❧ All Is Not What It Seems

[luministimods]

[A visitor has arrived in Luministi. No, soon, there are several visitors, each of them who'll soon disrupt the stillness that has pervaded the town ever since the last batch of visitors went their separate ways. Only one has stayed behind, one who has decorated the town with wreaths and banners made of red, gold, and purple, and has spread these decorations out beyond the town, beyond where the visitors should have been able to go. But go they have, out into the laboratories and office spaces surrounding the idyllic town set-up, and eventually even out beyond the lab itself, to planets previously unknown. One other has only very recently joined the lab's caretaker, but their peace doesn't last long.

Not once the town starts to reawaken.

Despite the decorations, there is a faint staleness in the air, a faint whirring of systems that start to run again, like a machine that hasn't been used in ages that has been made to run at full-tilt without preparation. But...that is not entirely true. The observer knows full well that preparations have been made for this day and knows the systems--the ones that truly matter--have had their muscles flexed and are ready for the deluge of people now in the town. Just this once, the observer sits back and watches his handiwork, knowing soon he'll have to return to his task of collecting others. This is just something he can't resist; he has always thoroughly enjoyed confusion and anger...]

[All at once, the vidscreens in the town and the lab all light up, as do the CATs, and music begins to play at the same time as a montage of the town in its heyday. It ends the moment the Mayor's black and white smiling face fades into existence, though the music continues to softly play in the background.]

Hello and good afternoon, fellow citizens of Luministi! It is with great pleasure that I welcome back old friends and say hello to new ones. All of us here in the Mayor's office are happy to have you all with us, and as such, the dedications of the town's new sundials today are to each and every one of you. There is to be a celebration in the town square this afternoon, with food provided by many of our local restaurants, and I would not be alone in saying I look forward to seeing you there.

Come join me for a cup of non-alcoholic punch! Have a wonderful day, Luministi.

[And just like that, the video transmission ends. The moment it does, the doors and pathways between the town and the lab slam shut with a resounding echo that travels throughout both areas.]


Plot Details: All Is Not What It Seems

Welcome to Luministi, everyone! Welcome to our newcomers and welcome back to our returnees. This is our first official plot of the third and final season of the game, and this time, the stakes are going to be higher than before. Now, before I launch into plot explanations, let me give a quick run-down about how these plot posts will normally go.

Each plot update will happen bi-weekly starting from today, but they won't always appear around this time. They will, however, always appear on a Saturday (EST time, anyway). After the plot post is put up, other characters can jump in with posts of their own! Sometimes, I will throw in a supplement to the current plot around the halfway point, or I might throw you something that is called a quick-time event. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it harkens to an event in a video game where a random button will pop up and you only have a short amount of time to hit it to initiate a special action. In terms of the RP, depending on the quick-time, you may be given only a week to resolve it, or maybe even as short as three or four days. The time limit will always be announced so don't worry about that. These plot additions will always appear in this main game comm, but I will also use the OOC comm and mod plurk to announce when they've ended. Both of these I won't be announcing ahead of time, however. Why spoil the surprise~?

Each plot update consists of an IC portion that will always appear above the text cut, and an OOC plot explanation portion that will be indicated as it was above. Well, unless the IC portion becomes obnoxiously long (and knowing my track record, it wouldn't be unusual), but then I will toss it all behind a cut just so I don't kill f-lists.

Now, before I get into other business things, let me talk a bit about this plot!

The sole way out of town and into the lab area (via the Mayoral residence)has been completely closed and sealed, but people can visit the Mayor's house. No amount of hacking, slashing, or sonicing will get the area to unlock. But like before, there will be a way to unlock them--just don't expect the process to be the same. Everyone is trapped in town, with the exceptions of Ichijou and Agent Washington, who were both out in the lab at the time, and Jamie and Xion, who are close to finishing a task on one of the nearby planets called Fremercury. Thankfully, everyone can still communicate with each via the CATs.

Those in the town will see that things...are stranger than the montage video would have you believe. There are various objects, places, and rooms all around town (and some are in the lab!) that definitely look out of place--and they should. They each represent a small piece of home of the citizens who were in the previous season. Not only that, but the sundials that were destroyed are all back and look as new as they ever did.

And speaking of the sundials, the mayor mentioned a dedication celebration for them and that is true! Come to the town square and see...well, see that someone has at been so kind as to set up a table by the fountain with a few loaves of bread, different meats and cheeses, and condiments. But that's about it. There aren't any other decorations up (aside from the ones Ichijou made while he was on his own in the lab), and all of the restaurants are closed. In fact, all of the shops are, and no other people can be found, not even the facsimile of Verita, the town crier. It looks like the characters are on their own... And as for those outside the town, don't worry, the same set-up has been prepared out on the observation deck. Food can still be found in the restaurants and in the lab kitchens, but once it runs out, it runs out until all systems are fully back on-line. So far, the other systems seem to be holding steady.

Before I end this post, just a few notes of business:

• This year, applications and reserves will close on July 28th, and the game will be ending about late September to mid-October, but when it does depends on, well, everyone. There will be more plots this season that will decide which direction the game goes in depending on the actions of the characters.
  
• The three activity checks this year will be on the 23rd of June, July, and August. Details about it can be found on the Rules page. If you are afraid you won't be able to make the Activity Check's requirements, please don't be afraid to talk to me. I don't want to see you idle out because you didn't make AC. These activity checks will appear in the OOC comm, but you'll be reminded of them beforehand and linked to them in the appropriate mod posts once they do appear. You'll have a week to reply to the activity check posts, and once the week has passed, I'll put a follow-up post about characters who are in danger of being dropped from the game who will have three days to respond before they are removed.
  
• Like last year, NPC characters listed in the Town Features won't be available for private communications (for good reasons), but those who know Nathan can still leave him a message about things going on in the town and lab.
  
• I'll be updating the Plot Summary with shenanigans that have gone on for the off-seasoners.
  
• If you missed it, there is a pre-game intro meme going on! Jump in and say hi!
  
• And lastly, our lovely Homestuck players have put together a text permissions post that you should check out if you already haven't!

Now, go out and have fun! And if you have any questions, please don't be afraid to leave them here, ask me in an email or on plurk. I'll add any answers to this post (and knowing me, I've forgotten something, so if you see an edit listed at the end here, that'll be why!)

Welcome again to Luministi~ ♥

EDIT: A list with all the fun and varied sights one might see in town can be found under "O" in the Town Features page!

EDIT 2: The plot summary has been updated to include what has happened to the off-season teams!