realmofstories | Chapter 03: Act III

Entry tags:

Chapter 03: Act III

The Little Mermaid: Act III—

Once again, when all the scenes have been completed and some time has passed for everyone to rest and enjoy the ball, the moon will eventually begin to fall as the sun peeks out from the horizon. It is at this moment that all fall into a deep sleep and share a dream of what has transpired so far...

Though the priestess "saved" his life, the prince found himself put off by her pushy demeanor as they danced while watched by the nobles. Throughout their dance and their walk through the castle gardens, his thoughts drifted back to the mermaid who brought him to shore. Eventually they would part ways, and while getting fresh air, the prince heard a voice calling out to him: the very same mermaid who saved him. The two of them made their way through the ice along the shore and found each other through singing with relative ease, despite the prince's shyness. As they spoke, the mermaid made it clear that despite her desire for the prince to join her, his own desires and choices were most important—even if it meant not choosing her or the priestess.

The priestess caught wind of the mermaid speaking with the prince and went down to the beach to confront the sea dweller. She argued that the mermaid didn't belong on land or with the prince, but the mermaid responded that it was her choice and the prince's whether they wanted to pursue their love. Neither lady would back down from her stance.

The mermaid's frequent visits ashore did not go unnoticed by her family, but her two elder sisters were curious and supportive of her romance with the prince.

The prince returned to the beach to speak with the mermaid, still hesitant about the choice ahead of him. The mermaid spoke honestly about how he could possibly go back and forth with the sea witch's help, but not without a price. She again stressed that what he wanted was important. In the end, the prince chose to go with the mermaid and took the potion.

Unbeknownst to them, however, the priestess tried to take matters into her own hands. She rowed out onto the ocean to summon the sea witch and ask for a deal to keep the mermaid away from the land forever. The sea witch supplied her with a potion, but the priestess unwittingly traded away her humanity and became a mermaid herself in order to "defend the land" from the princess.

The prince's disappearance does not go by unnoticed, and the priestess herself sends word to the worried monarchs of the fate of their son. The king is the most outraged, crumpling the paper in his hand before immediately ordering all his ships to be ready for deployment. He would bring war to the people who lived in the oceans.

The dream fades with such an ominous development, and those familiar with the original story will be able to tell that this is a drastic departure from it. But there is nothing they can do but to follow the events as they unfold. When the Aspects awaken, they will discover themselves split up and each side already engaged in war. Some are with the merpeople while others are on the royal navy ships. Strange floating platforms made of debris, sand, seaweed, and wood float between the spaces, allowing closer access to those of the sea. The skies themselves are dark with the distant rumbling of thunder, and the seas are choppy from both the weather and the soldiers of the underwater kingdom raising waves to crash into the ships.

This war will last for as long as it takes for the Aspects to get through their scenes, and each one must follow a designated glowing trail to a special whirlpool portal that will take them to where they need to go. Those waiting must either take part in the war or try to pacify the angered Blots, and just hope that everything will pass quickly.

§ instructions.

The third Act is underway! This is the designated log for everything. Each Main Scene has their own unique toplevel and those cast into the roles are to thread their scenes under each. All scene instructions are provided in the toplevels. Everyone is free to create their own toplevels for the Sub Quests, which are detailed below, or for anything else you'd like to thread out.

As a reminder, this Act is set in the ocean with the Royal Navy Fleet. Characters cannot transform into their opposite form, so those on the Navy side can't take on their merforms and those as mermaids cannot have legs. There is a way, and that is detailed in the Sub Quest section.

Finally, just to be clear, characters who are in Main Scenes are not immediately dropped in to their location and will have to enter special marked portals to travel to the "setting location" and then return. Threading all of that isn't necessary, but it's to help give a better idea that characters can take a break between scenes or wait a bit to help with other things like the Sub Quests.

Feel free to refer to the Game Notes for more detailed info as well as ask questions or clarifications.

§ sub quests.

Everyone is free to participate in the Sub Quests. There are no specific top levels, so you're free to incorporate them however you wish in your own top level.

