Comment here if you have any cool ideas. Plot ideas are great, as are ideas for new terras. Ideas for minor changes to gameplay or structure or ideas for informational posts and such are also welcome. Ideas, ideas, ideas. Post them here.

what is Stratos?
It's sky, primarily. There are scarce traces of noctilucent clouds in the distance and occasionally overhead. There's no land, as far as anyone knows, because if you look down all you'll see is a hazy orange-yellow brightness, as if you're floating just above what a sunset would be if there was no actual sun involved. You can't pinpoint any exact source the light is coming from, but it gives the lower parts of the sky a warm orangey hue. Looking up will give you a fading colour gradient upwards from orange to yellow to purple until directly above you it's dark blue dotted with little white stars.

Oddly, although the orange at the bottom and the stars at the top behave like light when you look at them or get too close, they doesn't seem to affect the terras. These will consistently be lit as though there's a sunset happening directly on their north face, and even the undersides will be shadowed as if the light far below doesn't actually exist...

Speaking of north, you won't know where that is. Compasses spin wildly here, and any locational functions on any other devices you own will show random latitudes and placenames that don't actually correlate whatsoever to where you are - and they'll change every time you look away.

what is the Dropoff?
It's a collection of floating terras. They're populated by just about... well, anything and everything you can think of. Cathedrals, gardens, trees, lakes, waterfalls, crystal formations, fountains... Everything that someone has at one time said was impressive or beautiful will probably exist on its own terra here. If not, it probably will in the future, or has in the past.

Sometimes terras will sink into the light at the bottom of the sky and never be seen again. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes new terras will rise out of it, or drift suddenly into view as if they had been there all along. Terras that get too heavily damaged (or destroyed completely) will sink out of sight, then rise again perfect and untouched as if like a phoenix from ashes. No one knows why, but the energy beings that hang around the terras all agree that this is a beautiful process - and because of this, they don't seem to care too much if people actively try to destroy terras (although it certainly won't get you a gold star). They will, however, crowd around nearby terras to watch one sink or rise. It's one of the only times you'll see a lot of them in one place, and it's also a good way to tell if a terra is going to shift.

As for what the Dropoff itself is, it seems to be a pocket universe all of its own. Space doesn't quite seem to work right here, even discounting the floating terras. If you flew in one straight direction forever, you'd never get any further from the Dropoff, even though you'd feel the wind in your hair and the sensations of movement and gravity. Most choose to turn back before they tire themselves out...

No one knows why they have been brought here, and if the energy beings do, they won't explain. But you will always feel like you're welcome here, no matter how much smashing and burning you do. And even though they aren't always around and most certainly don't seem interested in paying any attention to you, you still feel like you're being watched by something. This feeling gets a little stronger when you look down into the light, which for some reason won't hurt your eyes no matter how long you stare.

who are the energy beings?
They don't care much about you, in a very aloof kind of way. They seem to somehow imply they're above you, without actually saying anything of the sort; and if you pressure them for information they will simply give off the feeling of smiling very widely and phase out of sight like ghosts. So, no one really knows who or what they are. But they look like glowing multicoloured shapes cut out of space itself, and no matter which angle you look at them from they will always be facing you. They were at first humanoid-shaped, but recently they've begun taking on the shapes of the stranger new visitors too. Don't be surprised if you're the only one of your species yet you notice multiple featureless 2D doppelgangers of you crossing bridges and standing awkwardly in the fountain.

Often you will see them doing odd things, such as standing perfectly still staring up at the sky or over the edge of a terra, or casually walking around in a lake, or taking bridges that don't actually exist. Sometimes they'll disappear for no reason, or appear out of nowhere. Sometimes they will watch you, but most often they will ignore you. They seem to have minds of their own, but they don't seem to have jobs or lives apart from just sort of... existing. Milling around doing nothing seems to be their favourite pastime. Maybe they'll follow you, if they think you're going to do something interesting, but it's rare and the general consensus is they don't think very much of their quirky visitors.

They sometimes call themselves forma, but when asked specifically about this they will claim they do not have a name. They also use the word forma interchangeably with a lot of nouns. They might call you forma. They may also call that terra over there forma. But whatever they are, they seem to be completely indifferent about your existence... that is, to a point. They don't care about you, but they think you're beautiful. Everything in this dimension is beautiful. Maybe that's why they're content to sit back and do nothing when someone damages a terra. Destruction is beautiful, too.

what if i can fly? what happens if i fall?
You can still fly, and you will still tire however quickly you normally do (or not at all, if that's normal).

