❧ It's Raining Cats and Dogs

[luministimods]

[around 8:15 a.m. every CAT and vidscreen in every single part of town turns on, a short instrumental montage plays featuring parts of the town at their finest before the images focus in on the town hall, and then fades away to show the friendly visage of Mayor Caligin, and his office, as it fills the screen. he flashes a winning, sparkling smile before he speaks--but don't worry, the message is pre-recorded so the Mayor won't be seeing any of his people in any...compromising positions.]

Good morning citizens of Luministi! I am very proud to learn that you are going out and exploring our fine town. I hope our little Verita has treated you well. No doubt she has; she's a very good girl. [smiles fondly]

Now, I have been informed that there are a number of concerns--[he cuts off, his attentions looking to the side of the camera. a piece of paper and a hand belonging to Miss Osculia comes in to view and Caligin smiles warmly as he accepts the paper. his eyes quickly scan the contents of the notice before he glances up.]

Oh, what wonderful news! It appears that our new up-to-the-minute weather predicting software is ready for a test run. All pertinent updates are being sent to your CAT units as we speak and should finish uploading by the time I am done--[there's a pleasant 'ding' noise. Caligin picks up his own CAT, which might look slightly darker to those with a discerning eye--or is it a trick of the black and white image?--and nods approvingly.] A sunny 72°F with clear skies, a slight breeze and low humidity. Sounds like my kind of day.

[he clears his throat, quickly setting his CAT down.] As I have said, this is merely a test, so if you encounter any problems, please inform Miss Osculia.

Have a pleasant day, Luministi!


❧ Plot Details: It's Raining Cats and Dogs

It appears our lovely Mayor has been sidetracked by this new development! Oh, boys and their toys. Unfortunately, this means he's forgotten about those concerns and complaints any new resident may have lodged with the Mayor's voicemail/Miss Osculia upon arrival--or has he? Only time will tell.

At the exact moment Caligin receives notice that the weather software has been uploaded to his CAT, anyone using their own CAT will hear the same chime and see a little sun icon appear. Unfortunately, the Mayor seems to have jinxed the new weather software. The moment you step outside--or if you're unfortunate enough to be outside the moment the software is uploaded--the CAT will chime again and the weather outside will change.

However, the change only seems to affect each individual in his/her own personal weather bubble, almost like this poor guy here, only...it's a bit worse. Each "bubble" is as about wide as your character is tall. (For example, the Doctor's bubble would be over six feet in diameter.) Using this weather randomizer (you don't have to hit any filters or enter a town name if you don't want to), you'll get a different set of weather conditions, like thunderstorms and temperatures. The personal weather bubbles are, in fact, illusions on such a tangible level that they will fool anyone no matter how powerful their minds are. The rain will get you wet; the heat will make you hot; lightning could strike you (though not fatally); etc.

Even worse, the random weather changes each time you head outside. Inside buildings, the weather for the rest of the week won't fluctuate much from the weather report the Mayor read out. From every window and doorway, it'll look sunny, and at night, there will be clear skies and a pleasantly cool temperature, and all the original residents maintain that it's like that, even if you run into one while outside. It'll look like they're getting rained on or have started to sweat buckets, but they won't bat an eye at it or even notice. Also, anything that happens in the personal weather bubble is automatically negated the moment the resident seeks shelter inside a building. It'll be like they didn't just trudge through a raging snowstorm or suffer from near blood-boiling temperatures. What's even more fun is if anyone removes an article of clothing and tosses it out of their personal weather bubble, it'll be magically dry. However, we don't advise strutting around with no clothing to avoid any unpleasantness from, say, soaking wet underwear and trousers. The sheriff doesn't take too kindly to public exposure.

To top that all off, there are certain things that you will see (or won't see) depending on the weather conditions (which typically range from: rain, thunderstorms, snowstorms, high humidity, cloudy, sunshine, or windy/breezy/hurricane strength winds. Freezing or hot temperatures. Then there are very random ones like raining toads and brimstone, chance of darkness.)


• If it's cold or snowing, the apartments and shopping/restaurant complexes seem to disappear. The snow will gather and stick to the ground. Stay out long enough and you risk frostbite.
• If it's hot, the town looks as though it's surrounded by a desert. The town itself is arid and all the water in the river, fountain, and swimming pools have dried up. The buildings are all worn and deteriorated by sandstorms. All vegetation has died and, yes, there are tumbleweeds occasionally blowing through.
• If it's raining, the water level will slowly rise higher and higher depending on how far you are walking, but be warned. If you are riding your bike at the time, the water will rise quicker. (For a point of reference, if you walk across town from Luministi Greens East to West, by the time the time you reach your destination, you would be swimming instead of walking.)
• If it's a thunderstorm, you do run the risk of getting struck with lightning, however! If you happen to be in the northern part of town, you might just notice that the statue in the Neptune sundial moves with each flash of lightning... But if you're in the southern part of town and happen to be looking out across the river at the empty field south of the southern shopping complex, you might notice the outline of an oddly shaped building silhouetted against the sky.
• If you do happen to get the raining toads and brimstone, or chance of darkness, then...well, it's as it says on the tin. Hopefully you're not wearing flammable clothing...

Note that any injuries sustained while outside will also be negated the moment you step indoors, but you must get inside. Thankfully, nothing will happen that will cause anyone to die (the lightning will only deliver a nasty shock, but not enough to strike you dead the moment it hits). You can come close to it, but the residents will wonder what's wrong and drag you inside, saving you in the process.

Now, as for those riddles and the prizes, those who haven't solved their riddles yet may continue to do so as characters endure the new weather conditions. Just be sure to comment back to this post so we are made aware of the guess and can comment to you from the mod journal. You also have the option of backdating an entry to the time of the first plot. The choice is yours.

As for the prizes themselves, hold on to them for now. Their purpose will become clear later on. Just be sure not to lose them...

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave them here!