Search Requests

SEARCH REQUESTS

At game start, the map is completely unexplored and covered by a "fog of war" obscuring its features. New characters will be randomly dropped onto the island's shores; from there, to uncover tiles on the map and figure out more about where they are, search requests are required to document movement, attempt to uncover hidden materials and passages, discover or confront dangers, find old ruins and create new settlements, and potentially, solve puzzles related to the mystery of the island itself.

RULES AND GUIDELINES

Search requests are a required mechanic of this game. A search request for the current AC cycle must be submitted in order to pass AC without a strike.
Mistakes in search requests will never be penalized. Don't be afraid to eyeball a distance or make an approximate guess; if the math doesn't quite match up, or the path doesn't exist, I will offer alternate destinations and work with you in order to decide how the search request will resolve.
Search requests will rarely be immediately fatal. Unless your character is doing something intentionally reckless, I will do my best to offer paths of escape for any sudden dangers that arise.
You can be as precise or as vague as you want. If you want to exactly plot out the squares your character will travel through and search every IC day, that is totally fine. It's also fine to simply report that your character is staying in one place all month, or to give a starting point and a desired destination, with a general request to search a wide area. Just note that, the more vague you are in your request, the more I will extrapolate to fill in the blanks.
Retroactive/backdated search requests are allowed. They just can't be used for the current month's AC if they fall outside of the current month's AC period, or overwrite a previously submitted search request. Forward-dated search requests are also allowed as long as they fall within the same IC day that the request was posted (for example, if you post a search request on IC Day 30 morning, you can make that search request last for the entirety of IC day 30, not just the morning of).
Thoroughly searching a square, rather than just traveling through it, halves movement through that square. So if you choose to search every square along a path, you'll only travel half as far as someone moving with purpose to a destination. Remember that simply traveling through a square will still fully reveal it.
IC Days are split into three 8-hour increments. Each of these corresponds to one OOC day. Morning is from 4AM -> 11:59AM, Day is from 12PM -> 7:59PM, and Night is 8PM -> 3:59AM.
Several examples of search requests are provided below to help illustrate how they work. If you still have questions, please ask them in the FAQ (or in your search request!).

MAP REFERENCE/TRAVEL CONDITIONS

TRAVEL CONDITIONS | IC DAYS 15 → 17

MORNING

DAY

NIGHT

BEACH

OCEAN*

JUNGLE

FOOTHILLS

MOUNTAINS

4 squares/hour
(32 total)
3 square visibility

4 squares/hour
(32 total)
5 square visibility

4 squares/hour
(32 total)
1 square visibility

2 squares/hour
(16 total)
3 square visibility

2 squares/hour
(16 total)
5 square visibility

2 squares/hour
(16 total)
1 square visibility

1 square/hour
(8 total)
0 square visibility

2 squares/hour
(16 total)
2 square visibility

2 squares/hour
(16 total)
3 square visibility

1 square/hour
(8 total)
1 square visibility

1 square/hour
(8 total)
5 square visibility

1 square/hour
(8 total)
7 square visibility

1 square/hour
(8 total)
3 square visibility

*The average human can only tread water for three hours

LEGEND

- Preexisting Structure

- Ocean

- Reef

- Deep Water

- River

- Natural Landmark

- Beach

- Jungle

- Mangroves

- Character-Made Landmark

- Foothills

- Mountain

Click on any of the map tiles for details.

III

VII

VIII

XII

XIII

XIV

XVI

SUBMISSIONS

# | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
All new characters will be given a toplevel to this post. To submit a search request, fill out the below form and copy/paste it as a response to your toplevel.

IC DATES: The IC dates the search request covers (I would also recommend putting this in the subject line to make it easier to keyword search later). You can use whole days, partial days, or a combination of either. To verify what IC days line up with real-world days and events, consult the Calendar.

STARTING SQUARE: The square your character is starting their search request on, format TILE.COLUMN.ROW. This should line up with your previous search request, or your starting location if newly arrived/revived.

