griefseeded | Entries tagged with wrap up

So we've had a hell of a lot of stuff go on lately, and especially given all of the new loot that came in this past event as well as a lot of plot related stuff going on, we need to actually set up a good line of what's known and what's not known ICly and OOCly in the game. It might also be beneficial for any new applicants that might be interested in the game/newer players to the game already.

SO THEN!

If possible, I wanna get a good list together of everything that your character has kept track of in-game, via notebooks, information sharing, or anything like that. Please note, this post is only for OOC organization purposes only. As in, finding out that a character knows something yours does not does not mean that as of this post, they will learn that, unless specifically stated.

I'll be trying to put up a Google Doc at some point later this week that'll consolidate all of this information into a good way to keep information together. To that point, I might also try to set up an IC Luxury Lodge file as well.

Thanks for the help!

EDIT: Oh hey yeah, on that note! This isn't going to be used to refresh everyone on the plot itself. The mods have a plot summary post already written up!

March Boss Wrap-up

Now that the solution to the boss battle has been found, here's an explanation of everything that was going on for everybody to see.

The Cipher

» There are words hidden near the top in 8% opacity white font. Viewing the image using any image editor or against a dark background will reveal these words.

"If you want to save them, drop dead and fight from the inside."

» The runes are Dutch.
» The last word in the runes is purposefully misspelled and is missing a letter.
» The runes spell out "Heb je dat allemaal?" meaning "Did you get all that?"

The Singing

» Both audio clips are from a Dutch lullaby known as "De Bietebauw."
» Kapitein Winokio's version of "De Bietebauw" is used for these clips.
» Singing appears before the boss fight in two threads.
» During the boss fight, the boss uses the stereos attached to its shoulders to broadcast this lullaby and put nearby magi to sleep.
» The "wave" that Sachiko mentions during the NPC thread is the sound waves caused by the boss's lullaby.

The Boss
» This boss was very reactive. If magi approached with hostile intent, it would attack and attempt to disarm them. It did not chase after retreating magi, and it did not initiate attacks.
» The more magi it trapped within its cage, the bigger it grew.
» Magi who are put to sleep and trapped within its cage have their powers absorbed by it. It made use of Hoshiko's broadcasting powers to make the following transmission.

Hello, everyone! This is Sachiko Hatsu of Cyborg Xpress, here with a little announcement! At this moment, there are two options available to you.

One. You can keep fighting, struggle in vain, and die with the knowledge that you've all become worthless murderers.

Or...

Two! You can just give up right here.

The choice is yours to make, but just remember! While the decision itself may take but a split second of thought...

[She stifles a giggle behind her hand.]

...the consequences are ｆｏｒｅｖｅｒ.

[And with that, the feed devolves into static again.]

» This transmission was designed by the boss as an attempt to clue the magi in on the fact that their only real choices were to let the hostages die or to stop fighting. True to its word, anything else the magi tried eventually led to the death of a hostage.
» Once that transmission failed to get the magi to stop fighting and immediately following the death of the first hostage, the following image appeared in the static.

» This was another attempt on the boss's part to hammer the point home and get the magi to realize that the consequences of continuing to fight were unavoidable.

Kapitein Winokio
» Kapitein Winokio is a Dutch artist who does covers of children's songs.

"CHILDREN KNOW WHY" (Watch on YouTube)

» This video was touted as the most important link between all of the puzzle pieces.
» The clearest association it has is with the video portion of the transmission, which is filmed from the point of view of a child.
» The uploader of this video is Kapitein Winokio, which is the biggest clue the video provides.
» From browsing Kapitein Winokio's youtube page and looking at the other videos they've uploaded, one can find the following video.

"Gis & Pierlexa - De bietebauw - Kapitein Winokio zag 4 Beren" (Watch on YouTube)

» When the second hostage dies, the image that appears in the static is a corrupted version of a screencap from this video.

» The song in this video, "De Bietebauw," is used in the audio portions of the transmission.

Connecting the Dots
"De Bietebauw" is a Dutch lullaby about a mother who scolds her child for refusing to close his eyes and go to sleep. In the lullaby, she threatens to sick an ursine bogeyman on her child. This song can be heard in both audio portions of the transmission and is the song the boss sings to put nearby magi to sleep. Once asleep, they're put into its cage. The boss does not harm sleeping magi.

The teddy bear in the video portion of the transmission - and the ursine parts stuck to the boss's face - are references to the bogeyman mentioned in the lullaby. The concept behind the boss's design is a mother who attempts to frighten her child with a fearsome mask.

Since the boss's goal is simply to get what it perceives as its children to sleep, it did not attack anyone except in self-defense. As the boss is based off of a creature whose function is to punish children who refused to sleep, waking up the second hostage led to her immediate termination.

The second hostage woke up in response to Lilith's pleas. "We're supposed to be working together!" Any suggestions that alluded to the fact that fighting wasn't the solution would have led to the same result; this was meant to clue the characters in on the fact that the correct solution to the boss battle was for the characters to temporarily lay down their arms. As the hidden text in the cipher states, "If you want to save them, drop dead and fight from the inside."

The weak point of the boss was always the inside of its cage; magi whose powers had to do with analyzing weak points led the entire inside of the cage to light up. All attacks from the outside, however, would fail. There was also no way for the magi to get inside the cage unless the boss willingly took them inside the cage. For the boss to be willing to do this, the magi had to either be asleep or appear to be willing to go to sleep. Once taken inside, the magi could then "attack from the inside" and destroy the boss.

So What Now?
The correct solution has been found, and now all magi who close their eyes and temporarily cease hostilities will be brought into the cage. If at this point you wish to participate in the final attack or leave closing reactions before the boss's demise, you have until the 21st.

In an Alternate Timeline...
This event was the first where the actions of the player characters had a huge impact on the story, so let's talk a little about how things could have easily gone differently.
» If the majority of the characters Sachiko spoke to tried to convince her to go help her teammates immediately or ended up angering her, she would have gotten captured along with the rest of her team.
» If the correct solution to the boss battle had not been found, all trapped members of Cyborg Xpress would have died. The last member to die - the one supplying the boss with the power to create barriers - would have opened up an alternative way to win the battle.
» If Sachiko had ended up the only survivor or had gotten along with the magi she spoke to poorly, she would have come out of this loathing the magi of Nyoi-cho, which would have had far-reaching long term consequences for the game.

Closing Remarks
Hey, everyone! This is Yue.

This past event is the first to demand so much extra detective work on the part of the players, so I'll be the first to say that I was a bit nervous about how the whole thing would go. It's been an absolutely amazing experience, though! There were some bumps and hurdles along the way - we were so excited that we ended up speeding ahead and reaching the conclusion of the boss fight way ahead of schedule, for example - but it's been a fun learning experience for me, and I hope it has been for all of you, too. I am continually amazed at the dedication that some of you have to this game and am utterly blown away by the effort you've all put into solving this mystery.

These past few days have been the most fun I've had in the roleplaying community in a long time, and I've truly enjoyed watching you all come together to collaborate on piecing together all the clues. Thank you all for letting me embark on this wild ride with everybody. The game as it is could not exist without you guys, so it's thanks to you that it's blossomed into what it is today! I couldn't be happier with what a lovely playerbase we've somehow managed to amass, and I feel like the luckiest mod in the world.

As I close this post, I do so with the hopes that we'll be able to continue to make Soulgemmed a wonderful experience for everyone involved.

Soulgemmed - OOC Community

ooc organization post!

October Wrap-Up

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