¶ I. Royal Navy vs. Merfolk. Everyone has been assigned to a side and the list can be found here. As always, even those with scene roles will be able to participate at some point. Those of the Royal Navy will have sailor uniforms, and everyone else will have their merforms. There are other floating "stages" and platforms scattered over the water's surface to provide additional "land" for those assigned to the Navy. Blots will fill the rest of the armies, and the only Erasers around will be occasional strange deep sea creature that lurks in the ocean waters. Now as for what everyone can do:

Safe Zones. There are shallow coves and giant clam shells that serve as neutral safe zones that both sides can meet. These also serve as "base camps" and areas for medical needs and rest. There may be a stray Blot or Eraser that might try to attack from time to time, but it's otherwise safe and far away from the war zone.
Fight each other. Go have fun, but try not to kill each other. The Navy will have access to all ships and their weaponry, which includes cannons, harpoons, guns, netting, explosives, and whatever else may prove useful. The Merfolk will have weapons, sea creatures, and ability to influence the water (potentially strong enough to knock or even completely capsize a ship with enough effort and concentration). That said, the actual ammunition on these are paintballs and dyed water balloons and water guns; and the physical weapons have foam points foam with paint as well. The Blots, on the other hand, will have very real weapons and there are real weapons available. So while the gist is to have more of a mock fight, if people want to have a real battle, there's nothing stopping them.
Hold anti-war protests. Not everyone is for this war, and one way to combat against the involved blots fighting on both sides is to try and persuade them to peace. How that can be done can vary, so have at it. There are even fun signs that can be used.
Star-crossed romance. Another way to try and end the war is prove that there can be romantic union between the two races. Even if it's fake, if a Navy and a Mermaid manage to have some kind of romantic scene between them, a special rose shaped coral will appear. These corals can be used against the blots to pacify them and spread platonic love and care to the other side. The more created and used, the better.

Now, for those who would like to switch sides, a member of the opposite side must retrieve a special glowing pearl to give to the others. Mermaids will find them deep in the ocean guarded by eels, Navy members will have to get through blot sailors and enter the captain quarters of any ship. The process must be repeated to switch back again. Or they could take a shortcut and kiss, that's an option.

¶ II. Aiding the War. Whichever side of the war they are on, there will still be plenty to do outside the conflict. The Sea King's palace and the Royal Navy's flagship will need fortifying from attacks to keep other Aspects and Blots safe, supplies will need to be delivered across both territories (and perhaps through no man's land...), and non-combatants will need to be evacuated to safe areas. Maybe a few generous souls will offer medical aid to the wounded (perhaps even regardless of species, for the truly daring and selfless)?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Now that the Prince has taken the potion, the Prince will have a new tail to learn how to use, and the Mermaid has so many wonders of the sea to share with her new boyfriend. The two of them get a chance to explore the ocean and their new love together, without having to worry about their families or kingdoms or jealous suitors for a while. Hopefully they'll enjoy the peace while it lasts…

For this scene, they can swim through the ocean, explore the kingdom, get to know one another, but they must do this: go to the mermaid's garden and feed each other.

[Well, this is certainly something that's happening. The outfit, while not something she'd normally ever wear, isn't completely terrible. The tail is only marginally unnerving.

It takes her a solid couple of minutes to acclimate herself to her new shape (and to work out how to maneuver without looking completely foolish. Once she's got it down, Pidge remembers that she's supposed to be meeting someone else. Her 'prince', of all things.

So she takes a deep breath - habit more than anything, now - and looks around.

There's nobody else in sight.]

Okay...

[It won't be long before a school of fish suddenly swims in a flurry passed Pidge. They were in a rush to get somewhere, or away from something. That something soon reveals itself before Pidge behind the school of fish. A giant sea turtle, big enough to ferry a few people on his back. The pattern on his shell was pulsing with a faint blue glow. He had a large squid in his maw, an afternoon snack he had caught apparently, and....a tiny crown on his head?

He stops a few feet from Pidge, staring her down. What's a pup doing all on it's own? They usually come in groups.]

[Before she can even question what's going on, she's nearly bowled over by that school of fish. Seconds later, the obvious source of their distress materializes, and Pidge has to take a moment to just... stare, because this is probably one of the oddest things she's seen in a while.

Then again, the giant sea turtle probably has more reason to be here than she does. If not for the tiny crown perched on its head, Pidge might even be tempted to write it off.]

Hello?

[She's not necessarily expecting a verbal response, because that would be weird. But then, this entire place is pretty weird so at this point, a talking sea turtle would just be par for the course.]

. . . [A few air bubbles escapes from his nostrils as he chomps down on the squid until there was none left. A low hum echoes through the area, the source coming from the large sea turtle himself. It sounded like a whale's song, but more rough around the edges. Was it a return greeting or just a satisfactory noise from having a snack?]

[Pidge is just going to take the... chomping and humming as a good sign. For now. This is fine.

It's not really the sort of response she's used to getting, but alright.]

You uh... haven't seen a prince around here, have you?

