BDE Announcement: Y'all ready for some CHAOS?
Hi folks! It's that time again! Just in time for your characters to not even have begun to recover from losing all their memories, we're having our summer BDE! Because when it rains in Fandom, it pours. Chocolate milk.
You see, a very special guest will be coming to town, arriving Tuesday night, July 12th, and sticking around right through Sunday, July 17th: Equestria's very own answer to malicious whimsy: Discord!
Who now?
The quickest, easiest way to explain Discord is to say he's Q from Star Trek, only not. I mean, he's even voiced by John de Lancie. For those who don't know who Q is, think nigh-omnipotent interdimensional sociopath with a love for chaos for chaos's sake.
I mean, his name is Discord.
Discord hails from the same universe as Pinkie Pie, but not from the same timeline. While in Pinkie's world, they've managed to defeat him a few times (and have even made friends), this version hasn't yet discovered the magic of friendship and is still primarily interested in entertaining himself by making the lives of those around him as wacky as possible. So he's going to take one look at Fandom -- and her habit of making the lives of those living on her as wacky as possible -- and decide he has come home. All he needs to do is turn Fandom up to 11.
The plot
On Tuesday night, after all the denizens of Fandom have gone to sleep -- or gone to do the things that they do while everyone else has gone to sleep -- Discord will arrive, an invisible, malevolent gust of wind, and start to explore. By Wednesday morning, he'll have begun to make his mark: by turning everyone on the island (who opts in) into ponies.
And when everyone wakes up on Wednesday, finds themselves pony-shaped, groans and goes "this again", he's gonna get frustrated. And he's gonna up his game.
Cotton candy clouds will rain chocolate milk. Not everywhere, but in small, ridiculously low-flying patches that may well stalk grumpy characters around from three feet above their heads. A hedge maze will spring up in the park, full of twists, turns, and traps. By Thursday, the streets have turned to soap (including the stairs), the wildlife has grown to brutish size and developed strange appetites, and Discord himself begins to appear around the island, poking at the locals and giving them their own special little gifts of chaos, for extra flavor.
On Friday, Discord will declare himself King of Fandom and host his own coronation. There's a power vacuum to fill, after all. The mayor and the principal have both gone missing. Perhaps to that crooked, fairy tale tower that's sprouted up in the center of park's hedge maze.
By this time, research will be well underway. Pinkie has mentioned Discord a time or two, after all, so even though she's not here to shriek "I KNOW WHO THIS IS AND EXACTLY HOW TO GET RID OF HIM!", the information Fandom needs won't be too hard to find. The only way to defeat Discord and his particular brand of chaos is with the magic of friendship. Or more specifically: the Elements of Harmony.
Saturday, teams will form, one for each element. They will track down a token to use to represent their element in the fight against Discord. By Sunday, they'll be ready to attack -- assuming they can make it through the increasing chaos on the island. Houses are floating, some of them spinning slowly through the air, their foundation still sunk into a little floating patch of earth. The hills have gone checkerboard, and the sun and moon see-saw in and out of the sky. The chocolate milk rain has increased into a full on DESSERT STORM, with powdered sugar snow flurries and rock candy hail, blowing at high speed. Gremlins and squirrels the size of linebackers roam the soapy streets and defend the hedge maze against all comers. Portals open here and there, windows into strange worlds populated by sock puppets.
And you thought Fandom was weird before.
Once Discord is defeated on Sunday night, everything will return to normal, as though it never rained milk and no one ever got sucked into a sock puppet universe. Except, of course, for the memories. And the last little gag before the iris wipe to black.
So what does this mean for me?
The name of the game for this plot is cartoon physics. The streets are soap, which could be really, really horrifying when it comes to those stairs -- except it's a cartoon, so you could tumble down every stair on the island in a protracted pratfall, wind up in a full-body cast in traction, and be in the very next thread without a mark on you. Injuries last only as long as they're needed for the plot/gag. Set yourself on fire -- perhaps by getting very, very angry -- and you'll come out artfully singed until it's time for a new scene. Ever wanted to walk off a cliff and not fall until you look down? This is your chance.
