The Pulp (2011-11-11)

The full Season of Hoarding has come and gone since I last forced an article out of this battered old word-masheen.  Food has become scarce, and whatever excess we scavengers had stocked up during the warm months has slowly been eaten away.  The Food Trader hasn’t been sighted in at least a moon or more.  And, alarmingly quickly, the weather has gone from steamy and ceaseless rain to air so frigid it almost hurts to breathe.  Withering’s eve has come and passed, and with it the Long Night.  The night that ushers in the cold months.  The night of the Rider, and the night of the Dead.  For this single day each year, the sun itself seems to die, or to be hidden in blackness, and only moonlight, starlight, and firelight are left to glimmer on the sand and spilled blood.  But the Long Night passed, the Black Rider sated himself on suffering —  at least for this span — and the Candy Ghoul shuffled along behind under his strange geas.

Now, as if nothing ever blocked it, the sun returns to its normal cycle, rising in the East with each frigid Withering dawn.  And it glimmers on a more distant horizon than we once knew.   A thick haze had always obscured it before:  decaying fumes from the Junkyard, thick smothering smoke, salt-tinged fog, and the everblowing sand.  Plenty of travellers had tried to wander that way before.  But it seems that none ever saw the cliffs until it was far too late.   The same strange winds that have brought such unseasonable cold seem to have blown away the veil of filth, if just for a brief while — revealing precipitous cliffs, rocky beaches, and a seemingly endless sea.   But a brief while is all Wastelanders need.   The regulars set forth to explore.  The hermits emerged from their caves.  The word went out to wanderers.   And the limits of this craggy coast were found, and it became known as The Cape of Ruin.

Meanwhile, in the high deserts that are so close yet so far from the crashing sea, the winds have also uncovered many ancient buildings of the Old World, unearthing scrap suitable for building.  Those same hermits and wanderers and regulars have seized that opportunity as well, kludging together new hovels or squatting in the remains of the old.

EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS:

Since it seemed to work rather well in the last edition of The Pulp, I’ll continue writing up Movie Night with a Skewed Haiku Movie Review!  You’ve been warned.

8/22 — Android   (1982)

Gap-toothed Max and b0t-wright
 Save outlaws on space station –
 But not from themselves.

8/29 — Bummer   (1973)

Rock group called The Group
Sleaze around LA
With rapey bassist. 

9/12 — Black Dynamite    (2009)

Dead bro, foul 40s,
Waifs on smack. Kung-fu brotha
Sticks it to The Man. 

9/26 — Evil Dead 2   (1987)

Zombifying haints
Called when Ash plays Rites-On-Tape
 That’s one mean right hand.

10/3 — Army of Darkness   (1992)

Ash, sent back in time,
Saves kingdom from risen dead
(Which he kinda caused.) 

10/10 — How To Train Your Dragon   (2010)

Hiccup, Viking lad
Befriends, not kills, dragons;
Has some dad issues. 

10/17 —  Gremlins 2   (1990)

Small evil monsters
Take over corporation.
Also, there’s Gremlins. 

10/24 — Blacula   (1972)

Suave African prince
Made vamp – wakes ages later,
Sucks Seeks reborn lover.

10/31 — Scream Blacula Scream   (1973)

Voodoo-risen vamp
Evades, drinks blood from the cops
Hey, that’s not kosher. 

11/7 — Cromartie High School   (2005)

Delinquent students,
Including ape and robot,
Save Earth from ETs. 

Realizing that the only thing many Wastelanders love more than a good drink and a party is a LOT of good drinks and a LOT of parties, Laurenbloom Resident and Aposiopesis Fullstop organized Post-ApokToberfest. Held on October 22, and crystallizing around RedZone’s already-planned live concert at The Atropine, the hopefully-first-annual event was a day-long pub crawl featuring four different DJs  at three different bar venues.   Giuseppe Spicoli hosted two back-to-back gameshows at The Chaoseum, to the surprise and delight of all, special guests Engrama followed RedZone’s set at The Atropine with another live set, and Diamanda Gustafson, Aposiopesis Fullstop, Sandling Honey, and Odonta Zemjla rotated through The Wasted Bar, The Monkey Bar, and The Pipe Bomb.

Some War Zones are effectively over after two rounds – one team routs the other, and the last match is held for the casual fun of it.  October’s was not such a War Zone.  Instead, it was a keyboard-mashing, furious-mouseclicking, shouting-at-the-screen nailbiter, each team beating each other by a matter of moments.  Ultimately, Psycho Baroque’s Team One came away the victors — but as per the new tradition, everyone on this Halloween weekend War Zone came away with a prize.  Not just some slugs, ammo, and a medkit, but a color-variant WL: Jack-O-Lantern speared with four skewers of brand-new WL: Honeycrusted Larva-On-A-Stick.  The 2011 Jack-O-Lantern was made by Kaz, and is the Wastelands’ first mesh asset.  The Larva-On-A-Stick was created by Sandusky, and is our first mesh food.  Congratulations go out to all the participants, and to the creators as well!

