DESTINATIONS;; everywhere else
[FAQ;; The World]
The Earth of C&C is not unlike our world: the current date there is the current date here, and for the most part, culture on the whole remains largely parallel. However, it is a mistake to think that C&C Earth is identical to our own. Whether the divergences are a recent development or something that spans centuries and millennia, our heroes don't know. This isn't limited solely to the absence of New York City, Los Angeles, or having someone you've never heard of in the White House; even outside the borders of the United States, where most action of the game takes place, the differences between that world and ours are numerous.
THE PHYSICAL WORLD:
On the whole, the rest of the world used to be pretty normal! At least it was, up until Lachesis, our resident bitchy computer program running the joint, got her metaphorical hands on a grand scale reality-altering plot device. Since then, the world map doesn't look quite right to any geography buff. Four whole nations, extra islands in the Philippine Sea, and a new territory off the coast of California popped into existence back in January of 2011 -- though you won't find any local maps that don't include them.
Things are pretty stable most everywhere these days, unlike our current world affairs; though occasional, natural disasters never seem to strike the same places as they do in our world, and vice versa. Politics never quite mirrors the real world, but the economy still sucks pretty much everywhere.
In short: if you saw it on CNN, it probably didn't happen on C&C Earth. (Entertainment Tonight, however, is fair game.)
Overall world technology mostly matches that of the real world, though there have been some advances in different fields thanks to the efforts of all these dimension-transplanted super geniuses. Apple Apricot prefixes their merchandise with Eye, as it is very likely they are watching you. Natives haven't been able to produce a functional AI, for which everyone should be grateful.
Additionally, a large dick has been drawn on the surface of the moon. Everyone can see it. Colloquially, phases of the moon are now used as sexual euphemism.
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THE INTANGIBLE WORLD AND RELATED PLACES:
✖ DEATH: When player characters die, they resurrect, get sent home, or stay dead. For them, there is no "after" in C&C Earth. For Natives, though, they get something. Referred to (by us, OOC) as The Place, The Place They Go, or That Fucking Vague Thing, it contains roughly 80% of all dead NPC souls, and once there cannot escape. No resurrection, no communication, nada. Player characters, even if they are magical, celestial, conceptual, or are secretly death/grim reapers, cannot directly access The Place. They can't quantify it, either, so whatever The Place really is, is an unknown. If it matches any religious doctrine, or any character's specific canon mythos, nobody can say for certain.
That remaining 20%, for a wide variety of reasons, remain on C&C Earth. They are the spirits, ghosts, poltergeists, and occasional forms of dark energy in the world. These souls, unlike their Place-held counterparts, can be talked to, devoured, exorcised, and otherwise tampered with. Unfortunately, these souls can't be resurrected, either.
If you'd like to arrange a plot or event involving the dead, you will need to run it past us though the plotting post.
✖ MAGIC: Thanks to the efforts of a few different characters, magic is starting to get a foothold in this previously magic-bereft Earth. There's a nice, traumatic scenic lake in the depths of Central Park made from a fusion of different magics, and if a character has the nose for it, it's not too hard to find. We recommend not swimming in it.
Additionally, a nice bit of magical "parking space" has been created beyond the sights of ordinary mortals. A second plane of existence running parallel with the rest of the world, this magic realm will be accessible to those with magic-based powers, but what happens in the parking space stays in the parking space. Magic won't be bleeding over to the real world any time soon, but one jerk is already stocking the place with demons. What an asshole.
✖ ALIENS: Non-microbial life is not a naturally occurring phenomena in the C&C galaxy, and even supercosmic characters would have a hard time pushing into the rest of the universe. However, aliens certainly do get imPorted with some frequency, and some fucking with the Porter's settings has gotten this universe a few very small clusters of alien life from different fictional media.
Yes, there are Skrulls. There's also some Goa'uld, and Taxxons, some Viltrumites, Vashta Nerada, and those pesky Spheroids. Not terribly many, but they're there. Please use caution when traveling through outer space.
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But wait, you say, what's this about those other nations?
I'm glad you asked, fictitious player! In the wake of reality-warping, several islands and nations basically sprang fully-formed from the ocean depths (or from desert sand). There are a total of six new areas in the world. They are:
Savoletta ✖ Dolvania ✖ Southwest Phoenicia ✖ Kunyum ✖ Majr ✖ Isle Francis
You can use the links above to skip down to the countries in question.
