stardust | an original verse.

[dieroll]

STARDUST an original verse, a mash-up of general dirty vegas tropes, mob stories, and supernatural dealings in the desert. OVERVIEW: there is nothing that can't be explained away through logical means, but that does not discount the existence of the supernatural. magic, for lack of a better term, exists in small pockets throughout the world, with the common folklore of each region affected by the sort of magic practiced there. las vegas is perhaps the only city where this principle fails to apply. the paragon crossroads city, the number of people traveling through each day means that there's no one type of magic that predominates everything else. of course, practices relying heavily on illusion or the manipulation of luck generally do well, but there's no type of skill that will let you get away with murder, or with cleaning out the house.

power is largely held by two cabals — or families — their respective territories comprising most of the strip, with smaller factions taking up the edges. a tenuous peace is maintained mostly through the understanding that boundaries are not to be encroached upon; smaller disputes are settled mano-a-mano, usually with the somewhat more tangible price of blood magic, be it the relinquishing of powers or objects, or the forfeit of a limb. money, however, still reigns king as a form of currency, considering its value to the larger world and not just those attuned to the underbelly of things. as such, even cabal members are generally forced to deal with more mundane problems in addition to those that might come along with, say, hiring a sirin to sing at a club or what to do when the full moon rolls around.

SETTING: las vegas, present day/nebulous. for reference. while the hotels are likely to stay the same, house shows and other such details can be fiddled with as pleased. for example, if you want to nix the beatles love at the mirage and replace it with some show based on (supernaturally enhanced) contortion acts or a magic show, feel free. GUIDELINES: you can roll basically whatever you want, the only stipulation being that "godmode powers," so to speak, are not allowed without some kind of workaround. also, keep in mind that magic is the exception, not the norm, in the overall worldbuild. as with all verses, this is an excuse to play around in a certain kind of worldbuild and au every character you have in order to sandbox them all together. do whatever you want, just don't be a dick.

the two main cabals are moroi and nostra, their combined territory comprising most of the strip. moroi is currently headed by marnie, the first woman to lead the family, having taken over following the death of her brother. with a reputation for brutality when it comes to keeping the family on top — the kind of amorality that doesn't sit well in either world — the stakes the family sets are less on the slots and more on a strictly supernatural activity, i.e. what essentially amounts to dogfighting. needless to say, blood magic is more likely to be how one pays one's debts than forking over cash plus interest.

nostra, technically an off-shoot of a larger cabal on the east coast, is more reliant on bringing in revenue, with magic largely devoted to the shows at the hotels that it owns, and the occasional manipulation of the tables and slots. structured more like a crime syndicate than anything else, it also bankrolls a large number of the strip clubs present in the city.

there are smaller enterprises all over the strip, not necessarily strictly tied to one family or another but definitely paying some kind of liberty tax for operations. MISCELLANEOUS: las vegas serves as the hub for this particular verse. that said, you're free to use it as a jumping off point for anything else, e.g. potential conflict if another cabal rolls into town, etc., etc. WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS THAT THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER.

Comments

[wrested]

(1) moroi queen seeks loyal followers and indentured servants. dislikes: consent. (sorry.)

[gleaned]

ლ(╹◡╹ლ)

[dieroll]

and now, in what will probably amount to senseless rambling (i'm the worst dm i'm sorry):

c+p'ed from his profile: a club emcee with a talent for sweet-talking, sonny exists on the second tier of the family ladder, doubling as a hustler in order to help extend the cabal's reach. whether his persuasiveness and knack at sleight of hand are the result of something extra in his blood or just skill, it's hard to determine, but he works hard for the cabal (and, perhaps more importantly, to stay alive).

sonny's a part of cabal nostra and also possesses the power of persuasion, though this is generally not something he tries to show off. good friends with most of the acts he presents/hires, best pals with tony zanetti, takes too much crap from him as a result. expert at cleaning up messes but not overfond of it. doesn't usually take advantage of his abilities but has occasionally pulled the wool over people's eyes in a bad way.

seeking acts (supernatural or otherwise) and associates! i want to say he works the bellagio just because i love the fountains out front but that's pending for now.

also seeking (1) gal pal either just as pocket-sized as he is or at tim roth vs nicole kidman levels of tallness just for kicks.

alright peace out (ؑᵒᵕؑ̇ᵒ)◞✧

[contortions]

btw i am making you a contortionist who can shapeshift into a snake.

and is maybe also iain marling levels of "..."

