Hey guys! As part of the endgame we're throwing a huge "fourth wall" opportunity that falls in line with the plot.

Plot Details
Yesterday, "Dick" (is that even his real name!?) gave everyone one warning about what is to come.

The dream gate Tom and the others had been working so hard on has been activated and to put simply, it's serving as a giant super charged battery that is activating a bunch of other gates around Hypnosia. All of these gates are accessing every single possible world using dream energy. Here's the best part. Not only is it pulling a lot of things in, but there are plans being made to move things out.

So how is stopped? Well that will have to be figured out, but it's really not that hard figure out OOCly or ICly (hint: they really wanted that dream gate for a reason!). But first, everyone is probably going to want to get control of the situation that's happening.

Fourth Wall Details
As mentioned in our previous announcement, not only can previous Somarium players and characters participate, so can anyone else. As mentioned in the plot details, the dream gate system has connected to every possible world. That includes game worlds. However this will not impact anything from other games. Nothing will carry over to other games. This is just to say that you can bring in a character that's already in a game and be doubly confused by being dragged. All types of universes are allowed.

We have an initial log for everyone and anyone to tag into. Prompts are listed in the entry for you guys to use, or you can just make up what you want. But here are a few things to note:

• Otherwordly enemies. Not only are people getting dragged in, but monsters and other enemy creatures as well. Have fun.
  
  
• Misplaced locations. Is that the Eiffel Tower leaning like the Pisa in the desert? Why yes. Yes it is. Fragments of other worlds are also appearing during this time. They can be small, they can be big, but they're appearing.
  
  
• Dreamwalking. For those unfamiliar with Somarium's premise, it allows the ability to actually enter dreams. This ability will be granted to everyone who enters.
  
  
• Dreamberry. Everyone who enters into the world will have a Dreamberry, which is basically like any standard smartphone. Thus everyone will be able to call and communicate with each other.
  
  
• Participate in plot. If you'd like your character to help out with resolving the plot, you're more than welcome to! The more firepower, the better.
  
  
• Posting. For the sake of organization, everyone should stick to the mingling logs. We can make another one if the first gets full. But all types of threads—action, network, dream—are allowed in this post. Just be sure to label! Non-Somarium players cannot create new entries, but they are allowed free to tag into any posts made by Somarium players. Again, this is more for organization sake.

And that should be everything. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! Otherwise, have fun

The event will last until game closing. So about two weeks. But you can hop in and leave anytime you want! Be it for a few hours, a day, or the whole time.

Hey guys! We've been slowly but steadily setting up the final pieces for endgame. We may even be able to finish by mid-July. But here's the lowdown:

June 15-21: Unsettling signs. This is the time where a few interesting things happen as a result to these various meetings.

June 22-30: Startling revelations. At any time during this week, some reveals will be made both by the characters as well as from certain NPCs. Once this happens, we'll be diving toward the end.

June 28-July 12: Resolutions and goodbyes. By this point, the remaining characters will have a potential threat looming over their heads, but fret not! If they can snip it at the bud, then everything will be safe. Obviously we can't do anything grand scale, so we're looking more fast, efficient, and possibly even stealthy means of accomplishing this. At this point, once they finish the task, they'll be able to go home worry free.

This schedule isn't locked down so things can either happen earlier or later. But this is roughly how it's planned. And obviously, more details will given when the time comes for each set.

But that's it! Let's go go go!

❖ MOON CYCLE 208 ❂ 6/01 - 6/08

Phase: 3/4

Weather: Heat wave incoming! But don't worry, there's some light scattered showers here and there. The question is of where the "here" and "there" are. It's really that scattered.

Dream Effects: None.

Notes:

• Final check-in. This is our last check-in post! This just helps gives us a heads up as to who will be left in the game. If you haven't commented yet, do so here. It ends on June 6th, Friday.
  
  
• Need some volunteers. I need at least two to three people to volunteer their character to help with some reveals. These reveals involve Nocturne, so I need characters who Nocturne would potentially contact and bring them in. Yes, that means I need the questionably aligned and preferably characters who have been here since at least the beginning of the year since Nocturne would be keeping an eye out on certain...prospects.
  
  
• Guess who's back? REM is. Of course that's no surprise. They're right here! Well, through the Dreamberry at least, but they are in Somarium, too. Hiding. Lurking. Blending in. Not suspicious at all, right? Anyway, just as they say, they need everyone's help. Of course, they're clueless. Because being vague and indiscreet is what these people are great at.

