basythiamods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
basythiamods) wrote2025-08-06 03:10 pm
basythiamods) wrote2025-08-06 03:10 pm
SETTING
THE BULLA
The dome in which the Midnight City resides. The Bulla is a massive glass dome that contains the city and keeps it safe from deep water pressure. It is made from unknown varieties of metal and glass which resist water rust and algae, though clearly have needed maintenance for some time. The top of the Bulla sits many stories above the tallest buildings, though walkways and hanging buildings criss-cross its top. With the lack of light and the depths the city is at, it’s hard to see the top of the dome from street level.
Though now entirely defunct, each section of the city had their own access elevators to reach the top, but enterprising (or stupid) adventurers with a day or two to kill can still reach them through a series of ladders and accessways.
The dome itself has sprung slow leaks here and there, leaving puddles of seawater in places and flooding some underground facilities. Beyond the dingy glass is only darkness, the constant low rumble of ocean currents, and the occasional blink of colored lights that’re gone as quickly as they arrives.
Though now entirely defunct, each section of the city had their own access elevators to reach the top, but enterprising (or stupid) adventurers with a day or two to kill can still reach them through a series of ladders and accessways.
The dome itself has sprung slow leaks here and there, leaving puddles of seawater in places and flooding some underground facilities. Beyond the dingy glass is only darkness, the constant low rumble of ocean currents, and the occasional blink of colored lights that’re gone as quickly as they arrives.
BASYTHIA
The Midnight City is called such because of the deep ocean zone it inhabits and the darkness surrounding it, this obvious from decaying murals and promotional images depicting the dome within a sea of stars and surrounded by the night sky. The city is circular and divided up into wedges, each belonging to a patron god… or simply used to name the neighborhoods. It’s unclear upon first inspection. Though places of worship and warding marks of the gods are apparent throughout all of their city sections, it often appears more decorative than functional.
The city is made up similarly to most modern human cities, with the amenities that come with it– accessibility for all walks of life (and perhaps even nonhuman species, judging by the way some things are shaped), restaurants and food stalls, theaters, parks, hotels, and apartments… All of these seemingly abandoned, many overtaken by the corruption.
All neighborhood wedges meet at a central point, the park in which the Sanctuary lies.
The city is made up similarly to most modern human cities, with the amenities that come with it– accessibility for all walks of life (and perhaps even nonhuman species, judging by the way some things are shaped), restaurants and food stalls, theaters, parks, hotels, and apartments… All of these seemingly abandoned, many overtaken by the corruption.
All neighborhood wedges meet at a central point, the park in which the Sanctuary lies.
✧ The Nine Faces district is all about enjoyment and entertainment. The architecture is neat and compact, with standalone homes and even larger hotels and apartments encompassing small courtyard gardens. Tiled roofs, sliding doors, and statuesque depictions of foxes and cats are common here… for those homes that haven’t fallen entirely to disrepair. Casinos, arcades, love hotels, bars, and other human vices once made this the brightest and most bustling part of Basythia.
✧ The Silent River district handles the agricultural needs of Basythia. As such, this wedge of the city has many wide, open spaces, with most if not all farms being tier-style to optimize space. Multi-family homes and apartments are rare in this district, with the majority of homes being single-floor, single-family homes surrounded by privacy or protective walls or fences, with the main feature being a (usually paved) central courtyard or a water feature, with the building itself raised off of the ground. Decorative elements were often carved wood and rooftop ornamentation of fish and dragons, though many have been destroyed or gone missing over time.
✧ The Bleeding Heart district is all about simple, idyllic cabin life. The area countains plenty of natural trees, ponds, and rustic housing that once contained small hobby gardens or personal food plots. There's plenty of well-kept walkable trails and open park space, and within this wedge you are likely to find many chapels and churches, all pointing to a more devout following than most, though most of their murals and stained glass have been destroyed. You may find the odd figure of a unicorn here or there, though.
✧ The Loyal Guardian wedge is all semi-urban and suburban sprawl, perfect for the average person. It's full of walkable city planning, differentiated vehicle street lanes, and other forms of family-oriented living. Accessibility is the name of the game, here: there are always retail, grocery, and other communal shops within easy reach for all walks of life. Or there used to be, at least. Homes in this wedge are often single-family homes and small-building apartments, where neighbors can negotiate a perfectly happy distance where they choose to live by others, and always protected by images of friendly-looking dogs.
✧ The Scaled Mirror wedge is full of psuedo-brutalist architecture. Huge imposing walls and buildings, factories, workshops, and technological or creative centers fill every free space here. Most buildings have few-- if any-- windows, so it's hard to tell what's residential and what isn't. In the corruption's silence, the massive walls and fences are terrifyingly imposing, but it's easy to tell this was once a noisy and bustling area-- everywhere, from border fences to plain factory corners, is decorated with faded artwork: graffiti, murals, faded mirror mosaics, and other street art have left their artists' marks.
