[OOC HAPPENINGS]

Happy Spring Vivarium! There’s plenty to cover in this very large announcement, so read up!

OOC HAPPENINGS
HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY TO VIV! We’ve made it another year together. While we hit some bumps in our road to get here we are so thankful for all of our wonderful members. Without you guys, Vivarium wouldn’t be what it is today. Thank you to our community, new and old members — even future and former members. We all love this hobby and have been doing it for years, this is our home and we can’t thank you enough for being a part of this experience.

To celebrate, we have a brand new pixel from the always-lovely Nopeita. This cute little cake can be claimed in this thread, just comment to claim!

We also have a complete overhaul of our guidebook that we will be publishing very soon! Another update announcement will be launched when the new and improved guidebook goes live. We know many things can be confusing or even contradicting in our current guide, so we’re hoping these new adjustments will help everyone in the long run!

MOD ROTATION
It’s that time of year once again! We will be releasing our moderators back into the wild and trapping new ones with the allure of food. If you would like to join the running as a staff candidate please fill out this form! These apps will close April 16th.

IC HAPPENINGS
Just to make it easily found, we have had three packs rebranded with new names. Psychí Deméni is now Skjǫldrheim, Sem’ya is now Seiiki, and Warcrest is now Hildibrandr. So don’t be surprised by all these new names on our spring map!

After so long, Overgrowth Strand has finally recovered from its devastating fire. It’s free real estate. Or... has it? Something seems off. The once-well recovering area has suddenly taken a turn for the worst. I wonder what that's about?

Valentine’s Badges are able to be claimed until April 16th

EVENT
The snow and ice are melting away before your eyes and the breeze carries a familiar warmth with it. Winter is ending and Vivarium begins to welcome spring, the season of life and new beginnings. Flocks of birds will return from their migrations, trees and foliage will regain their greenery, flowers will bloom, and the days will last longer.

It’s so beautiful, and you can feel that seasonal depression shed like a second skin.

But wait…

What was that? You suddenly feel the ground shake with a wild and unexpected aggression. As it fades away, you notice nothing seems different. Was it just a random earthquake? How strange. Though there is a small voice within the depths of your mind ”it comes from the east, to the south…”

Was it another volcano? Has a ravine cracked the earth's crust? Did a meteor hit and blow it to pieces? What has happened in the south-east? Perhaps you should investigate.

MAP CHANGES
With the shift from winter to spring, we will be updating our map. A few changes have been made and it’s time for the big reveal! Smoldering Wastes has been altered as a result of the earthquake. New areas have emerged and they’re ready to be explored!

Verdant’s Grace - a range of tropical mountains

Cerulean Falls - a giant cluster of spring sourced waterfalls

Plummeting Cliffs - a vast plain that lies at the edge of a cliff overlooking dangerous waters

Endless Plains - enhancing the natural beautiful of meadows and hills and connecting our many new biomes

Reaching Plateaus - leveled buttes and mountains filled with life

Coral Shores - a white sand beach that has a coastal reef full of vibrant colors

Stoney Cove - black sands and stone surround this cluster of tide pools

Sandstone Canyon - red rock walls and sculpted arches

Shifting Dunes - Sand Dunes that easily uphold as your traverse them yet you notice they often blow away on the wind and reform

Poseidon’s Underground - Viv’s first fully submerged subarea - A cavern system that stretches for miles, filled with fresh water springs and blue bioluminescence.

In union with our upgraded Smoldering Wastes, Spirited Highlands has also gotten a new sub area! Off the eastern coast you can spot the once-deadly volcano, though you notice it is now accompanied by a large, thickly jungled island and various sandbars. It appeared overnight, as if by magic. The Volcanic Keys offers a tropical get away, but be careful! Who knows if the volcano will erupt again in the future.

You will also notice that each main area (Northern Alpines, Spirited highlands, Great Woodlands, Westmoor Wakes, Smoldering Wastes, and Primal Savannah) has one new cave. As of right now this is no more than a single room cavern with nothing all that interesting to offer you. You can’t shake the idea that there must be more to it, but every time you look, it’s the same.

Maybe they’ll be something important soon?

BOARDWIDE PLOT
While you may be able to learn what the tremors have revealed, it is still unclear what the actual cause of it was. A simple, random earthquake? Or maybe something has appeared within Mythris…?

The Moving Isle has awoken.

Off the coast, onlookers may catch glimpses of an ominous island cloaked in thick fog. Its silhouette resembles the outline of a slumbering wolf, resting on the ocean’s horizon. There may even be times when a narrator thread will open where it's possible to see a giant wolf-like Titan wading within the water, searching for its next place of rest. Warning Characters on the Moving Isle when it relocates will be teleported to a random zone inland and will not remain on Moving Isle. Moving Isle is not a claimable territory.

While this has opened a new area of exploration, you have no idea what this thing is, how it moves, or why it suddenly appeared.

An unknown Dream Visitor will be contacting you through your dreams. They seem to be in desperate need of your help. Does it have to do with the giant, walking island? What do they need help with? Why are they asking you for your aid? You may not know it yet, but all of Mythris could be at stake! Information shared by the Dream Visitor(s)—such as their names, histories, and experiences—will be shared in this thread.

BONUS EVENT!
For April 1st ONLY characters may break the fourth wall. Your character may have a dream or vision, finally learning the truth of their existence. Their free will is nothing more than a roll of the dice bot or the fickle choices of their creator.

All that trauma, heartbreak, and pain you’ve faced? Entirely avoidable, if your writer truly wished for a peaceful life for you. Clearly they seem to get some sort of sick entertainment by watching all the things they put you through, why else would they write your story this way?

You’re nothing more than the written creation of someone that really likes wolves, like really likes wolves (I bet you half of them pretended to be a dog when they were a kid, that would explain a lot about this, wouldn’t it?). But, hey! Look on the bright side! This weird person adores you! Even if they gave you a tragic backstory and took away every ounce of optimism you’ve ever had, they get so much art of you and they can’t even show 99% of the people they know irl, which means they just like looking at you. Isn’t that sweet?

Sadly, this discovery will not stick. As you come out of the vision/dream, you will return to your pixel life of ignorance… Maybe it’s for the best.