La Villa Strangiato

After some discussion of the changes you've made and the faction you've added, the rest of the team has reached a consensus to deny it as it is felt to be unnecessary.

Samaritans Attack Fort Ilhutical in Lightning Strike, Release Statement Asking for End to Violence Article #6 of the Hasta La Victoria Siempre Arc In a daring pre-dawn raid, a suspected battalion-sized force of Samaritans launched a surprise attack on Fort Ilhutical, the forward operating base used by the TCAF as a staging ground for its excursions onto the continent of Huitzilopochtli. Made up of mostly veterans of the Mictlan Defense Force, the Samaritans attacked with military precision - engaging those standing guard with suppressive fire while a crack team sprinted towards their objective, the many hangers housing the aircraft of the 7th Air Legion, also known as the “Firestarters”. The guards were quickly overwhelmed, and the Samaritans were able to penetrate the base to assault communications. This communications bunker was critical for the Minutemen to keep in contact with their many roving patrols across the Eastern Continent. One blogger, a Callistean who had served in the Solarian Army, compared post-raid photos with his own personal ones taken at a range day years back, and remarked that the blast marks looked similar to the throwable demolition charges issued to many Solarian PDFs. It is suspected charges of this caliber were repossessed by Samaritans after many soldiers’ defection from the Mictlan Defense Force. Beyond the communications bunker, several aircrafts, their hangers, and other structures were heavily damaged. The TCAF released a statement soon after the raid saying no aircraft were damaged; however, leaked photo evidence shows several planes burning on the runway. Other photos suggest an explosive was detonated on the asphalt of the runway itself. Shortly after the raid, the general of the Samaritans, Xiomara Salvo, released a public statement posted to several sites across the extranet, including Chirper and 64tan. Quote; “Our strike this morning was not for our own gain,” said Salvo, filmed in front of a concrete wall bearing the flag of Mictlan. “The planes of the 7th Air Legion have devastated whole towns with their bombardment. What I have witnessed with my own eyes was a deliberate targeting of civilians because they happen to live on the wrong continent. Our own air defenses are not everywhere, and there are many places outside our defenses that are helpless against air raids. There is no reason to target these people. This violence must end, and it will only end when you are gone from this planet. Until then, the Samaritans will always stand in your way. We are still here, and we will always be here.” The Republic of Biesel has not acknowledged the statement, or issued one of their own. Truth Finders is fully committed to the truth of Biesel operations within Mictlan space, and we can only hope that one day Mictlan will be free to choose independence for itself. We will continue to report on the conflict in the Corporate Reconstruction Zone as developments occur.

Howdy. Your app is a little sparse; let's change that. Couple questions: Give me a rundown on the social dynamics between the hives. K'lax-Zo'ra relations, Zo'ra-C'thur relations, etc. Tell me about Vaurca psychology. What makes a difference between a Za and Ka, in the brain? What's the difference between the three playable Hives and the Lii'dra, Hive-structure-wise? Why would they go to war with Lii'dra in the first place? (this one might be a little obscure due to some of the Lii'dra page being kind of crusty; I recommend looking at the Great Hive War page for this one.) For Vaurca, Virtual Reality is a paradise-- it's literally a constructed heaven. Why would Vena want to be resleeved, or why would their Ta want them to be resleeved? Also, there seems to be some confusion as to the differences between a Lesser Queen and a Ta; not all Ta are Lesser Queens. A Lesser Queen is a Ta, but they're very old Ta who are basically a direct child of the hive's High Queen, and they command their own bloodline/brood of Vaurca. For example, Athvur, Vetju, and Xetl are all Lesser Queens. (Lesser Queens are also wayyyy bigger than your average Ta.)

aeooooeoeoeoe i NEED to see tsisana caladius (and rosalea arellanes) meret aikio sumayyah

Howdy. A background for curators and librarians is appreciated. However, at the moment we'd like you to change the somewhat unfortunate acronym. On your document you mentioned that you'd like to add challenges the organization faces and its relations with other human nations. If you'd like to add this, we can give it a more in-depth look once everything is finished.

