The ants go marching one by one...

[lucetimods]

Follow-up post! Before we get to the draft details, some announcements.

The 4th Wall event will take place from December 18th, at 12:01 AM to December 19th at 11:59 PM. Since most people want to have it before applications open, for various reasons, we decided to just go with the original date voted for. Mark your calendars!

Also, on December 18th, Application Interest opens for the Application cycle coming up January 1st. Same rules as always.

Now then, on to the draft. Here is the results so far.



Accepted

Adell - Triad
Albert Silverberg - Athena
Asch - Akai
Caesar Silverberg - Trap
Ceodore - Amy
Derek Bliss - Silverthorne
Dist - Roxy
Freyjadour - Alisa
Geis - Nadia
Gelda - Meowzy
Ginko - Kat
Guy Cecil - Egg
Hermione Grange - Stella
Hugo - Reine
Jack Sparrow - Saralinda
Jay - CrypticGirl
John Crichton - Masamune
Kain Highwind - Lisa
Katie McCoy - KJ
Legault - Rune
Leonard McCoy - Sarah
Link - Naomi
Luke fon Fabre - Kukki
Minato Arisato - Griffin
Miyabi - Roxy
Nami - KJ
Naoki - Aquenze
Nephry - Vil
Phoenix Ikki - Tora
Raine Sage - Sapph
Ramirez - Carmen
Regal - Luna
Richard - Luna
Rise Kujikawa - Dynast
Roxas - Ty
Rydia - Rydia
Saleh - CrypticGirl
Sanji - Marie
Selphie - Jay
Shadow - Lisa
Sheena - Vil
Sheik - Trippie
Sigmund - Loupe
Ted - Reine
Teito Klein - Sire
Terra - Rydia
Vincent Valentine - Lisa
Wonder Woman - Arielle
Xion - Emily
Yuber - Nadia
Yuri Lowell - Kyio
v-13 (Nu) - Misa

Not Accepted

Edward - Akai
Grell Sutcliffe - Kaze
Moro - KP
Ryoji - Silvie
Yazoo - Waffles
Zelos - Shad
Zoro - Cam

Declined

Hitsugaya - Kel
Luka - Tora
Susumu - Akai

Characters will either go willingly to the tunnel transporters or be physically dragged (or escorted) by the Malnosso bots, but either way, it'll be much like last time:

• Down in the tunnel system, there are red arrows on the walls and floor that will guide characters to the nearest room on their left, after turning westward. (Beyond this room is John's territory, which is still protected by a barrier. It's just been moved back about 20 feet or so.) In that room there is a silver platform; some characters may find it familiar. It's labeled with a black H.47 on the top. There's only room enough for one person. Once a character steps on that disc, the barcode on the back of their neck will grow warm and they'll find themselves suddenly in a white room with a door, and no disc (it's not like Star Trek where things shimmer and stuff, they just are suddenly in a different place).
  
  -If more than one character stands on it, so long as they're both drafted then they will both be transported. If one isn't or both aren't, nothing will happen.
  
  -If your character is being dragged a la droid, the droid will stand with your character on the platform. However, once your character arrives in the white room, they'll be alone.
  
  
• Past the door is a white hallway. Each of the doors has a character's name on it, in alphabetical order by either given name or last name (depending on whether or not a character has a last name). First a door on the right, then the left, switching back and forth until the last character's door. After that the hallway dead-ends. There are no windows, and doors that do not belong to your character are locked.
  
  
• Each room is customized to the character. When they enter, they'll see just an underwater hotel room and whatever effects they requested. If they asked for a type of vehicle that won't fit into the room, there is an additional door on the far wall that leads to a storage area or a hangar. Requested vehicles will appear in the docking hangar connected to the city area, as seen on the map below. If they are too large (bigger than an SUV), they will not be able to fit through access tunnels. On the wall beside the entrance is a buzzer and an instruction plate that reads, "press for assistance." If your character asks questions about who this is, why they're here, etc, they won't get an answer. But if they press and ask for something in their room -"I want an HD TV, I want a hot tub, I want..." etc, when they turn around it will be there. With the exception of additional weapons and munitions, items in their rooms cannot be removed from their rooms or taken back to Luceti with them when the fighting is done.
  
