Announcement: Timestamp System

[Gilgamesh]

Alright, ladies and gentlemen, here is Fate/Another Future's first official announcement. I realize we are still a small site, and that we need many more members. So, please feel free to invite your friends and fellow roleplayers to join us here~

As a mandatory experiment, all posts which occur from midnight in-character time onward will be expected to be timestamped in bold print above one's post. Provided below is an example post with a timestamp applied properly. Please note that the post below is not actually in-character for the sake of this announcement, and is simply provided for an example of the new timestamp system.

[Gilgamesh]

Day 1; 01:13 A.M. - Foreign District; Miyama, Fuyuki

As the twenty-two year old Japanese college student made his way down the open, empty streets of Fuyuki's Foreign District, he found himself feeling much more comfortable than he had on his first mission over four years ago. This was an easy task compared to several other missions he had been forced to perform by the ruthless, unfair, magical bully whom called herself his teacher. Well, now, Marielle von Einzbern was both his teacher and his friend, but initially she was just a magician who ended up bullying him into becoming her apprentice for one reason or another. Now, he was an amateur magus, fairly skilled in a small variety of fields. He had agreed to help Maria prepare for the Holy Grail War, specifically deciding to gather intelligence even though she had warned him not to take unnecessary risks.

The Master he was scouting tonight was a regular target of surveillance. In the two years or so he had been gathering intelligence on her, she had never once caught on to the fact she was being observed on a weekly basis. Tonight, though...well, the same couldn't be said for tonight, as Satoshi would discover soon enough. He looked left and right as he lingered beside a tall, cast-iron gate. He didn't exactly appear suspicious, but only because no one was outside to see him. His light brown gaze was busy analyzing the length of the gate, until...

Bingo! Found it. He thought to himself, smirking. The weak point he had created in the boundary field had not been noticed since it was created. As long as Satoshi entered through that particular spot, he wouldn't trip the silent alarm of the female magus' boundary field. He silently scaled the fence, not making a sound as he did so. Avoiding the spiked tips of the black iron pattern atop the fence - which was mostly for show anyway - his loafer-clad feet alighted soundlessly upon the soft grass of Kiseki's front yard. He knew thus far he had not been detected, and over the two years of surveillance he had grown confident. Tonight, that confidence would prove to be his downfall.

He slipped undetected across the lawn, noting the lack of patrolling familiars but not thinking much of it. He considered it a blessing, not realizing that the avian and cube sentries had just been moved into the house for tonight. Gradually, though, this thought occurred to him. He finally realized that a lack of the usual one or two familiars he had to slip by meant that they were likely relocated for some reason. And he had a hunch that he already knew the reason too. About two months ago, a mark had appeared on the resident magus' arm...a command seal, a mark which signified that she had been chosen to participate in the Holy Grail War.

To Satoshi, that meant several things. First and foremost, it meant Kiseki Tatsuga was an enemy, because Marielle von Einzbern was also a participating Master. He had refused to become a Master, because he wholeheartedly supported Marielle above all else; he didn't care who had to be taken care of, because Maria had made the stakes clear to him. He was going to do everything in his power not to deliver the Grail into Maria's possession, but to keep it out of the possession of magi who might be less careful with the omnipotent, wish-granting vessel. Resolute, Satoshi neared the basement window he normally used to enter the house. He quietly slipped inside, gently letting himself down upon the stone and mortar floor.

Then, he heard something unexpected: a voice...the voice of the female magus, Kiseki Tatsuga. This perplexed him, and caused a bit of anxiety. He knew she had been chosen as a Master recently, but he didn't believe she was ready to summon a Servant yet. But if she was in the basement, which she had been preparing for the summoning itself, then the chances were she was just preparing the summoning circle. He hoped he was right in assuming that, but he crept along quietly into the darkness, moving behind boxes of storage that had been neglected for years. Then, peeking out from behind a large crate, he saw her: Kiseki Tatsuga, standing in front of the circle. She started chanting quietly, a glowing symbol beginning to appear on her arm as she did so.

This isn't good. He thought to himself, dryly. She's starting the summoning now? Shit, when did she get an artifact? As he went through the possibilities in his head, he noticed the unique artifact lying within the circle as prana began to channel around it: a mirror. He didn't have time to do any research, so he simply watched for now. When she summoned her Servant, he would leave and tell Maria everything he saw. For now, though, he listened to her perform the incantation, mentally speaking along with her out of habit. He sucked at incantations, and it had taken him a while to learn the Servant summoning mantra. So, out of force of habit and nothing more, he soundlessly moved his lips along with hers, unable to notice the command seal appearing on his own arm.

CA-KAW!!!!!!

Ka-whatnow? Satoshi found himself thinking, turning to his left, where the sound came from.

[Gilgamesh]

Alright, now for a final, brief explanation. Obviously, any questions, comments, concerns, or criticisms can be sent to me over P.M. or on Skype~

• Day - The first element of a timestamp, and for those of us who have played the visual novel Fate/Stay Night, a signature element of the game. Simply put, days progress in regard strictly to "in-character" time. Now, many posts have already been made by users before the implementation of this timestamp system, so those posts and threads will gradually be edited to include a "Day 0" timestamp. At the hour of midnight as each next topic must begin/skip to, one is expected to include "Day 1" in their timestamp.
  
  
• Time - The in-character time must be included after the day, down to the hour and minute. Now, every hour/minute of every day does not need to be played by every person. However, if one posts somewhere like the Fuyuki Church with a time of 01:13 A.M., and then suddenly in their next thread are halfway across the city at 01:15 A.M., there is obviously a problem. In fights, several posts can obviously take place within the same minute, which is fine. Time must be provided in twenty-four hour format/military time. It really isn't that hard to understand, as evidenced by this article provided by wikipedia.
  
  
• Specific location - Also fairly easy to understand, this portion of the post should specify the location of your character. Most locations can be found easily, since they are the same as the area you're in. Notice in my post "Foreign District" is the specific location of my character.
  
  
• General location - A more broad location element of your post, which in the sample post is "Miyama." If the specific location element of the timestamp is the city, then the general location element is the state which follows. General location should always be followed by "Fuyuki" unless the character is not within Fuyuki city, which consists of both Miyama and Shinto.
  

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