[hider=Notable Locations]
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[center][table][img]https://i.imgur.com/aJA1y2C.png[/img][/table][/center][indent][indent][indent] Previously in the midst of a large-scale, cooperative effort by the corporate powers (backed by government military) to colonize the final, unsettled continent, Antarctica has become a restricted area patrolled constantly by military and private corporate forces to prevent the unwitting from making contact with the fog that now enshrouds the entire continent. The patrols also double as reconnaissance, searching for any openings or changes in the wall of dark gray mist that towers high into the sky. All information about the projects that had been ongoing in Antarctica have been pulled from public records, presumably for investigation by an independent commission. Word on the street is that they’re hiding something, but many dismiss this as conspiracy theories in the wake of what is clearly an upcoming Great Calamity that’s surely nobody’s fault. Prior to the continent going offline, pictures of biome constructions and industry developments had been touted by real estate corporations as the new ‘luxury’ living, with sweeping landscape views and clean, unpolluted air where buyers could become the first to own hot property on the world’s only true [i]terra nullius.[/i]

[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]???[/color][/right][hr]A hidden research facility known to very few members of the public. Those who are bit more tech savvy, or magical enough to be, have found reams of redacted documents and data for what should have been just a standard ecological observation and research post in the south pole. It’s generally agreed among the undersides of the net that the censoring could be as much a result of general corporate overcaution as it could be a conspiracy. The tinfoil hats still scream of a grand cover-up, but what data has been gleaned after the 19 June explosion seems to merely show general fragments of reports on temperatures and wildlife records.


[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]MOUNT SIDLEY[/color][/right][hr]A dormant volcano in Antarctica that was the site of a proposed theme park and potentially tourist attraction. Construction had been progressing steadily with extensive use of magitech and Starweavers, but the fog had cut all communications with the team when the research facility exploded. The last transmission from the theme park construction crew was pulled by netizens shortly after the catastrophe, a brief, 10-second recording of a drawn out, tuneless humming that seems to fade from the microphone as the distant voice of someone in the background shouts to ‘Seal the fucking doors!’ Speculation has only arrived at a dead end, though, and no information is forthcoming from any of the corporations involved.[/indent][/indent][/indent]
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[center][table][img]https://i.imgur.com/NSZg5fm.png[/img][/table][/center][indent][indent][indent]The central trading hub of the world in 2050 and a prime destination for most races to live or do business. Having expanded to nearly 10 times its size in the early 2000’s, New York is now nearly its own country on par with the Vatican (whose monotheistic beliefs continue to praise a God for His creation of the universe). Most megacorporations like Disney, Apple, and Google, now headquarter in New York, each with large tracts of land dedicated to their base of operations usually consisting of barracks for their private military forces, company-specific housing for their employees, and various R&D centers pushing the bounds of ethics, one project at a time. Despite the powers that exist, many CEOs of major corporations continue to be humans, albeit nowadays of the magically gifted and enhanced varieties. Demihumans are generally more popular than regular humans in New York, their visages gracing billboards, posters, and large-screen advertisements in the vaunted Times Square. Starweavers, as common as they are relative to past eras, are still not common enough to be found on every corner. The presence of one has the same effect as the public catching sight of an A-list celebrity. Some revel in the attention while others keep a low profile, but it’s no secret that Starweavers are particularly welcome in the new commerce capital of the world.

[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]TIMES SQUARE[/color][/right][hr]The famous tourist attraction of New York no longer hosts the New Year’s ball drop, instead seasonal events are headlined by some of the most popular Starweavers and demihumans in the country from the literally enchanting songstress Starweaver, Mia Sharpe, to the magic-defying acrobatic feats of ‘dreamboat Daeva’ performer, Tarkhan. Times Square has also been the sight of many a protest in recent years over the Japanese treatment of demihumans, with notable talk show personalities and celebrities speaking out against the poor state of sentient rights in other countries, but most egregiously Japan as a country that still holds the patent rights to much of the magitech circulating the world.


