As a promotion to opening his new shop in Port Lore, Matt has brought in a wish granting machine! I'll be running a comic where wishes are being granted, and, presumably, the world is going to get more and more chaotic.
(I ran a D&D game where players were able to do this. It's been a few years and I'm jonesing for the experience again.)
However, there are some caveats to wishes granted
Wishes need to have a character of yours who is making the wish. I'm granting these wishes in the Modworld, as part of a story. If you don't have a character, well, mention that and I can make some sort of avatar to represent you in this probably crazy experience.
At the moment, it's one wish per OC. Not sure what happens when a character tries to make a 2nd wish...
I'm not going to grant wishes that reference a character from a franchise or property.
The more vague a wish is, the easier it is for me to work the wish into the story
There are some wishes that I won't allow, things that render the world unfun for me, or unworkable. I might modify a wish, or straight up say no.
Tweaking wording for more fun might totally happen, but I'll try to keep to the spirit of it (well, plus twists.)
In the D&D game I ran, an example of a wish that I would now forbid is "I wish there is no concept of community." I was totally fine with "I wish gravity was cut in half" and "I wish that when someone's tied up, they can't lie." It was a crazy game.
I think that's it. Wishes can be made in response to this, or to any of the pages of the comic once I get that going. (I suppose you can also message me in various places, but I'd rather they be in public and easier for me to find.)
Button has been pressed, I am now committed to the idea.
Characters who have made wishes
Geminim: Wished for living Statue of Liberty. No sign of it yet
Inaro: Wished to not become a girl when casting magic (in my comic, at least)
Skelly: Wished for children to follow the rules.
Demetrio: Wish has not happened in story yet
Maxout: Wish has not happened in story yet
Kayla: Wish has not happened in story yet
So, we're part way through the month. I've been having a blast with the pageant, playing with watercolor and ink. Project Comment Control has also been interesting. Not quite successful, but I can see myself doing it more.
But, the main thing I want to talk about is the Shadow Pageant. I got the first week's data, and I realized that while I could show the results, it's not going to mean anything without all of the results. So I'm going to wait, and run more analytics on the data.
Also, Gem has decided (rightly) to not reveal what any of the vote results until the end of the event. We're doing this for a few reasons. When there's visible votes, a few things tend to happen.
People who don't get many votes get discouraged, and don't participate
People who get a lot of votes get either cocky or discouraged, and don't participate
People who really really want to win make it not very fun to run the event in a handful of ways
We want events like this to be fun and casual. We want people to focus on trying new things, and maybe growing their character a bit. That's our dream result. (If you really want a fierce competition event,comment below and we'll take it into consideration.)
In future based news, I've come up with a big, important series of stories concerning my characters, and once I have time for creative activities again, I'll be churning that out.
I am super busy this month, but I'm going to try to do two things.
One thing? It's all about the TGFC's annual pageant event.
First, since I don't want to have to think, I'm leaving decisions about Rachael's outfit and things to whoever leaves a comment on my previous picture. I'll pick my favorite if there are a few people, but, as of right now, you can swoop in and essentially decide what I draw.
Second, I'm going to be running a sort of secondary event that people can't really participate in. I'm calling it the Shadow Pageant. geminim and I had debated on the best way to do the votes, and the idea arose: What if instead of voting for individuals, you voted for a team? A team that was pseudo-randomly selected from people who had entered that round. What would that look like in terms of scoring? So I'll be taking the data that Gem gets and doing some conversion to see if that would have been a viable method.
I have a hundred other things I'm doing this month, but those are the two of interest here. Maybe I have a new idea for a short run TF comic? Maybe, to early to commit. Stay tuned
Reminder that there's still time to sign up for the tournament, even if you haven't finished a card! I'll be making the brackets some time tomorrow, so take the change before things are locked in! https://forms.gle/A33fDnoC6nNN5UEy5
The open air market of Sudden Beach was bustling with a surprising number of people, considering the place hadn’t existed the day before. Another mystery of the Modworld, mused Patton Irving, PI, as he wandered the boardwalk. With his Hawaiian shirt and aviators, he looked more like Magnum than an agent of IATA, but this place was built for vacations, not for mysteries.