Howdy. The lore team has ruled that the Scarabs already had the Sadars as an exile faction, so Dark Space Humans as exiles or xenophobes is a little redundant. It also strains the suspension of disbelief for there to be billions of lost Scarabs. For these reasons, we'll be denying this app as it stands. However, we may consider the idea of a lost colony (not specifically Scarab) for a future event. Thank you for applying and apologies for the wait.

Yo. The loremasters and the Unathi lore team have decided to accept this app with some changes to flavour; in essence, Gorlex will become something of a guild of ne'er-do-wells who are machinists, manufacturers, engineers, and scientists (and yes, they make their own voidsuits). They are likely going to be renamed, since Gorlex is not a very Unathi name and Razortail is already a thing. Thank you for applying, and sorry for the wait! If you have any questions, please shoot a member of the Unathi lore team a message. This will be locked and moved to deferred acceptance.

https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Guide_to_Piloting "While some roles may have the knowledge and ability to fly a certain spacecraft, it is best practice to leave the flying to the dedicated pilot of that craft. For instance, the Intrepid should be piloted by Bridge Crewmen and Xenoarcheologists if possible. The Spark should be piloted by Miners, the Canary by Bridge Crew. Even if your character is capable of piloting a craft due to their role, that does not necessarily give them permission to do so. Try to keep each craft for its intended pilots or purpose." "[...] the Intrepid, a research shuttle [...]" "Unless by explicit command order, the shuttles can't be grounded, and it's not even strictly necessary to tell command where you're going. It's nice, however, to give the bridge a heads-up before you leave, and maybe tell them where you are in case of certain disaster. Shaft miners can generally go it alone in the Spark to an away site, and Xenoarchaeologists are capable of taking the Intrepid and setting out alone. However, a large expedition may dictate that Command should send a dedicated pilot, such as Bridge Crewmen, to supervise the ship while the away team is out."

The xenoarch does have its own shuttle. It's called the Intrepid.

I mentioned this in notes but didn't really elaborate on it; towards individual citizens she is generally friendly, but pitying and suspicious of. Anyone who actually demonstrates support towards the warlords she disparages pretty hard. In her mind, the DPRA are a fascimile of a democractic state, and their war crimes make them completely irredeemable. Surraya is a Young Hadiist, and Ruda is generally along the same party line. In recent years, Surraya has dabbled in Visionary Hadiism, being somewhat fascinated with human technology and robotics (she also loves mech fights, which is a non-insignificant factor in this). If she manages to afford higher education (lol, lmao), she'd like to train to become a roboticist. Surraya has had mixed feelings about living in little Adhomai. Early on in her time on Biesel, she managed to uncover the Little Adhomai Horticultural Society. While initially she had several politically-charged conversations with her fellow members, she was firmly accepted in the society after working overtime at her NanoTrasen janitor job to pay off a month's protection money from one of the local gangs. Since then, Surraya has tried to keep her more firey tirades under wraps around the group, and regards them quite highly. On the other hand, Surraya is very careful where she openly presents as female in the district. Ruda has already been accosted and robbed on his way home once, and Surraya has had to cut and run after talking to someone who proved hostile once they recognised her Mal'jor accent. The Social Harmony Committee have eyes everywhere, and ironically only the human districts of Mendell, at work, and the dive bars where the Horticultural Society meets have proven safe to fully present as a woman. At the very least, Surraya hopes to move out of District Six one day, but with Ruda's current struggle to find a job, and the connections she already has to the gardener's group, her feelings are mixed about entirely assimilating into human society. For now, she contents herself with the acceptance she's found in little places, and hopes to be able to be her true self in a newer workplace, farther away from Adhomian influence...

I am personally not sold on your reasoning for Hephaestus sending BN to Ouerea. As you have an Unathi app, I assume you have been following recent developments in Unathi lore, where Hephaestus has become very intimately intertwined with Moghean and Hegemonic culture. In particular, a lot of managers of the Hegemony sections of Hephaestus are Unathi; why would they, being presumably Sk'akhists, permit a synthetic in Unathi workplaces? It simply does not make sense for a corporation to send a valuable, expensive asset to a place where the culture is actively hostile towards synthetics.

Speaking on behalf of the human lore team, this app has been denied on the basis of lack of need of additions to this part of Himean lore.

