Marley, California

**Marley, California** is a city located in Southwestern San Lorenzo County and is home to characters featured throughout the story, and is the birthplace and former home of Marianne Williamson. The city is the third visited one during the game's events after having explored Corona Hills and Mariposa. Marley lies south of Mariposa, southwest of Las Palmas, east of Granadeno, and north of Solis. Marley is home to mostly middle class households, however there are a number of working and lower class families who reside in sparse areas across the town. A homeless population have also increased in the town throughout the years, with temporary tent cities forming across many areas, however many are disbanded by police units, forcing the occupants to move elsewhere. Despite its troubled history and even troubled current day events, the town nonetheless has made an impact in the county's history. Marley was originally home to the San Lorenzo County surfer culture that dominated the 1960s and 1970s, to the point where many surfers from the Los Angeles region such as Venice have come down to Marley to host parties, move into homes, and even start businesses.

The 1960s were a prominent time for the cultural significance of the town, the rise of cannabis and psychedelic culture had swept across the area in just a matter of a few years, and both cultures which are linked to one another still make a major impact on the town's image until this day. Many artists have called Marley there home as well, numerous graffiti art is prevalent across the city ranging from tribute art to celebrities both alive and passed, and art exhibits using all sorts of designs. The Marley Boardwalk is the most well known area of the city; it is not technically a pier boardwalk, however it does traverse across all of Marley's coastal area, making it one long shopping center. Artists can be seen here selling their work and can even be seen creating their own artwork in real time to garner an audience, street musicians also perform here a lot, most do so to gather tips, however there are musicians who simply perform just to spread joy across the population passing by.

The homes seen in Marley are similar to homes seen in other nearby cities such as Solis and Granadeno, however even if the city and Solis share similarities on the designs of their coastal homes, the homes all over Marley have their own distinct aesthetic to them due to decades of the cultural input placed upon it. The working and lower class homes resemble homes seen in the poorer areas of cities such as Rosa and Gloria Springs for example. Outside of the Hispanic influence on the architure seen throughout the city due to the fact that it is a town located in the US southwest, many architectural inspiration from English-Caribbean locations such as Jamaica and Belize are also seen here. Marley hosts a good population of Caribbean people ranging from all sorts of ethnicities from the general area both the islands and Belize which shares much in common with the Caribbean islands. The cheap good food, souvenir shops, tourist traps, outdoor gym, playground, and beach give Marley much to boast about as it is home to one of the best sunset views in the county.

Three ethnic enclaves are known to reside in Marley. Little Havana, a Cuban enclave, is located in northern Marley not far from the border with Mariposa. Little Hispaniola is located in Northern Marley just south of Little Havana, is an enclave housing both Dominicans and Haitians and is a unique union of Spanish and French Caribbean culture; the western Dominican side is known as Little Santo Domingo and the eastern Haitian side is known as Little Port-au-Prince. In southern Marley also exists a Jamaican enclave named Jamaica Town, it's the most well known enclave of the three because of its appearances in various Hollywood films, and every year during the Summer a festival is held throughout the area. Each enclave has their own distinct appearance and atmosphere, but still share many similarities with one another such as delicious restaurants and beautiful mural artwork on the walls of many buildings.

## Locations

* Marley Boardwalk
* Victoria's Pub
* Williamson Family Household
* Yoshiko Sushi Buffet
* Little Havana
* Little Hispaniola
* Jamaica Town
* Florida Restaurant
* Isla Dominicana Kitchen & Rum Bar
* Sam's Creole Café
* Donna's Caribbean Cuisine
* Veneto Pizza
* Emperor's Buffet

## Inspiration

Marley is inspired by the real location of Venice in Los Angeles County.

* The city is named after famed Reggae musician Bob Marley, the usage of Bob Marley's surname to be used to name the city comes from its culture surrounding the Cannabis subculture that has been a mainstay and staple to the area for decades. Continuity wise however, the city was named after founder Matthew Robinson's wife Marley, he named the coastal town named after her as a birthday gift as he found the town around the same timeframe of his wife's birthday.
* The name of the town being named Marley was a major coincidence during the rise of cannabis culture in the mainstream, which is a major reason on why many individuals not only interested in the culture, but also Bob Marley's music and reggae itself to move into the area. The inspiration for the reggae, cannabis, and psychedelic cultures prevalent throughout the town is inspired by Venice Beach's own culture which was helped formed by those three.

## Cultural Significance

Marley has played a major role in culture throughout San Lorenzo County and the American Southwest in general. Cannabis and Psychedelic culture have played a major role in the development of the city's popularity throughout its years. Cannabis was already prevalent in the area in the form of hemp workshops even before the city's conception in the 1800s, as farmers used the sparse land to grow hemp crops to be used in hemp related workshops formed in the area which used the plant to create all kinds of products which were packaged and sold across the area. The usage of THC marijuana and Psychedelics ranging from Psilocybin mushrooms and the newly popular LSD (or known as Acid), during the 1960s which was the height of the Classic Psychedelic Revolution. Those who were fond of these substances saw Marley as a sanctuary to freely express themselves as the truly creative individuals they were, which caused a boom in art, businesses, and beach related events. The ever growing population costed the county a lot of money due to the fact that many homes had to be built, but even though the effects can still be seen today, it helped form the identity the town boasts even now.

Many festivals were and still are hosted in Marley, varying from outdoor concerts to sporting events such as skateboarding and surfboarding. Skater and surfing culture went hand in hand throughout Marley's ever growing popularity, the population saw a new increase during the height of the 1990s and 2000s Skate Culture scene, including BMX culture which had been around for a tad bit longer. The long history of Marley's association with cannabis and psilocybin has helped both of these industries thrive in the area, many dispensaries both large and small can be spotted throughout the town which sell products created by the state's most well known cannabis product producers.

Psychedelics have eventually made their mainstream appearance throughout the town, these appearances include businesses such as Psilocybin Temples, locations used for healing therapy hosted by an expert, or Shaman. The usage of these substances also range to DMT, however formal usage of this substance is mostly used at drug therapy centers, however it can be used at these areas upon the request of the Shaman, for example Ayahuasca, a potent brew containing DMT. Dream Temples have also had a decades long uphold in Marley, these dream temples are hosted by dream interpreters, or nicknamed 'Oracles', to interpret the dreams of an individual to help them on their healing and recovery journey. These dream temples and oracles mostly use Mage Technology containing Oneirokinetic magic, however there are a number of Oracles who are either natural born Oneirokinetics or obtained the power from a Mage Ritual. The metaphysical culture surrounding Marley has certainly made it a popular tourist destination for everyone interested in the metaphysical and spiritual.