CR/Plotting/Handwaving Meme

[rubycitymods]

Time for another of these! You all know what to do by now, and we all love some good CR, don't we? You can either ask for/offer CR you'd like to play out... Or you can discuss what may or may not already have happened!

INSTRUCTIONS

♥ Post with your characters, one per comment or a catch-all. If you have any CR in particular you'd like to rally, mention it here!

♣ Go around to other characters and discuss ways your characters may have interacted in handwaved settings. This could be casual meetings at the pub, patrols they may have gone on together, hikes and explorations, or just whatever strikes your fancy!

♦ Come up with some backstory for friendships that might not have gotten played out as fully as you'd have liked. These guys are trapped on a floating island together, 24/7... You know they bump into each other! New CR is highly encouraged - you never know what might happen.

♠ Have fun!

<b>PLAYER:</b> <b>CHARACTER(S):</b> <b>WHO ARE THEY?:</b> (Tell us a little about them! This, like all sections, is completely optional.) <b>CURRENTLY:</b> (What are they up to? It may help others to know where your character usually hangs out or what they're spending their time doing.) <b>CR YOU'D LIKE:</b> <b>CR YOU WOULD <u>NOT</u> LIKE:</b> <b>ANYTHING ELSE?</b>

FEBRUARY TEST DRIVE

[rubycitymods]

Welcome to the Ruby City Test Drive!( Read more... )

STATE OF THE CITY

[rubycitymods]

STATE OF THE CITY
February 2017

GENERAL OOC INFO:

Happy February, Ruby Citizens! The shortest month of the year, so let’s make it an amazing one!

January was a good start to the year for us on the mod team, as we made a great deal of progress on long-term goals to improve the game for all of you. More on this below! We'd like to take this time to remind you that we are always looking for input on how to make your RP experience better, so please stop by the Suggestions Post and drop us a line if you'd like--all comments there are screened. The Plot Submission Post is also always open. Got an idea for a game-wide plot? Hit us up!

We’d like to take a moment to say thank you to all the players who gave us feedback about our events this month, particularly the Hit On All Sixes event. The response to our impromptu poll gave us good insight into how to move forward, both with that event and with events of that type in the future. We really appreciate your perspective and wouldn’t be able to do any of this without you!

A couple more links, and then we'll get to the good stuff! Our General CR Meme is up again; we encourage you to check it out, be brave, ask new people for CR. Nobody here bites--probably. And if you're feeling that new character itch, why not check out February's (brand-new, improved!) Test Drive Meme? Better yet, do that and drag a friend along with you--the more the merrier!

GAME INFO:

NPC Profiles

WHAT'S HAPPENING
☆ As you may have noticed, we’ve entirely revamped our test drive to make it more dynamic and appealing to potential new players! We are planning to occasionally switch up certain sections, in particular the monster section, so that the test drive is a little different every month.
☆ We have made a lot of progress in straightening out game history details! There is still some work to be done, but things are much further along than they were last month, and will be solidified in the near future.
☆ In tandem with the above, we are working out how to improve NPC activity for a more positive PC and NPC dynamic.
☆ The calendar is up to date! As a team, we are going to be planning several months ahead from here on out, so you will be able to see when events will be in the upcoming months.
☆ We have updated the tagging system! Each tag is now formatted ‘character name (canon)’, for ease of organization.
☆ We have posted to the Enable Me meme! If you know anybody who might be interesting in joining us, you’re more than welcome to point them our way, too.
☆ We are working on a quarterly player feedback poll, in an effort to get player input on where they would like the game to go, what’s working, and what isn’t. Look for that coming up!
☆ The Crane Game, Emporium, and Mailbox remain open!

---

It’s a fresh start in a fresh new year, but some things never really change. With Kindness on its usual up and up and Charity close behind, it can only be so much longer before the overall manner of the city begins to affect it more directly. The stores are acting oddly, certainly, with people finding they are arriving home with far more than they originally picked up (Mary Poppins effect, anyone?) with their grocery bags - or pockets - bursting the moment they step through their doors. The city may be being a little too generous with its.. generosity.