This is not denied, per se, but given the development work required and the editing and wailing and gnashing of teeth that this will require, it's safe to say this is currently in development hell. If you would like to make your own additions to this document or you have thoughts or concerns, please bother me on Discord at lavillastrangiato.

BYOND Key: Lavillastrangiato Character Names: Notables include Gulay Uzun, Rosalea Arellanes, and Meret Aikio Species you are applying to play: Tajara What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Taupe, #483c32 Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes. Why do you wish to play this specific race: I think the conflict and schisms inherent to much of Tajara lore makes them very interesting characters to play that always have *someone* to engage with, whether it's in a positive or negative fashion. There's a lot of rich lore that calls to mind a variety of inspirations, and it means two Tajara can be vastly different characters with vastly different origins, such as a Hrahar scientist from the PRA versus a Zhan-Khazan Rock Nomad. There's a lot of fun, interesting concepts in Tajara lore that Cold Dawn inspired me to ruminate on, and I think I'd like to engage with Tajara lore in full by having a whitelist. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Tajara are a bipedal felinid race from the arctic planet of Adhomai, physically characterised by their speed, ability to see in the dark, and deep divides between respective ethnicities. There are four main racial groups; Hharar are rather physically average and stereotyped as intellectuals, M'sai are incredibly fast and often used as soldiers, Zhan-Khazan are called "workhorses" being seen as very strong, but considered unintelligent and easily spurred to violence. Njarir-Akhran were the nobles of Adhomian society for many centuries, but the recent revolutions and wars have seen them become rarer and rarer across Adhomai. For as long as their history has been recorded, Tajara have been a people divided by conflict between the haves and the have-nots; up until very recently, the nobility of Adhomai had hoarded the fruits of the planet's industrialization, while the serfs and working class toiled in thankless jobs for little pay. While the influence of the species really only extends to the S'rand'marr system and the formerly Hegemonic planet of Gakal'zaal, Adhomai is already divided between three factions; the People's Republic of Adhomai, the Democratic People's Republic of Adhomai, and the New Kingdom of Adhomai. The People's Republic is an authoritarian state based on the cult of personality surrounding the Hadii dynasty, a family of Njarir-Akhran nobles that sided with the peasants in the First Revolution over the nobility. Al'mari Hadii, who would later become the new Republic's president, struck a deal with NanoTrasen to bring in modernizing technology and goods to the populace, while in return the megacorporation would have cheap Tajaran labour. When the dust of the revolution had cleared, the PRA was the only state amidst a fractured, ravaged planet. Stability, if any, was short-lived. When Al'mari was murdered by a secret service agent, who was Zhan-Khazan, his brother Njadrasanukii Hadii took power and enacted harsh laws against the Zhan populace and any subversive elements that could be found, or even suspected. During this time, the military commander Nated'Hakhan, a friend of Al'mari Hadii, and the hidden royal dynasty of the Azunja Njarir rose up and rallied their supporters to divide Adhomai once again. From Nated's rebellion the Democratic People's Republic of Adhomai was formed, a state ostensibly headed by an elected president but in practice ruled more by warlords carving out their territories. The dynasty of Azunja took power where they could, forming the New Kingdom of Adhomai, though outside of their own territories support for them is limited. Because of these recent and bloody divides, it is unlikely for one to find a Tajara with neutral feelings on any faction. Even a former citizen of the Republics would easily decry the New Kingdom, and between each other DPRA citizens disparage the PRA as tyrants while PRA citizens lambast the DPRA as terrorists. From being outcasted from Solarian space in the wake of the Tajara bans, to gang violence in little Adhomai, the Tajara people have struggled to find peace and a settled home across the galaxy. Character Name: Surraya Varrakijr Please provide a short backstory for this character: This character is transfeminine; as such, prior to her transition I will use he/they pronouns to refer to them, and she/they pronouns after their transition. Ahrdoyal Varrakijr was born in 2445, in the city of Mal'jor. His father, Rrudahir (nicknamed Ruda), was a physician and proponent of studies into Tajara psychology, particularly on veterans of the Great War. His mother Jamirrya was a housewife who spent her spare time organizing community gatherings and sewing clothes for the family and community. In all respects, they were a sensible Hharar Hadiist family who followed the party line, and the only tension that was truly present in the household was Rrudahirir being scolded to fold his clothes instead of tossing them on the floor. Ahrdoyal themself was a pleasant, if somewhat shy and withdrawn, child. Jamirrya would later say that he had never displayed signs of "abnormality"; he got along well with both boys and girls his age, and developed something of a reputation as a peacemaker whenever children had the petty conflicts that children