[roughs]

more profile c+p: floating in and out of the city with each change in the wind, eddie seems to have permanent residence in at least one hotel on the strip; lacking a proper home, he's perpetually shacked up in one room or another when he's in town. the nature of what he does is never quite clear, but he usually takes to the tables at least once per visit, and has a knack for good luck. still, most of the time, he seems to make his living doing the odd small job for the cabals.

tl;dr eddie is an au and is also maybe probably the devil? we just don't know.

double tl;dr he gambles a lot and is maybe dealing unwitting people for their souls. also a free agent for bits of cash.

[contortions]

hahahahahahaah there's a joke about the garden of eden and a snake here somewhere

[pull]

an au of an oc! dahlia (which is not her real name tbf) is basically a thief who has kind of godmode-tier powers only she doesn't know how to use tem so basically she doesn't. she's a pickpocket and sneaks around taking advantage of old married dudes because she's, like, fifteen/sixteen and doesn't know what's what. her "legal" guardian is a guy named mr. green but she's only ever emailed with him. she has the ability to null senses (sight/pain/hearing/touch/taste) and usually abuses the shit out of that to thief you.

she could use some ppl to look out for her and other hoodrats!

[dieroll]

jUVENILE DELINQUENT

lmfao i'm enjoying the current "fuck you" "no fuck yOU" rn though

[ownership]

rosella au. TBA.

[dieroll]

SCREAMS HAPPILY rosella bee of my heart *^*

[robbing]

c/p'd as I can't get to a computer right now but:

a lounge-singer with a silver tongue and an eye for detail, tony is, himself, many things: a self-appointed leader, a gambler, a criminal. his are the fingers deep in countless pies, taking what the world once took from him. he is as clever as they come, ripe with, perhaps, a power even he has yet to fully comprehend. rhe eldest zanetti boy is unafraid, some even say ruthless, and underestimating him may be your last mistake.

tony has the ability to manipulate luck, be it good or bad. he's a piece of shit who uses and abuses and will fuck up your day because he can. he's also bffs with sonny, runs along with the nostras, and will lay your ass flat if you try to cross the aforementioned sonny, or, most importantly, tony himself.

[dieroll]

cries all i can do is chinhands

[contortions]

please say they can have the relationship where he pulls her imaginary pigtails and she rolls her snakey eyes at him?

[diyyat]

suffers gently at all this nonsense

no here is bernie who is going to be twisted gently for this in that he's still a contacted consultant/not quite a cop but just Very Good At What He Does So He Can who works with law enforcement to keep supernatural things under control which usually involves him holding guns and quietly panicking the end

[scents]

HAHA WHAT A LOSER

[dieroll]

i have a question and that question is how susceptible is he to bribery

[scents]

profile info tba.

but! nadine is a "magical bloodhound" of sorts i.e. she was born with an affinity/ability to chase out the magic that was used and trace it back to the source. this makes her pretty heavily on the law enforcement side of things, but she was born and raised here so she also knows how vegas works. which is to say, she's probably sided with one of the cabals. like most if not all of vegas people. she's twenty two, partnered with bernie in a "take care of that dude also don't die maybe" sort of way and kind of thinks he's a big joke. but, you know, don't tell him that.

she also really likes to play blackjack!!!

i think she's not really a talkative or open person but she does her job and she talks with people. i don't feel liek she has any friends? probalby just like goes home and waters her cactus and eats cheetos and watches netflix. i CAN see her getting kind of obsessive tho so i'd love like a brother or something!!

[dieroll]

yes hello i'm here how do i touch how much is that bloodhound in the window

[indulging]

frances callaway
-- rich spoiled shit from the 1920s
-- turned into a vampire in his 20s because it was the fashionable thing to do at the time (tho very hush hush didnt want the street folk to catch wind of living forever)
-- very bored of life and every bad quality has been nothing but exacerbated by said boredness
-- but he's fun if u wanna gossip and judge people and drink and smoke the night away
-- and honestly by now who has shame anymore, if u need an enabler look no further
-- quietly a bleeding heart, masks a lot of his desires with a mean streak a mile wide tbf he'd probably put his cigarette out on you before he told you he liked you so enjoy that

[scents]

yaps at him i guess

(originally i wrote this as "yaois at him" i was like no, aida)