The Pathfinder: Curse of the Crimson Throne tabletop RPG players have continued their trek through Castle Scarwall.  Minotaurs have been slaughtered, mysterious beasts of fire were slain, skeletons were crumbled and spectres dispatched.  The druid’s faithful raptor mount perished, and was reincarnated as a stout and stalwart ankylosaurus, who does a fine job of blocking the hallways while the party sleeps.  They encountered a grinning and gem-encrusted skull within a ruined shrine — one which was possessed by a powerful demi-lich, able to bring death with a single touch.  If, that is, it ever has a -chance- to touch someone, instead of being bludgeoned to death by a raging gnome barbarian with a giant hammer.  Victorious, they walked through the seemingly unending maze of twisting passageways, which led them to a large, filthy room with crumbling pillars — and an umbral dragon resting within.  The narrow doorway between the party and the lair does nothing to keep out its terrible breath, sharp claws, vicious fangs, and whipping tail.  Iagul, the wily Troglodyte, has already been seized in the creature’s maw, but managed to wriggle free — and his compatriots have dealt the death blow to the dragon.  Overloaded with treasure, the party has taken a brief reprieve to spend their newfound wealth.  But not with wine and revelry — there is much more left to vanquish.

The Long Night once again brought strange visitors to The Wastelands — and those visitors brought both pain and pleasure.  The Black Rider, a beast unknown, his head long since lost and replaced with a malevolently-grinning pumpkin gouting licks of orange flame, strode the land on a long-legged coalblack steed.  With sinister glee, he tossed firebombs at all who came near – and at some who might have thought they were a safe distance away – until burning bodies were strewn throughout the streets.  No matter how many fighters attempted to take the Rider down, nor what plans they devised, none could conquer this fiery foe nor harm his wild-eyed  mount.  However, the undaunted Wastelanders kept rising to fight again, no matter how many times they were beaten.  Their healing was helped by the Candy Ghoul, still apparently under his mysterious geas, but this year with a slightly different burden — a large pumpkin filled with Honeycrusted Larva On A Stick.  Even this was likely still a torment for the sugar-mad shambler — but despite their somewhat grotesque appearance, they proved to be tasty grub, and tasty grubs.  After the fighting was over, Wastelanders and Flatlanders alike gathered in the Cape of Ruin for another live concert from RedZone, featuring both familiar songs and brand-new tracks from their just-released album Eject and Survive.  Their trance-like, often unearthly music took on an extra shade of spookiness under the midnight sky and with the backdrop of an endless and vacant sea. When they wrapped up, DJ Undead, AKA Pirate Graves, took to the turntables, playing an assortment of more danceable tunes, while in Burnt Oak DJ Giuseppe Spicoli played more Halloween themed cuts of his usual Monday madness.   The holiday night concluded at the Burnt-Oak Drive In  with a showing of 1973 blaxploitation horror movie “Scream Blacula Scream.”

ESTATE NEWS:

It’s been an eventful few months!  The minutes of August and September’s Community Meetings can be read on the Forums, and October’s will be posted shortly.  The following is a summary:

Estate

• The Cape of Ruin is now open!  The Land Store shows the current plots — but their prices are not currently accurate:
• There is a sale on all Estate land from now until November 20!  If you’ve been wanting to live in The Wastelands, or know someone else who has, but the initial purchase price has been a little too much to handle, now’s your chance!
• Estate occupancy is already what it was before the new sim was purchased — which means that another expansion could be in sight.  When occupancy is high and holding for at least one month, Neo will make plans for the next sim, and interested residents will be able to reserve their plots.
• Want to contribute to the Estate as we continue to grow?  Creators can apply for the Wastelands Public Works Department — creating a pool of post-apocalyptic assets for the community.  If you’re less adept at building, and more adept at helping people and answering questions, email Neo and ask to become a Resident Volunteer!
• The WLPW also needs someone to serve as a project manager for those in the Eastern Hemisphere.
• The Covenant was updated to include clarifications of the existing rules and to establish a policy on breedable animals.
• Aki Shichiroji is working on a mesh-based Manimal avatar, the Tusk, which will be available for free when complete.

Game

• In addition to the new code, Neo is currently devising an innovative way of displaying and modifying HUD information using the media-on-a-prim capacities of Viewer 2 and higher.  This is expected to be less laggy and more versatile.
• Progress on the new code of the HUD update is still underway, and will likely include jump limiters, movement limiters, falling damage, and will address some bugs and exploits.
• Although not unveiled at the community meeting itself, the Bow exists!  Sculpted by Sandusky, and with animations by Kaz, it is currently unique to Sandusky himself — and coded to kill with just a few shots.  Troublemakers, beware.

Roleplay

• Sandling Honey will soon be hosting a roleplay workshop.
• The Barrelhead Bazaar now takes place twice a month – one Saturday and one Wednesday.  Check the Calendar!
• This wasn’t mentioned specifically, but it’s still somehow a problem: If you’re roleplaying, wear a Ruin’t group tag.  Vice versa, if you’re wearing a Ruin’t group tag, you should be roleplaying – or at least using ((double parentheses)) or IMs to speak OOCly.  If you’re not roleplaying, wear any other tag (by activating any other group,) or wear no tag.    It’s a simple system, and it makes communication and interactions a lot easier on everyone involved.

RP NAMEDROPS:   Some moons ago, the Mutant Witch (CCindy Pfeffer) undertook a journey to the southern lands.  She returned with tales of her mother’s clan – a somewhat nomadic tribe that gathers in the ruins of an ancient city once each year.  For the price of some Frut, she shared a few stories of her honored relatives — though how much truth they held, none may know for certain.

A wandering storyteller has been spied roaming the Wastes from time to time, often stopping by the Barrelhead Bazaar, and weave a tall tale or strum a song in exchange for some food.

Apo reports a stranger lurking around the ancient Mutant temple near her home in Malady Bog at night — and chipping away at the carvings on the altar.  The stranger seemed to be a Mutant – but why would a Mutant want to destroy their own culture’s relics?

The Pirate Corwin Bellic was seen in The Wastelands again about half a moon ago.  When asked, he revealed no particular schemes – but did show some interest in rousing the gang once again.