“You sir, look like a man in search of a mystery!” Patton turned. From a shop that had been boarded up earlier, a man waved him closer. The sign above read “Maps of Mystery.” Bemused, Patton stepped forward to hear the mustachioed man’s sales pitch.
“Once, long ago, the nearby seas were terrorized by a pirate. Capitána del Cambio, they called her. They said magic filled the sails of her ship, and she had treasures that could warp the form, twist the mind, and solidify her hold on the local seas. No ones quite sure what happened to her, her ship just vanished. A decade later, a man called Muto appeared, claiming he had been one of the girls on the Vientos de Cambio, which was the name of her ship.
“He couldn’t explain what had happened, but he assured the people that the Capitana was gone, and her treasures were out there, just waiting to be found. He tried to sell maps to these treasures, but the people of the time thought he was crazy for claiming to have been one of the girls of the crew.
“And that’s what I have for you here. Maps to mystical treasure, some of which is rumored to be cursed, but none have been found. Would you be willing to take a chance, and see if such a treasure could be yours?”
Patton frowned, and pointed to one of the maps. They were carefully placed behind the counter, so only parts of them showed. Probably to keep a camera or a sharp memory from ruining the man’s business.
“Why does that map show a volcano, when there aren’t any around here?”
“Ah! What keen eyes you have! No deception, I assure you. Even before the new world, the area here was mutable. Many worlds are stacked on each other, and it's hard to find all the ways to pass from on to another. A perfect place to hide a treasure, on an island that you can only reach from the previous step. Makes sense, when you think about it. What do you say?”
Welcome to the Treasure Hunt Sub-Event! And a big thanks to scarlet-nekomata’s Patton, for being willing to have the lore thrown his way. This is another experimental event, one that I think is kind of clever. It is happening after the fashion show (or maybe before? Time is weird). Don't worry, a character can do both. That's the important thing.
The mission, as you can probably tell, is a treasure hunt off a pirate map. At the end, there is some pirate treasure, ripe for the taking. Is it enchanted? Is it cursed? Well, that depends. There are a few different maps for sale, and a few different treasures at the end of that. We’ll come back to that in a second.
The maps can be pursued alone, or with a group, your choice. There’s no need to sign up for a team, no need for any big organization (unless you find that fun). Will a group help you in this quest? I’m afraid the answer is the unhelpful ‘maybe.’ I will say, however, that while this can be a game for teams, it's not a competition (unless you find that fun). This is not a race to find the treasures. There are as many copies of the treasures as needed. A side effect of hiding the treasures in the Multiworld.
So, how do we play? Each map will have a series of steps. These are simple prompts. Things like “The tree with the Venus symbol carved in the trunk” or “the enchanted love spring.” Include the prompt in a story (or however you do your art) and you’ve taken a step towards finding the treasure at the end!
How do you know what the prompt is? Well, down below, there is a list of options. Some of the ‘maps’ have all of the steps listed out. Clothes just have a single step. On those, once you’ve completed a step, I’ll make a comment with the next prompt and your hunt can continue. If you're in a team, any member of the team can make the post to take the next step.
The transformations and curses on the treasure are intended to last just until the end of the beach party.
Any Generic Treasure (Lightly Cursed, gold and gems, etc)
Sail out from the beach
A rock shaped like a catgirl
Cross the rope bridge
Through the cave
Follow the (probably not enchanted) river
Dig at the X
Other Treasures
Great Booty Pantaloons - Start at the Cliffs of Change
Cutelass Cutlass - Start at Regression Reef
The Capitana's Hat - You need a ship to start this map
The Capitana's Eyepatch - Ask around at the local cantina for a bunnygirl named Brenda
The Capitana's Spyglass - Find the rock shaped like a pointing finger.
Have fun and good luck!