[1] overview
[2] new players and characters
[3] plotline // network // mer
[4] plotline // other
[5] out of sequence



[1] overview

For the record, over three weeks of Mer is a hell of a lot of plot to recap, and reminds me why I planned to newsletter every two weeks.

Those of you who get e-mail notifications when logs are put up (or those who pay attention to log numbers and notice a chunk seems to be absent from the site) may have noticed a slew of notifications of logs you're not finding in the news tab. Those are old sessions that were never properly concluded but still canon (well, most of them are canon!).

If those interest you, there is the list with a quick recap of context in part five of this newsletter!



[2] new players and characters

Nellethiel joined the site, though not to roleplay - she considered joining a year ago and ended up playing a role in one of the unfinished sessions I put up, hence my asking her to sign up - this lets me properly credit her as a player. You might better know her by her IRC screennames Psysiphea, Coquette or Reena.

DenizenX is new to the site and arduously crafting his work-in-progress character Schadenfreude. You might know DenizenX as Shin a/k/a DustedBlood or ShintoPanda, a long-time lurker in spurts - it recently turned out neither Morgrim nor pinkgothic had tried to recruit him into Wildcard yet. Shame on them (which is to say, 50% shame on me).

AyemeFeitom found us through Google, which has since had me in a state of bliss. She's been in #dataclaw a few times as Camilla`Seyer. She's not got a character yet, and has unfortunately been a bit short on time lately (not that we don't all suffer that occasionally, and the summer is always notorious for that).



[3] plotline // network // mer

Still imprisoned by the Delpha, the able Citizens were worked to the bone in the quarry, but at least kept alive and in reasonable health given the circumstances - even if latter was mostly Sirena's doing, having a special standing with the Delpha amazons (even if that leaves a sour taste in her mouth) as some kind of leader for the unfortunate group. Of the Citizens, most had some freedom of movement, if certainly always with guarding eyes to track them. The notable exceptions were the 'monsters' Frederick and Adrethyrian, as well as the gaggle of fliers that hadn't initially escaped the Delpha warriors' grasp (the escapees being Israel and Rhea):

Corinthian, Rapture and Firfrey - too small to put to work even if their ability to fly were not given - had found themselves as quasi-pets to the Delpha amazon queen, Malu. Patches and Liska in turn become Sirena's, mostly to keep them from crueler fates.

Rapture and Firfrey managed to escape from their chains given patience and eventual physical vicinity to a carelessly deposited key and freed Corinthian from his cage; then after some frantic searching found Israel and Rhea in the Delpha forests. The group of fliers returned to the warrior settlement and managed to retrieve both the eighth Treasure and the Compass kept in the same room, centre of a network channelling the Treasure's power along the island.

Needles to say, the amazons were not impressed, and tried to hunt the escapees down.

During that time, those still imprisoned discussed a means to escape with Sirena. Vector, the fairly freshly trapped tech guru, spun a complex plan [#287] that ultimately heavily fed into the plan that did actually bust the Citizens free. Unfortunately, as if attracted by the removal of the Treasure, a band of Dark Water approached the island and methodically began to take it apart, making that victory short-lived and greatly intensifying their need for a ship to escape with. While on desperate search for one, the whole group ran into Queen Malu in the amazon's 'harbour' (more of a simple cove), who negotiated their passage on the condition that the amazons in reach of the harbour would also be helped - a grave necessity, given the band of Dark Water had the cove walled off and a passage needed to be burnt with the Treasures. To ensure the rage of her people wouldn't rain down on the Citizens, Malu willingly let herself be taken as a form of hostage, ensuring their ship would not be sunk once everyone was clear of the cove.

The new functional allegiance was quickly milked of all worth as far as Malu was concerned, and she sunk into depression as the days moved on, prompting a cultural discussion of suicide and dying aid between Azur and Sirena [#289] that split them apart dangerously despite former assuring that he would have no part in it, mostly due to Sirena's insistance that his view was the wrong view, and Azur (an adult, after all) finding her deeply insulting of his world and culture in her patronising manner. However, Lenny took care of the ethical dilemma by following Rhea's advice on the matter, killing Malu, which kicked up some fuss amongst the Citizens [#290]. Azur, meanwhile, at peace with the woman in her death despite hating her in life, spiritually guarded her body in respect for her customs [interlude: Vigil].

The cultural disagreement with Sirena didn't let him go, however, and when Joukahainen approached him about the culture and mythology of Mer, he readily opened up to the Dominion Oracle [#291].

After Delpha, the group reached Octopon, location of the ninth Treasure, where the Compass guided them to the lighthouse. On the way there, Vector revealed to the group how useful his bunny slippers can be by sending them off to scout (though one of them initially stubbornly refuses) [#292]. It turned out not to be necessary, however, as for the first time on their long quest, nothing got in their way.

