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in a rainy town, balloons dance with...
[[ an independent oc-ask+rp blog moved to 01011000-01001111 ]]
info last updated: 1 April 2016
The Ouroboros (or Xero, as often referred in meta) is a [REDACTED] that works as a “problem-fixer” for a mysterious organisation. The goal: Preserve reality “as it is”—meaning NO truth-shattering status-quo-breaks!!!
𝐈 . ⸺ As an amorphous void-entity, the Ouroboros can spawn concurrent proxies of itself, linked via hivemind. As it can control every aspect of its appearance, it uses this ability to LARP as various employees and surveil the ship, five of which I’ll detail blow.
𝐈𝐈 . ⸺ A “recurring side character” that shows up to help other OCs stay safe and sane. I’ll mostly use them in group RPs that interface with the Sapphire’s staff or as needed to further Anchors Aweigh!’s loose overarching storyline. That said, if you think any of their proxies would play off your OCs well, feel free to interact!
𝐈𝐈𝐈 . ⸺ While the Ouroboros plays an all-star cast of cruise line Crew Members of the Month, it’s even better at its real job: Keeping the general public in the dark.
“How did I get to the observation deck? I was just in an elevator…”
“Wasn’t this hallway destroyed yesterday?”
“What do you mean this cabin was always occupied by the Miller family?! My friend died in there last night!”
“A monster? What are you taking about, man? I was at the seawalk with you and I didn’t see anything. Are you tripping?”
Strange events, destruction of property, even deaths—such things can be covered up neatly overnight by the Ouroboros and its company associates. Of course, a lucky few will always escape “fixing” and have their memories of every oddity intact… “But,” it asks, “aren’t those little inconsistencies what makes mass-gaslighting fun?”
Below is the appearance and impression information of each proxy, along with some key traits if you’d like to imagine them attending to your OCs! Feel free to have a proxy cameo in RPs, art, or fics where your characters interface with Sapphire of the Seas staff ☺️ Just keep them unnamed since I can’t go over the lines for ICness! Schrödinger’s Xero…
While each proxy seems to have a backstory and distinct personality, it’s all a fabrication by the Ouroboros based on its own self-aspects. “It’s only natural that a good actor connects with the characters it plays, after all.” Fleshed-out personae also helps to sell the LARP-lie.
For visual reference, Flamel’s hair is a light warm grey, Clair’s is Hollywood blonde, Artem’s is oil-slick black, and Seolhyun’s is milk tea brown. Itsuki allegedly went grey young, but no one’s seen his face.
THE BARTENDER FLAMEL SHI
⸺ㅤotoge capture target ㅤhe / they ㅤ34 ㅤ188cm (6’2”)
A Hong Kongese drifter trying to find himself after he lost his “reason.” His serene exterior belies a dull melancholy. On the job, Flamel is magnetic, favoured by coworkers and patrons alike. It’s not uncommon for customers to try to buy him a drink. “Well, maybe just one shot… [laughs] I’m being a little bad, aren’t I? Let’s keep this our little secret, okay?”
GOOD CONVERSATION — always knows just what to say to make a client loosen up and feel at home
GOOD INTUITION — knows when to cut someone off, care for anxious or overstimulated guests, and stop creeps in their tracks
GOOD DRINKS — has the uncanny ability to make cocktails to a customer’s exact tastes, even with the vaguest requests
He plays the piano in the Jazz Lounge when he has free time, with such finesse that patrons are shocked it’s not his real job. It’s true he’s a virtuoso, but… With “that person” gone, what reason does he have to pursue the stage…?
THE STEWARDESS CLAIR DE LUNE
⸺ㅤ1950s bimbo barbie ㅤshe / her ㅤ26 ㅤ168cm (5’6”)
A starry-eyed young bride who wanted to see the world before settling down and having kids. Her CEO husband, Roger, works in tech. Has somehow developed a Transatlantic accent due to “I suppose it was the move to America after spending so much time in England!”
