audrei9's diary thing

[audrei9]

Grrr. still have more things to write about.

- the mechanics of the speculative evolution game
- the hoop snake thing I had ideas for suddenly
- cinema shots and how to make them
- the fnaf thing

Magnapinna squid could theoretically evolve to yeet themselves out of the water like manta rays.

[audrei9]

TIL that posting on the forums makes you FAR richer than clicking pets. I suppose this is efficient, seeing as there used to be people here who would mine for clicks and cause a stupid amount of lag according to older posts in the forum.

[audrei9]

I gotta check some of the quests I still have, though honestly I don't think there's much to check. All it is is that I need to make it to 5000 gold, and then hatch my creatures so I have room to put in eggs, and get a phoenix or something. I should be listing post ideas here for a better reason to talk about things.
Theoretically I could work on that speculative evolution virtual pet idea but I'm feeling not mentally up to it considering I still have other stuff to do. There are clothes to fold, dinner to cook, plants to water, emails to reply to, and I'm sitting here wasting my time over a virtual pet game where the creatures can't die anyway, because I like to write or something.

Before I go and close this tab, the speculative evolution game is idle and changes based on the day. You can't poopsock to make it better, unlike eggcave where poopsocking gets you more money, and this forum where I can maladaptively daydream to get more gold

[audrei9]

Quest - Preservationist: The Symposium
A warm breeze wafts through the slatted windows on the lower level of the Tower of Triathe. As it winds around a series of pipes through which water is pumped to the upper floors, it cools considerably and wafts gently at your face. The scholars of Triathe are renowned for their inventions, many of which are displayed today at the Tower in celebration of its founding. Students of all ages, independent inventors, artists, merchants, and even a few magi from the east flood the lower levels of the Tower with displays and stands to advertise their year's accomplishments. You pass a dense cluster of artisans watching a printer's demonstration, then your eye becomes distracted by an intricate wind chime that makes a sound like no other you've ever heard. The inventor beams at the row of fascinated children who have gathered for a closer look, and changes the music drastically with a few delicate taps to parts of the instrument.

The music is momentarily interrupted by a bird-like caw, and suddenly your attention is focused to a small booth nestled in a corner of the room. There are almost no animals at this event -- unsurprising as even in Triathe, most magical creatures are viewed with apprehension. The sole person at this booth has two creatures in her care -- a mammoth snail making a gradual break at freedom by crawling to the end of the table, and a feathery creature perched on a stand that you eventually recognize as a tsaanguir. The booth operator offers the tsaanguir a piece of meat from her gloved hand, but the creature eyes you attentively. You have never seen either animal in Alveus before. Even at the Keep, they're rare.

The caretaker turns and seems surprised to see you, but recovers and waves at you warmly. "Hello there, would you like to learn about the Museum of Rare Beasts?" she asks, welcoming you to the contents of her booth. Aside from the creatures, there are fossils of all sorts, charts, diagrams, and maps -- some for sale, but most simply for display.

She offers you a little scroll with a map of the city and an emblem of a tree. Next to it are the words "The Preservationists Association Welcomes You to the Grand Opening of the Museum of Rare Beasts!"

"The Preservationists Association?" you ask.

The woman nods. "We've been around for a while -- a small group at the moment, but always growing larger. We've just secured funding for our new headquarters so our founders thought, why not put our findings on display? Hence, the Museum of Rare Beasts."

"What do you guys do there?" you ask, looking at the contents of the booth and then glancing at the mammoth snail as it starts to slide down one of the table's corners.

The booth attendant rescues the overly-curious snail and places it in a wooden box full of leaves and hay. "Well," she says, "we're mainly dedicated to breeding and raising creatures that are at risk of going extinct, but we do a lot of things really. We send out expeditions to certain areas to study the creatures that live there, and we also look at the fossils of creatures from extinct environments. A lot of the animals we have around today are relics of ancient ecosystems, so by studying the regions their ancestors lived in, we can better understand what the living creatures need. We're also the repository of much of Alveus' knowledge of natural history."

Some of the children who were previously watching the wind chime cautiously crowd around the booth, mesmerized by the creatures. A few pick up stone fossils that resemble shells. The attendant moves the tsaanguir to a perch where it begins to preen its feathers, then turns toward the children and offers them some hay to feed the hungry mammoth snail.

As you turn to leave, the woman calls back, "Feel free to stop by the museum if you like -- ask for Director Allisand and tell him Jaca sent you. He can tell you more about our Association."



==

The museum is located in the old part of town where the buildings are rarely more than two stories tall and the roads are paved with tightly-knit cobbles worn smooth from countless years and boots. You follow the map Jaca gave you until you reach a building with a large maple tree planted out front and a golden banner strung around it, reading: The Museum of Rare Beasts.

The building seems to have once been someone's elegant house, surrounded by a garden full of immense boulders. The walkway winds around them The rocks are all different textures and colors, and as you pass by, you notice many of them have tiny fossils shells embedded within. You approach one of the boulders and trace the remnants of what looks like part of a tiny palm tree.

A melodic whistle alerts you to the presence of other occupants of the yard besides fellow visitors as a large crested head leans over the boulder to get a look at you. The creature is red and gray with a dragonish face, a rippling wattle, and a pair of frills running down its neck. It chirrups at you, making marvelous noises that seem far too delicate for a creature easily larger than an elephant. The creature, a frilled cazaui if you remember your texts correctly, sniffs the air a few times before moving on, lumbering slowly toward a group of unsuspecting guests offering treats to some kalistavri.

