[1] overview
[2] new players and characters
[3] plotline // maingroup // thread
[4] plotline // maingroup // planetshine
[5] plotline // zombie apocalypse
[6] plotline // demonworks
[7] plotline // the mictian project
[8] plotline summary


[1] overview

After I managed to literally forget to newsletter two weeks after the last one (long story), this one was finally going to be brought to you reasonably on time; I even started writing it the third week in. Then I lost my muse mid-day, and my Sundays have all been brutally slaughtered since.

There wasn't exactly much urgency to write it, either, until last week decided to go lolyhelothar and coughed up about a million logs, most of which had some substantial plot element to them, plus a bunch implied ones, which brings us back to the usual state of 'oh god oh god have to write a newsletter otherwise no one including myself will have any overview whatsoever anymore'.

Beware: To make matters worse, we have a metric ton of new characters and players, so that section is considerably longer than usual. There is a list at the end for those of you who want it simple, though.



[2] new players and characters

Following the character's appearance as an NPC, at first, ChaoticRedder has given Andrew Higgens a profile, and the character's seen a good chunk of activity since, firmly settled into Demona's plotline. He's also created Vincent Victorian a/k/a Gentleman_Gearhead and introduced him as part of the 'New Zealand' group of trapped Citizens (see plotline section for detail).

Shoe's renamed his character from a newsletter back into Achilles Fuguma a/k/a Vanitas, who's also a member of the 'New Zealand' group. His avatar is a ghost.

As far as players go, Ashdla and Bardic are new and awaiting opportunity to create characters and jump into the game, a bit roughed up by real life currently.

Additionally, our favourite recent #dataclaw lurker addition, Jim, has joined the game, and created two characters: Bruce Norris a/k/a Countdown and Andre Salek a/k/a magicHands of which latter has seen some action in the 'New Zealand' group.

Brave sir Robin, acquaintance of pinkgothic's from the game Urban Dead, has also joined in the fun, having created a character called Jimmy Mcgee who shares his screenname. Robin-char has been introduced by Robin-player in a single session so far, namely in Zombie Apocalypse like the 'New Zealand' group, but is not actually part of that group. Instead, like Frederick, he's an old-timer, and like Frederick, he has amnesia, though a far more stubborn case thereof.

Finally, I, pinkgothic, have created a character called Nat Turnbull a/k/a Cardboard. Oh god, not another character. Why this time, Neike? Well, I just wanted in on the 'New Zealand' group fun, too.

tl;dr:

ChaoticRedder: Andrew Higgens (DemonWorks plotline)
ChaoticRedder: Vincent Victorian ('New Zealand' group)
Shoe: Achilles Fuguma ('New Zealand' group)
Ashdla: (no character yet)
Bardic: (no character yet)
Jim: Bruce Norris (no designated plotline yet)
Jim: Andre Salek ('New Zealand' group)
Brave sir Robin: Jimmy Mcgee ('New Zealand' group)
pinkgothic: Nat Turnbull ('New Zealand' group)



[3] plotline // maingroup // thread

In Thread, Rapture, who's avatar occasionally played host for a demon Puppet trying to 'infect' her fellow animated plushie companions with the curse that befell her, ended up breaking free and infecting Liska, prompting the Citizens to try and figure out how that factors into their quest and how to tackle the issue. [#115] Fortunately, despite his almost morbid curiosity, Jonathan upped the precautions on the now two detained plushies and no break occurred.

When Liska fell (sim-)comatose due to her condition, something that had been inevitable as observed in Rapture a few days before, Sethiss did understandably not deal well. It prompted Dread to visit her to soothe her, in his usual fashion merrily ignoring that he had not even a snowball's chance in hell of having a positive effect on anyone [#116]. Unbeknownst to Sethiss, Liska and Rapture both at least weren't entirely out of it, but rather detained in a pocket simulation, one for each of them, and in a seemingly uncharacteristic continuation of his 'nice' streak, Dread knitted their perceptions together so they could speak to each other, as well as him, which prompted investigation as to whether he might be able to play phoneline into the real world, finally connecting them to it again, preferably to someone who can help them [#117].

The request prompts Dread to ask the only person at the base he has marginal trust in, his shrink, for help in locating people working for D-band, Liska's ISP. It triggers a cascade of events [see interlude 'Nothing to hide'] that ends in him being forbidden to visit Liska and Rapture. While priding himself in usually adhering to base rules by the spirit and not by the letter, he nonetheless continues to visit others (specifically, in Wildcard, Sethiss [#121]; a possession of Sirena to show her just what it is Frederick goes through [#124]; and Sethiss post-Sirena-possession, again [#137]) until base staff catch him and tell him off for it.