[cruelty]

gabriel nostra
-- based off the arch angel gabriel lol
-- meaning he seems quite demure and calm and chill but there's something deeply merciless about his brand of justice when it comes down to it
-- basically terrifyingly cruel and able to smile as he washes blood off his hands
-- there's something very off about him-- his "powers" so to speak are very old world, hard to pin down to anything in particular but the nostra family has always aligned heavily with werewolves, valuing bloodlines and family in a very cliche mob sense. SO BASICALLY at heart, he is a werewolf. there's always going to be those werewolf things he does and is very typical of the nostra family but something much darker runs under his skin
-- rarely makes an appearance, tbh. he prefers to be solitary, tends nearly obsessively to his garden and has an affinity for coffee table books and documentaries about murderers but doesn't begrudge visitors. he's actually probably quite friendly and magnanimous if you ever cross him. just don't test him.
-- he has a very dry, very subtle sense of humor that's never mocking but always has a little bite

I'M JUST RAMBLING NOW but idk come at me give me all level of relationships and minions and confidants etc

[dieroll]

lmfao hailing from the intensely italian branch of the family WHAT'S UP BOSS

tries to read up on bonsais in order to make conversation if he ever shows up

[caniculae]

wolfram nostra
-- yes his mom named him that yes he goes by wolf yes it's all a big cliche because he is a big dumb werewolf
-- biggest creep
-- kinda illiterate ngl
-- smooth talker with too many nice suits tbh
-- defector because he couldn't handle the mob lifestyle anymore not that he was honestly anything big or important-- it's just the family business
-- meaning he's done Some Things but it largely conflicts with his sense of right and wrong now and he doesnt know how to deal with himself so he just sort of ran away from it all
-- more animal than man despite him knowing exactly how to blend in-- most of his instincts come down to that

[wrested]

preys on

[bargain]

tessa

» it's just tessa, if you ask.

» c/p from her profile: tessa's power is wish-granting; she could give you anything you want, any time you want it, any place you want it. just say the magic words (i wish) and she can make it happen. but like all powers, hers have limits - she can't make wishes for herself, and the bigger the wish, the more it strains on her body.

» she doesn't know her limits, and what will happen to her if she finds it. she honestly doesn't want to find out.

» made her mother wish for her to never be tethered to one person no matter how hard they might wish. a girl's got to look out for herself too.

» she'll play with the big boys and girls if it leads to a big payoff, but she'd rather con bored husbands and trophy wives.

» money, money, money

[indulging]

honestly he'd be fascinated with her
and then want to help her destroy people
while smoking viciously in the background like the dirty voyeur he is

[feeding]

gilby bath

» a fake name standing in for an even more fake name
» temporarily gives life to dead things by spitting on them
» eats live flesh to gain more powers
» people taste like lean pig most of the time
» came to vegas looking for The Girl Who Got Away (Literally)
» still hasn't found her, for the record
» utterly shit at card games

[scents]

this bloodhound w ill deeply enjoy taking all ur money tho, gilby.

[schemesandplans]

Jean "Billie" Davis
> parents are Grammy winners who've had their own Vegas shows
> like every good child star, is fresh off a stint in rehab for 'exhaustion'
> has her own show at Caesar's Palace
> public front is sweet girl next door blah blah so happy for all these opportunities etc, privately more of a disillusioned sassy asshole
> went and got herself all mixed up with cabal nosrta
> might be in over her head and will do whatever it takes to erase that debt
> basically some sorta Judas/insert favorite betrayal trope here
> idk idk more to come

[gleaned]

obligatory c+p: mickey is, simply put, scum of the earth. lacking anything by way of history except for his alias, he works for cabal moroi, and uses his status in order to get away with his function essentially as a walking roofie. he possesses the ability to erase a memory, though at some cost to his physical health, and with the caveat that he does not have the power to put in a false one instead. i.e. those he meddles with will realize that something has been lost. a man with a sweet tooth for pretty things, the reputation of las vegas as sin city is one that suits mickey just fine.

tl;dr the worst and if you need a further explanation meet me after class

seeking uhhHHHHhh god i don't know someone to beat the shit out of him and/or people he has under his thumb literally whatever

[contortions]

adria works at cirque de soleil as an aerialist, but most of the time she works as a contortionist! she's actually a shapeshifter who can shift into a snake, tho, specifically a desert glossy snake. she doesn't say a lot and watches people most of the time, though she's really physically affectionate. she tends not to say things if she can answer with body language or a noise, tbh.

uhhh lets see what else! lmfao she doesn't really have friends or much of anything but she has people she'll loiter with?

[dieroll]

parks butt in here

we've already discussed this but i just like tacking on comments sooo

lmfao you weren't kidding when you said iain marling levels of "..."