The VirusSo what the hell is DOTES, anyway?DOTES is a man-made virus engineered in a laboratory, designed to reconfigure a subject's DNA sequencing in order to create human-animal hybrid soldiers for superiority in combat. It's still in its developing stages and far from perfected, obviously, since most patients infused with the virus die in the earlier stages. Those hardy enough to make it through stage 3 end up at the outpost, where their progress will be monitored. Although originally intended to only give people the enhanced features of the animals they are injected with (such as a better sense of smell, hearing, and night vision), the virus instead results in more unwanted physical aspects as well -- most commonly, furry ears and the start of a tail. Other mutations may happen over time, but only time may tell what happens next.
Can I bring in a character suffering from DOTES at an earlier stage than post-3?No. Subjects suffering earlier stages of the virus are kept quarantined and are observed very closely in the Researchers' laboratories to ensure survival. Only after they've made it through stage 3 will they be considered viable for further research. You don't really want your character wandering around in an asylum of animal-infused miscreants while they're unremittingly ill anyway, do you?
So the virus is terminal. Is my character going to die?It's assumed everyone in the hospital will die eventually if a more effective way of treating it is not eventually found. Without their daily medicine, the descent into madness will be steady and happen over the course of a few weeks. However, the staff is very vigilant in making sure everyone receives their treatments, whether they want them or not. These injections keep certain aspects of the virus neutralized and allow them to live for years.
What if I want my character to suffer madness and die?That is entirely your decision. But please run your plans by the mod team first....especially if you're planning on a rampage that needs drastic measures to be stopped. Most usually, though, your character will be tranquilized, strapped to a gurney, wheeled off, and never seen again.
Am I limited to my character being infused with cat or dog DNA when they arrive?Yes. The two strains of DOTES virus are infused with domestic cat or dog DNA respectively. The researchers' interests are in keeping their test subjects compliant and loyal to the cause, and they deemed infusing them with the behavior and dependency of household pets to be the best way of going about this. Depending on which you were infected by, will determine which you become (you can choose one or the other, but not both).
Can I choose the kind of dog or cat my character starts out as?
Yes. In fact, feel free. In some cases the dog or cat chosen will accurately reflect your character's personality, but not always. A lot of the time the animal's specific personality doesn't turn up at all, aside from making your character more compliant than they'd be ordinarily.
I would like my character to become infused with a different kind of animal. How do I go about this?After your character has been under observation in the clinic for a month or so and has adjusted well to the end of stage 3, they will become a candidate for further research. Each month, new traits and selections will be offered and those that qualify and are interested can apply to be "abducted". You will be gone from the facility for three days, no one will be able to reach you, and when you return you will be kept for 24 hours' observation in a containment cell to ensure that you are not a danger to yourself or others before you are released back among the residents.
What's with the mating urge? Will it negatively impact my character not to succumb? The mating urge is an unintended side effect of the virus. In enhancing the animalistic features of the human body, it also enhances the reptilian portion of the brain that demands basic 4F survival needs be met. As such, hormones are working overtime and your character will go through spurts of being achingly aroused. However, no one is forcing them to obey their urges. If they can and would like to abstain, they're welcome to....it's just a proven fact that a lot of people and a lot of sexual tension in a confined space often leads to bad decisions.
With all this sex going on, can/will my character get pregnant?
No. Test subjects are rendered sterile by the virus, and thus nobody can get pregnant.
What about STIs?
Every subject admitted to the research experiment has a clean bill of health and their health is monitored carefully. Infections are dealt with as soon as they arise, not giving them time to become a problem.
The Setting
What's the deal with the collars? Can you tell me more about them?
All characters are fitted with a collar upon arrival. These are not your ordinary pet collars, however, since these are in fact advanced pieces of technology. They are constructed of hollow titanium with two small holes in the back where needles emerge from inside the collar, as every collar is loaded with rounds of tranquilizers and emergency system-shock injections of the DOTES medication should a patient skip a dose. Standard collars are a matte black with a small silver plate on the front with the character's patient ID number engraved into it, but it's possible to order customized sleeves for a collar if your character absolutely can't live without their collar being hot pink and embedded with rhinestones. However, certain colors and modifications are reserved for as a means of identifying "problem patients."
What are the "problem patient" colors?