Of course, none of the trapped folk pick up on it, since he's had periods of inactivity before. Sirena, of course, thanks to her possession, is an utter wreck, and as Frederick comes to try and soothe her, she confesses her love to him, only to be rejected [#125].

In parallel to that conundrum, the sim's plot itself of course continues to move. The moment Liska was infected spawned a new enthusiasm for research in their human host, and he determined the curse caused her life energy to be siphoned away to a different plane, from which the possessing demons also came. It took him several more days to figure out a way to cross into it, though, perplexed by the answer - apparently, the plane either was tightly linked to dreams or the dreamscape outright, since with him as a different kind of host, the plushies are able to get into that specific world.

From there on the sim has a lot in common with a more standard game; they're flung into a misty world where the fog turns out to be somewhat sentient, shaping their thoughts and most established fears into quasi-corporeal enemies. It takes them several days worth of progress to even find the underlying entity responsible for Liska's and Rapture's curse. Not quite the top of her game after her possession, Sirena is one of the first swiped by the creature, bringing its tally up to three - and, disturbingly, each Citizen it claims captive becomes another eye on its body and increases its strength, making it doubly important not to fall prey to it.

The struggle not to do so outright kills Adrethyrian another few days in - rather than anyone being able to claim his locus-energy, it dissipates in a desperate abstract tug-of-war. Following that battle, the Citizens fall back and stay out of the dream world for a while. Frederick, struck by the loss, falls back into his silent demeanour, having pushed the party forward for the days before out of loyalty to Rapture, but he recovers astonishingly quickly, deeming the loss of Adrethyrian more a relief than wrought with sorrow, since the constant reminder of Eclipsed has been whisked away.

It is only as the Citizens finally come up with a more solid plan that they return to the dream world. Their first two attempts fail despite their caution, or perhaps because of it - then finally, they manage to destroy the creature, which frees up Sirena, Liska and Rapture's essences, returning them to their plushie shells - and turning their link into Jonathan's dreams (his dreamcatcher) into a proper link out, which - after having to beat sense into Sirena on the matter - they take, spilling them into Planetshine [#130].



[4] plotline // maingroup // planetshine

Planetshine, to quote Rapture, is a world that seems a bottomless pit as far as its complexity goes. The sci-fi sim is made up of star system upon star system, with their own political entities only loosely united under the banner of the Terran Federation. The group ends up on a passenger-/cruise-ship called Bramblegust in the Bhaskar Cygni system, en route to Nephele, passing by a brilliantly blue planet on their way there [#130]. Sirena's first thought, carrying over from Thread, is to find some way to distract herself from the horrors she's so recently been subjected to, and as she seems a little too eager to have some alcohol, Frederick confines her to his room with him, which prompts her to speak to him about their relationship (or lack thereof). It serves to smooth things out a little, though not in the manner she'd have hoped [#135].

Of course, finally back to doing more than watching paint dry, Rapture excites herself for the new simulation, trying to soak up as much as possible about it. That doesn't yield a lot, though, and Sethiss has the right idea, applying a rather firm practical filter to all the information available [#131].

The fact they're tourists and expected not to be too privvy on the star system they're visiting plays in their favour and for four days, the Citizens simply enjoy the Bramblegust's facilities as it orbits Nephele, taking a tour to the planet of Nephele amongst other things. However, when Teiresia and Jochen visit a military vessel (the Aspen Wisp) also in orbit, a chain-reaction is set off as they're checked for identification they don't have. This prompts the Aspen Wisp to draft the aid of Bramblegust's staff to determine if there are other ID-less individuals on board. After a freak-out moment by Sirena [#140], the Citizens are rounded up and send to the Aspen Wisp, where they're questioned as to their identities [#141]. Fortunately, the overall impression gotten is that they're a far bigger headache to the Puppets than vice versa and in no danger, though the Aspen Wisp's infirmary does proceed to stick needles into them to figure out without a doubt even what they are, but it's very benign. They're currently waiting on the verdict.



[5] plotline // zombie apocalypse

Off in a different part of the network entirely, events begin to unravel. A quiet, untrapped user of the network, Nechku, keeping to herself as she evidently has been for a while, is interrupted on a calm day chilling in a barricaded office building in Zombie Apocalypse by a frantic knight linking in from another simulation. She tries to report the perceivedly glitching Puppet to the server, Stacksmash, but he informs her that she's dealing with a Citizen, which has her noticably perplexed. The Citizen, Jimmy Mcgee, or more accurately BSR, his online moniker, flies into a fit of rage at seeing her converse with what he deems to be some kind of demon, and the situation briefly escalates until his sword is taken. Nechku finally dismisses the amnesiac, having put no serious effort into informing him or shown much curiosity as to what he's been doing on the network all this time, and content sending him out to the street - once she has the marginal authority toward him necessary, returning his sword - to get himself killed by zombies.

