Imagine Egg A1 still has one life left, and it somehow manages to escape the facility... It is being followed by mobs, by Federation employees, being hurt by the poison ivy and other environmental threats, but it keeps running, because what other choice is there? That parkour course was a trick after all, the last block was a fake, it was never meant to pass that test in the first place.
So it keeps running, but the Federation workers are getting closer. It won't be able to avoid them forever...
But then it bursts through some bushes and comes face to face with someone new - and it's Bad, out building or exploring or just wandering alone. A1 is immediately afraid, of course. It is a stranger, a very visually striking stranger, the complete opposite of the pure white and featureless employees of the Federation. But there are people close behind, and it knows what will happen to it if it is caught, so... It has no choice but to try. It has no way to communicate, no signs or books, so it simply rushes to hide behind him and hopes he understands, and that he is willing to help...
And Bad, for his part, well.. he's an extremely cautious and paranoid person, and this is just an incredibly confusing and unexpected situation to be in. An unknown egg appeared out of nowhere and is hiding behind him, he can see Federation employees in the distance that are clearly looking for something... He knows that the code has been disguising itself as eggs, and that the strange egg in front of him with no marks, no distinguishing features, an egg that he has never seen before, could easily be the code monster preparing to attack at any moment...
But there is absolutely no way Bad could ever look at an egg in distress and not try to help it, even knowing it could be a trap.
So he quickly digs a shallow hole and pushes the mysterious egg into it, covering it up just in time, and when the employees throw him a book asking if he had seen anything, he lies effortlessly, he complains about nonsense, he asks them where the Ekea is and is as annoying as he can be, until they leave.
And now they're alone... just Bad an this mystery egg in the middle of the woods, A1 too afraid to leave the hole even when Bad tries to coax it out. He gives it food and tries his best to comfort it, to tell it everything is okay and that the pursuers are gone. He gives it some signs and a book, trying to see if it will write anything to him or answer any of his questions, but he gets no reply. A1 is just too afraid to even attempt to answer, and Bad doesn't even know if it understands him. He tries what few words he does know of the other languages, and still no response.
What should he do? As much as the image of a tiny, terrified egg makes him want to do all he can for it he also needs to be safe. He can't bring it home, because if it is a code there is no way he is bringing it anywhere near Dapper. Should he call someone else for help, or would that draw too much attention? Would it even be safe for him or the egg to let anyone know right now? And was this egg dangerous, or harmless and in need of protection? He wouldn't abandon it regardless but...
What now?
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Welcome to New Veilena City!
A vaguely 1920s set mafia au with eldritch themeing.
New Veilana is a busy town that never seems to sleep, with a corrupt police department and a seedy underbelly there's no short of money passing through the back alleys. Business is booming and the city is far from the quiet small town on the bay it used to be, but... rumors have been spreading of darker forces at work. Weird things seen out of the corner of your eye and mysterious figures standing on the street corner under lamp light, even shadier dealings seem to be all the rage in the city's upper echelon.
Mafia's control territories and some in their desperation to get an advantage over their competitors have turned to less conventional means of securing power. Some may have even gotten more than they bargained for.
Meet The Crime Families
The Toscano's
Case file: 17734
Name: Vittorio Toscano
Known Aliases: Warlock, Lock
Status: Alive
Occupation: Museum Curator and Owner at the Veilana Museum of Natural History and head of the Toscano crime family
There is very little known about Vittorio himself other than he took over the crime business after the unexpected death of his uncle. The Toscano crime family itself controls the docking district, nothing gets shipped in or out without the family knowing. This makes them have very close ties to the other well known crime families in the area purely out of necessity and needing to stay on each other's good side. Their roots run deep in the city's shipwright union making them popular among the working class.
The Toscano crime family's contributions to New Veilana City cannot be understated, but rumors have begun to spread about more... occult dealings. Strange lights can be seen coming from the basement of the Toscano estate and Vittorio himself has seemed to become even more reclusive as of late. The biggest rumor being that he flew too close to the sun and invited something into our world that wasn't supposed to be known.
