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[1] overview [2] new players and characters [3] website changes [4] plotline // network // main group [5] plotline // network // new zealand group [6] plotline // other [7] closing words [1] overview Smart as she is, Morgrim has been resisting my devious attempts to pass my newsletter responsibilities to her. Today, I've decided to give up trying to be a lazy bitch about this. [2] new players and characters Kor and Kaelas created two new characters respectively, Lyra Owens a/k/a Ursa Minor and Robert (Bob) Owens a/k/a Ursa Major - the pair has yet to be introduced but already have an intended plot dynamic. We've also had a few people poke their head in and create characters, but not (to my knowledge) stick around: Demondj0220 joined back in November and created Ryan Hajost a/k/a DamionCross. Velexon joined in December without creating a character. Seana11 joined in January and has been hanging out in #dataclaw as Forty-Two and created the character Jesse Stavolds a/k/a frozt, a tech-nerd that unfortunately clashed with canon enough that the resulting discussion from the regulars drove them off (if I'm interpreting the delayed /part correctly). Vswest also joined in January, but did not (yet?) create a character. In effect, despite what the list may superficially suggest, it's been quiet on the new-people front. [3] website changes I've changed the canonical link format for characters and NPCs on the website, given that the mod_rewrite issue that was forcing me to double-encode URLs was starting to grate on me. For NPCs, that's resulted in a bit of an overhaul of how they're handled - previously, they were simply a text-column in the database, necessitating that their name was passed unaltered to the script that lists their session involvement, now they've also got their own table so an ID will suffice in finding them. That's also let me add meta-data to NPCs and add some order to large NPC lists on profiles by associating them with their simulation and listing whether they are still active or not. Finally, there was a bug in the intended alphabetic listing of characters pertaining to their session involvement that's been fixed. I'm also hoping to migrate the entire website to the Zend Framework given some time. In my local copy of the Wildcard website, I have most of the legacy code running in a legacy controller in Zend Framework right now - the biggest hurdle is still mediawiki's heavy dependance on global variables, which means logging in (which requires mediawiki) doesn't work yet. Since that's obviously one of the most important site features, that's currently the biggest hurdle to the change. If I were to manage, though, then I could streamline much of the site in little steps and made future code adjustments even easier. [4] plotline // network // main group In Closed Circle, Joukahainen's replacement spent time trying once again to get Frederick to partake in simquest, but reveals his nature as a replacement in the conversation, which results in the tables being turned on him. Told that it is in his power to put an end to the world he's trapped in, and an end being what he desires, he decides to help the Citizens [#368]. The Red Team sorts the final pieces correctly, triggering an appearance of Lord Giles. Giles commends them for having solved the puzzle and invites them into a room that wasn't there before, the doorway of which turns into a link out, letting everyone from the Red Team pass to the follow-up world, Chimera, at their own pace. The Blue Team is less fortunate, being kicked out of their version of Closed Circle and dropped (literally) onto the meadow where the Red Team is waiting [#369]. In Chimera, after both some resting and exploration (a time wherein Frederick and Israel discuss Dread [#384]), the group soon comes across a Stonehenge-style assortment of menhirs, where they come across the self-aware Puppet Thylis (a thylacine), who helps them understand the basics of the world [#370]. Chimera is a world made up of several islands connected by portals that only activate when prior islands have been completed, forcing people to visit the islands in order before the simulation would be considered solved. Meanwhile, the transition into the new simulation has resulted in a unique situation for Joukahainen. His replacement having tried to pass through the door, too, has resulted in their memories being merged. After the initial confusion about his state, he asks Adrethyrian if he's experienced anything similar, finding that the answer is no, and it thus isn't a phenomenom affecting all autonomous Puppets [#373]. The first island of Chimera, called Atelier, aggravates the Citizens at first given a maze involving floating crystals blocking their path that they at first try to move with brute force [#376]. After that fails and other theories get them nowhere, they end up using some strands of webbing to climb over the obstacle crystals, which on accident reveals that the crystals can be easily moved as long as a strand of the substance is wrapped around them [#377]. Crossing the crystal maze has them enter a settlement of creatures called Rahjin, perhaps best described in summary as 'anthropomorphic