Amphitheater Multiverse: The Wastelands

[pantheraliam]

Amphitheater Multiverse

The Amphitheater is a mysterious place. It's in the space of a blink that you appear outside one of its many entrances. You're beckoned inside, taken to the center, where the showrunners assign you a role. Another blink, and you're no longer surrounded by rows of crowded seats. The crowd and cast have disappeared. Whatever role you were given, that is your life now, even if only for the duration of the performance. Be careful, though. It's easy to get lost in the role you were given. It's not uncommon for performers to forget who they are.

Performance: The Wastelands

It's a scenario which has fascinated since the very inception of story-telling: What happens after the world ends? It seems that's what's occurred here. Shops and houses are left empty of life, looted of supplies. Strange, mutant plants grow wrap around buildings and overtake forests, which infected animals slip out of to attack. Towns are less so towns, and more so guarded fortresses which only allow certain individuals in and out. Supplies are scarce, and trade has devolved into a bartering system. Camps of survivors are scattered throughout the countryside and abandoned villages, with some bigger groups splitting up into factions. Infighting is common, as well as altercations between groups. The world has become temperamental, anxious, everyone always prepared to attack. Those affected by the mutation find it even harder to survive every day, met with a whole host of biological and social obstacles. Everyone's goal is to survive. What role will you play?

Dramatis Personae

scavengers & survivalists

Scavengers and survivalists survive on their own as best as they can. They are loners who travel from settlement to settlement, trading supplies they've found before moving onto the next place. Some prefer to live off grid entirely, and only interact with others when passing in their travels. Others hide away in cities and towns, away from the eyes of the factions that govern them, stealing what they need. Generally, these types believe that others will slow them down, and are concerned more with their own survival than anything else, which makes them poor companions.

leaders

The world as all knew it may have ended, but so long as there are people still alive, they will need leaders. One might lead a small settlement with only a handful of people, merely interested in surviving. Instead, one might be the leader of a powerful faction in a major fortress city, with hundreds at your command. There are religious leaders, as well, which devotees follow faithfully in all that they do. Whatever the case may be, the leader is, at the end of the day, someone responsible for the wellbeing of the many others that depend on them.

traders

Traders are apocalypse-made merchants who survive by collecting and selling items between settlements. Some of these merchants travel, moving from settlement to settlement and providing goods for travelers on the road, and some reside in settlements, providing goods for the town. They may sell anything from rations to weapons to medical supplies, and generally tend to have good relationships with leaders, due to their many connections. They are good salespeople, exceptionally clever with words, and may convince you to leave with something you don't need, or give them something you do.

the affected

No one is quite sure what caused animals, plants, and people to all start changing - why some are affected, and others aren't - but some strange mutation took hold after the world came to an end, rendering some something between human and beast. They are not mindless, and they are not hungry, but they have been known to attack - transform into monsters which blindly lash out until their prey has been disposed of. This only happens when they are provoked, however...

hunters

Some believe that the affected must be disposed of, studied, or otherwise detained until an explanation for their condition can be found. There are a few leaders, both religious and otherwise, who claim to be researching a cure for the strange affliction. They hire hunters to find the affected and bring them to their headquarters. Other hunters have more personal reasons for wanting to seek out the affected and dispose of them.

devotees

In times of great crisis, such as these, people find themselves desperate for a guiding light to follow. Devotees pledge themselves to leaders, objects, gods, etc., and follow them dutifully no matter what they're asked to do. Some religious factions condemn the affected, while some celebrate and welcome them, and others still that want to research them; likewise, there are some factions that welcome anyone, some that only welcome allied factions, some that welcome no one. It all depends on what one has decided to devote themselves to - the point is, they're devoted.

OOC

Hello! Welcome to Amphitheater Multiverse, inspired by former game 7Dead's AU/amplitheater premise. Essentially, characters enter a magical amphitheater that is holding a performance (this time it is "The Wastelands," a post-apocalyptic story), and they are cast in roles. This transports them to the setting of the "play" - essentially one big collective AU you can TL and play in (your characters can either be aware they're in a play, completely lost in their roles, some combination thereof, etc.). You can play out multiple roles/enter & exit the amphitheater more than once.