The cultural clash continued to bother Azur, however, and he felt it best for the visitors to his world and the Merian group of four including himself to part ways - something that he'd been thinking about even when Joukahainen found him. He reveals his thought process to Sirena [#297], who tries to convince him to reconsider, but only serves to make him less certain, not outright decide against his reservations. Finding Joukahainen shortly after, he discusses the matter with the Oracle, to his grave shock finding out about the end of Dominion and the travellers' callous disregard for the well-being of the worlds they visit, which makes his paranoia worse but does end in him deciding to stay with them on the quest, providing Joukahainen help him keep an eye on them, which he agrees to (albeit only uncomfortably) [#298].

Since then, Octopon has been left behind in search for the tenth Treasure, Compass guiding them across Mer's vast ocean once more.



[4] plotline // other

Newshound continues its solo projects, pursuing an interview with Chad Butler, a movie producer promoting an anti-internet documentary [#284]. Given the subject, it goes surprisingly well, though Chad capitalises on Newshound's naivité by veering the conversation off-topic for a moment with subjects important to him but not as factual as Newshound might have filed them away as.

Chance later sees Newshound checking up on Jaenelle with a survey about internet usage. Not realising he's talking to a fellow Puppet rather than the Citizens he's supposed to be asking, the survey questions partly make Jaenelle uncomfortable, but she stays consistent and plays it straight to the end. It's after the survey that it occurs to her that Newshound may also be a Puppet, which he happily confirms. It warms Jaenelle to the Puppet, to the point where she is disappointed when he reveals he cannot visit her as a friend because all his program cycles are geared toward work, but they part on friendly terms [#285].

The company Newshound works for meanwhile ends up with Marcus as an intern who'll actually be in contact with the massive IT infrastructure of the company, and Marcus finds out various details about the Newshound system itself and expresses interest in it [#286].

There's also a tangential sideplot involving Serenity Moonchilde's desire for a 'Light Arcadia', which has her speaking to Francisco Ahlgren about nation building tips, something that quickly grates on his nerves given her somewhat unrealistic goals for territory: An aerial base [#288]. Nonetheless, the conversation finishes on polite terms.

Finally, Dread has been learning the basics about internet usage, guided by Rayen Heffernan and Rebecca Walsh, on instruction of Francisco - as Dread's ties to Reykjavik are not meant to be entirely severed (which would be a complete diplomatic disaster), simply re-routed into something permitting vastly more freedom. Dread obliges, making himself familiar with the technology [#299].



[5] out of sequence

This section pertains to the sessions that were put up out of sequence. These are all sessions that have been on hold forever - though most of them nonetheless describe canon events. Some of these have hit the two year mark, which is a crazy long time.

Non-Canon Log #### [Planetshine] follows a plot-arc I ditched when I backed out of Planetshine, where political tensions mount as the plan to cut off jumpnodes becomes public knowledge. The session features Mandalore getting captured by the mercenaries of the Vigilant Swan (the interceptor run by three batshit crazies that Corinthian linked in on).

Log #293 [Taranis] is a waking dream inflicted on Frederick by Dread while former is a mess due to his Euphoria-deprivation in the faes' prison, something he was horribly addicted to at the time due to his crushing guilt about the end of the world prior (Eclipsed) and the living memory that was Adrethyrian. It shows Dread trying to impart genuine care upon his repeated victim, at first only confusing the boy frantically, then prompting a stubborn brick-wall of outright denial - which in turn has been the status quo since. It's a great character development session, and the reason I dug back into my to-be-finished folder and put up those sessions unlikely to ever finish.

Non-Canon Log #### [Offline] is a (unfortunately very short) peek into Nechku's offline life. I know most of you aren't acutely aware of Nechku's place in the Wildcard universe, but at this point, it's quite likely that without Nechku's aid, the network would be defeated by now. The woman is a bit insane. She's also the definition of reckless, though in a very unassuming, quiet sort of way. She also sells people for money.

Log #294 [Planetshine] pertains to the very... unique relationship between Liska and Dread, once more proving that everyone has a personal take on Dread and everyone has different coping mechanisms... or lack thereof. The fact this happened back in Planetshine has no bearing on the dream, by the way - that's simply the time it happened. Liska and Dread share these kind of dreams frequently.

Log #295 [Eclipsed] again may as well be set in any other sim, really, and follows the trend of #294 by showing a... I don't want to say typical Dread/Frederick dream, because it's a bit horrible even for Frederick's average, but it might give you a rough idea. Suffice to say Frederick has always had it worst of the Wildcard victims, hands down.

Log #296 [Offline] further continues the trend by reminding that Dread does not just bother those trapped in Wildcard. While you can't tell from the session, he tends to bother non-Wildcard people more, but he has considerably fewer repeat-visits beyond the network's confines.