The unusual irritation levels experienced in the previous month will break, and all at once, leaving people with an almost tangible sense of relief (though they may not be able to pinpoint the source). Along with this comes an ease in speaking to new people, relative to each individual’s personality.

Of course, the extent of effects are up to player discretion, and, as usual, remember to include a vice-virtue with your Activity! As the points rack up, so do the larger city-wide effects, opening up new opportunities for characters and players alike.

EVENT LIST FOR THE MONTH:

February 10th - February 14th Words of Love

It sure is strange, isn’t it? How jukeboxes have started popping up everywhere. Jukeboxes shouldn’t even work here, given the general lack of electricity. Also, these aren’t even plugged into the wall, so what gives? And given that they’re popping up everywhere, not just on street corners and in public places but in every business and even a few of the larger residences, it’s pretty clear that something isn’t at all right here.

If you guessed that the spontaneous jukeboxes are holiday-related, you’re at least partially correct. Nothing is ever simple in Ruby City, but there’s an obvious connection between the jukeboxes and Valentine’s Day, which is coming up fast. How obvious? Well, as it turns out you can’t actually select songs at these jukeboxes. No, how they work is: you just walk up to them . . . and they start playing! That’s not spooky at all.

As for what they’re playing, well, it depends on who you are. If you’re currently experiencing big dokis about somebody, the jukebox will probably play a song about pining, about loving someone from afar. If you’re perfectly happy flying solo, the jukebox will play a song about how you don’t need no significant other. If you’re feeling fondly about your BFF, you’ll get something along the lines of this. If you’re a little yandere, well, your song will probably be terrifying. And so on! Get creative with your music choices; after all, the jukeboxes won’t be around for long.

February 15th - February 20th You Swore You’d Never Tell

. . . Just kidding.

The jukeboxes were embarrassing, but pretty harmless, around Valentine’s Day. They’re about to get a little more sinister, though. If you have any dirty laundry that needs to be aired--and honestly, we know you do--never fear. The jukeboxes are all over that, too. Starting the day after Valentine’s Day, when a character gets near a jukebox, it’ll spontaneously start playing a song, but this time the song will be a little more personally revealing. The song will hint at a secret, something your character doesn’t want anyone to know. This could be a relatively benign secret (like having stolen a pen one time despite swearing that you didn’t) or something very serious (your name is Inigo Montoya, I killed your father, I’m not prepared to die).

Interestingly, each character seems to only get one song this event. More specifically, each jukebox around the city will play the same song every time the character gets near any jukebox. Almost like they’re communicating somehow? Well, that’s probably no big deal.

As a note, there are songs out there about pretty much any old thing, even (especially!) murder. Feel free to ask fellow players for help brainstorming! If you’re in a bind and can’t find a song that represents your character’s secret, though, you can come up your own song to haunt your character if you’d like.

February 26th - March 6th Reverse [submitted by Crystal]

In some cultures, breaking a mirror is said to lead to seven years of bad luck. In Ruby City, this usually would have no effect, no matter how superstitious residents may be about their household décor, but for the tail end of February and the beginning of March, the results of a certain broken mirror will be felt throughout the entire city, more tangible than any simple wives' tale. Somewhere in the city, a mirror has been smashed into a distinct seven pieces and scattered across the winter landscape. Citizens will be tasked with putting it back together, being given clues...and a certain very persuasive motivator.

Beginning on the 26th, residents will start to feel slightly off. Or, rather, not slightly, but completely: characters will be impacted by the broken mirror in a very noticeable way, in that one or more of their defining traits will be reversed from what they may usually act like. For example, a character that can usually be relied upon to stick to their word and tell the truth may suddenly seem evasive and caught in lies, or a character that is typically very frugal may suddenly decide to turn a newer, more generous leaf.

The truth is, these aren't your characters at all, but split versions spawned from the breaking of the mirror. These mirror selves cannot exist at the same time as a regular version of the same character, but players have the opportunity to freely switch between the two versions, or simply opt out of the event's effects altogether. Mirror selves may want to stay in the city, and hinder progress made on the search for the shards of the mirror.

