Quanze Tsaymien and other men of the village take arms, urging villagers to barricade in the nearest home, harbour or warehouse and weather the night. They advise to be silent and beware the dead who imitate living voices, warning not to touch any black mould or water that suddenly appear in your home — which alert the dead of your presence within.

■ Some dead try to tear you apart, while others seek to feed you a disgusting, tar-like black mould. A small taste of it makes you sluggish and feeble for two-three hours, while an entire fistful can kill.

■ If the undead infiltrate your house, hold your breath, do not move and keep from screaming. The dead have weak sight and olfactory senses and might pass you by, as long as you stay silent. It can be more efficient to fool than kill the dead.

■ By 5 a.m., houses start to replenish themselves, gaining a new appearance, while water and mould retreat. The dead withdraw into waterways. Outside doors have been marked with blood: vertical lines tell how many living people remain inside; horizontal ones count how many within died overnight.

■ You step to seize a brave new day — while Yancai enters a new time period (further details due in the next plot update).

NOTES

■ The game enabling meme goes up on 25 May.

■ Hit up available NPCs here or in their new inbox!

■ QUESTIONS.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Drifting Days 1-5 | Blessed Child | OTA
cw: amnesia
She's not even sure how it works. People just seem to want her in their home. America grins during her stay there and has fun conversation. The household gives her payment as she leaves, possibly even a free meal before then, and everyone seems happier?

It works for her, and gives her plenty of food and other things to take home to her adoptive family at The Dancing Seagull.

She's more than eager to be present for anyone who requests her services, and prefers getting paid, but there are times at the Dancing Seagull she finds an ill customer (who knows what they ate) and offers, "If it helps, I'll give you a free visit if you still pay us for the bad food. I'm really sorry about that."

America might be setting herself up for a fight on that one.

Days 1-5 | Closed to the Dancing Seagull (including patrons)
cw: amnesia
America can't even remember how they all came together, or why, but she knows they're the closest thing to family she's ever had, and she's not going anywhere.

Even if the food doesn't always come out right. Honestly, her and Nacho might need to take over the kitchen one of these days, but everyone there means well. They're good people, and no one can convince her of anything else.

When she enters after a particularly profitable visit, the first thing she does is make sure everyone is aware of her presence, never mind how loud she is, or if she's interrupting meals.

"I'm back! I got more food for us!"

Days 6-8 | Closed to the Dancing Seagull only
cw: distress and possible parent-loss related trauma
"Mom!" America shouts it as she wakes, eyes wide and confused.

She doesn't dream, so she knows that couldn't have been some sort of subconscious wish. Whatever just happened was real. Or real enough.

In her shaken state, she doesn't consider hallucinations, or other ways in which the mind could trick her, or other things that could pretend to be one of her mothers. No, the only thing she "knows" is one of them was here, in this room, and now she isn't.

"Where did you go?! Speaking in Spanish still translates with the pendant around her neck (she never takes it off), but she still falls back to her native tongue in her distress. She starts to look around the dwelling, desperate for a sign her mom was there, or her mom herself. She starts turning over and anything and everything, even if it's in use, possibly getting in the way of the others who also sleep there. Hopefully she didn't wake anyone up.

Days 6-8 | So About Her Powers | OTA
She doesn't know everything that's to come, but now that America is both off the train, and fully herself again, it's time to see about getting out of there.

Only problem is, when she finally punches a star shaped hole into the world around her...it doesn't take her to another universe, far as she can tell. What shows through the attention-getting, brilliantly white star looks like the train yard. With a yelp, she dissipates the star-shaped hole and blinks.

"¡My god! That wasn't supposed to happen."

Maybe she just did it wrong, somehow? Again.

The next star just takes her even further back, to the place they arrived and got into the carriages. NOPE. She closes that hole as well.

Hopefully no one is watching this epic failure?

Not that being able to instantaneously travel, or teleport, from one spot to another is terrible, that might come in handy, but it's not what she wants.