ENDING SQUARE: The square your character is ending their search request on. If you're not sure where they'll end up (the area is unexplored/your character has a vague idea of where they want to go/you're not sure on the math/etc.), you can give a more rough answer here. Something like "they want to make it to Tile II," or "as close to II.AA.3 as possible" are perfectly valid answers.

DETAILS: The meat of your request. This is where you describe:

The path your character is taking,
The squares you want them to search,
Any special actions your character is taking during this period of time (or inaction), and
Any other special notes or questions you might have about this request.

Again, you can provide as much or as little information as you want; saying that your character is simply moving from point A to point B without searching anything is 100% acceptable.

NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

IC DATES: Day 008
STARTING SQUARE: XI.X.22
ENDING SQUARE: ???
DETAILS: After waking up, Dirk will take a few minutes taking stock of his situation, listening to the radio chatter and talking with people. After that, he'll get up, pick up that mangrove branch he was being poked with, and cautiously follow the footprints leading off into the jungle. He halts if the footprints disappear into heavier undergrowth or anything, and calls out a general "I come in peace etc etc".

Day 008
Hour 1: XI.X.22 -> XI.V.20 (large leopard frog)

The footprints disappear within about a kilometer, but that's all the distance Dirk needs to spot what looks like a whole airplane wing in the mangrove trees to the west, seemingly suspended over a fork in the nearby massive river. There's stuff on top of it, but it's hard to make out what's on there without getting closer.

There's also some small structures directly north of Dirk's position, although those are also too indistinct to make out from here.

Dirk has 7 hours remaining until Night 008.

He searches around a bit longer to see if he can pick up the footprint trail. If he can't, he eventually just sighs and tosses the branch away, makes a note of the location of that airplane wing, and then heads for the small structures to the north. He'll search the areas he passes through pretty thoroughly, but he moves with purpose.

Day 008
Hour 2: XI.V.20 (handmade wicker basket, small)

Sadly, Dirk uncovers no footprints or other traceable tracks through the mangrove forest.

Hour 3: XI.V.20 -> XI.V.18 (metal plate - the type you eat off of)

At this point it becomes pretty obvious to Dirk that the buildings are part of a sprawling village, complete with wooden and thatch huts, cleared sections of forest for farms, and at least one fire actively burning based on the faint plume of smoke that disappears into the deep jungle the village borders. No one seems to be home, though.

Hour 4: XI.V.18 -> XI.V.16 (5 feet of sturdy vine)

Maybe there are people there? Dirk can see quick flashes of movement between the buildings.

Hour 5: XI.V.16 -> XI.V.14 (a plantain)

As Dirk comes within range of the first set of well-tended farms, he is rapidly approached by five human-looking individuals dressed in patchy, makeshift clothes, and brandishing an assortment of weapons ranging from bows to scrap metal machetes. They don't look especially happy to see him.

Dirk has 3 hours remaining until Night 008.

Oh fuck. People. His weakness.

Dirk's just standing there with this handmade basket with a plate and plantain in it, vine in a coil over his shoulder, stiff and expression unreadable in his extreme awkwardness dealing. He makes no attempt to run, instead standing his ground in what he hopes is a nonthreatening stance (but he's crazy intense literally all the time so who knows how successful that is).

After a tense, awkward beat, he holds the basket out in offering, saying, "Sorry, didn't mean to jack your shit."

The people stop about twenty feet away from Dirk, forming a rough but still dense semicircle to block his path. It should be obvious now that he's had a bit to stare at them that these people are absolutely nothing alike - and not in a "definitely not siblings" sort of way, but in a "these people came from completely different corners of the world" sort of way. The patchwork clothes they wear and weapons they brandish at him are made of a random assortment of items, too, and further fixed with more naturally-occurring materials.