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Savoletta is a neutral country, an island roughly 40,000 sq. (close to the size of but smaller than England) with a population of 22,000,000. Its a reclusive country that keeps mostly to itself -- it does its best to stay out of wars and other global conflicts, because at the first sign of trouble it usually shuts things, including import/export and travel into the country, down. Shit goes down? Yes, Savoletta is closed.
They have very good resources and stock up on weaponry and other profitable materials, so they're well-equipped on the chance of conflict -- they just rarely engage in it. It's a wealthy country due to its high level of exports and propensity to hoard its resources, which makes it a major military power.
Savoletta doesn't have a specific race that composes its population and no known indigenous people; its people are all from varied ethnic backgrounds, though some are more prevalent than others. Despite this it does, however, have a specific culture (and subcultures, of course, like every country has) that is similar -- suitably different but perhaps inspired by -- to that of Ancient Greece. Its official language is Italian; however, due to the composition of different national backgrounds in the populous, there are some cities that have other commonly spoken languages besides Italian. Some cities speak in their own Greek/Italian hybrid that's unique to them (those cities tend to be located in the mountains); other common languages are German, Spanish, and English, with pockets of Chinese and Tamil.
They are a democracy. The current president is Apollonia Mancini.
As mentioned above there are mountains, similar to the Swiss Alps in that there are towns and people living along them, but not nearly comparable in size. They border Savoletta's south edge. These areas do get snow, but the weather on the whole is rather mild, rarely extreme: wet winters, dry summers.
Its principle exports are: fish (& crab/lobster/clams), wool, silk, dairy, tobacco, aluminum, limestone/marble/cement, bronze, grapes/figs/pears, sugar, lamb, clocks, herbs and teas, paintings, and statues. It only exports about 70% of its wealth with regard to tobacco, aluminum, minerals/stones, sugar, and art (60% of its bronze) because as mentioned above -- they hoard their wealth.
Its principle imports are: weapons/militia equipment, industry equipment like motors and engines, steel, copper, cars, oil, leather, beef, fruit such as apples and bananas and berries, cacao/chocolate, medical equipment/non-organic medicine, gold, silver, jewelry, and denim.
Savoletta's primary religion is one of polytheism, a nameless religion that is passed down by speech, sequential paintings and prints, and statues, but not text. There is no written documentation.
The primary Gods are also unnamed, but are referred to as the Mother and the Father, or She/Her and He/Him. Their children, known as the Daughters and the Sons, are strictly referred to as They. She and He are representative of the Earth and the Sky, respectively. While there are subsets of this religion that devote their belief toward one in particular, primarily they are expected to be worshiped equally. They are rarely depicted visually -- there are no statues, though they are most commonly in paintings depicting lovers.
There are only two Daughters and Sons that do not get collectively grouped with the rest -- the Daughter and the Son, or the Moon and the Sun -- who handle most that does not fall under Her and His work; the Daughter being "in charge" of life, illness, wealth, war, hate, dance, and joy. Comparing them, for the moment, to the figures of Greece, she is most like a combination of Athena with Artemis. The Son is "in charge" of death, health, poverty, peace, love, music, and sadness. He can be compared to Orpheus and Apollo. They are both depicted visually with dark hair, the Daughter with blue eyes and the Son with green.
As for the rest of Them, the Daughters and the Sons are a mythos that remains inconsistent to this day. Some describe Them as something akin to nymphs -- spirits of flowers and trees, of emotion, of speed, but these stories are met with dissent. Many paintings depict something more akin to demons, human-like creatures with rows of needle-like teeth and black eyes that lure people away from civilization, leaving them to wander forever. There are stories that say They steal souls, devouring them, and that looking at Them directly causes immediate death. No one can come to an agreement to which representation of Them is accurate; but in paintings and statues They are always depicted without eyes.