  
• Rations for time spent on the battlefield will be provided, and can be found with the supplies/weapons. Meals, snacks, drinks, etc. can be requested via the assistance button while they're staying in the rooms.
  
  
• They can visit other rooms so long as the owner invites them in.
  
  
• Characters can use their journals to contact people in the village enclosure.
  

Concerning the battle:


First off, some copypasta for details you may have have missed or maybe you just forgot. If you remember it well enough or just don't care, skip to the last few points, which refer to the setting itself.

• First and foremost, MOST -IF NOT ALL- OF THE FIGHTING WILL BE ASSUMED; in other words, without mods playing the NPCs. If you absolutely must -MUST- play out something of great importance, please let me know and I'll provide an NPC, we can set up a log, something. But please, unless you need it for a specific purpose, don't ask for NPC battles. It will be largely uneventful and full of your character kicking ass and taking names and knocking down buildings and enemies, etc etc. This is to give you guys some freedom as well as keep us from a) getting overloaded and/or b) holding you back.
  
  
• The enemies look like the ones from the intruder event. Men and women, large white wings. The only difference is that these ones have visible weapons, mostly swords. Some of them have knives, some of them scimitars, but blades for the most part. They're also capable of a specific type of Shifting; think of it as telekinesis with inorganic material. However, it's only short range and they can only do it once every few minutes. Somewhat easy to avoid.
  
  
• THINK OF THESE GUYS AS PRE-BOSS CHARACTERS, for all you game-players out there. You know that pre-boss battle or all those minions that come with the boss? They're like that. Average difficulty. If your character gets horribly wounded, it's more than likely because they're non-combatants or because they got jumped.
  
  
• If your character is mortally wounded, collapses in battle or has been out longer than eighteen hours, they'll immediately be transported to their room. If they need medical attention, a pair of droids will come in and patch them up and leave them to rest. If it's minor enough that they can go back out and fight, as soon as they're up to it they'll be sent back out; likewise, if they get a healer with them and can be healed up, they'll be sent back out once they rest. While out on the field, they will remain there until they either return to the Sector 1 (see below) or travel back to the area where they were teleported in, at which point they can safely return to their room. However, barring injuries, characters will be forced to spend a minimum of eight hours on the field (outside Sector 1) each day.
  
  
• THIS IS WHERE THE NEW STUFF BEGINS. This time around, the battles will be taking place to the Underwater Research Facility (URF), a Malnosso-operated base in close proximity to the Luceti enclosure. Although much of the technology will appear fairly 21st century, it is a self sustaining underwater base that withstands the pressures of being at the bottom of the ocean through Seven (7) Shifting Generators, which are massive, complicated machinery that spans several rooms in overall size. An idea of what the base might look like from the outside can be seen here.
  
  Here's a run up of details on the entire area.
  
  Underwater City - The heart of the URF is essentially a small city, about two square miles overall, with a normal population of 5,000 Malnosso (including their families). Like all the other sector, the entire area is domed, but the top of this dome reaches a half-mile high. Normal office and apartment buildings line the middle area of this tiny city, with roads running between the buildings and smaller commercial buildings, such as small stores, banks, and restaurants. Most of the city has been deserted, however stragglers may be found present in the various buildings. Bil will instruct draftees to escort them to Sector 1. However, killing Malnosso is also an option, as this will keep the Third Party from permanently killing them. But would you really be so heartless?
  
  (Note: Malnosso scientists WILL not divulge any details, even under torture. Non-Malnosso family members will have limited intelligence, even less than what was available during the Infiltration. However if you want information on what your character can find out while harrassing people, you can ask on this post).
  
  Sector 1 - Secured Area - The two conjoining dome areas will be where characters are staying during this draft, as opposed to an offshoot hotel room. The rest of this area is an effectively a wooded greenhouse for manufacturing oxygen that is pumped, underground, to the rest of the other sectors. This area has been secured from the Third Party, for the moment, by Malnosso Guards (the very same type from the Infiltration) and droids. A mass teleporter is located in this sector for the purpose of transporting civilians to safety. Any character who tries to use this teleporter to try and leave the URF will reappear in their room.
  
