PLOT ENGAGEMENT (ARCHIVED)

[larkers]

> PLOT ENGAGEMENT (ARCHIVED)

What is Plot Engagement and how does it work within Meadowlark? This is the page where players can come discuss with us how to facilitate plots within the setting. However, there will be occasions where a plot doesn't work within Meadowlark's world, and we'll suggest alternative routes. For small worldbuilding or gameplay details, please direct your question to the FAQ. If you're ever not sure if you're at the right page, don't worry—we'll help you get it sorted out. We know we have a load of info!

WHEN WILL YOU HEAR BACK?

◉ All Plot Engagement answers go out on Sunday, except during events.
◉ The deadline to submit a question and ensure you'll hear back from us on Sunday is 11:59 PM UTC on Saturday.

PLOT ENGAGEMENT INCLUDES

◉ Player plots! If you'd like your character to become a mafia boss, this is your place to start. Typically, this involves anything that could impact the setting or other player characters.
◉ Character career advancement that gives the character additional power or status within the setting.
◉ Metaplot exploration and information! We plan all events to give characters something to explore after the event ends. This is the place to do it!

SUBMISSION TIPS

◉ Specify what your character is looking for when they're investigating. What questions are they asking and what angle are they trying to explore?
◉ If you have a specific goal in mind but don't know how to reach it, please let us know.
◉ If you link a thread to us, please summarize it! That helps us process the plot in question.
◉ Don't worry about not knowing the setting like the back of your hand before you submit the plot—that's up to us! We're here to help you with any adjustments to get you on the right track.

NOTES & THINGS THAT YOU CAN HANDWAVE

◉ Characters always start out in entry level positions. Characters can update their skill sets to the 2512 standard through paid apprenticeships or internships.

◈ If a character is advancing within a major corporation (as noted on the Setting or Locations page) or one of its subsidiaries, we will need to approve this advancement.
◈ If a character becomes a supervisor at a local bar or other small business, we do not need to approve this advancement.

◉ Joining the police force within a city requires three months of IC training (six months OOC).
◉ We'll approve whether someone has social media fame, but we will not be providing social media follower counts. Once you have a plot for how to use those followers, that's where we step in!
◉ All Morningstar business goes on our Morningstar page. Please feel free to discuss specific plots here (including joining), and go there for signups and anything else.
◉ Characters getting jobs, finding apartments, participating in the fighting rings, getting married, making workplace friends, the creation of minor NPCs, etc. do not need to be run by us. Please let us know if these expand into player plots or other plot bits!

QUICK LINKS

◉ FAQ: For small worldbuilding or gameplay details.
◉ Setting: Our setting page! We'll update as needed.
◉ Jobs: A reference for who's working where!
◉ Locations: Both major and minor locations within New Amsterdam, as well as outlines for other megacities.
◉ Mod Contact: For wider game concerns.
◉ The Story So Far: Gamewide plot events up to current (your CTRL+F best friend!).
◉ NPC page: Includes NPC blurbs and inboxes.
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> NAVIGATION

Comments

[larkers]

Hi Jenna! We're very happy to help you proceed with that path! We have a couple more questions for you (and Melissa, too!).

1. Would she be going through the neighbors to find out about him or through the staff?

2. Is she going to find out the manager lives there through the roll list, or through other means? Will her manager know that she lives there now?

3. Is there anything that you and Melissa had in mind for their boss? We've already established that he's a disenchanted anime fan, but there is a lot of room for someone to work from there.

[larkers]

Hi Court!

While there isn't a junkyard in the traditional sense, there are multiple garages around the city where someone can begin to put together a hoverbike and build it from scrap. They can find out about these parts through legal retailers online, since it's all above board. Some of these retailers may be fronts for less legitimate things, too, though that wouldn't be openly advertised.

The deal is that when someone goes to recycle their bike, they bring it to these garages and sell it if they don't go through a governmental recycling center (which would turn all former vehicles to scrap).

