[NEWS] April 2022

['Souls Assemblage]

Spotlights for April 2022

Spotlight Soul
The Spotlight Soul for April is Ciri Armistice. A young loner, Ciri's past was plagued by misfortune and violence. After escaping these horrors, she set out to locate her long-lost brother and found herself in 'Souls. Since her arrival, Ciri has been traveling throughout the lands looking for clues to his whereabouts as well as meeting her fair share of locals and other travelers alike. Despite her plucky attitude, the life of a loner is full of hardships – will she be able to keep her spirits up as her quest continues? Will she find the information she needs to locate her twin? Only time will tell!

Community Soul
This month's Community Soul is Songbird, who created a wonderfully interesting survey about player preferences with regard to packs and wrangled the results into easy to understand graphs and explanations. Song also created the base code for pack prompt thread infoboxes (which Gen compiled -- thank you, too, Gen!), which have become widely used, and is generally around to help all players with coding issues, whether on the board or on the Wiki. Thanks for all that you do, Songbird!

Featured Pack Adoptable
Anisat is the culmination of a wistful heart and a bohemian inspiration. Her family always hoped for a daughter who would eventually join the family business, but of course fate intervened and somehow Anisat emerged independent and eager to prove herself. The young woman can be unintentionally terse and can sometimes struggle with understanding high-brow humor. This frustrates her, as all she wishes is to be understood or ‘in on the game’ – something that her brothers took great joy in holding over her head. Despite seeking out others, she is deeply afraid of commitment and can prove a flighty creature when things look too serious.

She comes from a large family and has learnt how to deal with different personality types because of this. Anisat can have a sharp tongue, but enjoys companionship in all forms, whether it be romantic or platonic. When caught off guard she laughs deeply and loudly!

Check out NC's adoptable page for more information on how to apply!

News & Updates

Table of Contents

The transition to warmer weather following last month's flooding brings with it renewal. Warmer temperatures become the regular, with only occasional cold nights following rainfall and storm systems. Throughout the land the signs of spring become more and more obvious – from budding trees and blooming flowers to the arrival of new life. Blossoming flora like bayberry and dogwood help fill the air with sweet smells. Among them are the Starflowers, a unique flower whose tall size, strange colors, peculiar scent, and sordid origin are familiar with the locals.

Livestock keepers are well aware that winter has ended, as lambs, kids, and foals begin to drop. Feral horses seem especially on-alert, and are notably warier and more aggressive. In the ruins of cities and other residential areas, kitten season is in high swing. Colonies of feral cats can be spied tending to their young, and doing their best to keep an eye on any potential dangers. Among the rocky crags and higher treetops, nests begin filling with chicks. Birds of prey are hatching their eggs, and will be constantly on the hunt for food. Opportunistic falconers may attempt to snatch chicks from nests, though risk both the difficult climb and the wrath of angry parents.

By and large, things seem to have moved on since the floods. In some places, though, strange smells linger, and some Luperci begin to exhibit strange behavior...

After The Floods

As noted in last month's newspost, early April may see the end of the flooding but not the end of the danger.

Light and mild rain continues, and while not directly damaging, high humidity and dampness spurs rapid bacterial and fungal growth in areas where moisture accumulates, which can trigger allergic reactions and illness, especially in the young and old. Additionally, unmaintained wooden structures can collapse unexpectedly due to rot. Animals that perished in the flooding may also rotting out in the open, leading to sudden waves of foul stench amid otherwise pleasant springtime smells.

For some, exposure to this mold brings more than just watery eyes, a watery nose, and some sneezing. Particularly in areas where the starflowers are once again blooming, the mixture of fungal spores and mind-altering pollen seem to combine to more strongly affect Luperci, causing a variety of strange symptoms and concerning behaviours.

This is an optional plot! Players can choose whether and how severely their characters are affected, and whether/how quickly they recover.

Symptoms

• Sensitivity to sunlight (eyesight weakens and eyes may feel pain in bright light)
  
• VERY THIRSTY (never feeling satiated despite constant need for bladder relief)
  
• Poor appetite (everything tastes bad except plants, which also taste bad but they seem like the better thing to eat)
  
• Hearing voices (usually from people they know, saying things that are in-character, but subtly convincing them to perform harmful tasks)
  
• Poor impulse control (and being more easily convinced that bad ideas are good ideas)
  
• Itchiness (can be full-body itch or concentrated to a particular area)
  

As these symptoms become more apparent, Luperci may try and cure those who are afflicted. This may be especially true in packs where the spread of the peculiar behavior may be more notable. For those seeking a cure, here are some helpful hints!

Treatment Hints

• Is this that forewarned plague?
  
• Social isolation leads to more severe symptoms
  
• Most plant matter ingested comes out the back end in liquidy slop :(
  
• Topical creams seem to sooth itching, but only for a few hours
  

As the month progresses, more and more become afflicted, leading to...

Is This For Real?

Nah.

(Well, regular mold growth and the collapse of water-weakened structures is real, and mold allergies are real, but they probably don't cause vegetarian diets and severe diarrhea.)

Spring Forth, Words!

This word contest is real and back though!

SoSuWriMo Prize Status

Regular experimental avatars are done and Tangible Prize Packs are shipped! Everyone should've been emailed with a tracking code. Avatars for the bonus achievements should be finished soon!

Gen's Note - Thank you everyone for your patience on the bonus prizes; I've been forced to take it slow due to an issue with my dominant hand that cropped up in February/March that hasn't been resolved. Please be aware that I am working on them when I can.