  Third Party soldiers will NOT appear in this area! All characters are safe from harm as long as they stay here.
  
  Sector 2 - Power Distribution - A massive power plant that derives energy from geothermal vents. The interference of the Third Party has caused this area to begin to overheat and there are areas with boiling hot steam and even molten rock making its way to the surface. This entire area is highly, highly industrial with little lighting (most having been disabled) and lacking in any viewing windows to the outside ocean.
  
  Sector 3 - Shift Research - A sector dedicated solely to practicing Shift Research, similar to the Infiltration log. A large part of this area is typically used to run simulations, however these have been disabled due to the fighting and no longer in use. Where the tests were normally run, dozens of Malnosso scientists and guards will be found killed here in a pile, those who weren't fortunate enough to escape the Third Party.
  
  Sector 4 - Flooded Sector - This entire area has been blocked off after a massive explosion by one of the Shifting Machinery overloading and exploding. There's nothing to be found here, even if enterprising characters attempt to risk the waters.
  
  Sector 5 - Luceti Village Template - This sector is the template for which the enclosure village is based off of. It is a perfect replica of the village to every detail, save that all the houses are empty and none of the people are present. Everything is exactly the same save that there are no tunnels and the Battle Dome is used to house the Shifting Machinery. Resident-made buildings, like the Barracks and Rec Center, are also absent.
  
  Surface Elevator - Non-functioning. Cannot be repaired.
  
  Docking Hangar - Any vehicles requested by characters can be found here in secure, separate hangars that will only open for the character that owns the vehicle.
  
  
• Your characters are free to explore as much as they want, use the area to their advantage. Anything taken from the battlefield will be confiscated before they're returned to the village enclosure because that is not your property, you little thief.
  
  
• Before they're transported to the battlefield on the 12th (9 AM EST), they won't be sent together all at once. At the end of the hall of the rooming area there will be a terminal with a transporter set up. Each morning, characters will be transported to the center of the Underwater City, where they can then go by foot to choose their next destination on foot (or vehicle). The characters primary goal here is to eliminate all enemies. However, Bil will also provide instructions on how to disable Shifting Machinery. There is seven still active, all represented by black squares on the map (the one in Sector 4 no longer is in operation). These are set to overload and cause the base to explode on the 14th at midnight, just after all draftees are teleported home.
  
  Characters may choose to safely shut down the Machinery or destroy it! There will be a follow up post after the event to determine character actions, via a poll. What these characters do will not go unnoticed!
  
  But... that's not all!
  
  This time the Third Party are bringing the big guns! Over six hundred Third Party soldiers will be present on the first day (12th). Three hundred additional Third Party will arrive on the second (13th) and an additional five hundred on the third (14th).
  
  On the 14th, some of these Third Party will count among the Elite and be far more powerful than your average fighters. These guys are like your mid-bosses, guys tough enough to give even some of the superpowered characters trouble. They possess superior Shifting abilities to manipulate the environment around them (the effect being like Filial Magic, but many times more potent) and are much more durable, even wearing light armor over their wings. Ultimately each Elite varies from another, so some may be more powerful than others. However, the Elites are not alone...
  
  The General will arrive during the final hours of the attack. This time, he cannot be slain, instead he will be the one doing the killing. If you wish to volunteer to fight The General, they will be killed. On the 14th, a log specifically for fighting The General will go up, so if you want to be a part of that, put Volunteer in the subject on your comment and include the name of your character that will fight him.
  
  NOTE! ABOUT FOURTH WALL! If your character is killed, you can still post on Fourth Wall, even though your character shouldn't be back by then. Because of how messed up everything is (and the fact no one remembers it), it's not an issue if your not-yet-alive character is going around enjoying shenanigans.
  
  Also, remember to contact a mod to clear any death penalties.
  
  Aaaand that's enough tl;dr, yes? QUESTIONS NOW. Feel free to use this post for discussion and planning as well!