Note: The following, struck-out paragraphs took place two thirds of a year later, as if this newsletter had spanned from 03 MAY 2011 to 05 JUL 2011.
In the same simulation, a gaggle of newcomers connect, all from the general New Zealand area on the globe: magicHands (Andre Salek), Vanitas (Achilles Reis Fuguma), Gentleman Gearhead (Vincent Victorian), and unbeknownst to those three, Cardboard (Nat Turnbull). The first three are found relatively quickly by a tiny local group of survivors spearheaded by a man called Alex, and with the rest of it largely made up of Cami [#127]. More seriously, there are also some kids and three goats and a dog, but they haven't had much air time.

The Citizens, not knowing each other any more intimately than the Puppets that saved them from becoming a zombie snack, of course have some catching up to do; it's not like anyone wants to spend their time dragging themselves through a simulation without having at least a marginal idea of who they're trekking around with. Ergo, Vanitas and Gearhead talk, getting to know each other a little more in the process [#129].

A week later, Cardboard, who, while appearing near to where the others did, had simply wandered into a different direction, is found by Alex, holed up in a local library and brought back to the others. He seems entirely excited to be able to speak to people and not all too perturbed about being trapped, though he does go on about the subject as if it were some particularly vexing riddle. He speaks to Gearhead almost as if to a long-lost friend, causing the onlooking Cami to be slightly confused, without much bothering to show as much [#136].

With 'so many' survivors in one place, Alex and Cami are planning to move soon, hoping their combined efforts will be enough to ward off zombies on the way to proverbial greener pastures.



[6] plotline // demonworks

Offline RP has largely been centred around Demona and her antics. Much to her chagrin, she's adopted a stalker - or stalkee, depending on your perspective - going by the name of Andrew Higgens, a boy who fashions himself slightly hippie-style on purpose, much like Demona fashions herself queen-bitch on purpose [#118]. Unfortunately, their deliberate indulgance in stereotypes is about their only overlap of their personalities so far, causing much strife between them. Since strife to Demona is a little like a mating signal, flirting is heavily applied [#119].

As Andrew is also (actually primarily) an artist, he draws Demona a picture, but it's largely seen as evidence for stalking, prompting her to rant about the possibility of dropping out to get away from the likes of him, and hatespeech on art in general [#120]. It doesn't outright deter him, and when she isn't on the bus where they usually cross paths, nor class, he hunts her down to figure out if she's all right, finally finding her in a netcafé and prompting a somewhat desperate stalker rant from her [#122].

Not making things better, it seems Jaesan has been busy behind her back, creating an entirely different identity for himself. While he's initially supportive as he tells her this, her a wreck due to Andrew's repeated interference, as she gets angry at him for his little secret and tells him he's fired, a heart-broken Jaesan simply leaves her to herself [#123].

The next time they meet is actually unintentional on side of Andrew - dragged to a Halloween party by his friends, he ends up in an online club, where Demona is pole-dancing. Naturally, she mistakes his being there for more stalking, but after the initial rage fades she attempts to seduce him, which doesn't quite yield the desired results [#128].

Marcus, in the meanwhile, is no better off as far as relations with Demona go. Visiting her to see how she's doing (albeit prompted by epic whine on part of 'Jaenelle' (Jaesan's new identity) about how Demona was mean to 'her') reveals her in a trademark foul mood even projected outward into a black widow theme for her entire establishment, which she passes off as Halloween decor - but discussion reveals she's utterly wrecked both by Jaesan's leaving (despite it being at her instruction) and her sister's continued entrapment. As she reveals to Marcus that she's been working on an a-life, the remaining shit hits the fan, as she admits she pirated the source seed, though is quick to dampen the stress that elicits by noting she's quarantined the creature that resulted from it, Crimson [#132]. It prompts Marcus to visit Crimson, only to become entirely convinced thAt the a-life is suffering delusions of grandeur, though the conversation remains civil throughout [#133]. Of course, Crimson inevitably has the lure of a well-designed program to Demona's fellow geek, and so he visits again later, intrigued, and discusses humanity further with the jaded creature [#134].

Andrew, meanwhile, finds himself perplexed as Demona stops going to school outright and hunts her down at home, where he finally meets her mother, whom he finds entirely charming to the point where he wonders how parents as kind as that would make Demona so bitter. When Demona enters the scene, she's predictably upset, but alternates between showing him the door and trying to bribe him into sex given that he's come to her because of a project they're both on and would rather not like to fail. The discussion tangents on the merits of the education system and Demona's somewhat disturbed sexual practises [#139].