HIGH INT, LOW WIS — knows the ship, what goes on inside it, and every rule and regulation like the back of her hand; she can quickly, clearly, and accessibly answer any question a guest might have, but is naive outside of work and often takes things too literally
SERVICE WITH A SMILE — not even the most unruly customers can break her spirit! her sunny, clueless vibe makes it hard to stay hostile towards her
A PROFESSIONAL ALWAYS DELIVERS — a miracle worker with a contingency plan for every little mishap, Clair is determined to show her guests a good time even if she has to think outside of the box to salvage a bad situation. bad weather, damages, missing supplies—there is always a solution
She seems to be Mongolian and enjoys spicy hotpot. The shiny ring on her left hand has a certain appeal to scumbags: Pretty young thing, and her husband’s never around? That’s always how it starts 😏
THE CLEANER ARTEM ELEGY
⸺ㅤ sexy slasher™ㅤ any pronounsㅤ 32ㅤ 206cm (6’9”)
A Sakha hunter with few words of their own. But rumour has it Artem Elegy used to live deep in the Siberian mountains, ripping bears apart with their bare hands and diving deep in the frigid Arctic sea. Rumour has it they’re an escaped USSR experiment. Rumour has it they eat people.
“I heard when he was born, his parents abandoned him because they thought he was the devil.”
“Dude, I heard she killed so many people in prison that they let her out, since at least that way people weren’t locked in with her!”
“I heard it didn’t even board the ship—that it’s not human. Creepy fuck… Hate having to share a shift with that bastard.”
HORRENDOUS VIBES — it’s like having Michael Myers from Halloween breathing down your neck—and they seem to like making people uncomfortable
MONSTROUS STRENGTH — maybe the rumours about them not being human are true… often manoeuvres things with unnecessary (yet non-destructive) force
LACKADAISICAL — they get the job done, but they don’t seem to care for clocking out early. if anyone asks for help, they’ll take their sweet time no matter how impatient the other gets
While fluent by sight and sound, they seem to speak little English, and are mostly nonverbal. They work the graveyard shift. You’d think something so big would make a little more noise, but no one seems to notice them until they blot out the overhead fluorescents…
THE ENTERTAINER ITSUKI AMANO
⸺ㅤ just some guyㅤ he / himㅤ 44ㅤ 180cm (5’11”)
A junior high school teacher from Nagasaki whose career went up in flames after an unfortunate mix-up with the yakuza. He’s on the ship on the run. The—the mask helps…! And he still gets to mentor bright young minds! Marine biology, international culture, shipbuilding, and how tourism works… These are important lessons too…!
MOE FROM HELPLESSNESS — Coral the Clownfish has gathered a devoted fanbase because his actor is constantly finding himself in absurd situations, like rescuing cats from Funfair rafters, dangling off the side of the ship after being shoved by ruffians, or making sure seabirds don’t swarm defenseless wedding cakes. it’s hard not to love (or pity) someone who works that hard, huh?
MOOD MAKER — he wouldn’t be an entertainer if he wasn’t a pro at making people smile! especially good with kids
BLEEDING HEART — even though his altruistic tendency to step in whenever he sees people beating down is what got him in hot water in the first place, he just can’t give up on people in need… well, he guesses he wears a mask now, so isn’t it a bit like a superhero? aha…
Itsuki can be found throughout recreational areas of the ship, though he also holds weekend classes and creative workshops for children—it’s not good for them to miss school for nine whole months, he thinks. Because of his name, Coral the Clownfish is often assumed to be a girl, so Itsuki has to field many “Why are you dressed like a boy?”s from kids.
THE DEALER SEOLHYUN SHIN
⸺ㅤ femme fataleㅤ she / herㅤ 38ㅤ 175cm (5’9”)
Busan born and raised, this voluptuous former-queenka has the rags-to-riches story of how a fishmonger couple’s lone daughter rose to power in Asia’s criminal underground through a series of crazy cons and high-stakes gambles. Now that she’s almost 40, though, she’s decided to deal other people the cards instead.