Case file: 17730
Name: Tarhos Kovács
Known Aliases: The Knight, The Guard Dog
Status: ???
Occupation: Body Guard of Vittorio Toscano (uncertain)
There is even less known about the Toscano families prized bodyguard than the head of the estate himself and even more is left uncertain after his six-month disappearance. Ever since the bodyguard has shown his face in public again most have reported an overwhelming sense of unease when only being in his presence. Some have even claimed to see his skin move and shift like something is living underneath.
In private Vittorio knows exactly what happened. He's the cause of it after all. That loyal bodyguard died in an assassination attempt he was protecting the new head from, maybe it was grief or perhaps guilt that led Vittorio to do what he did, but he certainly got more than he was bargaining for. Yes Tarhos is well... alive? Sort of. A being claiming to be a God of War has taken up residence in his skin or part of the slumbering consciousness of said God.
Vittorio has promised to reawaken the God in return for protection and companionship. Tarhos is more than pleased with the current deal they have, he's loyal as long as it remains.
The Adams / The Silk Cradle
Case File: 18811
Name: Luanne Adams
Known Aliases: Mother Goose, Black Widow, Mother Hen
Status: ???
Occupation: Head of the Adams crime family, Owns and manages her primary Gentleman's Club: The Silk Cradle
Luanne has quite the colorful history. Many mysterious deaths of her husbands has not only lined her pockets, but landed her with quite a lot of power on her hands. She is the head of the small, but important Adams crime family, but most in her care just say they're a part of the silk cradle. Her family owns part of the entertainment district anything from bars, sex work to underground gambling are her specialty by trade. Those that work at the silk cradle are a tight knit group who protect their own.
The Silk Cradle itself is a popular spot for other crime families to meet seeing Luanne as a neutral figure in the constant turf wars that seem to never end. It's also a popular spot for the upper class members of society as it works as an open secret speak easy in the back. The police are paid off and any raids that do happen are known beforehand. Though she made have disappeared and laid low for a while, after making her debut back into the public light eight years ago there's something undeniably off about her. Maybe it's the way she never ages or her fast reflexes, but there's something not right about the widow.
Case file 18892
Name: Haruko Nakasone (belongs to @witchcraftandburialdirt)
Known Aliases: N/A
Status: Alive
Occupation: Jazz singer at the Silk Cradle, Apprentices under Vittorio in his studies into the occult
What led Haru to Luanne isn't entirely certain, but he is one of the most popular singers she employs. She pays well and the clientele aren't that bad. However one man always catches his eye when he comes in. Vittorio Toscano, a very important figure in his own right, but he seems to know about all the weird happenings as of late. Haru didn't get involved with him with malicious intentions at first, but... after seeing the ritual that summoned a piece of Tarhos's consciousness to their world first hand three years ago. There might be more to all of this that Vittorio isn't willing to explore.
For now, he's gotten quite close to the both of them in more ways than just platonic. No one really knows his exact goals, but no one can deny just how involved he's gotten in Vittorio's dealings as of late.
Notable Characters
There's a few other families that have their own territories and dealings, but as of right now these two families are the most important. However, there are a few extremely important background organizations or people who work independently.
The Legion
The Legion were once runners for various crime families, but due to an entity attaching itself to Julie they have developed a method to summon there creatures from beyond mosts comprehension. The method isn't kind or pretty and takes place at special events they host called "Masquerades". They kidnap the unfortunate off the street and torture them for the highest bidder leaving them nothing, but a soulless vessel for another entity to take over. They don't work for any crime family and will happily take anyone's money.
Robin
Belongs to @witchcraftandburialdirt
Case file: 1550
Name: Robin Baudelaire
Known Aliases: The White Fox
Status: Alive?