Please follow basic DWRP etiquette, don't be a jerk, use CWs in subject lines/read them. Play anyone you want - canon characters, OCs, fandom OCs, AUs, CRAUs, etc., etc. This event is open for anyone to play. You do not need to know me or be on my plurk list or anything like that. If you have any questions, please direct them here, or hit me up on plurk at pantheraliam (just note that I don't add people unless I know them). Have fun, be safe o v o;;

Comments

erwin smith // attack on titan

[audentior]

--1. leader

[ This wasn't quite planned. ]

[ He'd ended up in the public eye when he first declared the affliction had been man-made, a failed government attempt to create supersoldiers. People laughed, at first, but as more and more evidence surfaced, and attempt after attempt was made to silence him, they laughed less. But it was too late by then. The world had collapsed, and those remaining had to rebuild. ]

[ The same people who threw vegetables at him now looked at him for guidance that he wasn't sure how to provide, but did his best anyways. ]

[ His best was enough to land him at the head of a small fortress town, with a whole new scope of challenges and responsibilities. He often joins the supply runs, not putting his life over others'. He barely sleeps, but the town runs well; they have a democracy, they have doctors, and they have an engineer who has managed to recreate mostly everything needed for running water and (occasional) electricity locally. ]

[ No closer to finding a cure, though, and he's not so sure if it's even possible, but people depend on that hope. He wonders how long he can keep saying the researchers are "working on it". ]

[ And then there's that looming sense of offness. As if something's not quite right with the world, despite the obvious. Little inconsistencies. Almost as if-- ]

[ If you catch him late at the end of the day, when he thinks no one is watching, you might notice how different his posture looks. Tired. Withdrawn. He's rubbing the bridge of his nose and sighing, but the moment he hears your approach, he's straightening up and turning toward you. There's something a little customer service about his smile. ]

My apologies, I did not see you come in. How may I help?..


--2. trader

[ He shows up on the same day each month, always smiling, always having something to say. He doesn't only carry goods, but news from the other settlements as well, which he gladly shares while bartering, often ending up with a better price. ]

[ Unlike most, it's not food and weapons that make up most of his assortment. It's things more niche but sometimes more coveted -- charts and maps, books, ink and charchoal, paper, various tools, medicine, sometimes even spices or makeup. Things important for planning ahead, and things that may be more about living than surviving. It's surprising what a difference a little bit of those can make on top of the necessities. He even carries letters on occasion, despite it bringing him no profit. ]

[ Rumors are he used to be a teacher in the old world. ]

[ Maybe that's why most people are happy leave a bit more gold or traded goods than they perhaps otherwise would in his pockets. He never seems to push for it, though, and that's probably part of the charm too. ]

Looking for anything specific today?


--3. hunter (except not)

[ He's not a hunter in the traditional sense. He is, however, the guy hunters come to when they can't or don't want to track down potential targets themselves, or have run into something too big. He makes predictions; he makes plans. ]

[ It does seem to be the case that less hunters die going after entrenched afflicted if they do business with him first, though it could simply be rumors to improve PR. ]

[ Nonetheless, for whatever reason, you are here. ]

[ He raises his head from the maps strewn across the table, blue eyes inquiring. ]

Yes?


--4. wildcard

[ choose your own adventure! he starts off pretty melded into the role but is likely to remember or outright figure it out by the end. (also if he sounds dumb at any point that is, in fact, because i am stupid in comparison. gomens lmao) ]

2

[letonerip]

Specific? Nah, not from you.

[Kenny makes a point of visiting a variety of traders. He might not know exactly where those he's familiar with are at all times, but he has a decent general idea of when and where any one of them might show up. Enough so that he can seek them out, when he wants to. Most of them have regular routes. It's practical. As for what they sell, he knows enough about each of them to know who he should be looking for when he wants something specific.

As for Erwin Smith... he stands out, in more ways than one. Considering the nature of his wares, Kenny visits him to get an idea of what he has on him, rather than with a particular item in mind.]

Got anything useful this time? How 'bout we start with that?

[By useful, Kenny partly means weapons. As a hunter, weapons are always on his mind, but Erwin is unlikely to be well-stocked with them. However, Kenny's not unaware of the usefulness of the other things Erwin carries, whether concrete or abstract.]