Looking around more carefully, you realize there are quite a few creatures in the vast yard. A small herd of latifra beasts graze in a paddock at the rear of the yard, separated by a fence of boulders set too close for their elongate horns to pass through. Torreks scamper around the ground, while the trees are crowded with all manner of kalistavri and a few larger raznaks. The cazaui who came to investigate you is easily the largest animal around, likely the largest in the city at the moment. You wonder how its caretakers manage to keep it from stripping the trees in the yard bare.

As guests funnel in through the doors, you remember that you're here to see Director Allisand. You follow the crowd and are greeted with a spectacular entrance hall fitted with a glass ceiling and a grand staircase. There are mounts of ancient skeletons, some of creatures you recognize, but many unfamiliar. Each skeleton has a small gold placard with information about the creatures, including where they came from. You're surprised and somewhat saddened to learn that several of the mounts belong to creatures that have long since vanished from the earth.
Up the stairs is the main gallery, which is filled with even larger skeletons and glass cases full of specimens. There are teeth, horns, skulls, pelts, and even animal mummies recovered from the coldest caves of the Alasres. The gallery is three levels tall and organized by the age of the rocks the creatures came from. The museum has specimens from all over the world, from the furthest corners of Voltar to Calidis, and even lands you've never heard of before.

You spend a few minutes marveling at the displays, the most impressive of which is a massive dragon skeleton hanging in a lifelike pose from the ceiling, suspended by magic. You're surprised to see the museum using magic so openly in the middle of Alveus, even a city like Triathe, but you recognize a few magi faces among the exhibit guides. You ask them to point you to the director and one of the guides leads you to a greenhouse at the back of the museum.

The rear of the building is designed to mimic the habitats of times long gone. Exotic plants adorn the walkways, which blend into the underbrush as you get further into the greenhouse. It seems to be mainly focused on plat life, but you spot a few small insects and other creatures hiding behind leaves. Most dart away when they detect your gaze, but when you run into a small spotted scorpion lounging on a piece of bark, you pause to examine it.

"Marvelous, isn't it? Araucarias used to be found all over this region in ages past, but the only living specimens come from far to the south in a tiny corner of the Ixan Jungle. This specimen was grown from a seed over a hundred years ago." An aging but energetic man with round glasses and a bristly mustache leans back to look at the tree. You notice for the first time how tall it is -- tall enough that it pokes out of the top of the greenhouse roof through a skylight. When you look back at the scorpion, you see it has started to clamber down toward a small caterpillar munching on some nearby leaves. You decide to leave it be.

"Are you Director Allisand?" you ask the man, noticing his uniform. He seems momentarily surprised, then holds out a hand.

"Doctor Allisand Shrio IV, at your service. Are you a new member of the Association?"

You explain that you would like to be and mention Jaca from the expo. He beams and excitedly starts to talk about the Preservationists Association. "Oh yes, we've recently opened up our breeding program for rare creatures, with the help of the Keep and the Tower. The Association is concerned with studying and preserving all the world's ecosystems and the life forms that inhabit them, but we're always in need of new caretakers to help raise and train creatures for eventual release. Given your experience as a magi, I imagine you would make a fine addition to the Association! Of course, I should warn you that the application process is a bit involved. We need to make sure members have the dedication to become caretakers. These creatures are harder to handle than most, and more delicate as well. You'll need a variety of harasses, work gloves, protective equipment, brushes, trimmers, blankets, and cleaning supplies -- not to mention feed. We can provide some of our own materials, but the museum is mostly run on donations. We ask that members contribute 5,000 gold if they want to be part of the Association itself, and by extension, the breeding program. You can bring it to the membership desk when you're ready."

______________

I feel bad for skim reading all that and only getting it for the 5000 gold, so I'm pasting this here to read later.

[audrei9]

Quest - Preservationist: The Symposium
A short elderly woman in a fine suit peers over her spectacles as you approach. She smiles sweetly and asks how she can help you. You say you want to become a member of the Preservationists Association and place a sack of coins on the desk.

"Oh, how generous of you!" She takes down your name in golden ink and hands you a small rectangular token with the museum's insignia on it. The token has a clasp attached to it that reads: P.A. Member.

"You can use that to get in whenever you like, during operating hours of course. Now, I imagine you'll want to get started right away, but I'm afraid you're going to have to see our head breeder before you can get started. We require all new members of the Association check in with Professor Ward and help her with field work as part of their training. It familiarizes you with the sort of work we do here."

She hands you some boots and tools and draws you up a map with instructions to Professor Ward's field site. It looks like you're heading to Mountain Pass Junction.

"Oh, and one more thing!" the small lady at the desk says before you leave. "The terrain is not terribly forgiving. You'll want to bring some companions along, and, well, we've found that daeodus and albino nandi bears work best. One adult albino nandi bear should do, and three adult daeodus to help carry supplies. It'll prove you know how to handle the sort of creatures we take care of, anyway."

WHOMST DA FAQQQ WOOMAN?? I just gave you 5000 gold and you're already sending me on fetch quests

[audrei9]

ngl seeing the kind of roleplayers are sometimes here makes me glad that I haven't asked to roleplay. ALWAYS ROLEPLAY IN GROUPS. Besides, I already have lancer. LANCERRRRR :airhorn:

[Rosehill]

Please refrain from making threads like this as a means to gain gold. You're welcome to describe your magi life and such, but we expect a bit more thought and intention for the posts.