Cold War but with monsters

A fictional world heavily inspired by the Cold War with a monster twist /ᐠ. ｡.ᐟ\ᵐᵉᵒʷˎˊ˗

TLDR summary:

Humanity huddles behind walls of steel and sound, locked in a bitter Cold War while fighting a hotter war against the depths. From the planet's abyssal trenches and caverns surge the Scyllids – chittering, bioluminescent horrors sensing heat and vibration, their corrosive blood etching concrete. Two superpowers vie for dominance amidst this siege: the Accord of Free Coasts (AFC), championing innovation and individual grit, their cities humming with sonic barriers and gleaming tech; and the Continental Shield Pact (CSP), forging strength through collective will and mountainous fortresses, their foundries singing through the night. Between them lies the scarred nation of Greenstep, split between AFC's shielded rooftops and CSP's underground bunkers, a constant battleground against both the monsters below and the mistrust across the wire. Everyone knows the drill: watch the thermal scanners, keep your sonic dampener charged, and pray the walls hold.

In depth summary:

The world endures under the shadow of the Scyllids, relentless bio-luminescent terrors erupting from interconnected deep-sea trenches and subterranean networks. Blind to light but exquisitely sensitive to heat and seismic vibrations, they communicate through eerie pulses of color across their chitinous hides. Their corrosive green-black blood eats through metal, and they swarm with terrifying coordination directed by unseen Mind-Corals lurking deeper still. Conventional weapons – bullets, flamethrowers, shaped charges, and artillery – remain humanity's primary, brutal tools against them, employed in desperate battles within echoing tunnels, along fortified coastlines, and atop urban barricades. Survival demands constant vigilance: thermal optics pierce the gloom, seismic sensors listen for burrowers, and the pervasive thrum of sonic emitters forms the backdrop to life, disrupting Scyllid senses and communications.

This existential threat forces an uneasy stalemate between two ideologically opposed superpowers. The Accord of Free Coasts (AFC) believes survival lies in technological supremacy and adaptive resilience. Its leader, the Meridian Republic, embodies this with its culture of "Brightwork" – a near-sacred obsession with maintaining gleaming, efficient technology (sonar grids, thermal dampeners, advanced subs) seen as both practical defense and a ward against the dark. Life buzzes in community Makerspaces where citizens tinker on defenses fueled by portable "Griddlecakes." Key members include the Haven Archipelago, where "Resonance Gardeners" meticulously tend coastal sonic fields like sacred instruments, their lives dictated by the rhythm of the tides they defend; and the Sunburnt League, vast frontier lands where scouts on "Long Watch" rely on ancient signal mirrors, potent bush tea, and darkly poetic "Swag Verses" recited under endless skies, valuing sharp eyes and trusted comrades over distant command.

Opposing them stands the Continental Shield Pact (CSP), convinced unity, discipline, and sheer mass fortification are the only answers. The Ironstead Communes exemplify this collective spirit. Shifts in their colossal armament factories end with the deep, resonant "Foundry Hymn," a communal chant believed to unsettle nearby Scyllids and solidify communal bonds, overseen by respected matriarchs known as "Forge-Mothers." Life revolves around communal efforts, from brewing vats of sour Kvas to crafting armor plates. The Frontier Collective borders the most active breaches, its people living in perpetual siege within massive concrete "Zitadelles." Their culture fixates on "Schutz" (Protection); a perpetually warm "Kessel" (kettle) is kept ready in every home for weary "Tunneljäger" returning from the dark, and intricate "Wurzelbinder" (Rootbinding) knotwork secures gear and memorializes the fallen. The Harmony Republic masters precision and logistics, its philosophy "万手" (Ten Thousand Hands Moving as One) reflected in elaborate "工夫茶" tea ceremonies where defense plans are debated with ritualistic care within calming "Resonance Gardens" designed to counter Scyllid bio-acoustics.

Dividing them is Greenstep. West Greenstep (AFC-aligned) lives under the ever-present "Hum" of its massive sonic barrier, a sound synonymous with safety where complaining about it is taboo. Citizens cultivate vibrant rooftop gardens and obsess over "Glanz" (sparkle/cleanliness) in their tech and lives, believing polished surfaces confuse Scyllid senses. East Greenstep (CSP-aligned) exists deep within its "Unterstadt" (Undercity) bunkers, finding strength in "Tiefe" (Depth – both physical and spiritual). Austerity is a grim badge of honor. They subsist on hardy "Tiefbrühe" (Deep Brew) stews from subterranean fungal farms, and the intricate "Wurzelbinder" knotwork binds their community as tightly as it secures their tunnel gear. The shattered no-man's-land between them, The Scar, is a hellscape of ruins, mines, and seismic dead zones. Here, hardened scavengers and outcasts survive using cryptic "Schrammzeichen" (Scar-Sign) – markings made from twisted scrap metal – to communicate and trade under the constant gaze of Scyllid patrols and border sentries.

While proxy conflicts flare in less threatened regions and espionage never ceases, direct war between the AFC and CSP is Mutually Assured Destruction. Resources vital for Scyllid defense – rare minerals for sonic emitters, stable geothermal vents for underground power, advanced alloys – fuel intense, often covert, competition. Propaganda blames the rival bloc for awakening or attracting the Scyllids, spinning every breach and victory for maximum ideological gain. An unspoken, tense truce sometimes emerges along borders when major Scyllid swarms attack, only to shatter into accusations the moment the immediate threat recedes. Beneath it all, forbidden research continues: the AFC seeks gene-targeted plagues and predictive AI, while the CSP experiments with captured Scyllids and bio-acoustic mind control, each convinced their path is the only one that can save humanity from the devouring dark.

Meta message:

While I wanted to test a little more to ensure quality like my other bots, using jllm is too painful so I'm afraid I'll just be releasing minimally tested bots using jllm to ensure it has the bare minimum correct- will likely unprivate WIPs like this and be offline for a while until someone figures out another proxy api for j.ai

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ok byebye have fun