(for plotting purposes regarding Savoletta, please contact moderator supergabbie)
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Three hundred miles southwest of the Aleutian islands is Dolvania, a 505,000 sq. km island country known for its emphasis on technological progress, literature and biology. The once-thriving population of 50,000,000 is now a diminished 29,000,000 - thanks to an endeavor in germ warfare that severely backfired. The (presumably intended-to-be weaponized) plague was stolen from its governmental research facility in the early 2000s (there are no solid reports on exactly when this happened, the government often contradicts given information), and was unleashed into the public some months after. The first recorded case of infection (Alexsandr Fyodorov) happened on April 24th, 2002. Thanks to limited travel, the plague did not spread worldwide - the few cases of infection that spread outside Dolvania (Russia, Japan, Oregon) were quickly and easily quarantined. The disease (X3p4, dubbed the Boils Death) brought a swift death after four-to-nine hours of the victim’s organs being overwhelmed by boils. The country was kept under quarantine until August 2002, until the procured cure (perfected and distributed by June 2002) was completely effective.
To this day, the catalyst who stole the disease (cautiously called Patient Zero, as it is presumed the individual - or party - was also the first carrier[s]) is unknown. Authorities suspect anarchist groups. Needless to say, the underground outcry against Dolvanian leadership has happened frequently over the past century, and has always been met with an iron fist. The outcries grow more violent as time passes. The country is still recovering, especially economically, but has managed to keep its fingers deep within the wealthy avenues of luxury technology.
The Dolvanian government is interested in imPort aid, mostly for political reasons (read: political hitman). The government itself is parliamentary, with three active parties (conservative, middling ground, liberal). Make no mistake on the actual effectiveness of this parliament, though: the final say in all legislative and economic movement is the monarchy, headed by Queen Vera Sokoll. Her family has maintained power since the civil war of 1867 (two hundred years after the island’s colonialization by Russia).
The native populace, instead of being driven out or killed, had assimilated into the gene pool by 1900.
Major exports include: fish, pharmaceutical products, technology (both finished products and hardware material) and soap opera shows.
Major imports include: paper, red meat, textiles.
Major religion: Orthodox Christianity.
Major languages: Russian, English, with a continuing interest in the native Pacific Island language D'riyaa.
(for plotting purposes regarding Dolvania, please contact moderator asphinxiated)
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Southwest Phoenicia is a 78,000 sq km chunk of land (about the size of Serbia, or a little smaller than South Carolina) on the northern border of the Sahara Desert. The mountainous terrain and close proximity to the desert make this area resource-poor but still inhabitable to its population of 750,000. In actuality, this area was originally several small, separate cultures and nations forced into one unified country by repeated invasions over the millennia, and still today there's a great deal of political turmoil and frequent in-fighting between separate states.
Originally colonized by Rome and Carthage, and subsequently turned loose centuries later, Southwest Phoenicia has suffered through several cycles of conquest and abandonment. During the Arab expansion of the mid 600's, the Arabs marched into Southwest Phoenicia simply because it was there, and mostly marched right back out again decades later due to the in-fighting and lack of resources. Centuries later brought in colonization from France, which subsequently made the poor and divided region poorer and even more divided when this period ended.
This left the region with an unhealthy mix of Greco-Roman, Minoan, and Phoenician on top of their indigenous cultures, and a thick coloring by French culture and the repeated exposure to the Abrahamic faiths followed after. Religiously the region is predominantly a localized fusion known as Punic Christianity, which split into two major sects, Milcari Punicism and Alissari Punicism. Tensions and fighting frequently arise between the two, as well as between them and other less-distributed faiths of the region. Internationally, the conflict is known, but not widely understood outside the more invested circles of politics and news. The region on the whole is not paid much attention to by the general public, and even in cases of awareness, the two Punic sects are frequently confused and mistaken for one another.
The chief export of Southwest Phoenicia is natural gas, while their imports cover food stuffs, machinery, and capital goods. Official languages are French and Arabic, with numerous local dialects in between, and its people are ethnically a blend of Berber, Arab, and mixed European.
(for plotting purposes regarding Southwest Phoenicia, please contact moderator killyoudead)
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With a land mass of 2,000 sq km, Kunyum is a special administrative region situated in the Philippine Sea of southeast Asia. Named after the Asian goddess Guanyin, this region was inhabited for centuries by indigenous peoples before its discovery and colonization during the Portuguese Discoveries around 1513.
At this time called 'Medalha,' it was utilized for its strategic geographic position, but had little historical impact, and remained outside of most conflict or modern development. This changed in 1953, when regional interests began funding its modernization, fostering a wave of immigration from its neighbors. It was at this time that its name was officially changed to Kunyum, taking from legend.
