taxonmods: (Default)
taxonmods ([personal profile] taxonmods) wrote in [community profile] taxonooc2013-02-28 07:39 pm

State of the Taxon

Hey kids! Dien here. February's over, and March is roaring in. AND NOW I SHALL FIRE BULLET-POINTS AT YOU ALL.

THE ARMOR-PIERCING BULLET POINTS

• Brrr.... Taxon, the weather's about to take a turn for the worse. We hope you have your thermals handy. See MARCH GLITCH, down below.

• Adventure Zone for March will tie into the Glitch, so... yes, see below. That said, you can offer suggestions/make requests for glitches and future Adventure Zones over here.

• Reminding everyone to fill out your character profiles, as per here. Many of you have already done so, and thank you for that! We will start editing the Taken list soon to include a link for the profiles. Even if all you have right now is a placeholder post, give us your link to that so we can put that link into 'Taken'.

• Reminding everyone to TAG YOUR POSTS. Older players are as guilty of this as newer ones! At the moment we've basically chucked a formalized AC out the window, but that's not to say it might never come back, so please stay in the habit of using those tags. Even aside from AC, it's a useful way for us mods to track down where your characters are and what they are doing... which is useful to us when we start stalking you with the hamsters, or dropping meta-plot hints for your characters.

• The new FAQ (basic FAQ and expanded FAQ) is up and implemented. We'll try and weed out references and links to the older FAQ, but the community's FAQ links should link to the new ones now. Please take the time when you can to familiarize yourself with the changes-- a lot of things are the same, but a lot of things have changed slightly. If you have any questions, ask away.

• As a footnote to the new FAQ that deserves its own mention, you have the option to submit your own Extras to be specific NPCs. Check that out over here at the Extras entry.

• As a footnote to the footnote, the Sheriff is being toned back doooown to be a very background character, and less of a nerfer. He may still get busted out if characters are engaged in wide-spread property destruction, but this will be handled on a case-by-case basis. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, ignore it, it's cool. Theft will no longer result in an auto-catch by the Long Arm of the Law.

• The Weather.... oh yeah, see that glitch below.

• If you have a location that hasn't yet been added to the City Map, leave a comment explaining where you'd like it and we'll add it in.


WINTER IS COMING

Taxon has had a fairly moderate winter, all things considered; that is about to change. For ten days in March, the City is going to get very... very... cold.

Starting March 7th and running until March 17th, the temperature is going to drop sharply and Taxon's current snowfall will fall thicker, and thicker, and thicker. The first day or so might seem pleasant enough-- picturesque, even-- but as the days pass and the inches start accumulating into feet, it'll start to become less about snowball fights and sledding and more about "I really hope the heat keeps working."

Water mains may freeze and burst; the trams will stop running and the shops will close up. Getting around an increasingly iced-over and snowed-under Taxon... and staying warm, and getting food... will be up to you, brave Taxonians. Still, as long as you all keep level heads, everything should be fine-- I mean, it's not as if that's wolves you hear howling from the direction of the bridge, is it...?

More to come as we go into the glitch proper, but those characters who have supernatural senses for such things/are strongly tied to nature/or are just super-observant as to things like animals stockpiling nuts-- you are are free to have such characters sense something of the coming storm.

Characters WILL need to do something to break the curse of winter, but we'll get into that later as well.


WHAT IS GOING ON WITH ME AND MY PUPS

Fill it out! Post it inna comments!

aintnoconvict: (bundled up)

[personal profile] aintnoconvict 2013-03-01 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
WOW THIS IS LIKE OLD TIMES

Glitch | [personal profile] aintnoconvict

What's been going on: Stuff! His programmed possession got replaced: out with the hedge maze, in with the shaggin' wagon. He sat out most of the Adventure Zone stuff this month because fuck you guys and the siege weapon you rode in on. He did go for dragon rides and do some dancing and probably derring-do re: rescuing an old woman's purse but that all needs to get threaded. He met Nuada and Horst (and Emma offscreen), yelled at/had tea with Cain, made an Interesting Discovery at the lighthouse with Paul (more on that in a bit), donated blood for Jason, texted with Sherlock, and chatted with Maddy. Also he's sort of learning conversational Farsi because why not.

Otherwise: he turned into a hermit for a while because this is a bad time of year (lots of depressing memories + lousy weather = grumpy headcase) but he's trying to pull himself out of it. More on that also below.

Things to do this month: First off: god no not more snow and cold IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE SPRING UGH STUPID ALIENS Glitch hates this weather.