Occupation: Information broker
Robin is ground zero for why the barrier between the human world and the abyss go thin enough to let other beings cross over into our plane of existence. In his grief and continuous experiments with occult rituals he weakened the barrier enough for even gods to slip through while not summoning them himself. Him and the being he summoned, Abel, have a mutually beneficial relationship and now work as an information broker for the various families within the city itself.
Danny Johnson
Case file 16615
Name: Danny Johnson
Known Aliases: Jed Olsen
Status: ????
Occupation: News Radio Host / Journalist
News radio host by day and serial killer by night it's not entirely sure what his end goals are. He doesn't report on the more mysterious parts of the city, but instead on the "unknown killer" terrorizing the streets. His co-workers report a variety of odd behaviors coming from him, some even going as far to say he might not even be human, but whose really to say, but the man himself.
Sable Ward
Case file 14441
Name: Sable Ward
Known Aliases: N/A
Status: Alive
Occupation: Indie writer for a supernatural tabloid
If no one else will report about the strange rumors and weird lights, Sable Will and boy does she do a good job in it. Though that could be due to how she also dabbles in a little black magic here and there. While she may not know entirely what's going on, her small tabloid is gaining quite the underground audience. Sable worries this will paint a target on her back, but that isn't going to stop her.
Minor Characters
Just a few minor characters, they aren't too important to the over all happenings within the city, but do still live and operate there.
Aita Moon
No Case file exists on this bar tender, though he does work at the silk Cradle and does tattoo work in the back it is very under the table. He does his best to keep his head out of everyone's business, a job is a job and Luanne pays extremely generously.
Luka ????
No case file exists on Luka, but no one can deny his strange appearance. Perhaps that's why he works for the Toscano's as a supernatural consultant, to the outside world he might as well be dead, but he is happily living in secrecy and hanging out with Aita when the Silk Cradle is closed.
Paris Baker aka "Pearl"
Paris or as is more commonly known as Pearl is an "entertainer" at the Silk Cradle. Really all his job is is making sure the men stay longer by chatting with them and getting them to spend more on alcohol and he is extremely good at his job. So good in fact that he is the model for the paintings in advertisements and on the outside, he makes good money and has nothing to really complain about. Any incidents that do happen are swiftly "taken care of" by Luanne so really why would he ever leave.
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There has been a level of callousness from the far left that I've witnessed in the past few days that is unacceptable. I always knew it was there and have been growing increasingly frustrated with it, but I think its ugliness has finally risen to the surface in light of recent events.
People have been saying how the right is united, but the left is split and eat their own, and here it is. The ugliness has finally been revealed for the whole world to see -- and it's not just a small number of internet trolls, either.
This is going to alienate a lot of people from the far left’s movement and causes, understandably so.
I am someone who subscribes to a lot of "leftist" ideas, if not most of them, but this quality of the far left has always left me feeling extremely uneasy about the label. There is a difference between vengeance and justice. It's literally the allegory in so many fucking stories -- don't become the vengeful extremist who will justify anything, anything, because of the perceived righteousness of your cause. Don't become so consumed by hatred that you forget your humanity entirely. I've lost touch with myself and what matters in this way too -- and then before you know it you will be looking at the blood on your own hands and wondering who the fuck you even are anymore. Intellectualizing everything like a robot will take you to some dark and ugly places. It will make you act ugly toward others.
And leftists spread and consume so much propaganda too, and they don't even see it or know it. I say it because I've fallen for it myself and have seen a fuck-load of it over the last few days. Of-fucking-course there has been right-wing propaganda, too, and far more of it, imo, in US media. But like anyone, leftists assume they are immune to it. That's the beautiful thing about propaganda -- it doesn't discriminate against anyone, no matter where on the political spectrum you are. (Propaganda, by the way, doesn't have to mean lies. It literally just means "dissemination of information to influence public opinion." This can be done with facts and this can be done with outright lies.) Just something I've been thinking about, because it's been sitting heavy.
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