More punched holes just prove more of the same and leave America knowing one thing - she can't punch her way out of this universe, and something happened to her powers.

(Don't) Hold Your Breath | OTA
Deep in the House of Commerce at this point, it seems a bad idea to turn back, not when they've come this close, but the room America finds herself in is frustratingly full of water. She's nearly swimming in the room. It's hard to tell where the tiles are beneath them and make them out.

Needless to say, when she steps on one and the room shuts close and water starts to steam from everywhere around them she wants to just give up.

"That was a bad tile to step on." She actually looks sheepish about it. "Anyone got any ideas of how to get out of this one?"

Because she only has one, and they won't be proceeding forward if she opens a portal.

Ill Met by Moonlight | OTA
cw: zombies, tar, violence
When the walking animated corpses attempt to get into the place she's run to for shelter, America doesn't waste time and punches them. If she sees anyone in any danger, America doesn't waste time on words, but pulls, shoves, or punches the corpses.

She's all for being kind, but she's already had a couple of the corpses try to feed her this ugly looking tar? And she is NOT doing that, or letting that happen to anyone else!

Wildcard; More zombie shenans, more sunken adventures, some pretend mourning? Inspired for something else? Everything else goes here.

[OOC: Will do [, (, past, present, prose, whichever is most comfortable - I will follow. Feel free to contact me on plurk

metaljean, on this journal, or discord #midnightcat8900. Even if we don't have plans, feel free to hit me up or request something more personalized.]

The life of a blessed child is wonderful, but America can't help the desire in herself to get out there in the world, to see more of it than just Yancai. She has a drive, and a need. And, if there can be female pirates, than why not her? After all, she won't be a child forever, so what happens when she's a Blessed Adult?

Best she start thinking of career moves.

And what better place to get advice than the House of Goodness and Godliness, she thinks. Maybe someone there will be able to guide her.

She knocks on the door, even if there's a bell to ring available, and waits with a hopeful smile on her face for service.

Whether the house of Goodness and Godliness gives her adequate advice or not, she still goes to visit, curious to speak to the pirates. Maybe even check if they have openings for younger individuals, at the moment.

She gets to the ship and calls out, "Anyone home?"

Allison jerks awake at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, rolling off the side of her cot and onto her feet. She's pretty sure none of the other members of the crew are expecting anyone, and neither is she. But she's certainly willing to investigate, and as she comes up over the deck, peering down at the girl in front of her.

"Can I ... help you?"

"Hi! I'm America," she cheerfully explains with a bright smile. Most people seem to like knowing the Blessed Child is visiting them, it doesn't occur to her everyone might not feel the same.

"I was wondering if you have any openings for someone to learn how to be a pirate. Like, maybe I can do little things here and there for you. Mop the deck. Run some errands."

" ... Sure."

Pirates are nothing if not willing to farm out unnecessary chores. She glances back over her shoulder, trying to see what's on the deck for her to do. There's probably something, she just needs to think about it for a moment.

"C'mon up. We'll see what we've got for you to do."

She hadn't expected it to be that easy. America almost doesn't know how to react to the response.

"Just like that?" America is so excited about this and scrambles up to the ship, eagerly, before even giving Allison a chance to respond.

"Pirates are lazy by nature. If someone wants to do our work for us, we don't say no."

But America does have a point about maybe giving in a little too easily. She should probably see why a kid is volunteering to be a pirate in the first place.

"But why do you want to be a pirate?"

America Chavez | MCU | Old Timer

Personalized Prompts

So Ya Wanna Be a Pirate, Eh? | Closed to Eda and house of Goodness and Godliness

So Ya Wanna Be a Pirate, Eh? | Closed to Allison and The Dark Companion

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(don't) hold your breath

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Days 1-5

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day 6-8 | shows up late with flowers :'(

The flowers are gorgeous, there is no such thing as late here

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