That should be it. If you have any questions about anything, just comment to this post!

❖ MOON CYCLE 207 ❂ 5/23 - 5/31

Phase: Full

Weather: Warm days ahead as the summer months approach. However, that will also mean some dryer atmosphere as the desert sands heat up.

Dream Effects: None.

Notes:

• Where we go from here. Earlier a mod announcement regarding Somarium's endgame was made with a poll on where to go from here, with great results. Most everyone wants to give Somarium's plot some resolution, so we'll continue to work on that. The game's "end date" is a bit of a split. Over half voted for the original end date, July 31st, but we had about a quarter for mid-June and a couple for end of June. Some who voted for the original game also expressed that they would be fine with earlier than end of July.
  
  So here's what we'll do. We will continue with what is scheduled plot wise. July 31st is our absolute end date. However, if we manage to resolve the plots and events prior to the end date, then we will end the game at that point. This does make things a bit more vague, but I would expect the earliest would be more like mid- to late June.
  
  
• Expedition: Noctaerium. As a response to Tom's message about possible activity in Noctaerium, Kid has decided to send a group down there to investigate while the rest hang back to keep an eye on the city. For those who may be interested, head over to Kid's post! Expedition will kick off Sunday, May 25.
  
  
• All quiet on the home front...? For the most part, things in the city will be quiet. Until toward the end of the month, that is. It's not Nocturne that's coming in, but REM. And they'll have a very interesting proposal to make.

That should be it. If you have any questions about anything, just comment to this post!

Good news, everybody! The sign-in has ended! Below is the list of those who were removed due to not responding to the sign-in post.

SIGN-IN RESULTS

If there are any mistakes or you have questions, let us know.

The following were removed for not commenting to the sign-in post

Henry | crowblood
Glen Baskerville | fraternize
Ragna the Bloodedge | infernodivider
Sakura | needswarmth

--------------------------------------

The following dropped during the sign-in

principalities
kami_no_hikari
hatesmornings


If there are any questions or errors, let us know!

Hey guys, it's our first official "Just comment to let us know you're still here!" post! Just fill out the following form and you're good to go. As a reminder, we still would like to see at least one link of anything to at least show that you're doing a little something. Length does not matter.

<b>Player:</b> PLAYERNAME <b>Character:</b> CHARACTERNAME <user name="JOURNALNAME"> <b>PROOF:</b> <a href="LINKURLHERE">DATE</a>

Thanks all! You have until 11:59PM Monday, May 5th to comment. If you have any questions, just contact me (Laena) or Shannon.

Hey guys, Laena here! Sorry for suddenly disappearing this past week. My husband came down with a bad cold and I caught it while trying to be the cute waifu nurse :| I was unable to post up the past moon cycle, but it works out since I had nothing really extensive planned for it except for it being a break period. Only downside was that I had planned to make an NPC post for characters to interact with but...yeah there was no way I’d be able to keep up with it. Apologies for that!

That said, I’m making up for this by going ahead and giving you guys the details for the upcoming AU so you can plot away. As you may recall, it’s going to be based off the RPG Fire Emblem: Awakening but there are some other RPG game elements being thrown in from the Tales of series. It’s mostly Fire Emblem, however, but enough about that that, time for the details!

dates and formatting
Start: Tuesday, April 22
End: Saturday, May 3

That gives us twelve (12) days for this event, which should more than enough time to enjoy it! Of course backdated posts/threads will be allowed after the event ends, but it’s highly encouraged that you at least start the activity during this timeframe.

Giant mingle log. To help make it more efficient, there will be a giant mingle log posted at the start that will span the entire event time. You can make any log threads in this post, OR you can make your own, entirely up to you. Please note, this is only for logging—all network posts should go to dreamnet and interactive dreams should be posted separately. Formatting guidelines will be provided in the post, but in the subject lines you’ll have to indicate whether the thread is "Open/Closed" and the "Date" to help keep some sense of a timeframe. You can forward date, backdate, current date—in other words, just because the latest thread is dated "4/24" it doesn’t mean that they have to stay in order. The next one can still be "4/22."


