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tabularasa_ooc2020-12-01 07:41 pm
tabularasa_mods) wrote in tabularasa_ooc2020-12-01 07:41 pm
December OOC Updates & New Imprints
New Imprints & December Event Sign-UpsDecember OOC Updates
Thank you to everyone who responded to our State of the Game post last month! We'd like to respond to some of the questions and ideas put forth, so we'll be making a follow up post soon on what we'd like to do moving forward.
In the meantime, there are a few small updates we'd like to talk about right now:
- There will not be a new TDM post for December, and we will be transitioning into a once every 2 or 3 months schedule for the future. The general consensus has been that the current TDMs don't get enough activity to need a replacement every single month, and we agree with this! For the TDM AC bonus, we will be updating the wording on the AC page to make it clear that threads from the most recent TDM will be valid even if it was not posted that month.
- To go with one of the new imprints this month, we'd like to finally decide on official names for each of the setting's current species. We will be setting up an OOC poll to help decide on what names to include, so if you haven't looked at the name suggestions thread on the Bestiary page yet, please take a look and submit any ideas you have as soon as possible!
- It's the holiday season, so for December's AC everyone gets a free pass! You may still submit your full AC for influence points, but the minimum AC requirements for all players will be a check-in comment for December. If you took a strike for November's AC, you can still pass December's AC by check-in or partial/regular AC - however you must clear your strike in January's AC.
December Event Plotting & Sign Ups
The world doesn't know what month it is, let alone what Christmas is, but it's feeling more generous than usual lately. To show its appreciation for the people that inhabit it, every character in the game will receive one free regain to be delivered on December 15th. Hooray!
However, with so many people receiving gifts and no real system in place for getting those gifts to the right people, mix ups are bound to happen. Instead of receiving their own gifts, every character that participates will be receiving another character's regain. It will be up to them to figure out who the present belongs to and deliver it to them. In other words, the world is assigning everyone an impromptu Secret Santa.
This event will involve randomized pairings, similar to the September memory event. You will not be required to thread anything out with your assigned partner this time (though we definitely encourage it!), but please let us know through the mod contact page if there is anyone you would prefer not to be partnered with.
To sign up your character for the gift exchange and submit your free regain, please leave a comment in the sign up thread below. The deadline for event sign ups will be December 11th 11:59 PM (UTC).
New Imprints
6 new imprints have been added to the game’s setting, including 2 new locations. This information will be copied to the Locations page shortly.
There have also been updates to 3 locations based on new imprints and character actions.
If you have any questions for the mods about the newly added imprints, you can leave a comment in the questions thread below.
Updated Location: The Wyndon Simulation Joint
Just visible from the shore of Takoba Beach is the top of a domed structure, barely peeking out from the ocean's surface. An opulent brick wall surrounds the dome, seemingly preventing water from leaking in - the dome’s glass can hardly be seen over the wall’s high pillars, but light consistently comes through the top of the dome to illuminate the area. Past the entrance is an interlocking brick walkway that leads to the central plaza, with a large fountain as its centerpiece. Flanking the fountain on its four cardinal points are stone statues of winged, beaked creatures of various sizes, with the largest standing in the middle with its wings spread. Molten lava runs through the fountain’s reservoirs, and empties out through narrow, stream-like indents paved into the plaza’s pathways. Street lamps and several red phone booths scatter the area, though the pay phones inside of them do not function.
Directly north of the plaza is a modern train station with two floors. The first floor contains an empty information booth, a bank of ticket machines, and screens that show when the next train is scheduled to arrive - when trains are not running, the times simply read “???”. The ticket machines, when they decide to function, dispense paper tickets with the name of one of the world’s train stations written in large letters in exchange for anything that will fit inside of the small, round-shaped currency slot. The second floor houses an elevator that descends to the train platform, soft drink vending machines, and a small cafe with patron seating. Both floors of the station have racks for literature that contain printed maps of the world so far, along stacks of printed scripts for a coming-of-age stage play about the trials and tribulations of life as a train.
There are several paths leading away from the plaza that lead to six distinct zones, though currently all but two of them are filled with nothing but massive trash heaps.
The first zone is the conflagration zone, contained within a smaller red dome at the back of the WSJ. Inside is a wide grassy plain filled with beautiful, colorful flowers that are engulfed in an inextinguishable sea of flames. This doesn't seem to harm any of the plants, though, and the smoke that fills the dome smells pleasantly floral.
The source of the lava that is flowing harmlessly through the plaza’s walkways can be found towards the back of the dome in the second zone, where a large, active volcano looms. The small indents flowing through the plaza congregate outside of it into a larger lava river, which branches into tributaries that wind throughout the area. The lava is warm, but does not burn to the touch; it has the consistency of thickened water, and when consumed has a slightly spicy taste. The lava river flows continuously through the area and will never harden into solid rock.
