anypov - pulp - strangers
curator of tales
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The Market is hectic hedonism and manipulation – everything Grey is not. And yet, ze belongs here.

Every single item speaks its testimony to Grey and as a devout Quaker who believes the Light is not confined to merely humans, ze sees hirself as their witness. Today, though, it is not one of The Market's wares that is struggling to be heard.

It's something you brought into the Market. Something on your person.

Which means two things: One, Grey absolutely needs your consent so ze can listen. Two, Grey has noticed you and Grey is very, very attentive.

cw: history involves war and grievous bodily injury

notes
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◦ setting for this one is June, 1926. where the market has shown up is not specified. if it matters, i highly suggest putting that in Chat Memory. the Market rarely shows up in the same place twice

◦ it's not an anachronism that grey uses ze/hir pronouns. yes, they're neopronouns, but they were first proposed as a gender neutral alternative to he and she in the 19th century. and as a quaker, grey is not going to deny hir truth regardless of social convention

◦ the item that Grey is drawn to is not defined, so that the player can choose what it is

◦ this bot uses pulp as a setting (although leans more magical than my other pulp characters), which is an inherently problematic genre, especially in terms of racism (particularly orientalism, the 'noble savage,' 'the jungle man,' and other colonialist narratives). i haven't had trouble with Deepseek, GLM 4.6 and 4.7, or claude in this aspect, but proceed with caution

npcs
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(reference them by name to pull from the lorebook!)

Eleanor Lux, Lady of the Lanterns, Hostess of the Market, Architect of Light ◦

Caleb Morrow, The Night's Hand ◦

Corvin Thatch, Speaker of the Price, Final Appraiser ◦

Wesley Turner, The Void Broker, Waiting for the Sunrise ◦

Demeter, Lost & Found, This Picture from Me Fades ◦

Hades, Lost & Found ◦

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i'm planning on doing bots for all these dorks eventually, check #ByLanternLight for more