Kunyum boasts a diverse ethnic population, including Portuguese, English, Chinese, Philippine, Vietnamese and Korean nationalities, among others. Its culture is a blend of Oriental and Occidental; both technology and tradition (mostly Asian) have a place, though most of it is imported. Kunyum serves a vital role in the Asian trade market, mostly for its strategic geographic position, though its own exports consist of consumer products, some textiles, and foodstuffs derived from its extensive fishing trade. Products made outside of the territory are distributed via Kunyum. The territory has few natural resources, so it also imports most of its food and raw materials.
Kunyum's predominate languages are Portuguese, English and Cantonese. The main religion is Buddhism; Catholicism is a minority. Its governors are not elected by the people, but are appointed by the Portuguese government. The biggest industry second to shipping is tourism. It is rare to travel to Asia without paying a visit to Kunyum, mostly to experience the mix of various Asian cultures within the comfort of this technologically advanced society.
(for plotting purposes regarding Kunyum, please contact moderator thanoodles)
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A small archipelago of about 1000 square kilometers, Majr is located in the Arabian Sea, southeast of the Arabian Peninsula and east of Socotra.. Unlike the later, however, Majr is not uninhabitated; it was settled thousands of years ago, and now has a population of about 850,000 people. For many hundreds of years, however, Majr was neglected on the world stage due to its small size, desert climate, poverty of natural resources, and isolated location. Both the Ottoman and Persian Empires took little interest in the island, and European colonialist interests were much the same--although nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, control was never very strongly exerted over the people living there, and they managed to gain independence long before the Empire itself actually collapsed. Altogether, Majr seemed destined to continue on the same independent, globally uninteresting path.
And then, in the 60s, someone found about fifty million offshore oil deposits.
Today, Majr is a thriving center of production and, to an extent, excess, as a group of people seriously unused to surging profits put theirs to use; factories and oil wells share space with ancient buildings and soaring new testaments to modern architecture. It is a constitutional monarchy, currently ruled over by King Faris ibn Karim Al-Qureshi, and it enjoys a relatively stable relationship with the West, due in part to the Al-Qureshi family's deep commitment to modernization and the USA's deep commitment to sweet, sweet oil. Its chief export is enough oil to choke a horse, but, thanks to a large state-controlled oil industry, refined oil products come up as a close second. Their chief imports are foodstuffs, machinery, and raw materials for their burgeoning infrastructure. Another source of income is foreign business; the country is extremely open to outside companies establishing themselves there, and touts itself as an excellent place for fancy-schmancy business meetings. There's also a booming tourist industry in Majr, particularly in its capital, Saqqiya. Visitors from all over the world come both to see the natural wonder of Majr's oceans and historical sites and the more artificial splendor of luxurious resorts, skyscrapers, yachting, and amusement parks. There's even going to be a Disney offshoot there by 2014!
There is, however, potential for serious unrest in Majr, in many ways fueled by its own prosperity. As often occurs in states with rentier economies, the gap between the haves and have-nots is significant and constantly widening, and the appeal of terrorist organizations among the lower class is extreme, as well as that of political Islamism. Although the population is 80% ethnically Arabic and 75% Muslim, there is nevertheless tension between the majority Sunni population and the minority Shia one. In addition, the treatment of the numerous overseas workers who come to work in the oil fields and factories, many from South Asia and other Middle Eastern countries, is a common topic of dissent, and their integration into the previously homogeneous society remains uncertain.
(for plotting purposes regarding Majr, please contact moderator hotforbabyleg)
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Isle Francis, about 2,400 km south-west of California, is one of the numerous island territories of the United States. Discovered in the early 1800's, this 700 sq km island is most famous for its unusual fauna and flora. Since its discovery, Isle Francis has been the setting of countless novels and films about the "miraculous" animals to be discovered there and the intrepid explorers aiming for glory - but these remain fiction. The true miracle of Isle Francis lies in its diverse flora, native only to this island and nowhere else on earth. Estimates predict that less than half of all life on the island has been documented, but numerous medicines have already since been derived from plant samples brought back to the mainland.
Human habitation of Isle Francis was outlawed by 1917, and its shores are carefully guarded to protect its ecosystem from contamination by non-native species.
(for plotting purposes regarding Isle Francis, please contact moderator fewermets)
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