( alternate lives (or not) )

( setting )

( job/class sytem )

( social relationships/affection rankings )

( other things to note )

the end
And that’s it! It’s pretty robust and detailed, but it should hopefully give everyone a very good sense of how this AU will be like. If I had to give a bullet point summary of what you need to know, it would be this:

• Characters can be AU’ed
  
• It’s a traditional old fantasy-like setting
  
• There are jobs/classes
  
• RELATIONSHIP RANKS!!!!!
  
• HP/MP bars, status ailments, and leveling oh my

To put it even shorter, everyone is tossed into a traditional RPG game and interacting with someone a lot could eventually lead to marriage, have fun.

If you have any questions, concerns, or even other suggestions, ask them here. Feel free to use this for plotting, too. Or the mod plurk. Or your own plurks. Or whatever you use.

Hey guys! We're are now in April and it's time to announce the various changes happening for the Activity Check and Applications. At this point in the game, it's pretty impractical to keep up with normal game standards. However, there are still some standards that need to be upheld since we are still a game. So here is how it's going to work from now until the end of July:

• Activity Check. We just had our final official activity check so everyone can breathe easy and just play at their leisure here on out. That said, it would be pretty poor if we didn't keep some kind of track of everyone. So from now on, rather than a "check" it's more of a "check in." At the beginning of each month, there will be a post for players to just comment saying "I'm here!" and give one link of activity, similar to how this past AC was. The theory here is if you can't even tag or thread one thing for a whole month, then your interest is not really in the game and you should be honest with yourself. No hard feelings on our end, of course! This is excluding hiatuses/extenuating circumstances.
  
  
• Applications. The page has been edited to reflect the changes, but here's the break down.
  
  
  • Returning players! If you're an old Som veteran who would like to come back for nostalgia's sake and just chill out until endgame (or even for a short stay), you guys have it easy. All you have to do is provide a link to previous activity in the game, and that's it.
    
    
  • New players/characters! If you wish to join the game for a little bit or if any current players want to bring in different characters, the requirements are similar to above, with just a little extra. A wiki link or just even a short blurb about the character will be necessary. By short, I really mean short. Think paperback summary. If you want to write more, feel free, but at this point of the game it would be unfair to make someone write a more traditional background/personality section. As for samples, a link to a thread from the following places will suffice: test drive, previous games, memes, museboxes, dear_mun, or dear_player. The thread just has to best exemplify how you play the character. We still want to keep characters IC.
  
  And that's it. Pretty simple!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask. Otherwise, spread the word!

❖ MOON CYCLE 200 ❂ 4/01 - 4/07

Over the Moon: 3/4

I'm Singing in the Rain: One week of random weather. Each day will be an all day affair of weather whiplash with the calendar indicating which types will alternate during the day. It will change on the hour every two hours. Note: these weather patterns are going to their extremes and the changes will be abrupt and complete. So for example, on Tuesday, for two hours it will be nice and sunny, then a horrible, torrential downpour, and then it will be completely dry and sunny with no trace of the storm whatsoever (until it hits again).

TUES 01

WED 02

THURS 03

FRI 04

SAT 05

SUN 06

MON 07

Here's a key to help:

• Sunny: super sunny, dry, and hot.
  
• Cloudy but sunny: nice day, warm with cooler breezes.
  
• Cloudy: completely overcast with a brisk breeze in the air.
  
• Windy: strong winds that can almost knock a person off their feet.
  
• Rain: just icky, drizzly rain with humidity.
  
• Thunderstorm: lots of lightning, lots of rain.
  
• Snow: several inches of snow, but it's not too bad.
  
• Ice: hail, ice, sleet—now it's bad.

I Dreamed a Dream: Everyone's dream will be influenced by musicals and operas. What kind of musical? Well that's up to you. Broadway/theatrical, movie, rock, classic, rap, high school—or some really weird mix with country. Another option is the dream is a music video, so grab a song and replace the band with your character and castmates, and rock it! Hope there aren't any wardrobe malfunctions.


Notes:

• Hakuna Matata. The AC is up and guys, you have to read the instructions on the post carefully. Since it's the final official AC, there are some different requirements: 3 posts + 50 comments / 5 posts / 100 comments. Also be sure to follow the restrictions listed in the post.
  
  
• Don't Cry For Me Argentina. Everyone will be turning back to normal come morning, as will Somarium. However, there are still some remnants of what's happened. An entire section of the Residential District has now been dedicated for Sylvari and Pony housing, and although their population has been greatly diminished, there are a few hundred of each roaming the city. Again, they don't find the sudden disappearances or changes odd at all. Which makes the whole affair even odder. Characters will also find small plush versions of what they had turned into waiting for them on their pillow when they wake up—another memento of what happened.
  
