GUIDELINES.
This is the OOC plotting post for the December 2023 event! Here you can find brief summaries of the various event prompts which may help you engage in plotting with other players. To participate, utilize the code at the bottom of the page. This is not mandatory! Feel free to plot here or in private with other players, or simply wait to be part of the event.
NOTE: This is NOT the event log! The event log will go up on the 19th of this month.
WE ARE UNCONQUERABLE.
Though the Science Discovery Center has been partially open for several weeks, residents will notice the lights coming on in previously inaccessible wings starting the evening of December 18, and will receive the customary text message to their devices on December 19. The building is a combination of a natural history museum and a children's discovery center, aimed towards cataloging knowledge pertaining to the city and its residents. Some exhibits focus on accurate information about the city's history and the biology of the people who have lived here, while other displays offer a somewhat twisted version of facts.
The Center is fairly large, and has plenty of room for smaller exhibits showcasing natural phenomena from all manner of home worlds and canons. Players are welcome to find mentions of their own species, flora and fauna, or other tidbits of information that might get your characters asking questions. It also boasts a number of interactive displays meant to teach the city's residents all about science, where residents can play games, do mind puzzles, experiment with aerodynamics, try a chemistry experiment, or even learn about the geology of the city itself. Inspiration was drawn from several sources, so please feel free to do the same! Some worthwhile mentions include:
Body Worlds
Don't Hug Me I'm Scared
Westworld
WE ARE TERRIBLE AND SPLENDID.
Residents who are more suspicious of the city's newsletters or wary of newly-opened attractions may find that they go to bed somewhere expected, only to wake up as part of a display in one of the exhibits in the "Body Works" exhibit of the Discovery Center. There is no rhyme nor reason to who gets transported, and it is left up to player choice whether or not your character gets inserted into the exhibits in this manner. In the city's view, there simply is a need to fill all of the displays in the museum, and some of those samples may be living residents rather than past ones. Characters will not have to take any special measures to get out of their diorama, but they will find that there is no exit from the exhibit itself. The hallway simply loops visitors back around to the atrium, where they can either leave through the main doors or explore the rest of the center. May as well, since they're already here—right?
BLEEDING THORNS, THE ENDLESS DILATION.
The "Natural History" exhibit can be reached by taking the hallway on the right side of the atrium at the entrance of the Center. Visitors looking for an in-depth and scientific approach to the city's history may, however, be disappointed to find that most of the displays here appear to be half finished and very rarely occupied by any helpful models. Other areas of this wing of the center focus on explaining natural phenomena, such as weather patterns, plate tectonics, and rock types and their formation; the rain cycle, going through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation; the movement of different tectonic plates and the kinds of pressure that build up to cause earthquakes; and what would happen to all of the residents of a city if gravity were suddenly turned off.
Players are also encouraged to have their characters find any kind of display that might be included in their canon as if such a display were created to show their own local customs or history. There is unfortunately not much substance here in terms of recent city history; all of the natural phenomena being described are just basic Earth science, nothing that seems particularly specific to the City itself.
THE FIRE THAT ALTERS NOTHING.
The main attraction of the Science Discovery Center is the "History of Us" exhibit, and the main feature of this exhibit is the row of framed photographs hanging on a rounded wall in the exhibition room. It forms a neat line from one end immediately to the left of the entrance from that hallway and stretches around to end at the right-hand side. A small paragraph of text at the beginning of the row is the only context given, explaining that these photographs are records of the city throughout its history and that the preview buttons beneath each frame will supply additional information.
Each photograph is accompanied by a small plaque bearing an iteration number, as well as a small silver button embedded in the wall beneath the plaque. These are the aforementioned "preview buttons," and they will indeed give residents some additional information about the iteration and the event that brought about that iteration's end.
Pressing the button beneath a photograph will instantly teleport residents into the event depicted, either just before the event starts or as it is playing out. Multiple residents can end up in the same event, either by viewing the same photo together or pressing the button some moments apart. Players are encouraged to embellish the disasters that are shown—for example, an earthquake might cause a gas leak, or a tornado might crush you with a car. The bottom line is that the only way to escape is through death, as if snapping residents out of the experience that might feel like a flashback upon their return to current reality inside the exhibit.
