#setting information

[ask-gakuen-kiku]

whats ur new school like

That’s all I know so far…I’ve only been here for a little bit after all

[sailclothofthefirstship]

Anora

Anora is the largest nation in the The West Wind Archipelago, a prosperous trading port of call that is an important of the Highland Empire. A tributary of House Ranath, the Imperials married themselves into the royal family four centuries ago and have maintained a significant presence on the island ever since. Until recently, this arrangement was mutually beneficial. Anora was wealthy enough that the tribute demanded did not overly tax its inhabitants, and the presence of the Imperial Navy meant the island was safe from raiders and pirates. Even far-flung villages in West Wind were questionable targets, as no pirate captain wanted to risk the wrath of the Imperial fleets. Like most native populations in the far West, Anora's people are the product of God-Blooded tampering. Native Anorans typically have bronze skin, blue (sky or ocean-colored), black, or brown hair, and green or blue eyes, though it's not unusual to see Anorans of mixed or Imperial blood, as travelers arrive on the capital island from all over the world. Many of the Imperial families living on Anora have been there for centuries and have effectively been naturalized, most of them never having seen the Highlands. Anora's chief exports are pearls, mangoes, and coconuts. However, their most important tribute to the Empire is a luxury product called palmeru oil. The palmeru, a type of tropical fish, are abundant in the The West Wind Archipelago, and all attempts to cultivate a native population elsewhere in the world have thus far failed. Palmeru are not inedible, though they have tough flesh and their taste is bland and flat. Their true value lies in the oil that can be pressed from their bodies, which softens the hair and gives it incredible luster and shine. It is considered an essential part of the Imperial beauty regimen for both men and women, and past shortages have created an uproar in the Highlands. The catching, sorting, and pressing of palmeru fish, as well as the manufacture of palmeru oil, is Anora's main industry and the source of the island's great wealth. However, citizens of Anora also farm, fish, hunt, cut stone, and weave. In addition to the Imperial Navy, there is a small standing army of native Anorans, personally loyal to the Queen. However, their main function of this force is disaster relief and peacekeeping between native Anorans who do not wish for Imperial involvement in their business. Anora (and the surrounding islands) are very poor in metal, and there are no significant mining efforts anywhere in West Wind. Most of the metal in use in Anora was imported from Valdinor. About fifteen years ago, new techniques made pearl diving profitable, and now three pearl companies have their headquarters in the Anoran capital. Fish, squid, rice, mangoes, and coconuts are staple foods on Anora. Imperials introduced chickens and ducks to the The West Wind Archipelago two centuries ago, and several modern recipes are considered 'native' despite incorporating eggs or poultry. Most Anorans consider eating whole palmeru to be garbage food, though the paste that is a by-product of the oil extraction process has a savory taste that makes it useful in some dishes. Traditional Anoran families eat communal meals, though important or wealthy Anorans often have two tables or eating areas in their home, to accommodate the sensibilities of Imperial guests. Human slavery is illegal on Anora, though the island has no shortage of Alchemical servants and laborers, most of them in the service of one Imperial family or another. Taku Iti The West Wind island closest to Anora, Taku Iti is one of the few truly non-Imperial nations in the world, having seceded from Anora seventy years prior to AR 999. They attribute their independance to a steadfast resistance to Imperial expansion, but in reality, their island is difficult to approach in Imperial ships and they have nothing worth taking. There is some tension and jealousy between Taku Iti and Anora, with the people of Taku Iti seeing the Anorans as pampered Imperial lapdogs and the Anorans seeing the people of Taku Iti as dangerous, unpredictable rebels who want what they have. The Bluegill Holdout A pirate enclave, Bluegill is home to a dangerous clan of God-Blooded. Distressed by their thinning blood, the Bluegill Clan took to mixing with monsters from the bottom of the sea in order to maintain their divine and sorcerous might. The results were enormously successful but... disquieting. Thoroughly evil and deeply insane, the Bluegill Pirates were the scourge of the West Wind Archipelago, Rael, and even Thalis (carrying out a number of bold raids on the mainland’s coastal cities) before the Imperial Navy broke the back of their fleet and forced them back into their hidden enclaves. The Ocean Shrine Supposedly the location where a member of the Pantheon departed Asharin, the Ocean Shrine is an immensely holy site and most adults go on pilgrimages there at least once in their lives. It is the furthest corner of the world to which civilization extends, and according to legend, beyond the Shrine, the Great Western Ocean extends forever. While Imperial and Anoran scholars both claim the planet is round, no ships that have sailed beyond the Western horizon have ever returned. Thalis Directly across the sea from Anora is Thalis, an Imperial state that most Anorans are referring to when they say 'the mainland'. A coastal nation, Thalis and Anora have been on good terms for centuries, and there is no history of conflict or violence between the two countries. Even 'well-traveled' Anorans have seldom gone further inland than Thalis, a narrow nation whose landmass stretches along the coastline like a ribbon, about three thousand kilometers from north to south. Visitors and merchants from Thalis are common in Anora, and Thalis' primary industry is energy. The nation is home to hundreds of energy and mana-generating constructs from the Age of Wonders. Most of these no longer function without human intervention, and the majority of the population is employed in monitoring and maintaining them to serve Imperial interests. The second largest industry is, of course, farming. Rael Far north of Anora is Rael, a heavily militarized nation perched atop the Godscar Tertius and under the command of the First Imperial Princess (after whom the island is named). Rael's primary industry is the manufacture and distribution of Alchemical servants, and the process is a secret so valuable to the Empire that the island is heavily guarded. Even the Imperial Navy can't approach without special permission, and the Princess is quick to deal with any security threat with a heavy hand.