Anyway: I never make plans for him, it all just sort of happens. Though I am putting up a post tomorrow and he MIGHT be trying to angle for that King Of Town thing he keeps saying he doesn't want. This'll be the booze-and-chatting thing I mentioned in his last post and porbably be held here because it is nice and classier than the Dodge Jammer. At the gathering he'll share his discovery that the lighthouse light is doing something wonky and ask for volunteers to investigate further.

On a more long-term subversive note: sup newbies. Ever get the feeling that these people who have been here forever are hiding something? Like maybe there's more going on with them? That they're maybe too cozy and laid back about all the insane shit they keep talking about? I hope so because I'd love to play with that sort of conflict, old guard vs. new, side-eyeing abounding.

...I'll get to Emma in the morning, but SPOILER ALERT she'll be one of the side-eye-ers.
infinitelystranger: Sherlock concentrates looking into a microscope. (sherlock - really angry)

[personal profile] infinitelystranger 2013-03-01 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
... is this code for someone's gonna have to fuck the Snow Queen

both of my characters call NOT IT
trojanhorst: (consternation)

[personal profile] trojanhorst 2013-03-01 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
I think at that point I would just have to start keeping count of how many Extra Royals Horst sleeps with
infinitelystranger: Sherlock with a big, nervous, obviously fake grin. (nervous grin)

[personal profile] infinitelystranger 2013-03-01 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
once he figures out what the spacebar does Johannes is going to make a dating profile for you, Horst! LIKES: long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners, nonsentient and/or illusory women
trojanhorst: (proud of you)

[personal profile] trojanhorst 2013-03-01 04:56 am (UTC)(link)
Horst will make one for you too! LIKES: sarcasm, DISLIKES: all else
personaldemon: (baby ettie)

[personal profile] personaldemon 2013-03-01 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
Etrigan is over here waggling all of his brows shut up I don't care that he doesn't technically have eyebrows
somelittleinfamy: (bitch are you for real)

[personal profile] somelittleinfamy 2013-03-01 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, look, I found the ideal woman for you!! ♥ ♥

LIKES: charm, dashing good looks, violaceous fashion
DISLIKES: alive people, the living, heartbeats, liveness, breathing, having free will, getting to say no to things
trojanhorst: (listening)

[personal profile] trojanhorst 2013-03-01 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks! I really should've hired you on as my matchmaker sooner! I think I found someone great for you too!!!

LIKES: the color black, rictus grins, inability to detect flirting
DISLIKES: feelings, melanin, fun, being listened to
smecker: (Phone call)

[personal profile] smecker 2013-03-01 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
Paul Smecker | [personal profile] smecker

What's been going on: As usual Paul's been kinda shafted on my tags, comparatively. HOWEVER, he has done things. He met Emma and... greeted Johannes, at least; he had a waaaaaaay backdated chat with Wyatt as they poked around the Lighthouse about Things What Went On during the high school glitch; and he and Glitch also poked around the Lighthouse. He donated blood to Josef when it came up (offscreen. he wasn't happy with doing this, but, well). Bickered with Spike. TEH USUAL.

Things to do this month: Paul will be pretty involved with the snow glitch just because the Birdhouse is a place where people who want to may come-- AND it has stockpiled goodies like canned food and gasoline and generators. Blankets too I imagine. So I'll try to stay on the ball with his posts regarding that.

Aside from that, I need to get him building some more CR with peeps, I feel like I just keep forgetting about him in favor of the people doing more ~dramatic~ stuff.

He has some vampire-feels he's never really dealt with. Maybe him and the vamps can chat some, although I can see this going so badly in so many cases lawl.
somelittleinfamy: (go play in traffic)

[personal profile] somelittleinfamy 2013-03-01 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
INTERESTS: having breasts, needing rescue, swooning

We can go on a double date.
trojanhorst: (upbeat)

[personal profile] trojanhorst 2013-03-01 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
sup newbies. Ever get the feeling that these people who have been here forever are hiding something? Like maybe there's more going on with them? That they're maybe too cozy and laid back about all the insane shit they keep talking about? I hope so because I'd love to play with that sort of conflict, old guard vs. new, side-eyeing abounding.