  
• Sing to Me My Angel of Music. Throughout the week, Somarium is going to feel a bit musically inclined. Whether your character has a good voice or not, there will be times where they just have the urge to sing and dance the scene happening. They will be conscious of what they are doing and may try to fight it. Of course it will only make things worse. Appropriate (or perhaps inappropriate?) music will even start playing in the background, costume changes will magically happen, and...are those back-up dancers suddenly appearing?
  
  For those who may want a scene to be more meaningful and less silly, it is possible for characters to get "caught up in the moment" and play out the musical sequence for real. The silly realizations can then be saved for after.
  
  
  • You Can't Stop the Beat. As mentioned, back-up dancers are suddenly appearing. Those back-up dancers are going to look a lot like people from that character's world. They are not any notable characters or well-known, but they might look like that random baker from that one town somewhere from that time. Like last time, looks like there's a bit of another population boom, this time with more diversity.
    
    
  • Let It Go. Feel free to either be original or just rip off actual songs if you'd like to enrich your tags. But don't feel pressured to come up with actual "lyrical" tags. Who rhymes in songs anymore, anyway? You also don't really have to coordinate with your tag partner. It can be completely one-sided. But if you both want to have some music fun, the characters don't have to match or even jive with one another. One can sing in one tune, and the other in a completely different one with their own music. Also, these can be as short or as long as you want. Maybe it's just a few lines of dialogue. Maybe it's the entire thread. Face to face, over the network—let the music flow!
    
    As a tip, to help differentiate when someone is singing or talking normally, change the format of the lines. Italics, bold, or another format will help. Using the musical note symbols (♩ ♪ ♫ ♬) will also be helpful.
  
  
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Just a heads up for next week, but there will be a fun little mini-event hosted by Lacie. It will be like a masquerade ball and it will be an actual interactive dream event! I'll let them handle any OOC plotting, but the date for this will be around 4/8-4/9, which will be right after this cycle.
  
  
• The Internet is for Porn. And again, another canon influenced event. Or mini-event. It's a little more subtle and less intrusive—well, if you consider suddenly breaking out into song and dance not intrusive—so it might not be as obvious what the canon is. The dream effects lyrics should be a give away though: it's based off Les Miserables, musical version.
  
  As a reminder from last time, the AU setting for April has been decided and it will be based off of Fire Emblem, both as a setting and as an RPG style. Expect medieval setting, social interaction relationship meters, health bars, dragons, zombies, and more. I might throw in a few other things from other canons (like other RPGs and fantasy themes), but that's how it will be for the most part. This won't happen until the end of April and there will be greater details then, but might as well let you guys know ahead of time.
  
  We also might have zombies in May and a circus somewhere in-between. But we still have a few more weeks for some interesting things to occur! And as evident, it's possible to mix canon effects. So keep them coming!
  
  
• I Feel Pretty Oh So Pretty. If you want your plot to be advertised in the Moon Cycle posts, just follow the link and comment to it!

That should be it. If you have any questions about anything, just comment to the post!

❖ MOON CYCLE 199 ❂ 3/21 - 3/31

Phase: Full

Weather: Hot and humid. This isn't spring, this is just weird! Then again, there are stranger things happening. Lots of sunny and rainy days ahead.

FRI 21

SAT 22

SUN 23

MON 24

TUES 25

WED 26

THURS 27

FRI 28

SAT 29

SUN 30

MON 31

Effects: This weeks effects tie in with the event, and are thus detailed in the notes below.

Notes:

• Last AC Check next month. Just a quick heads up that our last official AC check is next month. Originally it would have been the April AC, but I've decided to bump it up. After this AC, all you'll need to do is just do a simple check in and maybe like one link of activity to prove that you are indeed in the game.
  
  
• Plants, ponies, and jungles oh my. For the next ten days, a lot of characters are going to wake up and find themselves a lot different than before. As mentioned in the last moon cycle, our first major canon inspired event is a mash up of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Guild Wars. Characters are not only transforming, but the city itself is changing, too. It's also about to get really crowded.
  