Discord also has a habit of changing the people around him to suit his whims, just as he changes the environment. And he won't settle for just turning you all into ponies. He can hypnotize your character into changing a fundamental part of their personality for a week. Full of childlike innocence? Perhaps you want to try stalking around as an angry 40 year old for awhile. Grumpy pessimist who hates everyone? Look deep into Discord's eyes and you'll be ready to give everyone a big hug. If you've got magical powers, he can strip those right off you. Don't have magical powers? How about the ability to float uncontrollably? Discord can do that. Discord can snap his fingers and remove a pegasus's wings, but he may just decide to turn her mane into a fluffy clown wig. Note: Discord's direct effects to your character are cumulative. You'll be a pony AND have your personality reversed, that sort of thing. Incidental effects from the encircling weirdness last only as long as you want them to.
Try to shoot him, and at best your gun will fire a flag that says "bang". Throw a punch and you may find yourself the size of a grasshopper. The effects can be managed -- briefly -- but not stopped completely. Not without the Elements of Harmony.
But I don't wanna be a pony!
You don't have to. You could turn into a griffon or a dragon (albeit a small one), or not change from whatever species it is you are normally. All Discord tricks affecting characters directly are optional. The effects on the environment you'll have to work harder ICly to avoid, though.
The signups
Sign ups are below for research (a general headcount, except for a few who will get specific clues on Thursday and Friday) and the Elements of Harmony teams. There's a thread for brainstorming what sorts of chaos you want to happen to your character specifically, and a thread to sign up for specific effects. This thread will have no cut-off. If you think of something you want to have affect your character during the week of the BDE, that's totally cool, I will do my best to fit in a thread to have that happen.
Most of the chaotic effects on the island will be moddable, but NPCs will be available to those who want to play out a fight or encounter. Specific offerings and request posts will be put up on a daily basis throughout the BDE.
Sign ups for research and Elements teams will end at 11:59 PM, PST, Monday, July 11th, to give time for the Elements teams especially to preplay their parts. The other sign up, as I said, has no deadline, but the earlier you let me know about your idea, the more likely I'll be able to make sure we get it in.
You see, a very special guest will be coming to town, arriving Tuesday night, July 12th, and sticking around right through Sunday, July 17th: Equestria's very own answer to malicious whimsy: Discord!
Who now?
The quickest, easiest way to explain Discord is to say he's Q from Star Trek, only not. I mean, he's even voiced by John de Lancie. For those who don't know who Q is, think nigh-omnipotent interdimensional sociopath with a love for chaos for chaos's sake.
I mean, his name is Discord.
Discord hails from the same universe as Pinkie Pie, but not from the same timeline. While in Pinkie's world, they've managed to defeat him a few times (and have even made friends), this version hasn't yet discovered the magic of friendship and is still primarily interested in entertaining himself by making the lives of those around him as wacky as possible. So he's going to take one look at Fandom -- and her habit of making the lives of those living on her as wacky as possible -- and decide he has come home. All he needs to do is turn Fandom up to 11.
The plot
On Tuesday night, after all the denizens of Fandom have gone to sleep -- or gone to do the things that they do while everyone else has gone to sleep -- Discord will arrive, an invisible, malevolent gust of wind, and start to explore. By Wednesday morning, he'll have begun to make his mark: by turning everyone on the island (who opts in) into ponies.
And when everyone wakes up on Wednesday, finds themselves pony-shaped, groans and goes "this again", he's gonna get frustrated. And he's gonna up his game.
Cotton candy clouds will rain chocolate milk. Not everywhere, but in small, ridiculously low-flying patches that may well stalk grumpy characters around from three feet above their heads. A hedge maze will spring up in the park, full of twists, turns, and traps. By Thursday, the streets have turned to soap (including the stairs), the wildlife has grown to brutish size and developed strange appetites, and Discord himself begins to appear around the island, poking at the locals and giving them their own special little gifts of chaos, for extra flavor.