tigers' who live in a pre-industrial cultural style [#378]. The Rahjin of Atelier have domesticated a species called Skyrays who are able to fly across a substance frequently encountered in the caverns that harkens back to Dark Water. Other attempts to cross tend to be met with the substance reaching up and enveloping you - albeit more akin to ferrofluid than an amorphous predator, thus far more benign. Asking for a quest reveals that the Rahjin lost a transporting vessel to that dark tide and would like to retrieve it - something that is necessary, really, given that the Citizens would be unable to proceed without it, as Adrethyrian amongst others has no way of crossing the dark tide and their exit point lies beyond that lake [#379]. The semblance to Dark Water deeply troubles Sirena, who has flashbacks to Mer and opts out of the Skyray riding training that ensues. Several other Citizens do partake, however [#380], which after several days lets them fly out to help retrieve the wreck [#382]. The other Citizens are asked to help retrieve supplies from deeper caverns, where Liska is nearly turned into a snack for one of the resident spider NPCs, but fortunately rescued in the nick of time [#381]. Finally able to cross the ferrofluid lake(s) with Adrethyrian in tow, the group are led to a sacred room wherein the Rahjin can better speak to the Chimera deity/queen, Lycia. An attempt to summon her image to speak to her, however, results in Thylis appearing in her stead, much to everyone's confusion - including Thylis'. It's the first sign that something is wrong with the sim as a whole, as the autonomous Puppet confirms that this is not how questing is supposed to go [#383]. The group instead heads to the Atelier outbound portal [interlude: Arachnophobia] and returns to the hub island Sacellum. From there, the group continues on to Cerrado, a savanna island the Guardian of which, Angwe, is a serious threat to the Citizens. They're advised not to stray too far out into the night. Here, Dunestrider speaks to Thylis, finding out a bit about his negative past experiences with Citizens and tries to cheer him up by pointing out there are other autonomous Puppets in the group that are being treated as equals [#386]. Their quest for the island meanwhile is to hunt for two Striders as a ritual offering in part to the mythological figure that is Lycia - and in part as an offering to Angwe. Striders are herbivores that run very, very fast, however, and hunting them proves difficult [#387]. While on Cerrado, a new Citizen enters, briefly mistaken as a signal from Lycia out of some sort of outward semblance to her, though the Citizens cannot judge that. The two-headed, winged serpent introduces herself as Lucy [#388]. Unfortunately, that's the only thing that might be mistaken as a sign from Lycia - and Thylis returns to the group to report that none of the other islands seem to be able to communicate with her, either; and that in the state of general alarm, several of the other islands should be easier to traverse as the Guardians have a vested interest in getting the group all the way to Lycia [#389]. Still playing the island straight, the group brings the offering to Angwe, then exits back to Sacellum. Unfortunately, the next island, Tlaloc, is run by a Guardian not on good terms with Thylis, thus granting no short-cut for the Citizens to take. Even more unfortunately, no one tells the group that said Guardian, Tleaz, is a raptor. The Rahjin of Tlaloc, frightened by Frederick's semblance to him, ambush the group, darting them into slumber, and ask Tleaz' opinion. He suggests caging Frederick and Adrethyrian, but treating the others as welcome guests [interlude: Kinship]. Then Tleaz wakes Lucy to see if he is interfering with Lycia's plans, suffering a similar misconception as the Rahjin did in Cerrado, but soon realises that she is simply a visitor [#390]. Then undistracted, he decides to take Frederick with him, curious if he's found an equal after living his life alone [interlude: Inadvertent Gift]. Meanwhile, the other Citizens (apart from a handful who escaped the ambush, mostly fliers) wake up under care of the Rahjin. Sirena immediately picks up on that Frederick is amiss and accuses the Rahjin of wishing them or him harm, confusing the poor creatures. One of the Rahjin, Dahaaka, promises to keep them up to date, though, to soothe attitudes [#391]. A few days later, the Citizens, while trying to figure out what they should do, reason that they know too little about the situation and Frederick might well be heading back to the settlement from Tleaz' lair; Dahaaka promises they will know more once the servant shift at Tleaz' lair changes and one of the current servants returns [#392]. Meanwhile, Frederick finds himself pampered, but not allowed to leave, a situation that makes him increasingly angry (and inwardly more than a little afraid) [interlude: Accidental Aristocracy]. The situation escalates and culminates in a brief, one-sided battle between Frederick and Tleaz, during which Adrethyrian's sunstone is revealed to the Guardian. Needless to say, Frederick's attitude immediately changed [interlude: Responsibility]. Back with the main group, Nacreah, one of