July 2017 Announcements
What, announcement time again?
What's new
Staffing Changes
With the start of summer comes a flood of new and excited members, which means SA's staff team is looking for new rangers! We'd also like to welcome @Ballerina, @Pallas, and @Nameless to the team.
We'd also like to thank Miralis and Claire for their hard work in the past, as they've both returned to being members on the site.
New Lore
Starlight Academy's Lore is always being brushed up and expanded, and we've got a few treats! The Guardianship page, covering adoption, fostering, and dorm parents has been revamped and expanded. The section on weapon ownership has been expanded to clarify rules for underage weapon ownership. Finally, the Scouting page, which covers the organization responsible for Starlight Academy's recruitment, has been completely rewritten.
New FAQ Pages
We're always adding new additions to our frequently asked questions, covering how things are done on the site itself. This month, we've added pages for How do I drop a thread?, How do I drop a plot?, and How do I drop a character?
If you have FAQs you feel should be covered, feel free to submit your own questions using the build in options!
June Events and Contests!
AU Contest and VR ICC Event!
For those who haven't already seen, the suggest an AU voting has wrapped up, leaving us with a winner... and a reveal! Our winner was @Saberteck's Post-Apocalyptic AU! We had a lot of great suggestions, and you might very well see some of them coming up again in the future...
However, we aren't finished there! Starting today and running until the tenth we have the AU Contest, featuring a new revamped format. Then, using the entries from the AU Contest, we'll be running a Virtual Reality Simulator version of the AU on the 21st-23rd!
Founder's Day
July 10th is celebrated all over Manta Carlos as the islands' official Founder's Day. It's a time of celebration, where people of all races put aside their differences to celebrate life, family and camaraderie.
Since Founder's Day is in Summer, people throw many outdoor barbecues and beach parties to celebrate. There is a large free banquet at City Hall, and all local businesses are required to contribute to the food and entertainment happening. The entire island is abuzz with music and lights, welcoming everyone to come join in the festivities.
The main event starts at 7pm on the dot at the Pier, where Manta Carlos' best and finest put on the most spectacular fireworks show of the year.
More will be announced during the Anniversary Post, so stay tuned!
Contests
Spotlights
Member: @Fletcher and @Ballerina
Character: Phoenix "Nix" Jamston
Plot: Chloe's Independence
We have two picks for the spotlights this month! The first we'll talk about is our very own @Ballerina! She's a pretty active member of the community who brings a lot of light-hearted joy to everyone in the chat whenever she's present. Always the friendly greeter of new people and welcomer of those who return after a break, she is rapidly becoming the face of the welcoming party. She is also talented with a tablet and pen, which she uses to bring her characters to life through gorgeous illustrations and well written narratives in her threads. Truly someone we can all appreciate being part of our Starlight Academy family.
Equally appreciated for being part of our community is a Starlight Academy veteran, @Fletcher! Fletcher has been with us for a good amount of time, and in that time he has filled our chat box memories with jokes, puns and interesting conversations. He has become one of the most recognizable members thus far and for good reason. Fletcher is a big streamer, and can usually be found in the cbox, greeting new and returning members. He's also well known for participating in the Four Job Fiesta every year, a charity streaming event that's coming up soon!
Phoenix - known as 'Nix' by most - is a hell of a character. More or less blasting onto the scene by joining student council, Nix has been heavily involved in a whole lot of plots in a very short period of time. He's a great character, and Ashes does a great job of getting him involved with people in no short order. It's fun to see someone so realistically played out--Nix is pretty prone to bad jokes and word-vomit--and seeing him around the site or in the ICC is always a treat.
This plot was fun to watch and be a part of. It was kind of a growing up story, showing how Chloe stepped out of the shadow of her father to go down her own path beyond what he had planned for her. Plots like these that rise up out of necessity show just how creative our members are. The really interesting thing was seeing how it affected other characters related to Chloe, characters who might not have interacted with her father directly. From her binding herself to Pandora and moving in with Malara, to the several heart to hearts she had with her daughter, Amber. Even the release of her father's servant, Arach. So many affected by a single plot, and Chloe's new direction is a good set up for more in the future.
