A Thin Veil - Modern (Sub)Urban Fantasy With a Twist
POST CREATED Jun 20, 2015 6:56:20 GMT -8
KAE, EMMIE, and 6 more like this
Post by aeyn on Jun 20, 2015 6:56:20 GMT -8
WHAT?
You saw it right! A Modern Animanga Urban/Suburban Fantasy, but taken a whole different path than most modern urban fantasy set in the 21st century real world tent to go about the genre. No vampires, no werewolves, no angels and demons, no superpowers. Nothing like that. Forget it! And enter stage the Fae! Faeries, Fair Folk, Sídhe, Fairies, Fey, they've entered the folk tales under countless names, especially in the Irish mythology, though not lacking in other parts of the world, either. They live hidden from the humans, but not wholly apart... The veil between them is, in truth, very thin. Inspired by Holly Black's Modern Faerie Tales and Michael Scott's Irish Folk & Faerie tales. And set right here.
PLOT!
Heavily plotting-based, with an overarching plot; however, the main plot is merely the spine that pulls all the other bones together and connects them. Naturally, there is space for other plots unrelated to that of the main plot. However, there certainly is a plot. The Fae have coexisted alongside humans for a long time, repressed into shadows and forced out of the majority of the world, but divided merely by a thin veil. A lot of them lives near, or even among humans, those exiled from their courts or uneager to swear allegiance and place themselves into the vicinity of the mightier of their kind. In the meantime, most of the humans have no clue about their existence... Though, that might change. The Unseelie Queen has recently been murdered under mysterious circumstances right in the middle of a celebration, and without anyone to hold the Fae of her court in check and restraint, pries for influence and power had become a daily part of life for the knights and lords; and not only that. This also removes the bounds regularly set between them and humans, making the ordinary daily life of human beings much more difficult than one would think.
SETTING!
21st century, the 2010's. Ireland. A quaint, ordinary-sized town near the coast, situated near a larger, more populated city (it even has its own cinema!), which has a single specialty: in the fields that stretch behind it lies an ancient dwelling of the Unseelie Court, a mound-like hill that hides more than it would ever seem to an ordinary passer-by. In the waters you can find the Selkies, mermaids, and kelpies... Bathing and late night strolls only at your own risk.
PLAYABLE RACES!
The two main categories are the Faeries and Humans; however, there are several kinds that overlap these two larger categories, and many kinds of Fae that, on the first sight, do not even appear to be even distantly related.
Faeries - mostly humanoid in appearance, but not be belied by that; the Fair Folk has been here for much longer than humans. There are many different kinds of Fae, such as Banshees, Selkies, Kelpies, the tall and beautiful court gentry, tiny Pixies, Gnomes, Trolls, Merfolk, you name it. However, they are united in their general characteristics - they cannot be seen by humans without the Sight unless they wish to be, and are susceptible to iron, which burns them and causes them great agony. They are fickle things, capable of using glamour to shape things to their will, enchant them, and rule over human minds to a point; however, they mostly remain apart from the human world save for special occasions. They live in their hidden courts, following the same way of life as they had ages ago. Only rarely do they interbreed with humans, and when that happens, the offspring is a full (or almost full) Faerie.
Changelings - the Fae that had been put on the place of a human child (sometimes this is done with a piece of wood or the sort), kidnapped by the Fair Folk, and enchanted to appear like a human. Often, they find out about their true identity come puberty; they, however, do not always retain their faerie memories, and might not be aware of being enchanted if the spell is strong enough. They have the Sight, and once the enchantment is removed, they are ordinary faeries. Often, the family they live with, had noticed them being strange, but hasn't realized that their child isn't human.
Humans - we know them. Ordinary 21st century citizens, with their taxes and reality TV and garden grills... The only exception being those born with the Sight, an ability to see Fae and look through their glamour. They are much more likely to be aware of them, as they can see them fully and communicate with them; sometimes, however, the Sight grows weaker with age or even fades away before adulthood. It can be dangerous, as Fae oftentimes aren't fond of being sighted by humans, and especially the less empathetic might torment humans merely for possessing the Sight.
ALIGNMENT!