[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]THE STATUE OF LIBERTY[/color][/right][hr]Well, the torch arm on the statue was accidentally lopped off at the elbow in a fight between a branch of Foci, the most notorious anti-Starweaver faction, and a Starweaver they were targeting, but the government isn’t making a big deal out of it because it was the Starweaver who did it. The arm has since been replaced with a better magitech version superficially modified to look the same as the rest of the statue’s weathered copper. Foci was given the blame for the entire incident anyway and indirect blame for damaging a historical monument, which the borderline-terrorist organization seemed to have taken a dislike to as motifs of the statue’s severed arm against the backdrop of the offending Starweaver’s starmark began propagating around the internet soon afterwards, usually accompanied by inflammatory comments such as “Starweavers can get away with this arm. Wait until they get away with yours.”


[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]THE TIPSY TEMPTRESS[/color][/right][hr]A restaurant and bar chain favored by demihumans and Starweavers. Its iconic neon sign of an androgynous merfolk sprawled across a rock and sipping on a cocktail has become a beacon in the night for demihumans looking for a good time. The restaurant features both lounges for the guests and individual rooms for more private outings, looking more elite than its prices would indicate. Under the table deals between demihuman-exclusive gangs usually happen behind closed doors at the Tipsy Temptress, and the backroom features dancers of all races and talents. Owned and managed by an enigmatic Starweaver, the police tend to turn a blind eye to whatever happens in the Tipsy Temptress establishments; things there will either work themselves out or they’ll be forced out of the location’s unspoken protection.


[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]MANHATTEN ASTROLOGICAL RESEARCH[/color][/right][hr]An extremely prestigious institution (arguably the world’s best institution of astrology) that welcomes only the most adept of astrologers to its ranks. The ancient craft of astrology has blended easily with modern science, as hereditary astrologians have never denied that stars were also collections of gases in the distant space of the universe. What sets the astrologians of the MAR apart is their unique insight into the way the stars move, die, and are born, the minutiae of which form messages to take heed of and often foretell the awakening or death of Starweavers, who are intrinsically bound to the stars which are, in turn, also bound to them. It’s a bit of trivia knowledge that the name ‘Starweaver’ was modernized from a dead language used by the first astrologians to refer to them as those who ‘write the stars’.[/indent][/indent][/indent]
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[center][table][img]https://i.imgur.com/RvboSv9.png[/img][/table][/center][indent][indent][indent]A major information market ever since the collapse of the totalitarian regime that was China during the third Great Calamity. As a side effect of the rogue Starweaver’s rampage, many surrounding countries suffered great destruction as well and in the aftermath it was by luck that Hong Kong established itself as a ruling power first, with much of the major Eastern powers and organized crime syndicates flocking there to get a foothold in what would undoubtedly become a central location. With so many power sources concentrated in the city, it was only a matter of time before reconstruction was well underway and now Hong Kong flourishes in both crime and prosperity. Nowadays, it’s the backdoor of the country, and anyone who wants anything important comes and goes through there. The city is entirely controlled by three major gangs that constantly jockey for dominance, though an unspoken, tripartite truce keeps everyone from starting an all-out war for the moment.

[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]TIEN TAO MENG TERRITORY[/color][/right][hr]The eastern side of Hong Kong is controlled by the Tien Tao Meng, a Taiwanese gang that rose to prominence on the back of the third Great Calamity, taking advantage of the chaos to shift the balance of powers in their favor. Now they peddle a veritable cocktail of drugs in their territory, turning their already volatile portion of the city into a den of dilapidated houses, unfinished construction projects, and people who live as little better than the walking dead. The Tien Tao Meng source their drugs from both local and international suppliers and have recently been infringing on the territories of the other gangs.


[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]FOUR SEAS GANG TERRITORY[/color][/right][hr]The southern and a bit of the southeastern end of the megacity belong to the Four Seas Gang, one of the larger criminal organizations in China whose leader had the wherewithal and luck to escape the annihilation that followed the beginning of the third Great Calamity. Posing as more ‘gentlemanly’ than their Tien Tao Meng counterparts, the Four Seas Gang keeps a strict, but peaceful hold on their territory and most of the city’s residents are left in peace as long as they pay the gang’s taxes. Doubling as ‘protection’ for the residents, the Four Seas Gang keeps the unsavory members of the Tien Tao Meng out as much as possible, though recently the uptick in skirmishes has left several of the upper ranks concerned about the Tien Tao Meng’s activities.