As stated above, this event has many ways to be played, so to speak, in that players can opt to mirror their characters for the entire duration or only for small parts, or participate by helping in the mirror search, or participate only by having characters interact with their CR and develop relationships, or simply opt out altogether! A more detailed post on the mirror shards and other event opportunities will be going up on the 20th, but until then, consider how the mirror may affect your character.

STATE OF THE CITY:

Weather Report

WEATHER:

In a sharp change from the unseasonable warmth that January brought, February quickly turns bitterly cold for many and the snow that falls finally seems to match the chill in the air. It would appear that the freezing rain and sleet experienced at the end of the first month of the year wasn’t a fluke, but while the weather in February still runs cold, it doesn’t feel quite as maliciously harsh. There is certainly enough snow for snowball fights and the steep temperature drops overnight freeze the top level of the snow to a delightful crunchiness.

The river freezes, too, though the water can still be moving underneath. As the sun sets, this creates an eerie effect as the water running through the city performs its usual ‘trick’ of running a bloody red for just long enough to be noticed.

Nothing is too unpleasant, as long as you wrap up warmly and wear shoes with good grip. Watch out for that black ice, especially out on the boardwalk. No one really wants to take a dip in the sea in the middle of winter.

FLORA AND FAUNA:

The cold weather has finally settled everything into hibernation that should be, the trees that lost their leaves in the autumn are still sadly bare, and only the hardiest flowers are still poking their heads up through the snow. There are still several different kinds of creatures trying to take refuge in the warmth of people’s homes, and if they are not chased off they will only attract more of their own. If you’re fine with that one spider, how will you deal with a dozen? (fire)

Along with the (generally) more harmless things creeping inside people’s homes and hiding under their porch steps, there is also a problematic amount of activity from hobgoblins living in the city. While they usually keep to themselves, something is driving them out of their colonies and causing them to attempt to attack people walking too close by. They are small, and cannot be seen by anyone who is not spiritually sensitive in some way,

Fortunately for all of you, the wendigo is wendigone--Rosalind Lutece and Kurama handled this problem, although not without a fair amount of struggle on their part. Thanks, you two. Try not to get possessed again, Ros.

And finally, there is a new creature in Ruby City as of this month, and this kind won’t even try to eat you! Be sure to give the new chocobos a warm welcome, as they’re intelligent, friendly, and highly trainable. Also, way cute.

STORES AND SUPPLIES:

Along with the supplies acting strangely on the whole, as noted above, the stores seem to be getting into the ‘theme’ of the month with an overly abundant supply of cake, chocolate, chocolate covered fruit, chocobo-shaped chocolate…

… and flowers that seem to find their way into your shopping whether you want them or not. Most of the time, they are strangely appropriate to the person carrying them.

Closer to the end of the month, there will be a higher amount of eggs, flour, milk and sugar - perfect for making pancakes. The packets even have recipes for pancakes on the backs, would you look at that. Do you know what goes really well with pancakes? Chocolate.

MOD CONTACT:

Fiona hardtostarboard || AIM@LittleBritTeacup
Ingrid togamint || SKYPE@Taekotogami
Anne passiones
Kit ankeel

Moderator Plurk: rubycitymods

PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Suggestions Post

Permanent Links
Phoenix Wright’s Records
Spiral Training School Information

Anything you want to let everyone know about? Let us know!

CLOSING STATEMENT:

We are off to a great start this year, and we have all of you to thank for this most of all. You have been incredibly helpful in giving us feedback and sticking with us through rocky patches. We as a mod team are feeling very positive and confident moving forward - 2017 is the year of Ruby City becoming its absolute best!

Don’t forget to check into our Activity Check post, which will go up on the 5th. As a reminder, this AC we will be accepting threads from December and January, since we understand this is a busy time of year for people.

Keep applications coming in, keep being good to each other, and keep telling us what you think. And stay amazing!