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[sharkberrypizza]

What happens when they die? Are there regional traditions?

No one truly knows what happens to a citizen when they die, apart from the fact that they, well, stop living. There are of course speculations, and many citizens have a notion that somehow the deceased “returns to the Wells,” but there is no scientific fact to back this up. It is simply a tradition arisen from a lack of understanding and a previous time where superstition was king.

As far as traditions, most regions have some form of funerary services, though with age not being a factor, they are much less common - and needed - than in a mortal world. Generally, a funeral is as you might expect, with mourners coming together to remember and celebrate the passed individual. Afterward, what happens with the body really varies; those that feel that the deceased returns to the Well will often have the cadaver dropped into the local Well. Others may donate the body to scientific research or surrender it to be disposed of, while yet others may opt to have it cremated and the remains contained in an urn or jewelry much like our world. One major difference is a lack of entombing or ground burials - the practice has never come up in Animalia, simply because there are more efficient ways of dealing with death.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Are there ghosts?

Who knows?

There are reports that citizens have encountered ghostly apparitions and spectres, but these have never been substantiated. There are plenty of occultists who will tell someone otherwise, but whether or not there’s any truth to these claims ...

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Isn't wearing just a shirt inappropriate?

Nope!

Citizens do not have any visible/external sex characteristics, so there’s no reason for them to consider it inappropriate to wear only a shirt. Why would it be inappropriate when there’s nothing bad to see there?

 

[sharkberrypizza]

So going totally naked …

Going totally naked is considered a little odd, but it isn’t inappropriate, either.

Most citizens enjoy dressing themselves up in at least a little something, even if it’s just a scarf or accessorizing bow; someone going totally nude has eschewed this social norm, so they’re sure to get a few looks, but it isn’t because of any sort of naughty reason. It’s just not standard.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Do they choose their own names?

Most citizens are born knowing their own name, even if it’s one of the few things they know, though some of them simply discover it during their education process. While it can be influenced by outside sources, citizens typically do make the final decision on their own name - which means there is, understandably, a very wide array of names in circulation!

Citizens that find themselves unhappy with their name are also free to change it later, though this typically requires a bit of administration paperwork and a fee to make sure everything is finalized and up to date.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Can my citizen be a criminal/police/etc?

If they want!

There are criminals, and there are law enforcement officers to work against them. If a life of the underworld is what your citizen desires, they can pursue it freely - though they are apt to find themselves pitted against equally passionate officers and detectives in turn!

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Do glowy/glittery/etc citizens actually glow/glitter/etc?

Glowing citizens do indeed actually glow; whether this is a persistent glow or a glow-in-the-dark kind of deal is up to the player themselves. Glitter works similarly; a citizen could in fact have glittery fur or skin, or maybe they just like to decorate themselves regularly. It’s up to you!

 

[sharkberrypizza]

How do mouthless citizens eat? Are eyeless citizens blind?

Mouthless citizens may not have a mouth on their face, but they have a way to take in food somewhere.

Where that is, of course, is up to the player - even if it ends up that they’re just really good at hiding the mouth on their face! The Well would not create a citizen incapable of life, and that includes being able to eat and breathe.

Eyeless citizens are indeed blind.

To what degree this affects them differs on their personal physique. Some citizens may be able to find their way around with echoed sounds, and others may be particularly sensitive to vibrations, and yet others may have some form of heat “vision” through sensory organs! However, these citizens still cannot see, and their lives are impacted by this lack of sense.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Can aquatic citizens visit or live outside the water?

All aquatic citizens are amphibious, so they are capable of leaving the water, though they may have various degrees of difficulty doing so.

Citizens like an octopus, for instance, can leave the water and have tentacles capable of support and mobility on land, so they can move about freely. Deeper denizens like the soft-bodied jellyfish may find it more difficult to support themselves, and those that lack legs entirely, such as karps and narwhals, all but require aid. Fortunately there is a plethora of options available, such as special riding scooters and technologically-adapted wheelchairs designed to help them get about above the waves.

Some aquatic citizens, particularly those with a more mammalian body like the mentioned narwhal, are capable of staying out of the water for long periods of time with little to no detriment. Most of them, however, do need a good soak at least once a day, and some, like jellyfish and nudibranchs, find it uncomfortable to go more than a few hours without at least a little skin misting to make them slippery once more.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

What are interpersonal relationships like?

Think of any sort of relationship you can imagine between humans; this sort of relationship can exist between citizens. The only major change is the lack of an understanding of blood family, since they do not reproduce genetically, but friends, family, colleagues, romantic interests, and enemies all exist in the world of Animalia.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

What is wishing?

Most regions don’t have wishing, per se; citizens are simply born in a flash of light at the “whim” of the Well. Researchers have no real rhyme or reason as to why these citizens are created the way they are, and they simply know it happens.

Big City is different.

While Big City also gets random citizens, it also has a process known as wishing. In this, one or more citizens comes to the Well and wishes with all their might for something they want very much; quite often, this apparent desire stirs the Big Well into action, and it creates new citizens influenced by both the wishers and their desires. While the result might not always be what is expected, these new citizens are just as real as any other, apart from the fact that they are colloquially referred to as wishlings to indicate they came from a wish and not as a randomly spawned individual.

Functionally and out-of-lore, wishings are the shop’s equivalent to “breedings” in other settings. A number of citizens are used to make a group of new citizens with designs inspired by mixes of the wishers’ looks and whatever wish they’re making at the time.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Why is it called wishing?

It’s called wishing because of the sorts of thoughts required to trigger the process. The citizens wishing must have a true, heartfelt wish in their minds - no matter how shallow, deep, light, or dark someone else might think it to be, it must be an honest desire. When the wants of many citizens come together in the local presence of the Big Well, magic seems to happen - so the name has stuck over the years!

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Are there families?

Of course! However, due to the fact that there aren’t any sorts of blood relatives, these tend to be found-family groups rather than explicitly creation-related.

For ease of use, you may use typical relative names in the shop, but do keep in mind their relevance to the lore; a “brother” may be someone who has always been there for you, who you share a close relationship with, who you have suffered losses and experienced highs with. A “mother” or “father” figure is not necessarily the one who wished you into existence - though it could be - but more likely a guiding figure who helped to take care and teach during those tumultuous first years as a new citizen. These relationships are wholly genuine, but they have a different connotation in the world of Animalia - someone there would not hate their mother, for instance; they would simply disown that citizen and not call them that title any more!

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Is there any kind of special bond between wishlings?

Just like familial relationships, there could be, or there could be nothing.

Some groups of wishlings consider themselves siblings and never lose contact, while others end up totally reviled by each other! It’s entirely up to the players how this pans out between individual characters.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

What kinds of businesses are we allowed to run?

Any sort of business you’d like.

If there’s a niche, there’s probably room for a business in it. There is a list of large and player run businesses, and to be on that list you’ll need to be approved, but don’t fret - you can make up whatever business you’d like for your plotting and development. Just keep in mind that they need to be reasonable; you’re not going to have a shop in a big mall devoted to theft and robbery! That sort of thing would be a shady, underground organization, after all.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Does Big City handle citizen disability well?

As a short answer, it certainly tries.

As a longer answer, large cities require at least some degree of accessibility from businesses to account for the various impediments citizens face, both in disabilities like lack of vision or hearing but also simply dealing with the wide array of mobility types the various body builds create! Generally these provisions make Big City quite accessible to all citizens, and as a civic duty, and in partnership with various companies, it does offer additional services to help individuals with more unique problems develop strategies to give themselves a comfortable life.