Jaesan meanwhile struggles his way into his new life as the female Jaenelle. While waiting for a client at a lesbian bar online, she ends up being quite firmly flirted with by a complete stranger, Elizabeth Borealis, who charms her to such a degree that it's reciprocated [#142]. Unfortunately, as Jaenelle tries to hook up with Liz a second time, it turns out the night before may have involved a little too much alcohol on part of Elizabeth's and she tries to dissuade Jaenelle from harbouring feelings for her, which doesn't work out entirely as planned even though Liz reveals to Jae' what her job is, making her (inwardly) edgy [#144].



[7] plotline // the mictian project

After Dread's revelation to base staff that he's intending to play phoneline for Liska and Rapture (see the Maingroup: Thread section for details), Dread is first barred from speaking to Liska and Rapture in an attempt to stop the issue from escalating. The rule as it was intended was for him not to astrally pester anyone at all, but not adequately communicated - and as they find out he's still stalking others, the ban is better formulated. Fortunately, they do trust him to keep his word, otherwise he'd be back in isolation.

A lot of questioning rains down on the psychic captive, culminating in him revealing exactly what he does with his spare time, to the point of outright eliciting the wrath of his psychologist, who, disgusted, quits on short notice. Given the tensions between base staff and Dread and the issue that no one really wants to approach him anymore, especially given the more or less detailed knowledge of his hobbies, Bennett is unhappy leaving Dread unattended, and calls a personal friend of his, Dread's profiler, back out of retirement to 'temporarily fill in while we find someone else'.

Dread and Gary go way back, though, and Dread doesn't appreciate the man at all. Nonetheless, after an initial meeting [#138], Gary goes back to Bennett to negotiate the ban being lifted. As the first day yields no results and Gary does not want to return empty-handed, he considers reversing his usual role as a peace offering. As they next meet, Gary offers himself as a means for Dread to figure Bennett (who is psychically immune and thus a black box to Dread) out, and anyone else on the base, which smooths their relationship out a little, instilling respect into the prized psychic guinea pig, not only for having thought of it, but for honestly offering it. After a few days, the ban is lifted - though with express request to stay away from Liska and Rapture for the time being - which prompts Dread to throw himself back into the proverbial frey quite eagerly, by first visiting Sethiss and drafting her as a messenger to pass on a message to Liska and Rapture [#145], then latching onto Sirena and working on completing her emotional picture of Frederick's problems [#143].



[8] plotline summary

Reducing the whole yadda yadda up there to the key points:

Dread is playing niceguy and trying to organise the trapped Citizens a means to talk to the outside world, but the Mictian Project are throwing a wrench in the works by setting up new rules. He's currently struggling against this change in pace, abiding by the rules set out for him, but protesting them and having them changed.

Demona has a stalker-boy (well, a boy whom she deems a stalker, at least), Andrew, an artist who's slowly driving her out of her mind and whom she can't decide whether she wants him to die in a fire or in bed or both, currently heavily leaning toward 'both'. Meanwhile Jaesan's ditched her (/ was kicked out by her) and taken up a second identity by the name of Jaenelle, who's in turn promptly gotten herself into trouble by attracting the attention of and being attracted by a police officer by the name of Elizabeth met at a lesbian bar. Also, Crimson, the unholy union of a-life technology and Demona's misanthropic bitterness mixed with technological genius, uh... exists, I guess.

Thread ended, but not before turning Sirena into a curse-afflicted plushie for a notable timespan and eating Adrethyrian (read as, he's dead now, at least as far as the Citizens know), and everyone got spilt into Planetshine. In general, Sirena's getting infinitely more Dread attention than she'd like to have (zero), which is slowly tearing her to pieces, Frederick being her shoulder-to-cry-on of choice but not being open to her ideas of committing into a relationship with her at all, making him an emotional double-edged sword for her.

In Planetshine all the Citizens are currently on the Aspen Wisp, a military cruiser in orbit around a planet called 'Nephele' in the star system 'Bhaskar Cygni' (Gliese 777) after having entered the system through a passenger ship by the name of 'Bramblegust' and caught without having proper identification. Rather than this spelling trouble for them, though, the Puppets are seemingly trying everything they can to get them identification, but the headache is very much mutual.

There's another sim running in parallel that's caught a handful of people from the New Zealand area on the globe: Zombie Apocalypse (shortened to 'Zapoc' in the session history), which as the name implies is about a zombie apocalypse scenario. The people in it have all since grouped together and the Puppet survivors (Alex, Cami, three goats, one dog and a handful of kids) of the setting are planning to move on to a different location soon.

Additionally, there's Nechku, whom no one but a stray, amnesiac Citizen has seen so far. Ooh, shiny mystery.

Knock yourselves out!