  
  • Sudden transformation. By Sunday, those severely affected will have transformed, though that won't stop them from transforming again later. Characters can turn into either a pony a la My Little Pony, a Sylvari a la Guild Wars (2), or a hybrid of both. Details on each are below. As for the actual transformation process, the character will have a dream that depicts them living their life as the creature and in that world. So something like a little AU dream. These do not need to be posted, but they will happen. The transformations will last at most until the end of the month. It is also possible for characters to suddenly switch mid-week to the other form.
    
    
    • Option 1: Pony. Most are probably familiar with this one. As mentioned, the ponies would be styled from the MLP:FiM series. Thus colorful ponies with even more colorful mane and tails are to be expected. There are also cutie marks on the flank which represent the character's talent (and usually represents their own personality). There are also four different types of ponies available: earth pony (normal), pegasus (wings), unicorn (horn+magic), and alicorn (horn+wings+super magic). Choose whichever one will best fit your character.
      
      
    • Option 2: Sylvari. The Sylvari are humanoid plant creatures. Everything about them is related to plants, though they also eat, drink, and live like humans. In many ways they're similar to the elves of fantasy lore. Like the ponies, they can be any combination of color, though theirs is more relative to nature. Bark or smooth leaf like texture for skin, twigs and flowers or large leaves for hair. Even their clothes have been "tailored" to look more plant-like. There is also the option to have access to magical abilities. To keep it simple, think more of basic RPG magic elemental spells.
      
      
    • Option 3: Hybrid. If you can't choose or think having a plant pony would be interesting, then it's possible to go this route. Pony in form but with the plant features of the Sylvari.
      
      
    • Option 4: Opt out. And of course, there is the ability to opt out completely and remain normal.
    
    
  • A changed city. In addition to the characters changing, the city itself has now been overtaken by the plants. Actually, it's more than overtaken. It's gotten an entirely new makeover. Continuing the mash-up, from MLP:FiM the Everfree Forest has creeped in and is more dominant on the west side of the city. On the east, we have the jungles and forests of the Tarnished Coast from Guild Wars. And with the setting, come some other additions.
    
    
    • Hostile plants. If you're on the west side of Somarium, be wary. The Everfree Forest is wild with magic and its made the plants have a mind of their own. They will grab and pull anyone caught unawares and let's just say the fate is probably not fit for a G-rated cartoon for kids. On the east, although not as abundant there are a few Jungle Wurms chilling out closer to the city outskirts. Maybe they're saying hello to their foreign cousins, the Desert Wurms. Fortunately both are somewhat stationary and don't roam around. No three-headed hydras or basilisks and chimeras this time!
      
      
    • Other wildlife. There doesn't seem to be many other threatening creatures around, but there are others roaming. The Everfree Forest will provide more or less "regular" wildlife you'd find in a forest. Bears, birds of prey, badgers, etc. As for the jungle, there are some unique creatures not, such as the Fern Hounds. Other creatures are normal—like deer, drakes, Oakhearts (totally normal)—but then there are really large insects like grubs, spiders, and mosquitos. By large, it's like this and this. They won't be hostile, but aggravate them and they will fight back.
      
      
    • Changed buildings. The skyscrapers and cottages of Somarium no longer exist! Instead they've been replaced by some equivalent from either canon. Perhaps they're now cute little cottages from Ponyville or maybe they're more plant-like from the Grove. Multi-level homes may look a bit different. Even home appliances and furniture will have been altered to match the style.
    
    
  • Population boom. And last but not least, along with these changes will be a sudden appearance of other ponies and Sylvari. They literally appear out of nowhere and act as if they've been in this new Somarium for a while. Unfortunately, any attempts to ask about their origins will just result in a laugh and saying how silly you are, they've been there forever! The Sylvari will be somewhat more helpful, if unintentional. They will say they came from the dream like all other Sylvari. Sylvari in canon do say this, but perhaps it could be interpreted in another way...? More importantly, are they here to stay or are they temporary?
  
  
  
• Requesting event ideas! Here is an example of canon effects happening, and next month will be more pronounced instead of the slow build-up this month. The AU setting for April has been decided, but that won't happen until the end of the month. We also might have zombies in May and a circus somewhere in-between. But we still have a few more weeks for some interesting things to occur! And as evident, it's possible to mix canon effects. So keep them coming!
  
  
• Player Plots. If you want your plot to be advertised in the Moon Cycle posts, just follow the link and comment to it!
  

That should be it. If you have any questions about anything, just ask them here.