[dungeonmasterpoisonbite]

Some detailed information on the Setting of Wednesday Friendsday! I edited some stuff, added some more stuff, reworded some more stuff, and rearanged some stuff, so I hope this is better than the homebrewery link found on Episodes 1 and 2.

[prinxperseverant]

Monday Metamorpheus infodump continues

Orpheus was founded in the late 19th century, around 1890, and this is also where the timeline and art and culture of the Metamorpheus universe starts to strongly diverge from our own universe (plus a lot of it is more sexually open and progressive due to metahuman influence) to the extent that none of the literature, music, films, etc are the same as ours.

(although there is a film studio called Morpheus Films that produces movies that are like feverdream filtered knock-offs of movies from our world. Morpheus Films is staffed mostly by eldritch metahumans who can remember details of movies/media from alternate universes and sometimes even agree on enough to cobble together a script and production of a film)

The reason why it starts diverging at that point is that although a small number of metahumans and metahuman artefacts existed throughout human history, it was limited for a long time by the factions not having enough power or attention to spare to influence goings-on on earth. Up until this point, all four of them (eldritch, fae, angelic and demonic) were engaged in a cosmic struggle against a fifth otherworldly faction or being that wanted to devour/destroy the earth and its inhabitants entirely and leave nothing behind.

The entities which make up the factions, being rather fond of humans even if they do ultimately wish to transform all of them into beings like themselves, were allied in fighting off this mystery threat. Once they won that battle, though, it was back to being rivals in trying to seduce and transform humanity. The original entities rarely interact with earth directly, preferring to create objects imbued with their power (artefacts) and influence individuals from afar (metahumans) to advance their goal.

All the factions feed off of/get energy from transforming humans and from their desires and from the desires that metahumans continue to have, without using that up. If they ever manage to transform all of the adult population of earth, they'll still get energy from the metahumans of their factions.

Nobody is particularly aware of it at this point in the story, but Metahumans can continue to transform somewhat according to their desires - if their desires change, so can their forms. Metahumans of different factions who are strongly involved with each other can gain traits from the other faction and even become hybrids over time. This is in contrast to the original entities, which have more fixed natures and forms.

[prinxperseverant]

I feel like I should apologise that my Metamorpheus setting information posts are not sexy, most are just me thinking through how Orpheus actually even works as an organisation

Anyway here's some information about the colour associations for the different factions (plus Orpheus)

Eldritch has green (and to some extent black because, latex and eldritch goop) Fae has purple Angelic has gold (and white) Demonic has red (and sometimes black)

Orpheus has blue plus silver accents

The metahuman faction colours aren't a hard rule, since metahumans do whatever they want, but angelic metahumans tend to stick more strongly to the white and gold aesthetic, and demonic metahumans are more likely to enjoy an edgy look. Hybrid metahumans mix the associated colours or throw the palette out the window altogether.

Orpheus has blue plus silver details in the uniform for agents, and it's encouraged to wear blue and silver but not actually a rule for researchers and admin staff.

Almost all members of Orpheus wear a lyre shaped lapel pin of some sort. The lyre pin would be silver, and so are tie pins, but ties and uniform elements would be blue generally. Orpheus field agents look fairly non-descript in a uniform of white shirt, blue tie, and black or very dark blue trousers/skirt and jacket.

[prinxperseverant]

I've decided that Eon's site, Epsilon-1, is located somewhere between Amiens and Abbeville in France. Phi-2 (where Conall is directory) is somewhere outside of Canterbury in England. I had a rough idea of where they were before (and that sending staff from Phi-2 to help with the containment breach in Epsilon-1 would have taken at least 3 hours and a trip through the channel tunnel) but figured I should narrow it down.

Generally speaking a lot of the early sites are grand old buildings located in scenic countryside areas because they're modelled somewhat after Sanatoria, in that the idea of having them somewhere calm and beautiful and away from society would be good for the "patients'" nerves and that would hopefully help them overcome their mysterious malady. This goes back to the motivations of the original founder of Orpheus, who set the organisation up near the end of the 19th century while hoping for a cure. The founder was French, which is why the first 5 sites are in various locations in France. (I will share more info on the founder's story in a separate post at some point.)