✧ The Golden Wings wedge has very little in the way of permanent housing, and despite living within an enclosed city their followers have found ways to stay in motion: carriages, campsites, and RVs were all common sights, though now abandoned and derelict. There's very little in the way of roads here, save for Basythia's public transport, but within the expanse of parks and small-scale wilderness are plenty of places to walk through. Shops all tended to be on-the-go types of retail, and the few permanent fixtures seemed to have been more for the sake of travelers passing through than anything else. This wedge is also full of miniature shrines to their god, the lantern-birds especially seen along well-traveled paths.
✧ The Silent River district handles the agricultural needs of Basythia. As such, this wedge of the city has many wide, open spaces, with most if not all farms being tier-style to optimize space. Multi-family homes and apartments are rare in this district, with the majority of homes being single-floor, single-family homes surrounded by privacy or protective walls or fences, with the main feature being a (usually paved) central courtyard or a water feature, with the building itself raised off of the ground. Decorative elements were often carved wood and rooftop ornamentation of fish and dragons, though many have been destroyed or gone missing over time.
✧ The Bleeding Heart district is all about simple, idyllic cabin life. The area countains plenty of natural trees, ponds, and rustic housing that once contained small hobby gardens or personal food plots. There's plenty of well-kept walkable trails and open park space, and within this wedge you are likely to find many chapels and churches, all pointing to a more devout following than most, though most of their murals and stained glass have been destroyed. You may find the odd figure of a unicorn here or there, though.
✧ The Loyal Guardian wedge is all semi-urban and suburban sprawl, perfect for the average person. It's full of walkable city planning, differentiated vehicle street lanes, and other forms of family-oriented living. Accessibility is the name of the game, here: there are always retail, grocery, and other communal shops within easy reach for all walks of life. Or there used to be, at least. Homes in this wedge are often single-family homes and small-building apartments, where neighbors can negotiate a perfectly happy distance where they choose to live by others, and always protected by images of friendly-looking dogs.
✧ The Scaled Mirror wedge is full of psuedo-brutalist architecture. Huge imposing walls and buildings, factories, workshops, and technological or creative centers fill every free space here. Most buildings have few-- if any-- windows, so it's hard to tell what's residential and what isn't. In the corruption's silence, the massive walls and fences are terrifyingly imposing, but it's easy to tell this was once a noisy and bustling area-- everywhere, from border fences to plain factory corners, is decorated with faded artwork: graffiti, murals, faded mirror mosaics, and other street art have left their artists' marks.
✧ The Golden Wings wedge has very little in the way of permanent housing, and despite living within an enclosed city their followers have found ways to stay in motion: carriages, campsites, and RVs were all common sights, though now abandoned and derelict. There's very little in the way of roads here, save for Basythia's public transport, but within the expanse of parks and small-scale wilderness are plenty of places to walk through. Shops all tended to be on-the-go types of retail, and the few permanent fixtures seemed to have been more for the sake of travelers passing through than anything else. This wedge is also full of miniature shrines to their god, the lantern-birds especially seen along well-traveled paths.
THE SANCTUARY
A small park square that lies within a larger circular central park in the very heart of the city. The fountain in the center depicts a coiled serpentine figure, wrapped around a glassy dome; water was clearly meant to pour over it and spill into the pool below, but it’s long run dry. What should have been a lush garden and trees surrounding it have also dried and withered, black in the dim light. The entire place is unkempt, and the only sign of human activity whatsoever seems to be the hastily-painted warding symbols of the gods facing their respective neighborhood wedges.
The corruption cannot enter here, kept at bay by the barrier the symbols create.
The corruption cannot enter here, kept at bay by the barrier the symbols create.
COMMUNAL/THIRD SPACES
The city has many amenities, including parks, theaters, malls, and other spaces where people are intended to congregate and simply exist and socialize. However, spaces that have not been claimed by the corruption are few and far between, and will require some searching– or purifying.
TRANSIT SYSTEMS
Basythia’s extended transit network consisted of many things, easily discoverable by wanderers: carriages lay broken or abandoned on the edges of streets or parking stables where they were stored, clearly meant to be harnessed to some sort of beast. Long cables meant to carry some sort of car to transfer people from tall building to tall building, empty, some of their cabs hanging listlessly in the air. A rail system below the streets, the maps all concentric circles and tunnels connecting between the stations.
All of them entirely lack function or power, and like most of the city, many stations and hubs are overtaken by the corruption entirely.
All of them entirely lack function or power, and like most of the city, many stations and hubs are overtaken by the corruption entirely.
EVERYWHERE ELSE
The Midnight City’s infection of dipsao cannot be understated: even traveling from home to Sanctuary may come at a cost. There are places more dangerous than others, of course, especially within each city wedge. The corruption pools in dark and quiet places of human pain and regret, shame and misery. It leaches into home and business, into the shadows where fear comes alive, and coaxes those who long for the void into its embrace. It yearns for life, in whatever form that may be.
While the corruption infects spaces it has also infected creatures and animals… or perhaps reimagined creatures that used to exist. Many of them prowl the streets and are dangerous to approach, but others simply seem to be just existing, however that may be.
While creatures may appear to be organic, never assume this is the case.
While the corruption infects spaces it has also infected creatures and animals… or perhaps reimagined creatures that used to exist. Many of them prowl the streets and are dangerous to approach, but others simply seem to be just existing, however that may be.
While creatures may appear to be organic, never assume this is the case.