They do seem to share a language, though, and it's one that the translators helping him understand everyone on the network apparently can't handle. The people start making a series of regular clicking and humming noises at each other in hushed, hurried tones, like they're having a whispered argument. Eventually one turns to Dirk and raises their voice:

[click hum hum - click - click hum click, click click hum, click click hum click - click hum click - hum hum hum - hum hum!]

The unfamiliar language initially gets a wince out of him – or at least, what approximates one in normal Dirk microexpressions – like goddamn, a language barrier's the last thing his socially incompetent ass needs right now. But as he listens to them bicker, he thinks he might begin to pick up on a pattern in all that clicking and humming. When he's directly addressed, he holds up a hand, like give me a second here, before slowly and carefully attempting to mimic the sounds back at them.

[click click hum - hum click - hum click click - click - click hum click - click click click - hum - click hum - hum click - hum click click, hum hum - click, click click hum hum click click]

Edited 2023-06-11 05:16 (UTC)

As soon as Dirk starts making noise at them, all five people snap their attention onto him with keen, almost impatient interest, and by the end they look...somewhat confused, but not totally lost. The one that spoke last nods slowly, brow furrowed.

[click click, hum - click click click click - hum click - hum click hum, click click click - hum hum hum?]

One of their companions pushes past them, clearly flustered and speaking much faster than the first.

[--click hum - hum click - click click click - click - click click click, hum hum click hum! click hum hum - click - click hum click, click click hum, click click hum click - click hum click - hum hum hum - hum hum!]

Edited (s...pelling?) 2023-06-11 21:12 (UTC)

Dirk nods as they click and hum at him, a tiny furrow forming between his brows. Their version of morse seems more sound-based than standard English spelling, but he thinks he's picking up on the meanings alright enough even with the rapid translation he's having to do in his head.

[hum click, hum hum hum, hum - click click click click, click, click hum click, click]

Not here. He's got no idea how much any of these folks know about the multiverse shit and he doesn't need anyone deciding he's fucking with them and just shooting him in the face.

[hum, click, hum click click hum, click hum, click click click]

Texas.

The person hisses, a hand thrown up in clear frustration. (Dispensing with the manual translations now - I'm not going to keep making you suffer through that.)

[wat texas?!]

Their companion - someone that hasn't spoken up yet - snaps their fingers rapidly to grab their attention.

[grandf new texas,] they explain quickly. [his grandf from it. i tink? kid tales.]

[rly?]

[ya,] insists the third individual, nodding. All five of them share a long, meaningful look, then at once turn back to stare at Dirk, eyes wide like saucers. At this point, Dirk should be able to see that other villagers are starting to cautiously poke their heads out from the various huts nearby.

[...ur from out?] asks the first, slowly again, with a point towards the distant shoreline.

Edited (continuity gap) 2023-06-13 22:59 (UTC)

He listens to all their chatter patiently, quiet and thoughtful as he just absorbs all the details he can pick up. When he responds, he tries to keep it simple.

[Far, far out.] He points back towards the shore in the direction he'd come from. [Someone was poking me. The footprints went this way.]

One of the guards noticeably frowns and casts a look back at the village, but they aren't the one that speaks next.

[ya we no,] says the first, almost dismissively. [wat send u?]

Send? That could mean all kinds of shit. Dirk frowns, bemused and uncertain, but just shrugs, outwardly cool as can be (if insanely tense as always).

[Don't know.] He pulls out the ancient walkie-talking he's woken up with, likely occasionally making noise as the others send messages. [Others like me here. No one knows anything.]

All five of the guards lean in to look at the transceiver, then quickly recoil, a couple of them visibly hissing with displeasure.

[told u!] snaps the ornery guard. [1 of them! cros gap!]

[cant,] insists the first, sounding and looking urgent. [Song stop all!]

One of them - the only one that hasn't said anything yet - pipes up at this point. [elders now. spek 4 Song. now how u got heer, must.]

The other four, sobered, nod in agreement. Then they quickly circle around behind Dirk, spears back out, to usher him forward towards the village.

[Chill, no need for the spears.]