Tleaz' servants, returns to the Rahjin settlement and speaks to Sirena, soothing the worst of her worries but granting no hope, either; confirming that Frederick is doing all right, but the Tleaz is unlikely to let him go [#394]. Joukahainen subsequently takes the opportunity of Tleaz being near the settlement to talk to the Guardian. He's silently horrified by what he finds - the Guardian, superficially polite, evidently has no sense of empathy. By stroke of luck, Joukahainen manages to convince him to let him visit Frederick, and though careful choice of words on both parts finds out that Adrethyrian's sunstone is in Tleaz' clutches [#398]. Roughly simultaneously, Israel, one of the Citizens that escaped the ambush, ends up finding Frederick somewhat on accident, resting in Tleaz' lair after an exploratory flight along Tlaloc's prominent extinct caldera, Yahualtepetl, and into the cavern beneath it. Her and Frederick exchange their version of events and Tamaan, the Rahjin servant still with Tleaz, helps them find out where the sunstone is being kept [#396]. Israel manages to steal the sunstone from Tleaz a day after finding the lair and returns to the group. The group, now complete, is advised by Dahaaka to head to Tleaz' lair and speak to him directly. On the way there, they pick up Ephraim, a freshly trapped Citizen, who is first discovered by Liska [#397], then is introduced to the rest of the group [#400]. The group ultimately reaches Tleaz' lair after some effort. While he's willing to give them his blessing to pass through the portal out of Tlaloc, he does not give them Frederick. Before the situation can escalate out of control from that, Elizabeth convinces the other Citizens to let the situation rest. They leave to Sacellum, where they decide to return to Tleaz' lair - trivial now that they have passed through the exit portal - once they have a plan to pry Frederick out of there. Until then, they intend to continue with the other islands, and perhaps get the support of other Guardians. I unfortunately currently can't say anything about the group's progress in Echoh, other than that I expect they have been in Echoh since the 5th. [5] plotline // network // new zealand group The New Zealand group is back in business now that Shoe has formally resigned gamemastering Rapture. After some discussion with Kor about where to take that plot point given the lack of Rapture-GM, we've decided to retcon their connection date heavily into the future, greatly shortening the time the group has been spending in Rapture. The people playing the plotline already know what happened in Rapture and how it pertains to their characters, so for once, I won't be writing about it here since it exists only in recapped form in the first place (it was recapped in the first few paragraphs of #399). As of yesterday, the New Zealand group has been dumped into The simulation they're in now is another post-apocalyptic one, continuing with the theme that they seem to have going. The world they've been dumped in seems to be a just-after-the-apocalypse moment, with none of the landscape showing any wear and tear of age just yet... other than a completely out of control plant growth. Needless to say, the plants are currently the prime suspects. [6] plotline // other Dread is still around and has apparently adopted Samanya into his list of recurring victims [#371]. Of course, his shenanigans are invisible to Rebecca Walsh, who's just been seeing him as a very helpful guest - so when Francisco comes to check on her and the psychic, she has only good things to say about him, even mentioning that Rayen and her have been suggesting Arcan citizenship to the psychic [#385]. Unfortunately, Dread ruins any good impression Francisco might have had by explaining exactly why he deems it a bad idea to be Arcan - it results in a heated debate about the very fundamentals of morality and Francisco declares their friendship terminated [interlude: Deontology]. Rebecca is informed, but, while more hesitant than usual, remains supportive of Dread, which makes Francisco tell her that the psychic is now her problem. She accepts. Project Bitscorch has gained the support of Corinthian's friend, Jerard, after he decided to follow-up on Dread's clues, first discovering their website [#372], then contacting Charles Markovik [#374] and finally Justin Greyhound [#375]. Newshound meanwhile has managed to put Marcus into an awful situation by publishing his research in the paper. The result? Marcus' boss, Josef, angrily demanding to know how this 'glitch' could happen and Marcus (formally) at a complete loss. Josef orders and investigation involving not only Marcus sleuthing through Newshound's code, but two uninvolved parties as well [#393]. Back in DemonWorks, Jaenelle's non-Wildcard copy is visiting Crimson on a daily basis. The two argue their respective opinions of humanity and human functioning to each other, with Crimson still considering humans useless at best and destructive at worst, and Jaenelle trying and failing to convey what makes the human appreciation of the universe worthwhile [#395]. [7] closing words This newsletter is rather sloppily written, but I hope information can be gleaned from it regardless. |