Congratulations!
What, announcement time again?
What's new
Staffing Changes
With the start of summer comes a flood of new and excited members, which means SA's staff team is looking for new rangers! We'd also like to welcome @Ballerina, @Pallas, and @Nameless to the team.
We'd also like to thank Miralis and Claire for their hard work in the past, as they've both returned to being members on the site.
New Lore
Starlight Academy's Lore is always being brushed up and expanded, and we've got a few treats! The Guardianship page, covering adoption, fostering, and dorm parents has been revamped and expanded. The section on weapon ownership has been expanded to clarify rules for underage weapon ownership. Finally, the Scouting page, which covers the organization responsible for Starlight Academy's recruitment, has been completely rewritten.
New FAQ Pages
We're always adding new additions to our frequently asked questions, covering how things are done on the site itself. This month, we've added pages for How do I drop a thread?, How do I drop a plot?, and How do I drop a character?
If you have FAQs you feel should be covered, feel free to submit your own questions using the build in options!
June Events and Contests!
AU Contest and VR ICC Event!
For those who haven't already seen, the suggest an AU voting has wrapped up, leaving us with a winner... and a reveal! Our winner was @Saberteck's Post-Apocalyptic AU! We had a lot of great suggestions, and you might very well see some of them coming up again in the future...
However, we aren't finished there! Starting today and running until the tenth we have the AU Contest, featuring a new revamped format. Then, using the entries from the AU Contest, we'll be running a Virtual Reality Simulator version of the AU on the 21st-23rd!
Founder's Day
July 10th is celebrated all over Manta Carlos as the islands' official Founder's Day. It's a time of celebration, where people of all races put aside their differences to celebrate life, family and camaraderie.
Since Founder's Day is in Summer, people throw many outdoor barbecues and beach parties to celebrate. There is a large free banquet at City Hall, and all local businesses are required to contribute to the food and entertainment happening. The entire island is abuzz with music and lights, welcoming everyone to come join in the festivities.
The main event starts at 7pm on the dot at the Pier, where Manta Carlos' best and finest put on the most spectacular fireworks show of the year.
More will be announced during the Anniversary Post, so stay tuned!
Contests
Spotlights
Member: @Fletcher and @Ballerina
Character: Phoenix "Nix" Jamston
Plot: Chloe's Independence
We have two picks for the spotlights this month! The first we'll talk about is our very own @Ballerina! She's a pretty active member of the community who brings a lot of light-hearted joy to everyone in the chat whenever she's present. Always the friendly greeter of new people and welcomer of those who return after a break, she is rapidly becoming the face of the welcoming party. She is also talented with a tablet and pen, which she uses to bring her characters to life through gorgeous illustrations and well written narratives in her threads. Truly someone we can all appreciate being part of our Starlight Academy family.
Equally appreciated for being part of our community is a Starlight Academy veteran, @Fletcher! Fletcher has been with us for a good amount of time, and in that time he has filled our chat box memories with jokes, puns and interesting conversations. He has become one of the most recognizable members thus far and for good reason. Fletcher is a big streamer, and can usually be found in the cbox, greeting new and returning members. He's also well known for participating in the Four Job Fiesta every year, a charity streaming event that's coming up soon!
Phoenix - known as 'Nix' by most - is a hell of a character. More or less blasting onto the scene by joining student council, Nix has been heavily involved in a whole lot of plots in a very short period of time. He's a great character, and Ashes does a great job of getting him involved with people in no short order. It's fun to see someone so realistically played out--Nix is pretty prone to bad jokes and word-vomit--and seeing him around the site or in the ICC is always a treat.
This plot was fun to watch and be a part of. It was kind of a growing up story, showing how Chloe stepped out of the shadow of her father to go down her own path beyond what he had planned for her. Plots like these that rise up out of necessity show just how creative our members are. The really interesting thing was seeing how it affected other characters related to Chloe, characters who might not have interacted with her father directly. From her binding herself to Pandora and moving in with Malara, to the several heart to hearts she had with her daughter, Amber. Even the release of her father's servant, Arach. So many affected by a single plot, and Chloe's new direction is a good set up for more in the future.
Congratulations!