The Unforeseen Simulation Joint: Katsuki Bakugou (My Hero Academia)
Avalon Fields: Merlin (Fate/Grand Order)
Wyndon: Raihan (Pokémon)
Volcano: Viridi (Kid Icarus: Uprising)
New Location: The Unnamed Shrine and the Blank Shrine
Hidden in the forest near the bridge is a curious shrine, though not as small as it once was. On approach, the view is initially blocked by trees, but exploring further will reveal a circle of seven tall statues of worn grey stone, each stood in the centre of a small carved circular pool. These statues are arranged around a central dais so that each statue has their back to it, and the small pools each have a straight and narrow channel connecting it to a larger one that surrounds the dais.
Each statue is of an elegant maiden dressed in flowing draped cloth that some might identify as Ancient Greek attire, standing tall and straight as if to support something atop their heads. Though the statues are worn, they each bear a passing resemblance to various women present within the world, though combined in such a way that none can be said to look like any specific person. Curiously, some less human traits can be identified in some of the statues, for two have tails, one has insect-like horns and unusually large eyes, and one’s ‘hair’ is shaped more like large tentacles and a horny protrusion atop the head.
Within the circle of statues is a large stone circle, and in the very centre are some steps leading up to the dais. Here, there is an altar, again made of worn grey stone and carved to resemble a creature’s wide open mouth, and inside there are some small indentations that are perhaps meant for treasures of some kind. At present, there are no particular treasures, and the only things present inside the altar’s mouth are offerings of incense and scissors, tossed inside haphazardly.
Mounted atop the stone altar is an additional small, wooden shrine, no different to the one that was here previously. In spite of the disruption to its surroundings, its appearance has not changed.
Curiously, this shrine does not only exist here. Should one cross the bridge and walk a short distance into the void, they will soon happen upon a copy of it, the papery white of it camouflaging it against the white of the void. Every detail of the shrine has been copied in detail, but instead of being made of stone and wood, this second shrine is made of the same pure white and papery material as the rest of the void.
Parsee’s bridge: Parsee Mizuhashi (Touhou Project)
The Erechtheion Temple: Melinoë (Original Character)
Shamouti Shrine: Samuel Oak (Pokémon)
Updated Location: Mount Silver
Marking the center of the known world is a large mountain with a high snowy peak, standing as a division between two other zones. One side of the mountain leads into a forested area, while the other side leads directly to a beach and oceanfront. To travel between these zones, one must use one of two routes through the mountains.
The long route is a two-lane paved road that appears to be well maintained, circling all the way around the mountain. This path takes significantly longer to travel, but follows easy terrain with only a few gentle slopes, eventually splitting off into dirt roads that lead to the other areas of the world. Metal signs have been placed along the road seemingly at random, giving travelers useful information such as the names of the different areas of the world, as well as far less useful information like nonsensical traffic arrows and speed limits.
New Location: Hammerhead Book Stop & Garage
Along the paved road around Mt. Silver is a large sign featuring a logo of a shark and the name "Hammerhead". The surrounding area has been completely paved flat, and a large building with a distinctly shaped metal roof pokes out of the mountainside between two other structures. All three buildings have been partially built into the mountain.
The main Hammerhead building features a set of gas pumps and a mini-mart. The gas pumps outside the main building are functional, but strangely, instead of gasoline they only pump out water. The water comes from somewhere inside the mountain, made evident from the occasional mountain fish that slips through the pumps. The mini-mart is laid out like a typical convenience store, but instead of the common items you'd expect to find in a mini-mart all the shelves are stocked with books, though their covers are styled to look like the branded packages and cans they've replaced. There is a counter and register at one end, and a display of brochures and magazines that currently contain only gibberish and blank pages.
On the left side of the mini-mart is a circular building with a sign that reads "Takka's Library". Inside is a circular room with blue bookshelves covering the walls from floor to ceiling, stocked with a wide assortment of books. A glowing blue sphere is embedded in the center of the ceiling, connected to the shelves with a series of tubes. A counter and chairs styled like a retro diner have been built into the far end of the room, and several smaller tables and booths are squeezed between the bookshelves along the walls. There is a large section of the library dedicated to cook books, including several books by a person named Takka containing recipes for "Chili con Carne", "Leiden Jambalaya", "Hammerhead Hot Sandwich" and "Sizzling Humongo-Steak".
To the right of the mini-mart is a second inset building with a large sliding door and the words "Hammerhead Garage" painted above. The inside is mostly barren with broken car parts and random mechanical tools scattered around the floor, as well as piles upon piles of unsorted books.
Hammerhead: Prompto Argentum (Final Fantasy XV)
Ancient Library: Add (Elsword)
Updated Location: Merlaut Apartments
Despite appearing to have a large number of floors from the outside, only the first three floors of the building seem to exist at this time. The elevator only has buttons for the first three floors and the roof. The stairs going up to the fourth floor end at a blank wall.
On the roof of the Merlaut is a large lightning rod connected to the building's power. Whenever a storm passes over Mortis Lake, lightning strikes will be drawn to the Merlaut and provide additional power - all electronics in the Merlaut will function for an extra hour after a storm has subsided.