had. He was given a fair amount of freedom by his parents, and owing to their parents' good standing, had little encounters with the grimier side of Republican law. When Ahrdo was sixteen, they and their friend, Varzjundil, were wandering in a less reputable neighbourhood in the city. Eager to experience something novel, the two spotted a club called the Nine-Tails, and slipped inside on a whim to perhaps pry a touch of alcohol out of the bartender. But to Ahrdo's astonishment, the clubgoers were like no men or women he'd seen. Not only were men cavorting with men, but women sat so intimately with other women! Passerby that Ahrdo saw clad in dresses had the frames and voices of men, and vice versa-- all around was a confusing upheaval of the roles Ahrdo had had engrained into him. But the club was comfortable, and the people inside were friendly if somewhat reticent to divulge information about themselves. They were offered free drinks for their first time, and stumbling home, Ahrdo reflected on how happy those people in Nine-Tails seemed, how content and free. Over the next few weeks, that stretched to months, Ahrdo returned without Varzjundil to the club, coming to know the other patrons. They never told their parents of their nighttime excursions, even though they had such trust in them; it felt wrong to mention it, for some reason. The more they attended, the more Ahrdo came to realize just why the club felt freeing. After a year of nighttime visits to the Nine-Tails, Ahrdo was quite aware that the secrecy the club afforded was key in the PRA; nevertheless, their optimism and the validation they felt upon finally recognising that they were no longer quite a man was overwhelming. So Ahrdo, pretending it was for a girlfriend, purchased a simple party dress and shoes. She made her debut at the club as Surraya, and the reception among her newfound friends was was warm and delighted. Patrons happily welcomed Surraya's new self, and the women of all stripes began to offer advice on how to carry herself, how to style her short hair, and the right kinds of makeup to try. While "Surraya" never left the confines of the club, Ahrdo began to feel confident; if this was who they truly were, then surely, she could speak to her parents about her newfound identity and expression. One day, two years after she had first entered the club, Ahrdo sat her parents down and explained the truth. She felt considerably more comfortable and right when she acted as a woman and was referred to as such, and explained the club and its role in her personal discovery to them. Ruda and Jamirrya were stunned. Jamirrya balked, shocked that her beloved son had "degenerated", become "deviant"; she'd always followed the Party's teachings and tried to teach them to Ahrdoyal, but had she made a mistake in giving him so much freedom? Ruda, who was confused, nevertheless tried to calm his wife down; this was still their child, and it was clear to him Ahrdo hadn't truly changed so much. But over the next few days, Jamirrya couldn't be consoled; she reported Ahrdo's deviancy to the city branch of state police, who promptly came to hold them in the local jail on ambiguous charges while they questioned them. While Ruda was able to leverage his good standing in the university to have them release Ahrdo, he knew that the damage had been done. Jamirrya wouldn't remain silent about this "deviancy" forever, and he knew to expect worse for his child if Party authorities ever caught proper wind of the news. Thus, Ruda called in favours. With conflict rising in the galaxy, it was time to leave Adhomai. Father and child set out, with reluctance, to the Republic of Biesel, where other dissidents of various stripes lived and thrived. Shortly after settling in Biesel, Surraya not only managed to finally present as a woman full-time, but also became the breadwinner of the two of them after securing a job as a janitor with NanoTrasen. A new, lucrative opening had even become available to her; the SCC's flagship, the SCCV Horizon. What do you like about this character?: I like plucky girls as character types who are sort of long-suffering but nevertheless try to keep their humanity (or Tajaramanity, whatever) about them in a terrible situation. I like exploring the ways a queer character might fit into an alien society that nevertheless holds a low opinion of "abnormality" and I think it would be interesting to explore how that might clash with other Tajara, if I choose to play this character on-ship. How would you rate your role-playing ability?: I am the deputy loremaster so I think I'm pretty okay at it. Notes: Surraya is not especially religious; however, Rrudahir and Jamirrya were worshippers of the Twin Suns in their younger years prior to the First Revolution. As time has gone on they have generally left religious trappings behind, though are still particularly superstitious about Raskariim, and still pray to and invoke the Suns casually. Surraya has picked up on some of this, particularly superstition, but does not actively follow the teachings. Surraya is by no means a staunch supporter of the PRA, but considers herself fairly aligned with Hadiism's economic views, and holds out hope she may be able to return to Adhomai one day as her "true self". She is suspicious of New Kingdom or DPRA citizens, and considers them "complicit" in oppression of Tajara as a whole. Despite this, she has a generally welcoming attitude towards most Tajara, though like any 19-year-old gets into stupid political arguments rife with hypocrisies, exaggerations, and grandstanding.