[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]MUN JI DONG TERRITORY[/color][/right][hr]Originally a non-criminal organization, the Mun Ji Dong group extended its shipping business into human and demihuman trafficking once it was clear authorities would have no sway over them in the reborn Hong Kong. In part due to aligning with powerful Starweavers and in part due to having the backing of some of the world’s wealthiest people, the Mun Ji Dong have rendered themselves virtually untouchable to the other two gangs in Hong Kong. Besides having the wealthiest, most well-supplied territory, to attack the Mun Ji Dong is to attack everyone they’re connected to, including the top research centers in Japan that rely on the Mun Ji Dong’s networks to procure test subjects.[/indent][/indent][/indent]
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[center][table][img]https://i.imgur.com/JHOOR7L.png[/img][/table][/center][indent][indent][indent]Leading the world in magitech innovations, soon after the third Great Calamity, Tokyo’s research departments were the first to create long-term magitech weapons that contained a self-sustaining magical power source rather than requiring a recharge every few months. Sure, it took a few unwilling demihuman sacrifices to see the project to completion and maybe the research centers were viciously attacked for decades afterwards by various resistance and sentient rights groups, but things eventually settled down when a contracted Starweaver wiped out most of the opposition on behalf of the government. Tensions between races and Starweavers are high in Tokyo as a result of this, but so far nothing has yet come to a boil. As far as the research teams are concerned, that means everything worked out fine.

[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED SCIENCE AND MAGICAL TECHNOLOGY[/color][/right][hr]The pioneers of modern magitech advancements and host to some of the world’s brightest minds, the NIASMT still retains much of Japan’s nationalistic ideals, with most of its researchers hailing from Japan or possessing only Japanese citizenship. Despite the prestige of Starweavers, even Starweaver demihumans in Japan are treated almost like second-class citizens and very few are allowed to work on projects in the NIASMT. The country pays lip service to the concept of sentient rights and the various international treaties that have been signed regarding them, but as with most world superpowers, there’s no one to hold them to account. The NIASMT in particular has been rumored to use demihumans in highly unethical projects, but with strong government backing and the ability to silence and suppress any nosy journalists, the institute outputs almost yearly breakthroughs both big and small in magitech innovation.


[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]RIKΞN QUANTITATIVE BIOLOGY CENTER[/color][/right][hr]A reknowned research center specializing in biological studies, the RIKΞN QBC is one of many RIKΞN centers in the country and the only one officially approved to perform human and demihuman experimentation. The Center, as it’s often referred to (and no one who’s aware of it would mistake [i]which[/i] center), looks to not only create new races from the existing ones, but also to magically and permanently enhance the human race so that there is ‘equality’ among the many races. Holding onto a vaguely human supremacist mindset, the Center was the first to create a pseudo-Starweaver subject by transferring the consciousness of a Starweaver into the body of a regular, vegetative human. This success lasted for an entire 5 seconds before the test subject’s body broke down and the Starweaver’s consciousness was permanently lost. In fear of inciting the wrath of other Starweavers, the Center has already released a novel’s worth of public statements and apologies, along with promises not to repeat the experiment until a ‘perfectly safe method’ was found.


[right][color=00FFFF]》[/color] [color=84d6cf]AOKIGAHARA[/color][/right][hr]There has been a light mist over this notorious site in the wake of the Antarctic disaster. After some initial panic, there was no indication the mist had any of the same effects, so much of the furor has since died down. The only remaining unease is that the mist never seems to go away. A Starweaver also lives here. Japan’s strongest Starweaver (as much as they can lay claim to him since he insists on staying in their country) is a Daeva whose Starweaver ability allows him to seal away the powers of others, seemingly for an indefinite period of time. He has had mixed success against other Starweavers and now hides deep in the forest of Aokigahara, refusing to interact with the world at large. It’s clear there are many who would like to see him dead, at the very least to test the theory that their powers will return if he dies. There are even more who would prefer he live for as long as possible, or at least longer than some of his victims.[/indent][/indent][/indent]
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