The "problem patient" collars are intended to warn others, as well as a way for staff to pay extra attention to a certain patient. Most notably, those with violent tendencies are outfitted with a striking red collar, those that have attempted escape are given a neon orange collar for easy spotting, and patients with more 'predatory' attitudes towards their fellow residents are given bells so that they may not be able to sneak up on people.
Any other collar colors to take note of?
Characters with white collars are volunteer nurses, and gray collars indicate characters with more labor-oriented jobs such as gardener or groundskeeper.
Can my character remove his/her collar?
No, they are quite solidly locked and require a specially-calibrated electronic key to remove. If a character orders a custom collar, they will be put under a sedative while the custom collar sleeve is put on.
What if my character wants to escape?
Should your character be enterprising enough to find a way past the electric fence at the edge of the forest, they won't find much beyond the sparse Siberian grassland. However, this will have negative repercussions for everyone because the facility will become locked down for the duration of your character's period of freedom. What this means is that there will be no whiteboard deliveries and nobody being allowed to leave the main dormitory building until the escapee is captured and returned to the facility. First offenders are marked with a neon orange collar, and repeat offenders may be given an ear tag. Contact a moderator if you want to do this.
You mentioned jobs earlier -- does that mean there are jobs available for my character? What are the benefits of working?
Yes! If your character so desires, there are various jobs around the facility that they can do. With a good track record for behavior, characters are rewarded with an opportunity for a job at the facility such as becoming a volunteer nurse, garden work, groundskeeping, being a lifeguard at the pool, serving at the dining hall, cleaning work, building maintenance, and anything else the staff may come up with. Those employed by the Outpost will be given their own room, access to a special employee lounge, and extra perks and rewards added to whiteboard requests (an expensive article of clothing, a video game console, etc). Longtime workers will be given special tags for their collars as a reward for their diligence.
The welcome letter mentioned my character's personal belongings being in their room. What things are they allowed to bring?
For the most part, your character may arrive with anything could fit in an adequately-sized suitcase from his or her home, held in a storage unit until they are conscious and ready to be moved into a room. Obvious things such as weapons and illegal drugs will not follow their owners to the Outpost, but if your character had any movie DVDs or video game systems they already owned prior to arrival they will be waiting for them in their dorm room, already hooked up. However, mementos such as home videos, photographs, and diaries are conspicuously absent from the possessions that get carried over.
So what exactly is on that DVD everyone gets on arrival, anyway? What happens to it after you play it?
TBA
How does language work here? Since the Outpost is in Russia, will characters have to work around a language barrier to communicate with staff or something? What if my character doesn't speak English in their canon, will s/he have trouble communicating with others at the facility?
TBA but everyone more or less speaks the same language.
How often can I change my character's DOTES animal?
While we offer new animals every month it is suggested that you consider carefully what kind of animal you want and wait for that animal to come up, letting the mods know what you want will make it come up sooner. This doesn't mean that you can't play with a couple of types, but you should approach each one as though it will be permanent.
What if my animal choice just isn't working for me?
If you've had a character stay in one animal for a period of more than four months, real-time, with advancing DOTES symptoms and it simply doesn't work for you any more you may petition the mods to have your character set back to their initial DOTES animal (domestic dog or domestic cat) as though they had just woken up. This will cause the character
major health problems for a period of no less than two months, real time. Subjects may end up in wheelchairs, on an all-liquid diets, be prone to illnesses such as colds and the flu, etc. During that two month recovery the character cannot have any evolution or any new transformations. Additionally the next transformation that the character has away from domestic dog or cat will be
permanent.
Applications and ActivityHow many characters can I have?You may apply for
two characters. On a case by case basis based on activity we will consider additional characters up to a hard maximum of
five characters.
What is the activity check?Once a month the mods will post an entry that gives a general status of the clinic as a whole and offers upgrades (or downgrades) to the body modifications that characters are going through. Each
character needs to reply to that entry with their own monthly status constituting of a paragraph of what they've been up to for the month. Smaller events listed in the AC don't need to be RPed out and can be handwaved, but any major events (transformations, deaths, altercations with the staff) must be backed by some sort of proof they occurred.
If you wish to apply for an upgrade, you must have at least one thread with more than ten responses in it from you
What kinds of characters may I apply for?All characters must conform to the following criteria:
• Physically over the age of 18
• Mentally over the age of 18
• Humanoid
• Childlike characters will be considered on a case-by-case basis but are discouraged.