If you try to fly up, you will find that the stars you've seen are actually tiny, tangible things the size of fairy lights. You can mess with them a little, too; waving your arms around will disturb them a little and you can knock or nudge them out of place, but they will always slowly begin moving back to their original locations after you're gone. Feel free to make pictures with them, if you want to impress somebody. But immediately above the stars, gravity increases exponentially and pushes you back down into the Dropoff's airspace. You won't be able to fly up into the dark blue, no matter how determined you are.

If you try to fly down, you will be overcome with a deep-seated primal fear that will make almost anyone panic and turn back to the Dropoff. Maybe it's a fear of heights you never had before, maybe it's dread for what you might find down there, but it's terrifying and it seizes your heart, and very few are able to fight it. Those who can, or those who fall off the terras, will be lost into the light, and will reappear lying down on a random terra in a soft, gentle glow of light anything from a few minutes to a month later. They won't have any memory of what happened after they disappeared; some won't even remember jumping or being pushed or flying down there in the first place.

They will, however, remember being asleep, and dreaming of reaching out for something that loves them very much. This will usually take the form of a golden light, but if you miss someone too much or happen to be deeply in love, it may appear as them instead. However it appears to you, it loves you very much, and you'll be filled with a warm, contented feeling for a little while. As well as being pleasant, this is also somehow a deterrent to disaster; if someone comes at you with a knife, they'll find themselves psychologically incapable of harming you with it.

do i get a communication device?
Yes, you do. You will wake up with one around your wrist, arm, ankle or neck, translates an animal's voice and all foreign languages into English, and it will let you make Text, Voice, Image and Video posts and will share them with everyone else's devices in realtime. You may set it to LOCK and specify one or more names, and the post will be private between you and those people. These may be hacked (though you should ask the other participants before doing so to avoid godmodding), but are otherwise failsafe (they won't randomly fail to make your posts private!). They will, however, randomly decide to start recording at inconvenient times. Some say this is triggered by emotions, but more likely it seems to be for the sole purpose of making things interesting for whoever is watching. That is, if you are being watched. Maybe that feeling is all in your head. Who can say?

If you lose yours, which understandably can happen in a world with no floor, or it gets destroyed or damaged somehow, an energy being will approach you a little while later and provide you with another. If you refuse to take one, you have approximately a day before a device appears on your person where it was before it got removed. Remove it again after that? It'll reappear every time you blink. These things are pretty determined.

is there weather?
No. That is, not usually. Things are serene here, with a constant brightish twilight and only the occasional lonely, faint breeze. But sometimes, rain will fall from the sky, despite there being next to no cloud cover; it all runs over the terras as if they're coated in plastic, but it'll soak you right through to the skin. Very rarely, certain terras will emerge with their own distinct weather. For example, a terra might rise up with sodden ground and a permanent thunderstorm hanging over it, or something to that effect.

Also, some events may include abnormal weather. You'll see for yourself.

can i have/use weapons? what about my possessions?
Yes. But there's a catch. Whatever force brought you here can only transport you and ONE of your most important possessions. This might be a weapon, a motorcycle - the item itself doesn't seem to matter much, but if you can't keep it on a terra, expect it to get lost fairly quickly. That said, it's possible to wish your items back, if you brought them with you. Just don't try and repeat this over and over, because after 3 times being wished back into your possession, an item will disappear for good. This can be repeated for other "signature" items, but a wish may only be made once a month, meaning you can only recover one item per month. To do this, go see the fountain... although the terra it's on may disappear sometimes, at no one's convenience.

Weapons will function as normal, but a weapon will always fail on someone who has recently fallen from the Dropoff (no matter what terra you're on) if its owner somehow manages to get over the mental block. They will also simply pass straight through the energy beings. Neither you nor your weapons will be able to make physical contact with them.

Sometimes, people may not want to be accosted from all angles by violent ne'er-do-wells. So, to stop massacres occurring and people dropping like flies, most of the terras somehow negate damage. Retreat to one of these if you find yourself injured, outnumbered or just in danger of being sniped from afar. Weapons will fail. Guns will jam, blades will strike off people as if they are made of diamond, and special abilities or magic powers will simply fail to work on others. Terras that will NOT protect you will be marked with a (!) before their title and will somehow "feel" more dangerous than the others.