MIND GAME QUEEN — Seolhyun Shin always has the upper hand, able to wind people up and watch them go in whichever direction she pleases. it’s easy for her to learn all of someone’s secrets whilst revealing none of hers
UNDER THE SKIN — can read people to filth with pinpoint accuracy, often prodding insecurities in subtle, “innocent” ways to get them to bet more and more
UNDERDOG’S FAVOUR — when she encounters a budding tactician in the wild, she can’t help but be fond of the noble ones. when people are willing to go all in with everything to lose just to put a jackass in their place, she might be inclined to give them some tips (sidenote: watch Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor)
Every few weeks, she gets dressed up and sings crooner and big band classics at the Jazz Jounge. Her voice is velvet with a bite, deep and rich and rough in all the right places.
The Ouroboros, as a whole, is native to Earth—in a sense. It’s from “somewhere else,” but it hasn’t been isekai’d.
ABILITIES & LORE
Strangely, each proxy reads as completely human, even to other preternatural entities. This can possibly be odd in itself, especially with Artem and Seolhyun. Xero’s narrative principles (see Points of Tension) apply to the use of certain abilities, which can throw things off further.
If a proxy is injured, they will generally maintain the injury and heal “naturally.” They may seem to have their memories of the injurous event altered if it would realistically result in the proxy’s character changing (eg. “realising” something is wrong on the ship). If a proxy is killed, they’ll respawn the next day and the event will be “fixed” (eg. if it was a public spectacle, it won’t be anymore!).
While I’m not sure how relevant they’ll be in the Anchors Aweigh! universe, the Ouroboros has other abilities, mostly related to 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙵𝙻𝙴𝚂𝙷 / 𝙿𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙱𝙸𝙻𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙴𝚂 / 𝙱𝙴𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙾𝙽𝙴 / 𝚂𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙴𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝚅𝙾𝙸𝙳. It is generally benign and prefers to use its powers frivolously.
Xero’s proxies have fixed reputations on the ship and (Itsuki aside) are generally unflappable. Flamel, Clair, Artem, Itsuki, and Seolhyun are fixtures of Anchors Aweigh!’s setting and occupy a space between PCs and NPCs for me: To prevent them from having too much narrative weight, they’re designed to stick to their status quos without much character growth. In other words, this post is still ultimately a submission for one character, not five—you can rope them into your OCs’ plots, but they should stay side / supporting characters rather than major players.
As for the Ouroboros, mask-off…
POINTS OF TENSION
𝐈 . ⸺ Xero cannot be “read” or “revised” (ie. mind reading, mind-control, hypnosis, future vision, memory tampering, etc) and can detect attempts to invade their soul or psyche—but they enjoy feigning vulnerability, so OCs attempting to probe them may not realise this (as it’s not that they’re immune, but rather that they’re [𝟺𝙾𝟺 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝙵𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳]; interpret that however you’d like!). They can allow telepathic communication at will.
𝐈𝐈 . ⸺ They have supernatural intuition, often knowing things they “shouldn’t” or inexplicably being in the right place at the right time. These are passive traits and exist so Xero can be used to further OC / plot arcs in collaboration with other muns. I may have them metagame in lighthearted interactions, but serious plotting will always feature discussion!
𝐈𝐈𝐈 . ⸺ While Xero is subject to all manner of ridiculous antics, when it comes to serious plot or scenes, it is very hard to get the drop on them. Dynamics involving powerplay or wrestling for control may only work on a case-by-case basis—Xero is designed to be domi[nant, neering], so I’m more inclined to use a different OC, like Kee or Luca, when my muse is on the backfoot.
In the end, I just want to have fun with an equal mix of light-hearted humour and creeping tension!
I’m @idolkilling, posting from Xero’s RP blog! Somehow my first submission ended up being one character LARPing as five, but that’s pretty on-brand for me in the end—I can’t seem to resist overcomplicating things. 😅 For my mun information, please see this post!
Thank you for taking the time to read anything, and thank you for joining Anchors Aweigh! with me! I still have to do some cleanup to get this blog properly up and running, but I’m so excited to see the IC developments that happen between everyone and their OCs!!! For now, though, I’ve got a flight to catch on the 28th, so I’d better go AFK LOL 🏃