I have some thoughts on this ship that are not necessarily bugs, but I find relevant to bring up. The hangar is very, very big and takes up most of the ship. I believe it should be smaller, even though I am currently in a glass house throwing stones because I too am workshopping a ship map with an absurdly large hangar. Why does the CO2 line extend aaaaaaaall the way across the ship to the port thruster? It looks messy and it's easily rupturable. You could just put a separate CO2 line in the port thruster/have a connector to hook up a CO2 can to. Why does a surveyor ship have more firepower than the FPB ship? I could see a surveyor ship plausibly having a Francisca, but definitely not a Grauwolf and a mining blaster, the latter of which is about as strong as the Longbow in terms of tearing up ships. I also have a secret fourth thing I will DM you as it is very silly but nevertheless worthy of your concern I think.

Hi there. We've decided to add Todavía estamos aquí/We are still here as the official motto of Mictlan, but the Saladas section will remain unadded as it largely falls under autocanon.

Hi, sorry for the wait. After some discussion, we've decided to deny this proposal on expansion given that it is not particularly relevant.

Hi there, sorry for the wait. I believe this is fairly neutral and could probably be officially added (pending team discussion), but I'd like to discuss more about where on the wiki we'd put this. I will discuss it with you more soon.

This app has gone a year without being touched, so I feel like after a few months of the Tau Ceti Armed Forces being rolled out, we can safely say that this is technically accepted. Please message me on Discord if you have any further questions, comments, or concerns, @WickedCybs.

I'll withhold full judgment until after a couple days, but right now I'm not really sold. For lack of a better word, it feels less like you're moving, and more like you're just pushing a character around the floor without any real feedback.

Kazimir Boytsov, Last Necropolis CEO, Dies at Age 153 Kazimir Boytsov, the last chief executive officer of Necropolis Industries prior to its rebranding to Zavodskoi Interstellar, has died at home in Moscow, U.S.S.R, Earth. He was 153. "Dr. Boytsov passed away at home surrounded by his family," a statement posted to Zavodskoi Interstellar's official blog and Chirper pages said yesterday. "He was known as a dedicated researcher, a pioneer in the field of genetic engineering, and a loyal father, grandfather, and great-grandfather." The statement did not provide a cause of death or mention of illness, but it is known that Boytsov, recorded as one of the oldest humans in the Orion Spur, had slipped into a coma in 2462. After this, Dr. Lyudmila Zavodskoi, a top executive within the company's arms manufacturing department, rose to take his position. Boytsov ascended to chief executive officer in the wake of his father, Yevgeniy Dementyev. His last years heading Necropolis Industries prior to its rebranding were marked by controversy. Investigations by the Solarian Corporate Authority uncovered evidence that Necropolis had been performing insider trading schemes, and distributing weaponry on the black market to conflict zones such as Fisanduh in the Empire of Dominia and the sector of space known as the Badlands. Shortly after the allegations broke, Boytsov lapsed into a coma, and control over the company passed to Lyudmila Zavodskoi, who rebranded the company to Zavodskoi Interstellar. Sources within Zavodskoi Interstellar say that no public date of mourning has been scheduled. Boytsov's next of kin did not respond to a request for comment from the Sol Alliance News Network.