They can also order parts online and have it shipped from other megacities! Due to customs and concerns, these would all be legitimate storefronts without any sketchy business. They would be shipped via the trains that go around the world. Getting a bike frame would be far too expensive via this means, however, due to its size.

[evite]

hey mods! quick question for you wrt: hoverbikes.

i noted that you had mentioned to laura before that secondhand hoverbikes were relatively easy to acquire and not as egregiously expensive.

is there anywhere in particular in new amsterdam that would specialize in secondhand hoverbikes, or would this be more of a "crawl through craigslist until you find a seller" situation?

[larkers]

Hi Jenna! Thanks for the question!

There are a lot of garages and hoverbike shops that would offer these, and the equivalent of Craigslist as well! If you want to go ahead and name a business, go ahead. We also outlined the process for acquiring hoverbike parts from scraps if someone wants to build one for Court here.

[blyat]

Hi mods!! Here is the log for this bday party, please let us know if anything's off or we need to alter any details! ALSO AS A SMALL NOTE I'm currently busy with end of term grad school stuff (perfect timing), so I may be a bit slow but will def prioritize Hideki's thread.

[evite]

#1. if her manager (we should really name him, shouldn't we?) is a legal resident, she would definitely find him on the residency register or its new amsterdam equivalent. however, for finding out about him — because finding him on there would spark her curiosity — she would be more likely to turn to the staff. it's not that she doesn't trust the neighbors, but it's easier to talk to people on her own level than it is to maintain that kind of solid cover while being nosy.

#2. daisy isn't going to advertise on the clock that she's moved, but johnny is aware and they do talk about things quite freely together at work! i'm not opposed to her manager overhearing OR seeing her in the elevator/lobby/rooftop/other public spaces either if that helps to move things along.

#3. we've mentally imagined dwight schrute — but maybe a more attractive dwight, given the affair. but as far as workplace politics goes, having someone in a managerial position who's not technically competent enough to do their jobs would irritate both daisy & johnny, so perhaps something along those lines! how he got his job is likely a significant mystery that lends itself to plenty of workplace commiserating. did he kill someone? did he inherit the job? did he kiss exactly the right butt at the right time before someone died or quit or was fired? who knows... but they sure would like to!

[amstrdm]

Thanks, Julia! Take your time. We're excited to bring Hideki to the masses (and make everyone regret the experience).

[evasives]

hello again mods! thank you so much for taking the time to help me sort everything out! i'm so hyped for... everything.

1. i think i would like to set cassian up with an apprenticeship for a maintenance worker!! am i correct in reading this as someone who has his own fixer upper business? should i make that someone up or is that something i need to leave to you guys?

i'm so incredibly excited to work on and build this network. it'll definitely be compromised of the more overlooked people as well as maybe some of the staff from his apartment building to start, some eventual clients, etc.

2. okay consider me officially signed up for the cyberkinetic spine. yells softly!! should i inform you when cassian gets himself to a doctor? is that something i can just play with the after effects of with cr or would i need to do more with an actual doctor to kickstart everything?

i appreciate how helpful and flexible you are with my requests and (seemingly endless) questions about all this!

[windowsills]

Hi mods! Thanks for the quick response

We decided Alex will fly solo for this adventure! If I could ask two more questions:

Would there be any notable names/figures she might hear about or meet at this party?
Is there any other establishments that might have links to the Petrovs?

[revlon]

Hello mods!

Peggy, with the help of her brand new promotion in government dealing more fully with customs and border security, will be looking into the records of anything — or anyone — leaving New Amsterdam between the first arrival of the displaced in June and the end of September (post-UNA raids). In particular, she'd be looking for "suspicious shipments" leaving New Amsterdam heading towards New Beijing and any major spaceport hubs, and then widening her search to the other.... hundred... megacities if nothing catches her eye. In short: she's looking into the captured Morningstar agents and where they might have been taken.

