Ruby City OOC

POWERSWAP RNG ✧ Signup is now closed! You should all have received your powerswap assignments, but feel free to contact us as always if you have questions.

EVENT SUBMISSIONS ✧ Somehow our Event Submissions post didn't make it to the final draft of our Navigation Page during its revamp. This has now been rectified, and event submissions are still open!

BIO & PAGE CHANGES ✧ On advice given during our poll, we've updated the moderator journal and Ruby City community profile pages to include the same updated links list as in our navigation page. Additionally, we've put a link to the navigation page at the bottom of each active game page, to make it easier for everyone to get around. As always, let us know if there are any broken links or other errors!

FAQ REVAMP ✧ So far, the mod team is on schedule with regard to the FAQ revamp! However, we could use your help. While we are treating this as a full revamp of the FAQ (and of course any FAQ is to some extent always under revision), if there's anything you want us to focus on clarifying in particular, it would be a great help to us if you could submit those questions here. Thanks in advance!

ACTIVITY CHECK ✧ We've tightened up a few problem areas of our Activity Check. Here's what is staying the same:

• The activity period is still from the 6th of each month to the 5th of the next.
  
• Activity check will still run from the 5th to the 9th of each month.
  
• You can still use either posts, threads, or a combination thereof as your two proofs.

Starting effective May's Activity Check (that is, the check running from May 5 to May 9), here's what we've changed:

• We will no longer be using the concept of bolster threads. Instead, IC inbox threads will be counted with equal weight as any thread on either IC community. However, only one of any character's two proofs per month can be an inbox thread.
  
• We will no longer be offering unlimited time to clear strikes. Instead, players will have one month to clear strikes for their characters. If the strike isn't cleared by the following month's Activity Check, the character will be swept.
  
• In the event of extenuating circumstances, players holding strikes are welcome to individually contact the mod team (via PM to the mod journal) to request a one-month extension. If the strike is not cleared by the following Activity Check (2 checks after the initial strike), the character will be swept, no exceptions.
  
• Based on longstanding feedback and observation of the need for more crosscanon interaction in-game, we will be instituting a crosscanon cr requirement for activity. This is a trial requirement for the upcoming activity periods (April 6 - May 5 and May 6 - June 5). It will then be up for review at our quarterly player poll on June 15. Here's the fine print: one proof per month must be with a character from outside your character's canon. In other words, you must provide proof of crosscanon cr at each Activity Check. Once again, this rule will function on a trial basis for two months and be up for player review in the June player poll.

◈ Two (2) posts/logs with at least one (1) comment.
◈ One (1) post/log with at least one (1) comment plus a thread of ten (10) comments total from a different post.
◈ Two (2) threads combined to a total of fifteen (15) comments minimum. (The two threads can be from within the same post, but please link them separately!)

◈ Booster Threads: If you fall short of meeting full activity for whatever reason, you may submit ONE IC Inbox thread to boost your tag count. Please label this clearly!

Abigail Hobbs
Giorno Giovanna
Lucy Steel
Afonso de Silva
Fun Ghoul
Naomi Mikano
Gyro Zeppeli
Jean Pierre Polnareff
Rosalind Lutece
Fuuka Yamagishi
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Lancer)

Nagihiko and Nadeshiko Fujisaki
Byakuya Togami
Mettaton
Alice Liddell

STATE OF THE CITY
February 2017

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!

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.

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.

. . . 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.

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.

Weather Report

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.

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.

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.

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

Moderator Plurk: rubycitymods

Suggestions Post

Permanent Links
Phoenix Wright’s Records
Spiral Training School Information

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

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!

Thinking of apping a character but not sure they'll fit in the city walls?

Have no fear, a meme for you is here.

• Use an RNG to choose a location and prompt, or wait for someone else to tag.


• Post with your character with their name and canon on top!


• If you'd like, leave contact info for people to get in contact for plotting and other such shenans.


• Tag around! Make friends. Don't be afraid to chat OOC while tagging.