The table below details the full list of iterations as well as the accompanying image.
| Plaque Text |
Photograph |
| CE-01 |
A wide shot of the city sinking into a hole that perfectly runs along the borders of the outermost buildings' foundations. |
| CE-02 |
Residents, cars, animals, and anything else not bolted down to the earth float up towards the clouds. |
| CE-03 |
Buildings lean at various angles, some broken in half, as people run from falling debris and cracks open in the earth. |
| CE-04 |
People are strewn about in front of City Hall, slumped on benches or fallen to the pavement, hands to their necks and faces showing signs of suffocation. |
| CE-05 |
A group of people wearing rubber masks break into a ritzy apartment and brandish weapons at a man wearing a silk dressing gown. |
| CE-06 |
Horizontal winds wipe rain through the city, tearing up trees and stop signs and breaking the glass of nearby buildings. |
| CE-07 |
The city is almost unrecognizably arid, heat haze rising from the streets and all plant life withered and dead as dirt swirls through the air. |
| CE-08 |
Fire engulfs the city, setting buildings ablaze and covering the water with a layer of aflame oil and debris. |
| CE-09 |
A crowd of frenzied citizens attempt to murder one another in various ways, sometimes using weapons and sometimes resorting to their bare hands. |
| CE-10 |
Dark clouds unleash torrential rain upon buildings half sunk in floodwaters that climb up the sides of buildings. |
| CE-11 |
A group of cloaked figures move through the city in formation, carrying scythes in one hand and skulls in the other. Another group of people flee before them. |
| CE-12 |
Plant life covers the city, crawling across and through skyscrapers and apartment complexes, sprouting massive carnivorous blooms and vine piercing the bodies of frenzied citizens. |
| CE-13 |
A typical scene of city life is literally frozen in a second, ice forming sideways as a blast of cold deep freezes residents as they go about their days. |
| CE-14 |
The sky is darkened by a swarm of locusts that descend upon the city and eat up all plant life. |
| CE-15 |
The air is hazy with heat as human bodies melt into the pavement beneath a sky of bright reds, oranges, and purples. |
| CE-16 |
A gray cloud darkens the sky as it moves through the city, everything dissolving in its path as nanites destroy all matter. |
| CE-17 |
A wave taller than the city's skyscrapers approaches from the waterfront. People run from it, tripping in the proceeding flood waters. |
| CE-18 |
The city streets are filled with residents who look like they're dressed for a parade, wearing party hats and carrying balloons, but they're participating in mass murder rather than a fun event. |
| CE-19 |
A large mushroom cloud blooms in the background, buildings silhouetted by the blast. |
| CE-20 |
Residents sit huddled in heaps as their flesh is eaten away in vast chunks, falling away from their bones. |
| CE-21 |
A huge volcano stands in the center of the city, lava flowing from it and melting everything in its path as buildings sink into the glowing red rivers. |
| CE-22 |
The same large volcano, this time in the background of the city, spews hot ash into the air that chokes out the sun. |
| CE-23 |
Sickly green rain falls on the city, eating through the metal and glass of buildings and creating holes in the streets and pavement. |
| CE-24 |
A flash of light takes up most of the scene, the few areas of shadow depicting people evaporating in a split second. |
| CE-25 |
The city is covered in a thick layer of ice, doors and windows frozen shut inside while plants wither under rime outside. |
| CE-26 |
From out of frame, an avalanche of snow covers city streets and buries residents. |
| CE-27 |
Three tornadoes churn through the city, sucking up trees and cars and residents. |
| CE-28 |
Bodies sit beneath dead trees, sunburned to the third degree, as the sky roils with abnormal colors. |
| CE-29 |
The city is choked with yellow-gray haze, too thick to see through, that settles as oily filth on every surface. |
| CE-30 |
Residents run through the streets covered in dark red boils, clawing at their faces and arms. |
| CE-31 |
A small black hole hovers above the grass in the park, trees and people being sucked towards it. |
| CE-32 |
From the sky, a barrage of silver marbles rains down on buildings and people like artificial hail. |