A few quick details/questions:

1) What are the usual exports/shipments out of NA and thus would be easily dismissed from her search? What would be flagged as unusual or out of place to anyone looking closely? Would there be "weapons" listed on any manifests (similar to how the first crop of displaced were labelled)?
2) Are tour groups common and if so, would she be able to access the itineraries of all travellers and the agency that organised the group?
3) She'd look into the schedule of the the trains that departed NA between June and the end of September to see if any broke down en route or had an unscheduled stop. She'd also check if the number of passengers / recorded cargo that departed NA match what arrived at its indicated destination. Would she find any discrepancies?
4) On the issue of border security, is the underground cave network regularly patrolled and is there access to the outskirts of the city? I know the cave network isn't as extensive as it is in the dreamscape and that you have indicated that it overlaps with man-made structures and tunnels. Even so, are there any holes in the dam that the government (and thus, Peggy) is aware of? Are there check points down there? Does any smuggling go on with the black market?

Thank you!

[selfimage]

Hi mods! I've got a couple questions for you!

1. Now that Loki has a new job, he's going to be moving to a newer, nicer apartment (with Thor and Jason in tow). This might coincide with Thor's gym opening. In somewhat nicer apartments, is there access to start some of those facilities? Or access to start a business within the building?

2. Loki's got a new position at Pulsar! He's thinking of hiring Tommy as a temp assistant. I just wanted to make sure that it's possible in this instance. Thanks!!

Thanks!!

[laozu]

hi mods!!! i wanted to make sure i tossed this in since it relates to his social climbing/aiming for idol status ideas:

> during the halloween events, wwx used his booze-guzzling skills to make bets with some of the red light district workers because they're FUN and he likes FUN; his bet was something to the tune of betting them that he could drink a sampler from basically all the moonshine vendors without passing out - and if he won, he wins articles of clothing. namely he was looking for fun outfits to wear ( don't buy what you don't have to lmAO!! ), but i'm submitting this for in-game social reasons -- he took a lot of cooltalk pictures, uploaded a bunch of video reviews of the vendors's brews ( advertisement, woo! )

he's done this for fun, but also to make inroads among a group of people he thinks always have one ear open for info - it may be personal bias, but he's trying it! is there any sort of consequences or gains(?) he might be able to work on because of this?

> the second thing he's done, is pipe on chenqing, his bamboo flute, throughout the whole procession at the end of the celebrations (minus a stop or two). he plays really haunting music, nearly nonstop for all those who are walking as well - as a painfully obvious dedication to their losses and struggles. the same question applies to this! but it's not as conscious an effort.

thank you sorry for the spam edit(s)!!!

[larkers]

Hi Jenna!

Thank you for providing this information! As a note, someone in that position on a security team is unlikely to be technologically incompetent, but it's possible for him to be incompetent in a variety of other ways, such as team management or communication. We'll lean on this in describing him in the future!

Gossip from the staff will reveal that the manager's long-time partner, a noteworthy philanthropist, has left him. They'll speak highly of her, but remark that they haven't seen her in ages if asked. Speculation from the staff will mostly be focused on the possibility that he's done something illegal, though they won't know what.

[larkers]

Hi Tomato! Thanks for the follow up.

1. You can make all these details up! Including whether Cassian's new boss works for a smaller business or a larger one - or even runs his own, contracted to any number of companies.

2. Feel free to take this at your own pace, and you can reach out to us after Cassian has made the discovery and decided to look into it further.

[larkers]

Hi Laura!

For establishments, Alex might hear various restaurants or casinos being discussed. There will also be some talk of establishments in conjunction with the fighting rings. If you want to pursue any of these, feel free to make the names and details up! There will be a wide range of venues.

Yuri Yamamoto will be a frequent guest at the club! She is a woman in her 40s, on the young side for the amount of prestige she has in the family. She's a woman who seems to very much enjoy indulging in mobster aesthetic, including drinking and gambling. What she does isn't clear, but staff and patrons at the club will all treat her with a deferential attitude, and speak to her as if she's a higher rank.