I may indeed have been peppering in a few such suspicions in my character's head here and there. :333333 Pick me, pick me, I want to be in the side-eye club~
trojanhorst: (proud of himself)

[personal profile] trojanhorst 2013-03-01 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
>_____> HI.
trojanhorst: (demure)

[personal profile] trojanhorst 2013-03-01 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
INTERESTS: doesn't matter you won't notice them whatever they are
smecker: (Buh? - no words)

[personal profile] smecker 2013-03-01 07:11 am (UTC)(link)
HERROW. oh god you have fangs.
kings_fool: (no officer i am soberly total)

[personal profile] kings_fool 2013-03-01 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
Jeremy Dude-bro Fischer | [personal profile] kings_fool

What's been going on: HE ARRIVED. He was confused by Spike, fed and dressed by Metody, solved by Sherlock, gifted wine by Wyatt, danced at by Bagoas, and is even as we speak making an idiot of himself with Emma.

He's probably sleeping in the Sanctuary right now because it's a little like a hostel and he's used to that dynamic even if the ground-floor zombies still freak him right out.

He hasn't yet properly accepted Taxon-- he's muddling through each day partially drunk and still waiting to wake up, and distracting himself meanwhile with all the shiny shit.

Things to do this month: More CR, all the CR, etc. Jeremy will have his proper nervous breakdown of jesus-christ-it-isn't-going-away and also find a proper place to live (and by proper I mean awful) and flip out for a bit and then calm down and then flip out again when he realizes he hasn't yet found anyone who sells weed.

IDK I am legit up for anything with this teddy bear.
imperial_long: (Default)

[personal profile] imperial_long 2013-03-01 07:40 am (UTC)(link)
Mayland Long | [personal profile] imperial_long

What's been going on: LONG GOT TO BE A DRAGON FOR, LIKE, HALF OF FEBRUARY. This makes him both extraordinarily pleased while it is going on, and somewhat depressed once it ends. But yeah, he gave dragon rides to Sherlock and probably Glitch and anyone else who wants to get in on that; he chit-chatted with Horst and Selina and Remus and Az and Metody and Emma and maybe people I'm forgetting; playing Mr. Orientation and not doing a good job convincing people that he is NOT an evil alien plant, in some cases.

Things to do this month: He's going to sulk for a week after no more dragoning, and possibly take a bottle of whiskey or three back to his hotel room and not come out for a day or two. He will bitch about wearing shoes and then settle back into his tea-sipping book-reading existence haunting the Library, there to play Information Kiosk for all who need it. Language lessons will resume, etc.

also you had better not try and burn his books, ppl.
personaldemon: (zART - like a boss)

[personal profile] personaldemon 2013-03-01 07:54 am (UTC)(link)
Jason Blood +1 | [personal profile] personaldemon

What's been going on: MANY THINGS. Jason spent most of February being ~rather stressed out~ -- he's going on eight months in Taxon, which in his case means eight months since he properly let Etrigan out, and that is incredibly wearing on his psyche.

As a result, he lost his temper with several people-- Selina Kyle, Horst Cabal Brauer, and a passel of Extra-goblins and Extra-humans. Selina got a case of temporary blinds, Horst got a bitchslap and a lecture, and the Extras got killed-ed. He feels better now, though.

He also had an awkward talk with Sherlock (what else is new), and some chitchat with other people in the city-- Emma, Glitch, Nuada, anyone else I'm forgetting.

Things to do this month: I THINK I HAVE LAID DOWN ENOUGH FORESHADOWING FOR ETRIGAN'S ARRIVAL. I'll do it at some point after the winter glitch, don't wanna try and have those both going at the same time, but I would ideally like to run Etrigan's first bit of freedom in the city either end of this month or sometime in April, depending on what works for peeps.

This is the sort of plot that COULD get pretty huge depending on how things go in it. I'll do more discussion with everyone when I get closer to rolling that out, but hopefully a lot of players can have some fun with a chaotic fire-breathing demon on the loose. Remus and Az probably would disagree on the whole 'fun' concept. As would many other people.