What if I want to play a character that is not human, such as a Homestuck troll, a pony, or a Protoss? Can they be brought to the Outpost?Although this is looked at on a case-by-case basis, nonhuman characters can be applied for. When they arrive into the Outpost, they are turned into a human with their memories of being a different species wiped (the virus is unlikely to work on nonhuman subjects, and it would be rather silly and pointless to turn a character that is already an animal... into an animal). These characters may have a harder time adapting to being human than those already human, such as walking on two legs (for a character that used to be a quadruped) or seemingly basic biological functions such as eating and drinking, as well as just about everything being new and unfamiliar to them for reasons they can't explain. However, the character MUST be sentient, adult, and capable of communication with others. NO EXCEPTIONS.
I play an AU adult version of a canon underage character in another game. Could I app them?Canon AUs, like OCs, will be approved on a case-by-case basis. If it's clear you've devoted some real time and effort to developing your adult AUs history and personality with proper respect to the canon version's, you will be allowed in. Canon AU also goes for characters that do not have enough development in-canon to properly write them an app. If you think you can present a compelling enough representation of the character in question with the tidbits you've been given to work with, you are invited to try.
If a character already exists in-game, can I app another version of them?With some exceptions, the answer will be no unless the other version of them is vastly different and canon. (ie - Shadow Link versus Regular Link, Human Battler versus Gamemaster Battler, Bakura Ryou versus Yami Bakura, etc.)
Can I 'age-up' an underage character?If they are very close to the 18-year-old cut-off both mentally and physically, yes. The lowest we are comfortable going is 16. It is not unheard of for some people to be unconscious after surviving stage three of the virus for a longer time than others...therefore we will say your character has undergone a period of failure to thrive and has been in a coma for two years before being released into the hospital at which point they will now be 18.
If your character is a "very mature 13 year old" then sorry, but the answer is no.
Can I play an OC?Original characters will be approved on a case-by-case basis as second or later characters. Original characters should be of moderate to low power levels and with
absolutely no connection to canon characters.
Game Play
Is RPing sex mandatory in this game?No. Not at all. If you're okay with eavesdropping on it but don't want to personally RP it, nobody's going to tell you that you have to. You can handwave the fact your character has been "taking matters into their own hands" to deal with the unstable hormone surges, or fade-to-black on scenes that are getting steamy, or if your character has a higher constitution, just say they've been neglecting it entirely.
However, all threads containing smut must be LOCKED to the community it's posted to, put under a cut, and tagged appropriately. Please see below on tagging guidelines.
What tags do I need to use?You need to tag your posts with the characters involved and trigger warnings if applicable. Please mark triggers clearly, so those wishing to avoid offending subject matter can scroll past. The tagging format is as follows:
[series] firstname lastname (ie, "[persona 4] souji seta") ; if applicable: !!trigger: subject (ie, "!!trigger: abuse").
What if I forget to use tags?If we have to go in and tag your post we will give you a friendly reminder the first two times. On the third time you'll get a warning. Three warnings in a six month period will result in your being invited to leave, that's nine times in six months that we have to tag your post for you. We take tags very seriously for the comfort of all our players.
What are the posting formats?In the main community the usual posts are socialization posts for people to mingle, text-based via the character's laptops, or the occasional video. For characters intent on it, a PA system also exists and may be co-opted for use. In the logs community posts are more likely to be one-on-one and paragraph prose form rather than *action* form. Ficlets can be posted in the main community, marked [SOLO].
Can my character come in with their original powers?As every character starts out with no memory their powers are likewise not accessible. Over the course of play we'll discuss which powers are going to come back. God-level powers will never be accessed in game and other high-level powers will be nerfed or disallowed depending.
I play a character that's inclined towards rape/a character infused with an animal that has tendencies to rape in the wild, what's the etiquette?Out of character consent is needed for
all smut regardless of it's in character status. You
must acquire consent before any form of rape, without exception,
AND TAG THE POST APPROPRIATELY. If you do not, you will receive a warning. This is serious business to us.
I am having a problem with someone else, what do?First, talk to the other person. We want you to work out as much as you can on your own.
If that doesn't work out then contact us with the following:
• Who is involved
• What the problem is
• What you've tried to do to fix the problem
The exception to this is if someone is if someone is consistently making you uncomfortable or is obviously being a deliberate jerk.
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