On Friday, Discord will declare himself King of Fandom and host his own coronation. There's a power vacuum to fill, after all. The mayor and the principal have both gone missing. Perhaps to that crooked, fairy tale tower that's sprouted up in the center of park's hedge maze.
By this time, research will be well underway. Pinkie has mentioned Discord a time or two, after all, so even though she's not here to shriek "I KNOW WHO THIS IS AND EXACTLY HOW TO GET RID OF HIM!", the information Fandom needs won't be too hard to find. The only way to defeat Discord and his particular brand of chaos is with the magic of friendship. Or more specifically: the Elements of Harmony.
Saturday, teams will form, one for each element. They will track down a token to use to represent their element in the fight against Discord. By Sunday, they'll be ready to attack -- assuming they can make it through the increasing chaos on the island. Houses are floating, some of them spinning slowly through the air, their foundation still sunk into a little floating patch of earth. The hills have gone checkerboard, and the sun and moon see-saw in and out of the sky. The chocolate milk rain has increased into a full on DESSERT STORM, with powdered sugar snow flurries and rock candy hail, blowing at high speed. Gremlins and squirrels the size of linebackers roam the soapy streets and defend the hedge maze against all comers. Portals open here and there, windows into strange worlds populated by sock puppets.
And you thought Fandom was weird before.
Once Discord is defeated on Sunday night, everything will return to normal, as though it never rained milk and no one ever got sucked into a sock puppet universe. Except, of course, for the memories. And the last little gag before the iris wipe to black.
So what does this mean for me?
The name of the game for this plot is cartoon physics. The streets are soap, which could be really, really horrifying when it comes to those stairs -- except it's a cartoon, so you could tumble down every stair on the island in a protracted pratfall, wind up in a full-body cast in traction, and be in the very next thread without a mark on you. Injuries last only as long as they're needed for the plot/gag. Set yourself on fire -- perhaps by getting very, very angry -- and you'll come out artfully singed until it's time for a new scene. Ever wanted to walk off a cliff and not fall until you look down? This is your chance.
Discord also has a habit of changing the people around him to suit his whims, just as he changes the environment. And he won't settle for just turning you all into ponies. He can hypnotize your character into changing a fundamental part of their personality for a week. Full of childlike innocence? Perhaps you want to try stalking around as an angry 40 year old for awhile. Grumpy pessimist who hates everyone? Look deep into Discord's eyes and you'll be ready to give everyone a big hug. If you've got magical powers, he can strip those right off you. Don't have magical powers? How about the ability to float uncontrollably? Discord can do that. Discord can snap his fingers and remove a pegasus's wings, but he may just decide to turn her mane into a fluffy clown wig. Note: Discord's direct effects to your character are cumulative. You'll be a pony AND have your personality reversed, that sort of thing. Incidental effects from the encircling weirdness last only as long as you want them to.
Try to shoot him, and at best your gun will fire a flag that says "bang". Throw a punch and you may find yourself the size of a grasshopper. The effects can be managed -- briefly -- but not stopped completely. Not without the Elements of Harmony.
But I don't wanna be a pony!
You don't have to. You could turn into a griffon or a dragon (albeit a small one), or not change from whatever species it is you are normally. All Discord tricks affecting characters directly are optional. The effects on the environment you'll have to work harder ICly to avoid, though.
The signups
Sign ups are below for research (a general headcount, except for a few who will get specific clues on Thursday and Friday) and the Elements of Harmony teams. There's a thread for brainstorming what sorts of chaos you want to happen to your character specifically, and a thread to sign up for specific effects. This thread will have no cut-off. If you think of something you want to have affect your character during the week of the BDE, that's totally cool, I will do my best to fit in a thread to have that happen.
Most of the chaotic effects on the island will be moddable, but NPCs will be available to those who want to play out a fight or encounter. Specific offerings and request posts will be put up on a daily basis throughout the BDE.
Sign ups for research and Elements teams will end at 11:59 PM, PST, Monday, July 11th, to give time for the Elements teams especially to preplay their parts. The other sign up, as I said, has no deadline, but the earlier you let me know about your idea, the more likely I'll be able to make sure we get it in.