Ynez Patel will be another person who gets deferential treatment at the club. Her presence there will be a bit odd, since she doesn't have a very party-personality, but she seems to meet with a lot with a variety of people. If Alex looks her up on social media, she'll find that Ynez is a vociferous advocate of workers rights in the manufacturing industry.

Other than that, there will be a lot of talk about the upcoming election for governor. Most people will be in support of the president of a Pulsar subsidiary called Caudata Tech. Their name is Simone Durcell, and according to the gossip they're not doing well in projections.

[larkers]

Hi Ellie!

Unfortunately, none of these questions would immediately get any hits - but there are small bits of information that would stand out. As it is, any UNA movement wouldn't be available to her, so anything they would do would be treated as confidential. Plus, they wouldn't need to be as careful as someone else might want to be.

1. As a point of clarification, the Displaced were never listed as weapons on any manifest. Instead, it was assumed that the cargo was UNA weapons because of the level of secrecy behind it, as well as the care. The actual gunfight that ensued didn't involve the UNA at all. They were involved in the cleanup, as a fight of that nature would need to be swept away quickly so that the public would never find out and because they would be able to identify that half the people on the scene were Morningstar agents (and therefore good sources of intel). Any witnesses who heard gunfire were likely forced into silence.

Simply put: it was a case of Morningstar's assumptions and intel being wrong.

Any weapons would otherwise not be on any manifests that she would have access to.

2. Tour groups are more common within cities, rather than between megacities. Besides, the UNA wouldn't use these.

3. The trains wouldn't have any unusual unscheduled stops. This may lead her to believe that someone is familiar with the trains to know how to use any and all scheduled shops to their advantage. There are stops between specific megacities, at research outposts (though these stops aren't visited on every trip, for obvious reasons - they're hit during supply runs).

4. They won't lead out of the city, but they do lead up into different buildings. Some black market smuggling does utilize the caverns, but they have to be careful - the underground part of New Amsterdam is adjacent to these caverns, so there is always the risk of surveillance.

[larkers]

Hello Veronica!

1. There wouldn't be any space in the apartment buildings themselves. These would already have gyms managed by the apartment complex. However, it is possible the bigger, nicer in-apartment gyms would hire full-time staff for the gym. As for the general area, real estate in nicer areas would be both rare and quite expensive. If Thor is looking to open a gym, he may want to look for real estate adjacent to the area that's within walking distance but less likely to be in high demand.

2. This is possible, but it would take some maneuvering. The assistant position would already be filled from within the company, so Loki would have to figure out a way to either get rid of the current assistant or create enough work to justify a second. The former would be seen as blatant nepotism on Loki's part and might ruffle some feathers, or pique someone's interest.

[larkers]

Hi Pax!

We have a question for clarity reasons. Who are the people that he's trying to make inroads with, and what kind of information is he hoping to obtain? Overall - most of his busking or social media presence wouldn't stand out much, but we need more information when it comes to the inroads you mentioned.

[revlon]

Hi mods! Thanks for this!

To clarify, Peggy wouldn't limit her search to UNA-related things and would be looking into any and all transports departing New Amsterdam. But re: your first point, who would have access to that confidential info on the UNA? Would any of Peggy's friendly work colleagues within the embassy (since both her job and the embassy deal with intercity travel and they do meet occasionally to discuss that) be a possible direction to look into?

1) I understand, thank you! Just for general world building knowledge for Peggy's job, though, what are the usual transports leaving New Amsterdam for other cities? As I feel this is something that would cross her (virtual) desk pretty regularly.

3) Could you elaborate on the research outposts? What are they for, who would be working there, and are they public knowledge?