We've fairly unanimously decided to deny this for a couple reasons: 1. It cheapens the impact of the Horizon being on its own and frequently out of range of help. 2. How do we explain it for arcs where we're staying in one system? Is the support fleet just hanging around one system away? 3. The Horizon has already been fairly established as a self-sufficient exploration ship. It's pretty easy to explain cargo stuff as coming from SCC outposts nearby and whatnot.

I like ship pets when they're more conventional domestic animals, like Ian or Crusher, or more fantastical like Ginny and Ives. I always feel a little bad when exotic animals like monkeys or foxes are put on the ship; I know it's silly and pedantic, but it's just a stretch of my suspension of disbelief. I wouldn't mind something like a bird/parakeet in the bar, and maybe a rodent like a rat in Operations. These are just suggestions, though.

Hello, Aurorastation. It is me, Lavillastrangiato. In this post I'd like to talk about my thoughts on running events, respond to your feedback, and talk about my own feedback for the event. Before I do, I'd like to talk about this event's background, and who was involved in parts of the planning. ReadThisNamePlz was the originator of the event concept, in which the Horizon would be shot at by pirates and have to retrieve some manner of treasure or prize. She was the admin, along with Roostercat12 and Garnascus, who spawned most of the equipment, ships, and other sundry for the non-crew roles to use. Triogenix and I were the ones who wrote out most of the fine details of the event, including the motives of the pirates. I, specifically, was the one who helped balance the boarders and pirate crew by writing a list of equipment for them to have. I took feedback from various players, including ClemTheDuck and TheMaskedReader, to properly balance the boarders and ensure they wouldn't get immediately killed, or at the very least killed before they could be captured. MattAtlas I feel deserves special credit because he helped debug our poor server after it started bugging out, and went through annoying tedium trying to help us. Your Feedback I have no argument against this feedback at all. In fact, I agree, and in the future I'd like to do more events that involve low-intensity conflict, or even something as relaxed as "The Horizon visits a nice place and does nice things". "ChairRP" is a term that gets flung around a lot, but in my experience I find giving players, readers, partakers in written media a period of downtime allows them to develop their characters and take more investment in the outcome of higher-intensity events. The other reason I think low-intensity events are important is because let's face it, there's not a lot of people who want to *lose* their characters. And that's fine. If they don't want to die in a round, I don't want to discourage people from *all* canon events by the threat of randomly losing their character. (More on this later, by the by.) TL;DR: Totally, dude, I get it. This is definitely something I've thought about before, and I would really like to have more events that include service roles in a more front-and-center role. Honestly, I don't have a lot of ideas at the moment. Soup kitchens in Eridani? (Maybe not.) The problem with lag and tick rates is that we are on the BYOND platform, which everyone and their mother knows is made out of spit and tape. We have to hit lag as it comes, because there's really no satisfying our server when it has to handle one-hundred players (yes, we had one-hundred-ish players at one point!). This means we'd also generally keep deaths due to glitches non-canon, because losing your character to a bug fucking sucks. My Feedback Roleplay, leeway, and typefragging. Overall, I was very impressed with the roleplay that the raiders did, especially at the vault confrontation. However, some of the raiders were typefragged (shot or attacked while their text bubble popped up over their head). While this is obviously not fun, in the heat of the moment it is pretty easy to think about clicking spaceman until horizontal and not noticing the very small sprite. This is a fact of high-stress engagements, and I do not mean to be accusatory; it's just something that happened. In the future, I would encourage players volunteering in antagonistic roles for events to try and engage with the crew a little more over hailing and common. This was something done by the raiders, I note, but it wasn't as in-depth as it could have been if they'd established more of a rapport at the start. Also, it's very hard to roleplay a lot while you're shelling the Horizon, trying to scream directions, and also the Freebooter ship is slow as fuck and the Horizon can already charge the Leviathan and lock on to you. I personally think I should have encouraged crew to engage with the raiders, as I was mostly focused on setting up the raiders with their gear in the first hour-ish of the round. I think more roleplay could have been had if I encouraged the Captain and the rest of the command to take the raiders alive, potentially to find out their allegiances and who they're working for. But given two of the ship