[It's entirely possible that this is the ~~droid~~ prince she's looking for, but it's also just as possible that it's not. So here we are.]

[He gives her a very lazy head tilt, crown going slightly lopsided. One might think he might have eaten said prince. Either way, even if he can hear the humans better, that doesn't mean he knows what they're talking about.]

[By this point she's not really sure what's going on. It's pretty obvious that nobody else is showing up, and she's supposed to be meeting... someone here.

Chances are high that this is that someone.

Which, honestly, might make things a little tricky, but she's pretty sure she can work with this.]

Okay.

[She's just going to casually point at the crown atop his head and hope for the best.]

It looks like you're supposed to be my prince, which means we have to... go do something now. But you probably have no idea what I'm saying because why would you?

[A low hum comes from the large beast. She is pointing at something, above them? Behind them? She can swim up there herself with those flippers can't she? Then again, she is a pup by human standard to be wandering on her own, isn't she? With a gurgling sound that was probably a grumble, he dips down beneath her and rises, giving her a lift on his turtle shell.

He then does a turn, back in the direction he came from, assuming she wanted to go that way. All the while he's slowly ascending towards the surface.]

[The humming is nice, if not a terribly effective method of communication. Maybe pointing isn't quite as effective as she's hoping, either, but it's probably better than nothing.

This is all a bit discouraging, particularly when she's generally pretty good at getting her point across. There's no time to worry about it though, because he's on the move before she can think of what else to do. At first she wonders if he might be leaving, but then realization hits.

Progress is progress, right? The ride is appreciated even if she's capable of getting around on her own. It takes her a moment to notice what's happening and then she's flailing a little bit because heading back up to the surface is probably not what they're meant to be doing.]

Ah... wait! Where are you going? And what am I supposed to call you?

[That only gets a drawled out roar in response. Boy this pup is a chatty one. Are they approval sounds or panic ones? He isn't sure. It's probably not the smoothest ~~uber~~ ride, when one is used to using a tail to propel oneself through the water instead of flippers, but he tries. At least he's not intentionally trying to buck her off.

They were nearly about the breach the surface of the water now. For Godzilla at least, he seem to be seeking something out, like those metal structures those humans like to hide in, the kind that can float on water in particular.]

Okay...

[Pidge has seen and done enough that she's not really afraid in this moment so much as she's kind of at a loss for what to do. Talking obviously isn't getting her very far, and now it seems like he's just going to do his own thing. Which isn't much of a problem in and of itself, but they're meant to be doing something else!]

You're going the wrong way.

[And really, it's kind of a rough ride. She's managing to hang on well enough, but if this keeps up much longer there's no telling how long that's going to last. But he is going the wrong way, and it's apparently going to be up to her to redirect him somehow.

It takes her about a minute to first come up with a plan, and then make the decision to put it into motion, despite how potentially dangerous it might be. This won't be the first time she's done something potentially dangerous, after all...

He's closer to the surface than she'd like when she propels herself off of his back and circles around in front of his face.]

This way~

[For a minute, she lingers there, waving her arms in an attempt to actually get his attention. Then when she's confident that was a success, she's off again, darting back toward where they'd started.]

[Well he very much can't swim into her and has to come to a halt...slowly, flippers awkwardly flipping about to maintain balance. A few air bubbles escape from his snout as he puzzles over the waving gestures from the human. She wanted his attention, she's got it. He turns his head to follow her movements as she goes back around him. Is he following her somewhere? Was this a game?

With a low bellow he turns himself around and lazily follows after her. He's too old for this.]

[It takes her all of about thirty seconds to realize that this new tactic seems to be working. Slowly. But slowly is better than nothing.

So she waits while he turns around, and then, when he starts actively following along, she scoots off in the same direction she'd been going. She's generally used to being faster than most people, but that's on land, and it's just a little different now that she has a completely different form. But she's still the faster one in this case, so much so that she actually has time to get a bit ahead and then double back a couple of times.

It's not quite what she was expecting when the journal told her to be here for this, but it could probably be worse.]

[Child, what is the rush? Not that he can't go fast, but if there's no need to, he prefers just taking his time. Seeing her move further ahead though, turning back to occasionally check if he's still following...well now he just feels like she's taunting him.

He hums quietly as he flaps his flippers with fervor. All right, you want to be that way, he'll lessen the gap between them as he propels himself forward like a bullet...well, at least faster then the average sea turtle. Let's hope he knows how to stop.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Chapter 03: Act III

SCENE 1: THE PRINCE AND THE MERMAID - GODZILLA AND PIDGE

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject