Within the Divine Fleet there were 8 divines and their ships. Each Divine and ship are unique, distinct, and created by the Player Characters. These are not the only ships within the fleet but they are the major touchstones for what the fleet is comprised of. The ships are constantly moving, anticipating danger. Unknown reason(s) have largely been the cause of the deaths of most of the Divines as their numbers dwindled from 300 to 8, to 2. This was an odd occurrence and something that may be answered in the series as it unravels. There is a larger mystery as to why Divines suddenly, for the most part, started to die after 30,000 years.
The Divine Gumption - City Ship: Gumption's Gambit
Adapts junk tech and battle debris/parts into themselves to change the things that they can do and also not break down and die. From an old TV to another Divine's arm, they could use anything. The ship is filled with pieces of the Divine Gumption. Once something is detached from it, though. It is not considered to be a part of it.
Gumption used the entirety of themselves to fix the city ship Gumption's Gambit, saving the ship in the process with their sacrifice. "How could this ship even have this many exhausts?" Internally there is metal paneling everywhere to cover exposed wires, dull, copper, rust, safe, but not pretty. It's mostly a scaled up space ship, it does not have a city vibe. People plant makeshift green spaces in the gaps technology leaves behind.
The Divine used to provide ad hoc repairs to the fleet but the people who still live on the city ship still fix things for the fleet.
"Nothing can only be used once", they are a re-use culture. The fashion comes from that culture and can look really great or stupid, depending on how good you are at it. It's a risky style of fashion in the fleet. Most people, though...don't pull it off.
In this time of instability the people of his city ship work harder. Most people, it seems, are primarily the people who repair the fleet, in general.
The Divine Belgard - City Ship: Thyrsus
There a class of Divines that are democratic virtues and then they went away for a while, and when we find the fiction again, there is a much broader range of Divines. And Divines began to make Divines. Generations of Divines broadened out further yet, action names and nouns that refer to actions.
Belgard is an archaic term for a loving look to give to someone. They're sleek and almost person-like. But less like a person's body and more like if a person could have a pupa, or a chrysalis. Does not have arms or legs, loose layers and components like collapsible shields affixed around the "hip and shoulder" areas (pupa hips). Striking colours like a butterfly's wings but more dull and deliberate looking. Joints, seams, moving parts are not entirely clear when still. There are features and dibs where features might be but is otherwise featureless.
Belgard used to attach to objects to either or mend or harm something and heavily shielded (a combination of physical and energy but not like a full force field) and wrap it around other small to mid sized ships/Divines. Belgard died when they were abandoned by their Excerpt during a battle. It prioritized mending other ships over itself, and eventually succumbed to it's own wounds.
Despite Belgard's death the fleet has access to uncommonly intricate shielding mechanisms.
The city ship is called Thyrsus. It's a series of bulb like nodes, connecting bridges, and occasional flat oblong panel sections that more or less come to a point. Visually it might be helpful to think of a stock of Queen Anne's Lace with clusters of flowers, it's broad but comes to a sort-of point.
On the inside because of the construction of the ship there is not a lot of big open spaces. Interior rooms and spaces are not popular. Tall vaulted ceilings and reflective natural looking surfaces: stone, wood, glass metal. The majority of It would feel like being in a series of interconnected nested set of alleys,courtyards, plazas's and rooms being rare. "Spaces between spaces." People might avoid interior spaces altogether if they're well off. Privatized open spaces.
Thyrsus provides effectively working of what exists. Recycling materials 1-for-1 in order to re-work them into something that is more-or-less what it used to be.
A foundational rule of Thyrsus "there is nothing so sacred as cold metal warmed in the palm." and "Like should mend like" Flesh with flesh, metal with metal. Additive stuff is OK, in the same way clothing is OK. But if you take damage to flesh, than flesh must be used to repair that damage.
Highly embellished but rather shapeless overcoats, length and material varies but ankle length cut and extra fabric are considered more desirable as they're both more resource intensive and hold their structure better, if you're using the actual material. Sleeves sometimes slashed up the arm, off-ship they're technically worn open or fastened at the collar to give a more tailored and cape-like effect and be a little less stand-out-ish. Inspiration from Victorian driving clothes and mid-century women's clothes being predominate.
The people of this city ship have double downed on routines and structure. "Be the stability in the world you want to see" but an avoidance of doing the same thing. And they favor the Gumption's Gambit, in terms of world view.
The Divine Anticipation - City Ship: The By-and-By
They were really good at a simulation of scenarios to find the best direction for the fleet as a whole. In terms of figuring out what planets can be sustainable. It's really important in "Uh-Oh" time.
The Divine's physical form is inspired by the funnels of the new Gundam (ask for link later), long rectangular floating pieces. They sit together in a fan shape or spread out and form shields in between them or whatever they need to. There is no separation in this form, but they can form goal posts that create shields to protect other parts of the fleet. A must less elegant of Thyrsus, comparatively. There are layers similar to a pocket knife that are still connected but can move. The body of the Divine itself, which died, is considered the elevator between the different levels.
There is a religious sect on the ship that considers going to every level of the ship an act of penance. The act of moving in between places is something that is considered holy. By experiencing anticipation you're looking forward to something, when you think about something you want or need, when you take a trip to get something you hope for. This act is something, at least in part, holy.
Anticipation decayed over time the ability to figure out stuff slowed down to the point where it stopped or slowed down. It's stuck in a rendering or buffering status, missing RAM, blue screen of death, etc.
Since their death the ship was able to funnel out as though they were birds signaling and calling to the other members of the fleet, and communicate as well. Now they cannot, it can spin out a little bit but they cannot perform that function.
Inside the city ship it looks like huge hotels in which you can see the lobby, with balconies for your hotel rooms. Except there is an entire city sections, and the homes and shops being those small hotel-like rooms and intimacy is greatly appreciated. The grand open spaces on the outside of the ship are inspired by an artist named SPARTH , where there is a futuristic city is floating but it also has floating gardens.
Fashion has a focus on different items or elements of outfits being from parts of the city. Patterns, layers, a weird marketing scheme from different layers of cities. People get cards in which they get stamped for visiting different layers. The more layers you have, the more fashionable you have. 5 Is really avant garde, holt couture, super high fashion. 3..is like, OK.
During this period of instability there is a lot of talk about full unity and making informed decisions for the best outcome for the fleet to be realized.