[laozu]

hi again mods! right now, i'm working on amassing as much of a social following as possible icly - i don't have any specific groups or individuals he's aiming his sights on, just a preliminary attention grab. as for the information, he's asking for "anything funny to [you]", but really looking for mention of locations where "odd things" happen: namely the drop-offs of batches of the displaced ( ie. small batches of folks dressed the same, etc. ), with a focus on if they have a timeline of when these happen. he doesn't need the information ASAP, but making a few friends on the street with sharp eyes would be ideal for now.

for reference, here's the conversation he and abel had regarding potentially questing after the place where everyone comes from. to summarize: he's throwing out ideas regarding building a timetable, seeing if there are any similarities between when/where everyone is dropped off and anything else that might be offered up. he's basically trying to collect a network of "bakerstreet irregulars"!

[larkers]

Hi Pax!

We recommend that you have Wei Wuxian discuss this idea further with the other characters in game. There are a few others who have organized information - such as Clarke Griffin, Daisy Johnson and Bobbi Morse - about newcomers, and they may be able to help. That will make it easier for us to tell which audience he's catering to, and help him narrow his focus in character.

Right now, New Amsterdam and New Tokyo are both cities of around 40 million people, making it harder to determine who would be "regulars" outside of vendors. Advertising for the breweries is a good first step with that, though he'll have to garner more of a social media following for the brewers to care. He may want to explore other means of getting their favor, especially as the Displaced move forward with their own bar plans.

[larkers]

Hi Ellie! Sorry, we see we missed a couple things!

First, in short: no. The UNA is very careful about their information. Things will pass through the grapevine, as Peggy will have noticed before, but they generally keep a tight lid on those things. Even having a better position within the city wouldn't help. If anything, she may get the impression that they have a means to bypass her entirely.

On to the rest!

1. There are a lot of technological exports from the city that she can easily overlook, as Pulsar, Vyonation and Giles Bell are headquartered in the city, and their primary technology is built within factories located within city limits. There is a lot that goes out under these three companies and their associated subsidiaries, so the list would be pretty long given that they dabble in just about anything. Given Giles Bell's pharmaceutical interests, there is also a lot of medicine passing through New Amsterdam's gates to go to other cities (and some back in as they're manufactured for quality control reasons, among other things). Basically, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

3. As far as anyone knows, these research outposts are both publicly known and extremely uninteresting. They're primarily set up in areas of interest to document environmental changes and ensure that the atmospheric stabilizers are running properly. Again - as far as anyone knows, these outposts are pretty generic, get just enough shipments for the people inside to survive and wouldn't draw too much attention.

[windowsills]

This is awesome! Thank you, mods!

[selfimage]

Late but totally great:

1. No problem! Loki's writing style is dramatic and flowery, his prose and storytelling would be A+, turning not-so-believable situations into completely believable ones. His books would read like a twisted soap opera, with a lot of plot twists and personal drama wrapped up in the erotica package. It would be a mix of sexualities and genders, as well as polyamory. The setting would be the criminal underground and its ties to the upper tier of society—totally and utterly fabricated, of course.

2. He'd probably reach out to a publisher, but honestly I don't think he'd do much to hide his own identity. The mystery of speculation is always something that he'd want to capitalize on, if that's possible.

[apathet]

Hey mods!!

While commiserating his recent beatdown by one Daisy Johnson, Kovacs showed Laura his power by testing it out on the bartender of a quiet but shady gang-hang bar. Laura then threatened the bartender into silence with a little flash of her scars and the heavy if false insinuation that she's worse than Kovacs is, all the while holding onto Kovacs' wrist, so between them there was plenty of glowing going down and the bartender got an eyeful of that when she tugged her shirt down and also actively experienced Kovacs absorbing his wound energy.

Just wanted to bring this to your attention in case it's likely to feed in on a larger scale or to their reputation within shady circles (or in any other ways!! We're down for anything or nothing)! We didn't specify whether it was just this guy who saw or whether there were other clientele in the bar likely to have picked up on something and are happy either way, also cool for her threats to have been enough of a deterrent to keep the dude's mouth shut if this is a bad time for power stuff to slip out beyond any plans you already have!