| CE-33 |
Bodies fill the streets, writhing and contorted, their skin covered in black spots. |
| CE-34 |
Massive flaming meteors rain from the sky and punch holes through buildings and streets. |
| CE-35 |
A thick haze of pollen hangs in the air as residents find various ways to kill themselves. |
| CE-36 |
From the waterfront, a hulking waterspout spins towards the city, flashes of sharks visible within its swirling waters. |
| CE-37 |
People appear to be in the middle of going about their day, frozen in motion and turned to alabaster stone. |
| CE-38 |
Lumbering zombies fill the streets, attacking residents and destroying storefronts. |
| CE-39 |
People lay dead in the streets. There is no sign of struggle, nor environmental issues, nor other inciting incidents. |
| CE-40 |
A shot of inside a train car shows the horrific scene of piles of blood, viscera, and human bones oozing off of the train seats. |
| CE-41 |
A few residents' bodies lay emaciated and crumpled in the aisle of a grocery store, its shelves completely empty. |
| CE-42 |
The city is barely recognizable beneath futuristic technological augments that cover buildings and people, yet all the lights are off and the screens are blank. |
| CE-43 |
A swarm of murder hornets flies through an alleyway chasing people and stinging them to death. |
| CE-44 |
In front of City Hall, a group of werewolves face down an opposing group of vampires, each brandishing fangs and preparing to fight one another. |
| CE-45 |
A stampede of dinosaurs, big and small, run through the city streets, trampling everything in their path and eating the fleeing residents. |
| CE-46 |
UFOs hover in the skies above the city, shooting lasers at buildings below. |
| CE-47 |
Humanoid robots march into an apartment building looking for human survivors to destroy. |
| CE-48 |
Blank |
| CE-49 |
Blank |
| CE-50 |
Rather than a photograph, this frame is filled by a mirror. A spotlight is perfectly aimed to highlight anyone standing in front of it. |
For any questions about specific photographs, such as what is being depicted and how a character might die in that scenario, please leave your questions below in the thread titled PHOTOGRAPH QUESTIONS.
IN THE NIGHT'S WINDOWLESS DARKNESS.
In the back of a room dedicated to how rocks are formed, there's a small annex with a sign above the entrance that reads LIVE SCIENCE LAB. While there isn't much live science actually happening here—just a lot of rock samples and microscopes—there is a staff door that opens easily with a twist of the knob.
Among a number of other biology-related samples and research stations, characters can find a row of 3D printers, some of which seem to have stopped halfway through printing out what appear to be the beginnings of… real animals. Should a character be brave enough to turn one of these machines on, they will be greeted with a catalog of basic animals and the option to begin printing.
After the 3D printers have been booted up and restored to operational, characters may print their very own animal companions! There is a limit to one animal per character, accessed by biometric scan (so no loopholes for double dipping). Though the catalog of animals is extensive, including a variety of sizes, shapes, and origins, the machines have all been locked to certain size restrictions in order to save resources. Characters may pick from this catalog, or if they are skilled in 3D modeling or similar skills, they could create an input file for an animal from their canon that may not be included as a preset option.
Players may pick one animal up to the size of a golden retriever. While some animals can be scaled down in size, they cannot be scaled up—meaning that characters could have a "mini" great dane, but not a massive pet ant. These animals cannot be fully sentient (think Pokemon), nor can they speak. They are also not protected by the city's respawning safety nets—if they die, they will stay dead, so be careful to protect your new pet. They are, for all intents and purposes, real animals that will need food, water, rest, and medical care if they're injured. Choose wisely, and make sure you're prepared to take responsibility for your furry/feathery/scaly friend.
CODES.
| ONE CHARACTER |
TWO CHARACTERS |
THREE CHARACTERS |
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cityooc2023-12-17 08:28 pm