No idea how well the concept of chill translates, but Dirk just puts the apparently-offensive radio away and goes without issue. Is this going well? Fuck if he knows.

Dirk's protestations, of course, result in a firm poke in the back with a spear. It's not hard enough to draw blood, but it sends a message.

No one else speaks to him on his guided tour into the village. The other villages Dirk spotted spying on their exchange earlier now watch him warily from around doorways and behind huts, clicking and humming under their breath to the others in earshot. One of the guards breaks off to go gather away a child, not much more than eight or ten and wearing what appears to be a modified hemp sack for clothes, away from where they're gawking close to the edge of the road.

The other four push Dirk to the far side of the village - square XI.U.14 - where, in the sun and facing the sea, sits a much larger, more elaborate wood, thatch, and metal scrap building. Inside sit three middle-aged people on...airplane chairs? Yes, definitely airplane chairs, raised atop wooden crates and pallets above a rough stone and sand floor. Each of them wears an assortment of obviously scavenged, modern-looking clothes, patched with scraps and some natural materials.

The guards behind Dirk stop just within the doorway, rhythmically slamming the butts of their spears into the ground (a pattern that Dirk will immediately recognize as spelling "S.O.S.") before they block his way out. The person in the center - a woman, long, sandy blonde hair, heavily tanned and freckled, wearing a loose dress over a pair of torn jeans - speaks first.

[Name, outsider?] Unlike the guards, she uses the formal form of Morse code, down to clicking out the punctuation. [Or should I ask for your sign?]

Oh thank fuck, proper English. Translating the broken semi-phonetic shit into Morse code on the fly was giving him a headache.

[Dirk. Callsign is HE412T. Feel like giving me some actual answers?]

The three elders share a look.

[That depends on the answers you seek,] tuts the woman on Dirk's left. Dark-skinned with a full head of braids, threaded with twine, shiny strands of plastic, and various other interesting bits that could feasibly be found from beachcombing, her makeshift clothes are practical and her expression is flat. [The first ones wanted to destroy our faith, and the last ones wanted to destroy our people. You'll have to forgive us for being wary.]

The "faith" thing reminds him of something someone on the radio had mentioned, and Dirk matches their flat stare with an unreadable one of his own behind the dark shades.

[Are any of your people on the radio network? Or do you at least know who left these things for us in the first place?]

The woman on his left shakes her head while the woman in the center answers. [No,] she says, brow furrowing with dismay. [They denied us that privilege generations ago, as punishment for our faith. You can thank the Glencolans for your devices.]

[Probably,] interjects the elder seated to Dirk's right. He has the look of a businessman spat out of a desk job in some western city's downtown, salt-and-pepper hair with a scraggly five o'clock shadow that probably comes back at eleven, with a mismatched suit jacket, pants, and tie (wrapped around his forehead) to complete the look. [Our people haven't talked since the division, either. We can't be certain that they're directly involved.]

Dirk frowns. Okay, obvious next question:

[Who are the Glencolans?]

All three of the elders look at one another.

[You really don't know?] clicks the woman on the left. [They at least had the decency to tell the last batch they left here.]

[Like I told your people, no one I talked to on the radios seemed to have any idea what was going on. If anyone does, they were keeping quiet.]

[It wouldn't surprise me if they're doing it on purpose,] says the woman on the left with a huff. The man frowns at her, exasperated, but the woman in the center interrupts before they have time to argue.

[Then allow us to fill in some of the gaps they have left,] she clicks loudly, leaning back in her chair. [Settle, child, and be thankful. We usually save the telling of our history for celebrations.]

She gestures at the floor in front of her. There aren't any other chairs; she apparently expects Dirk to sit on the ground.

Welp. He's hardly gonna make a fuss now. Dirk settles himself down on the ground in front of them, gesturing as if to say proceed.

SEARCH REQUESTS

RULES AND GUIDELINES

MAP REFERENCE/TRAVEL CONDITIONS

SUBMISSIONS

Day 8

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