Especially the Fae usually identify with one of the Courts; they are not outright at war with each other, but there are intrigues even in times of peace and struggles to control one another. Now, with the murder of the Unseelie Queen, those disputes have grown dangerously close to a full-on war, and the Seelie Queen would gladly overtake the Unseelie Court, would she just have an opportune moment for that.
Seelie Court - usually identified as benevolent, though not to mean that they are always so benevolent to mortals. Rather than that, their aggression and intrigues are very well hidden. They are the beautiful, the bright, the knights in shining armor and flower-garbed ladies, they are the courtly and honorable, often putting honor and beauty above a lot of things. They emit a kinder appearance, but in their intrigues, they can often be just as wicked as the Unseelie Fae. Those are the ones more likely to take human children or lure humans into their travelling processions for a night, appearing kind and benevolent. However, they aren't necessarily good, merely better at pretense, what goes especially for the high lords and ladies. They do not keep a stable residence most of the time, instead travelling through orchards and forests; they are usually connected to Summer and Day, also often called the Day (or Light) Court.
Unseelie Court - usually identified as malevolent, however, the difference between it and the Seelie Court aren't as great as expected. The Fae of the Unseelie Court are more openly cruel and callous, even to their own kind, tend to be more war-like and more likely to stick to the custom of live sacrifices when it comes to ceremonies. Their residence is underground, and their domains are Night and Winter; for that, they are also often called the Night Court. Generally, they are described as dark; the more cynical, jaded, unpretentious fey that are more likely to engage in open combat rather than courtly intrigues. Despite the fact that they are not necessarily evil, they are far from kind, less honor-bound, and much more approachable to change. However, it is very dangerous for humans to mingle with them! They tend to have a stable residence.
Solitary Fae - those without an allegiance to either court. They might seek protection or allegiance, but they do not tend to live with the courts, and are rarely found in groups larger than three or four - the exception to that are often mermaids and selkies, who live in greater groups without necessarily aligning themselves with either court. Not necessarily falling under any Court, they are free of the courts' rules, but also not subject to their rights and protection. It might happen that solitary Fae living in the territory of the Unseelie Court fall prey to the Wild Hunt of the aforementioned - merely for their entertainment. They include ones such as Kelpies, Banshees, or Trolls (but solitude is not a rule for any kind of Fae).
Exiles - those that had committed an offense or crime and were exiled from a court. Even after that happening, these fey might still fall under their respective court; however, they are not allowed to live within it, and are usually forced to desolate areas and human towns.
The alignment doesn't affect humans and changelings unaware of their true nature.
OOC MECHANICS AND SPECS!
Plot-based. Expect intrigues and political games!
Animanga FC. Advanced/intermediate with word count (100+), plot-based without a great emphasis on the application. Site-specific canons from actual mythology, site-specific canons made up; however, the myths and tales is merely the basis for the setting, and is not needed to be followed meticulously. However, straying off mythology too much is unacceptable. Using races not mentioned above without prior approval is unacceptable. No stats, no turn-based fights (this is NOT D&D or any such campaign!).
Preferred host: Proboards.
A lot of stuff is still in the works even for me; this is nowhere near complete! Things are subject to change.
If there is anything you are curious about or that doesn't make sense to you, don't be afraid to ask! Info will be updated based on other members' questions, which I promise to answer. Please, heart or comment if you're interested! Also, write if you have any extra ideas of things you'd like to see!
EMMIE this is for you <3
Five years ago, the Pokemon League formed Lux to create a new world order of peace and harmony. A rebellion formed, under the name of Nox, cries tyranny at Lux's new microcosmic control. Their civil war now tears the Pokemon world apart. The world hangs in the balance of predormitum. Which side will you choose?
is a high stakes RP set in a dystopian Russian society recovering from an apocalyptic war between the armies of Heaven and Hell. Greater Russia now stands free from the influence of God and the Devil, and all non-humans run the risk of execution. Outside the safe zones lies the contained wasteland of Moscow, where demons and mutated shadowbeasts continue to terrorize the remaining human survivors who have been penned in with them. As of late, increasing evangelic disturbances threaten the peace that has ruthlessly maintained by the secret police.