Aside from all that jazz, in terms of the Taxsicle, Jason categorically refuses to be used as a radiator, not that this should stop anyone. He will attempt to lend his magicky mojo to figuring out what the hell is going on and how to stop it, and generally brood around being broody.
whyfearthedark: poor Luke Goss, post-filming, holding up a hand-written HELP ME sign (OOC)

[personal profile] whyfearthedark 2013-03-01 09:00 am (UTC)(link)
Nuada | [personal profile] whyfearthedark

What's been going on: Nuada has gathered Information (from Long), Useful Tools (from Glitch), appropriated a forge in the A.Z for most of Feb in order to make Weapons of Mass Destruction, no really, wait until you see him use them, during which time he has insulted absolutely everyone he's met so far (basically), and in some cases more than once. He's bullied Extras into helping him with the sword-making, broken the wrist of an Extra!urchin at the bazaar (for stealing his knife! it was totes eye-for-an-eye lawmaking!). He's threatened and bullied and intimidated Horst and Sherlock alike, and currently he's (committed Breakin' & Enterin') disciplining a werewolf in a very confined space (also known as the basement of Remus' cottage). Good times. :)

Things to do this month: Nuada will be fairly indifferent to the snow. No, he won't enjoy it like some crazy person, but he won't bitch and moan about it like all the weak, hollow creatures (he means you. Yes, you, and your friends.) I want more CR with him, but be prepared that a) he won't hesitate to see you in a bad light, and b) tell you all about it. He's a tough cookie to crumble, and yes, especially if you're a baseline human being...but that doesn't mean it's markedly easy for a magical being of any kind to impress him.

Just look at his two most successful CR so far. Metody's bone creatures, and Remus' wolfy self.

Yeah.

I would love to see someone try to persuade him to join the cause of ending the snowstorm (or heck, just helping stranded people get to the Birdhouse) for the common good. It might not be easy, but he'd be mighty useful against...well. Against whatever's crossing that bridge, basically. :3
aintnoconvict: icon by <lj site="livejournal.com" user="inthefashion"> (ew)

[personal profile] aintnoconvict 2013-03-01 12:12 pm (UTC)(link)
...blood for Josef, not Jason, Jason gets side-eyeing.
aintnoconvict: (a spot of bother)

[personal profile] aintnoconvict 2013-03-01 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes good I approve of this :D
untoldtale: emma at regina's door with the mob (knock knock muthafucka)

[personal profile] untoldtale 2013-03-01 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Emma Swan | [personal profile] untoldtale

What's been going on: She arrived and freaked the ever living fuck out because she was taken from like JUST AFTER breaking the curse and what even is her life. She yelled at Maddy for telling her to get a job, she yelled Long for telling her stuff she didn't want to hear and some more for wanting to give the vampires samples, she (probably) yelled at Glitch because she was on a roll, she cried at Cain because he let her, she waved her gun around at Metody's bony self and then played fetch with it (none of that sounds right), she...didn't yell at Paul because thank God someone here is normal, and she talked about her sword with Jason.

And now she's accidentally inherited the Dodgy Jammer because I cannot let that place go. Oh, and she moved into a studio apartment in this building, the second floor corner one.

Things to do this month: Actually play her sob, I apped her in cold with zero voice testing and I've been terrified ever since. If you want crazy yelly sword-lady for anything she CAN be practical. After a fashion. Right.
trojanhorst: (proud of himself)

[personal profile] trojanhorst 2013-03-01 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Horst Cabal | [personal profile] trojanhorst

What's been going on: Horst arrived in Taxon at the beginning of February, where he was greeted by a confusing Sherlock Holmes and a patient Mayland Long, the latter of which helped him dig through blueprints in the library to find a suitable home. On his first day, he got slapped in the face by Nuada Silverlance. On his second day, he got slapped in the face by Jason Blood. He swears this has never, ever happened to him before.

While riding the train, he chatted up all three former residents of the Outer Zone, learned what makes Metody dress the way she does, and convinced Sherlock to reprogram his tablet for him and give him a bit of advice on the subject of modern fashion.

While wandering in the Adventure Zone, looking for something Jason mentioned in their brief conversation, he instead happened upon and attempted to battle Oolong, who had a hearty cackle at Horst's silliness, managed to get Horst to share the story of how he became a vampire, and finally boosted him up through the window of a goblin-infested castle tower, where Horst rescued, and, errr, slept with the kidnapped Extra princess. The next time he saw her, however, she'd been kidnapped to the tower again, and didn't remember him or the previous rescue at all. He swears this has never, ever happened to him before, either.

Also during this month, Horst used the remains of his little stipend to buy some decent modern clothes, explored the city on foot, and traipsed off into the forest to catch a wild rabbit whom he's named Liesl. Being of a philosophical bent, Horst is frequently preoccupied with questions about the nature of the Extras who inhabit their world, and trying to understand and define their level of sentience so he can decide what to make of them -- to this end, Liesl is his first experiment, in hopes of understanding to what degree the Extras can or will grow, learn, or evolve given persistent and extended interaction with Taxon's fully sentient captive population.