All terras can be damaged to a certain point, but "safe" terras will not drift or be moved very far and they will not sink out of the sky if there is anyone still on them. Beware if you're standing at the halfway point on a bridge.

what happens if i die?
No one seems to have set any rules about fighting in the Dropoff. So, there's a slight chance you might die if someone gets too trigger-happy. If you do, try not to worry too much. The energy beings may not have any strong feelings about death, but they dislike clutter, and corpses fall under that category; the locals will push your body off the edge of the terra and once you've fallen into the sky you'll reawaken on a random terra just as if you jumped off when you were alive. Being dead, however, is still a fairly serious matter. It takes at least a full day to reappear after dying. And if you die 3 times, you won't reappear.

Luckily, there's an upside. Jumped off on purpose? The warmth you got from the dream you had will likely calm you down and discourage you from jumping again - at least for a while. You'll be far more contented (or at least calm) than you were when you jumped, and this should give you a little time to sort yourself out (say, a couple of days). If you were pushed off or attacked (or both) then the deterrent field around you will render everyone incapable of landing a hit on you; if they try, they'll be forced to stop when they find a psychological block staying their hand. This lasts for up to a week, sometimes less. The effects stack.

i have decided it is time to start wank.
We have decided it is time for you to be introduced to the pit scorpions. We want to run a fun, clean game. You will not ruin it. Nobody cares about your inability to communicate your problems in a responsible way. You will be banned. This is already in the rules, but the pit scorpion thing is a running gag so we brought it up again in the FAQ. Deal.

1. No drama. We will throw you into a scorpion pit, and then we will throw ourselves in after you. It's unpleasant for everyone involved and should be avoided at all costs. Civil, face-to-face discussion? That still exists. Whoa. If you need a mediator to help so things don't turn sour, our mods will be happy to help you resolve the issue.

2. Be thoughtful! Be polite! Make sure you bear in mind that everyone is a human being just like you, and I'm sure this rule won't ever be a problem. Remember: everybody has feelings that can be hurt. Everybody can get upset. Everybody has a nose that will leak snotty fluid down their face if they cry, because their tear ducts are linked to their nasal cavity. Be nice. Or we will throw you into a scorpion pit.

3. Stay IC. We understand that a character you love may be quite hard for you to play! And that's where practice makes perfect. In the event of practice not making perfect, we urge you to make sure your character journal has a HMD, or "How's My Driving?" post - preferably with anonymous commenting allowed. This lets people leave you feedback on your characterisation and roleplaying conduct - very helpful stuff! If you're leaving feedback, please remember rule 2. Phrase things carefully. Be constructive, not cruel.

4. Stratos Drop is panfandom. We allow characters from all canons, and original characters too! However, fan characters are not allowed. Harry Potter is all clear! Malfoy's Hot Topic girlfriend Enoby Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, however, is not. Sorry, Enoby. AUs are up for debate - bloodswaps and genderswaps and such, as well as any other established AU characters, may be apped - as long as the app is well-written and gives us a good understanding of the AU, you may be accepted.

5. Stratos Drop will change. As more terras appear or are discovered or explored, your characters uncover more secrets, or game-wide plot events occur, things may become a little different. If it changes and you don't like it, that's your problem. We warned you! You may feel free to contact us and complain if you think we jumped the shark so hard we broke the sound barrier, but chances are what's done is done.

6. There will be activity checks. Please try to keep up with them. These will occur on the first day of each month, and must be done for each character you play. Comment HERE and link us to at least 1 post you have made, or to 2 threads with at least 10 comments by your character. Failing to meet an activity check means you'll be given a strike. Three strikes, and you will be required to drop that character. This is only fair - if you're sitting on a character and not using it, you're unnecessarily depriving someone else of a chance to play that character!

7. Hiatuses and slowatuses may be called. A hiatus can go on for 1 month without seeking further permission from a mod. A slowatus may go on for 3 months without seeking further permission from a mod. We're lenient, and we understand the real world can get in the way of our fictional character shenanigans. But we're here to have fun, and less activity means less fun.

8. Play smart. Don't godmod. Don't play a Mary Sue. Don't use OOC knowledge to make your character know something they shouldn't logically know. Don't bring OOC issues into IC play. Don't spend all your time muncesting. And for the love of throwing people into scorpion pits, please do not get us in trouble for something really awful. Use your noggin.

9. Moderator discretion exists. If something nasty isn't expressly covered by these rules, you still probably won't get away with it. We're real people, not computers, and we will notice if you deliberately dick around whilst dancing a sprightly jig around our rules. That said, we will be fair. No one is going to get banned just because a mod decides they don't like them. If a mod tries, they will be thrown in the scorpion pit twice as hard. There will also be worse scorpions. Like, big scorpions that give birth to little baby scorpions when stepped on. Power abuse is taken very seriously.