crew ended up surrendering to the Horizon at the end, it worked out in its own way. Time and preparation. There's no beating around the bush; it took a long time to get everyone set-up. This was because Read was only one person, and she had to spawn a lot of shit for a lot of players. She did insanely well with the resources and time she was given. While I think spawning on a pre-created ship mitigated some of the equipment issues, we already had technical difficulties, confusion over who was being given what, and me trying to tell the raiders not to use all the TC they were accidentally given with an uplink. With something of this scale, I'd want to brush up on what combat balance looks like, bring in more admins to help spawn stuff, and coordinate more with the players on what gear they think would help them stay alive a little longer. It worked out mostly fine, but it also meant that the Horizon got a lot of time to seriously fortify themselves and make it more difficult for the raiders to get a purchase. That in itself is not really bad. I've said time and time again that losing as an antag can be fun, but it's less fun when the Horizon gets an hour to reinforce their weak spots, print out shotgun slugs, and have a big announcement saying YO THERE ARE MOTHERFUCKIN PIRATES IN THIS MOTHERFUCKIN SECTOR AND THEY'RE COMING RIGHT AT YOU. Nobody broke rules, but in the future, given that this arc centered around a rise of piracy and the Horizon needing to be on alert, I would prefer to offer antagonists the need to work around the high alert level that the Horizon should already be on. Example: the Horizon sees a strange independent vessel rapidly burning at them, goes "oh shit", and tells the departments to potentially prepare for attack! And everyone kind of already knew something was gonna happen, because we've restarted three times already and there were several announcements saying in black-and-white HEY THIS IS CANON, but it also means that there's a little more element of risk, surprise, and danger that is the bread and butter of high intensity events. Canon deaths. Some characters died. Some characters died because of very egregious examples of downright confusing medical play that can't reasonably be attributed to a high-stress situation. As I've mentioned in Discord and OOC, Garnascus granted Wynfride Saar/SpookyCactus an on-the-spot retcon of Saar's death because her heart was quite literally torn out of her chest while she was still alive and bleeding out in the corner. The OOC consequences were handled by an administrator. This is one such example of gameplay that resulted in someone actually dying. I saw a lot of other examples of near-deaths that, in my medical main opinion, could've been avoided. I am not a server administrator; as deputy loremaster, I do not have access to server logs. It is impossible for me to say definitively that so-and-so should have happened. However, given what I saw in this round, I felt it was prudent to allow players to submit their requests to have their death retconned. When I brought this up in Dchat (and admittedly I was a little passionately upset at what I was seeing), a couple people questioned the (then-unofficial) decision. I want to make it perfectly clear why we would let someone retcon their character's death if they died in this event. The long and short of it is that if you were tossed in the corner and a huge puddle of blood was pooling around you for twenty minutes, and you were paralyzed and paincritted, and medical didn't even bandage your wounds, and you couldn't even do any dramatic "ugh, I'm dying, please tell Urist McStation I love him!"-style RP, or any RP at all because nobody's paying attention to you, that sucks. It's not fun, doesn't serve to progress a story, and doesn't act as an example of "play stupid games, win stupid prizes". In this case, your death wasn't even really your fault, and it's a slap in the face after being put in an AFK zone for 20-odd minutes while you bleed out. Is this probably going to be a controversial ruling? Yes. Are all the deaths from this event going to be retconned? No. There were definitely cases where the risk and the circumstances surrounding some deaths meant that losing your character was appropriate, and some players have already mentioned they won't be submitting a retcon request. Ultimately, I don't want people discouraged from playing canon events because their death was entirely out of their control. We are playing a game that was, again, coded on spit and string, and concessions need to be made for that. In Conclusion At the end of the day, I'm happy that people had a positive reaction to our little mini-arc. It was a big learning experience for me, and even if it frustrated me in places, people managed to get something out of it and that's what matters to me. I'm hoping I can write more arcs in the future, as deputy loremaster, and I'm hoping they'll be received well. Thank you to everyone who participated, and thank you to Read, Trio, and the rest of the staff team for giving advice, helping with technical stuff, and doing the usual jannie-isms. I have never been more pleased that you guys do it for free.