Being a social creature, (even if the only socializing to be had is usually with Extras), and stuck with the relatively limited employment options that the graveyard shift offers, Horst opted to take up a job in the service industry, and can be found happily waiting tables and serving up food behind the counter of a cute, stereotypical-looking 24-hour Diner.

Late in this month, Horst's brother Johannes appeared in Taxon. They met up, exchanged strong words, and Horst slapped him, proving there really must be something in the water in Taxon that causes people to slap each other upon first meeting. Then they hugged it out. Johannes and Horst currently live in the same house, where they jointly embarrass themselves by not knowing how to use the voice-to-text interface on Horst's tablet properly. And that's February.

Things to do this month:
If your character just hasn't met Horst yet, let's meet! He promises you, kid, to give so much more than he gets. :3 Horst's natural purpose in life is to overbearingly meddle in the lives of the people he cares about, a goal he can't pursue without having a good sampling of people he cares about. I mean, sure, he could meddle in the lives of strangers, but that's no way to make friends -- you have to make friends first, then you can decide how you think your friends' lives can be improved. (A sales pitch that no doubt would make anyone want to befriend him, I'm sure.) Let's meet, let's go out on the town, let's talk armchair philosophy and explore the confines of the prison. Find me and we'll thread something. If you show up at the diner looking like you've Had a Rough Day, Horst will give you free pie. (Disclaimer: We are not responsible for any Johanneses incurred in the process of meeting Horst Cabal.)

Horst is currently freshly fed (thanks Johannes, that's what family's for), so he's not hard up for blood at this point, and he currently looks very much like a live person and not like a corpse. Being post-mortem, he stands to be fairly well-off in Taxsicle, since he won't freeze to death -- and he can get from place to place quite quickly on foot, so if you need him to run an errand for you at night, it's not out of the question. When he's not moving at super-speed, however, he does lose heat quite quickly, since he generates no body heat of his own, so please don't leave him waiting at the door, or you may find he suddenly requires thawing out under a heat lamp before you can pry whatever he brought you out of his frozen hand.
Edited (adjectives are not adverbs) 2013-03-01 20:22 (UTC)
skinandbone: (Default)

[personal profile] skinandbone 2013-03-03 12:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Metody | [personal profile] skinandbone


What's been going on: Metody has been settling in and making friends, both as a human and in his bone-creature-form. He's learned that he's comfortable and happy acting like a dog while he's in his bone guise, and he's doing his best to not think about that too much, because hey, people are tolerating him.

He's still not convinced that Taxon is real. If it's a hallucination, he feels he has a responsibility to help those around him - as products of his mind, they are utterly dependent on him, after all.

Currently, he is living in a cave in the forest, and doing a lot of hunting. He's been gathering bone to expand himself, and has started processing meat and bone for sale, though that's been off screen. He's alternating between reclusive depression (my family! My world! I am lost and without purpose! The sky is wrong!) and being joyful and social (This is so cool! People like me! I can be semi-open! Plants! No one knows the dumbass stuff I've done! Eeeeee!)


Things to do this month: Move back to the city.

I like the idea of Metody living in the forest like some kind of nature spirity thing, but nature spirity things don't do a lot of socializing, and also, dude needs to wash three times a day and you can only do that so much in a cave creek. He needs to find a little house, ideally with access to the sewers, and then he needs to paint it all crazy.

He's going to be opening a booth at the market to sell fresh venison and various items carved from bone. Come buy stuff! Because he's completely out of money, and tired of eating deer liver cooked on a stick. He's also going to be thinking about ways to help other newcomers, and will probably end up collecting goods/clothes for them. Arrival in Taxon is traumatic, and having a toothbrush and a change of pants can only help. He may also launch into a series of temp jobs, I don't know. I'm open to suggestion.

I am volunteering him for anything and everything. He's patient and helpful and has experience putting up with everything from pompous artists to a massive and well meaning family to prickly academics. Does your character need a sidekick, or a patsy? Are they obnoxiously curious about why the sewers are infested? Do they object to someone going around in a cloud of reeking pollution? Do you want your character to be terrorized, or would you like them to terrorize someone else? Message me! I can help!
kings_fool: (Default)

[personal profile] kings_fool 2013-03-04 09:06 am (UTC)(link)
Jerreeeeeemmy wants to meet you, curly-headed bro-cousin.

kings_fool: (Default)

[personal profile] kings_fool 2013-03-04 09:06 am (UTC)(link)
YOU KNOW MY THOUGHTS ON THIS

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