As mentioned here, Omicron-1 is the original founder's former house and now an archive relating to the organisation's history. Rho-1 and Phi-1 have accounting and administrative functions. (Rho-1 and Phi-1 used to be containment sites but no longer are.) Epsilon-1 is the main English-speaking containment site in France. Upsilon-1 is a French-language site, I imagine there's a long rivalry between the two because Epsilon-1 is slightly older and it's a little annoying to Upsilon-1's staff that the oldest currently running containment site in France is English speaking. Site directors and more senior staff in other countries are strongly encouraged to learn French or English or both to facilitate communication, since both languages are used as official languages in the organisation. Orpheus aim to have at least one site in every country in the world, which now that I think of it means there's more than 200 sites and at least 35 sets of 6 sites each (I said sets of 6 because of the naming scheme.)

The more modern sites are still in isolated areas for secrecy reasons, unfortunately they are afflicted by 21st century cost-effective building technique disease and look like a big featureless cuboid shape from the outside. (They have windows but the kind that don't let you see in.) As far as people passing by know, it could be a factory, or it could be fuckin anything. Who knows.

[prinxperseverant]

O.R.P.H.E.U.S. Site names

Orpheus branches are named after one of the letters from the greek for Orpheus - ΟΡΦΕΥΣ - and a number. Omicron, Rho, Phi, Epsilon, Upsilon, Sigma The lower (closer to 1) the number + letter combo the older the site is.

Omicron-1 is the "Founder's House" for example. (first letter + first number). Omicron-1 is the founder's house/organisation archives/a small museum of items that have been kept from the time Orpheus was founded around the end of the 19th century.

Eon's site was Epsilon-1 so they actually had a fairly "prestigious" position (I imagine -1 sites are generally assigned to directors who have shown exemplary performance).

Rho-1 and Phi-1 have some special uses in terms of administration, the ethical oversight committee, and the accounting department which are kept far away from potential metahuman exposure, but aside from that the -1 numbers are just Status nonsense, and don't have particular significance other than everyone knowing the directors have to have done a good job to get assigned there. The head office for the accounting/finance department is responsible for looking after the money bequeathed in the founder's will over a century ago and making sure that it's invested well, allocating day to day running expenses/the budgets for the sites, and signing off on the money needed to set up new sites or to acquire equipment that goes beyond normal day to day expenses. Individual sites each have smaller accounting and finance departments that look after the budget of their own sites.

The prestige of -1 sites is also part of why Epsilon-1 falling is a particular blow to the organisation, along with it being the only site that's "fallen" in the decades since working containment procedures were properly put in place.

Phi-2, Conall's site, is a pretty decent one to be posted to. It's relatively old so there's some pieces of vintage furniture around the place in the offices, and it had an old manual locks for the rooms before everything was upgraded to a remote locking system (along with several of the other older sites). Despite Conall's stress levels he's been doing a good enough job that when he requested funding for setting up something as ostentatious as a site orchestra, the accounting department signed off on it. A lot of other sites have sports clubs or gyms or other social activities.

One thing Orpheus as an organisation has learned pretty well over the years is that if the employees aren't happy, they're more easily tempted by the metahumans they're supposed to be containing, so employee wellbeing is fairly important. The employees' union in Orpheus are quick to remind management of that whenever there's a dispute.

There are a few other sites that have been discussed with my cocreators but don't have a lot of detail to them yet.

Upsilon-3, aka Ups-3, also called "Upsie" by the staff there, is known as the Dollhouse. That's where metahumans who have had inanimate transformations are contained, and "containment" looks a lot different there than on other sites, since a lot of inanimate metahumans will be inert/unmoving so long as their desires or purpose in being transformed continues to be fulfilled. I'll explain more about Ups-3 another time.

Rho-5 is a research campus that's part of Orpheus, it's not a containment site. Researchers can live onsite and it's pretty modern. Research is being done into things like how metahuman artefacts work. It's set up somewhat like a university.

Omicron-5 is the Vault/long-term storage for metahuman artefacts. Sites used to have long-term artefact storage but a dedicated location was set up as part of modernising things (at around the same time as Rho-5), also ensuring that all sites don't just have a huge quantity of transformative artefacts lying around. Sites will get new artefacts and study them somewhat before sending them to long-term storage in Omicron-5.

Omicron-5 and Rho-5 are located at a decent enough distance from each other that Orpheus could have its own courier to ship artefacts from storage to be researched and then back again.

Omicron-5 is the home of dick mountain, a large number of sex toys from indie toy manufacturers that are suspected to be run by metahumans (which means the toys are artefacts in their own right and could cause their users to transform).

[askthewitchsbrewinn]

The Witch’s Brew Inn

The inn itself is little more then an old building on the edge of a small Irish village with four floors, the main floor being mostly taken up with the eating and staff areas, there are 25 tables thought the dinning area that each sit a max of four people, where the staff areas include the kitchen area as well as 7 rooms that the staff stay in, actually living on site. the upper floors hold guest rooms, which are much larger then staff rooms, and still only have 7 on each floor. the Cellar is another area of the inn, used for storage of food and things the inn needs kept dry and out of the public eye. No one knows the age of the inn, all they know it has been here as long as anyone can remember, and seems to appear in the history of the small village it sits in a lot, namely as the first building there and that no one ever saw being built.