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

[deicider]

Hello,

I'm not sure if I missed the deadline but Sniper had been working with Alex to get access to various high-level corporate types, per https://meadowlarkooc.dreamwidth.org/35715.html?thread=1427587#cmt1427587 and the above plan ^. Any info they had gotten they would have passed straight to Durcell.

[gasping]

apologies for the delay on this -- i forgot to track the thread in my vacation brain.

so here is what i'm thinking, in admittedly badly thought out bullet points:

rather than a specific family preference (as she doesn't know much about either the petrov family or the riverside mob beyond occasional whispers of their existence), caroline's preferences would be:
#1 hope coming with her / being protected (a sense of loyalty and family would be very obvious to anyone she spoke with, not even considering the fact that caroline believed hope was her magical/biological child for a hot minute...)
and #2 jobs where she doesn't have to have a chaperone, per se, so that she can keep her abilities somewhat mysterious even if they are being used for the not-so-greater good. she's happy to use them for the family/mob's gain, but they're her abilities, and she doesn't necessarily want to have to explain why she's so useful to them

caroline would be willing to "prove" that these preferences are for good reason, either by working a job for free or some other dangerous gambit, and might offer it if needed. she's not a particularly experienced negotiator, so she could easily get herself into a debt that takes a few ic weeks to pay off here!

if there's some other avenue we can take to make this a reality, i'm also all ears!

[evite]

hi mods!

as requested, dropping this information/questionnaire into plot engagement from the canon updates page. ❤

daisy will be undergoing a canon update shortly, in which she'll be experiencing her "destroyer of worlds" arc. as part of that arc, she'll have recently injected herself with centipede serum, which combines most of (if not all) the known superpower-generating substances within the mcu — including both the super soldier serum currently found in steve rogers and the extremis virus developed by tony stark in im3.

i plan on having her seek standard medical attention via the NA equivalent of a walk-in clinic for the injuries she'll sustain just prior to her return to the meadowlark universe: likely broken bones, significant bruising — the sort of impact-related injuries from being slammed into the ground from a few dozen stories up. i'd like to know if the centipede serum would be detected by doctors, and if so, what sort of repercussion or reaction should i be aware of?

in addition, as mentioned in her canon update write-up: one of the things that daisy experiences in s5 is the implementation of a power inhibitor, which is described as follows:

"Once implanted in the auricular nerve located in the neck of an Inhuman, the control device could be activated via remote control to remove the Inhuman's powers, rendering them human until the device was turned off. To remove the device it would take a trained neurosurgeon with sophisticated tools and one error could render the Inhumans paralyzed from the neck down."

this device was successfully removed from daisy by fitz in an extremely unethical backalley surgery, and would not be present in her body at the time of her return. however, if the evidence of such a surgery would be of any interest or be noticeable, please let me know! (it may not be, but as it's daisy & carol's working theory on how their canon powers are suppressed, i'd love to know if they're on the right track here!)

[forcevisions]

is it possible to deliberately provoke the dream/memory shares?

this is an early idea but i want to explore the mechanic more. some avenues to discover:

- rey might (inadvertently) test through going to sleep while the empathy bond is active
- the use of sedative drugs could be a way faith might accidentally test it since her injuries were pretty bad

neither of my characters are like ... actively pursuing this yet, but i realized it's something i might be interested in following up on dream-related stuff ooc bc i found that whole event super cool, so i'm poking around at the possibility of it.

i realize this is a very ambiguous comment but i just wanted to poke at it with my early thoughts lol before trying to actively go too hard in a specific direction.

[larkers]

Hi Tifa! This is not an official plot engagement response, but we wanted to touch back really quick with this link. It doesn't specifically answer those scenarios, but it might help you get the ball rolling so you can come back with some more concrete ideas.

[watcherless]

hi sorry for having two open plot engagement comments at once this one is more specific:

if faith hoofs it over to the warehouse referred to here and scopes the place out and subsequently stakes it out, trying to keep an eye on if anyone has been around it, would she able to find any people still making use of it (even a realtor or something)? additionally she'd look at if there are any cameras nearby that might have a view on it and ask if the businesses they belong to have any records going back further than june 21.

(i realize this is probably redundant w cassius' resources to investigate it bUT JUST TO BE SURE)

[larkers]

Hi Jenna!

In terms of the serum, it ultimately depends on what you'd prefer! Our instinct is that El would end up deleting any records or trying to make sure they appear as normal if they turned up on the system about any of the Displaced. However, we're happy to work around that as needed.

As for the device, the doctors would be more concerned that she had serious neurosurgery without going into a medi-unit afterward to ensure that she avoided any permanent damage like the blurb mentions. Superpowers aren't common in Meadowlark's world, so there wouldn't be anything developed in the world to nullify them that would be widely known by the average medical professional. You will be getting confirmation or denial on this with the brain surgery plot in January!

[larkers]

Hi Jenna! Again. Or perhaps for the first time? What order are you reading your notifications in? We'll never know!

In order to work out this compromise, both Caroline (and thus Hope) will have to give up a lot of the demands and only one of the two mob families will ultimately take them on. It's up to you as to whether they go with the Riverside Mob (we haven't developed them much yet!) or the Petrov Family, so let us know. That doesn't mean they'll be chaperoned, but they'll be on a short leash. Rather than being considered an enforcer/hitwoman who's been a great deal for the mob family she joins, Caroline will be considered one of the goons, so to speak: forced to prove her loyalty to them, asked to do odd jobs that she won't like, but given some independence. Bringing on Hope will clearly be a favor to Caroline, as they're an edgy bunch and accepting anyone to be trustworthy is rough.

There are a lot of places where plot can progress here, especially as Caroline or Hope could have botched jobs pinned on them, and more. They don't even have to have done it, but the other "family" members may be eager to make them look bad. After all, Caroline caught their eye through torturing some gang members for theft. No matter how tough she proved herself to be, there will be some people who won't be happy about taking her on.

[larkers]

Hi Tifa!

There won't be anything that she can immediately find, and checking in with a realtor—there is one!—will end up sending her on a similar loop that Cassius already took. Cameras-wise, anything that might've been owned by the previous owner is gone. However, there is police surveillance all over the city and we're developing a plot where a police officer will be available for the Displaced, so keep an eye on that!

Otherwise, Faith, along with anyone else, can definitely check out the place! The warehouse itself has been completely gutted, and whatever was inside was heavy duty enough that it would need to have been thoroughly removed to erase all possible trails to those that had been there before. Some of the businesses in the area will recall all of this occurring between November 2510-mid-April 2511, mostly during the nightly hours, before the whole thing was bizarrely dropped a few weeks into July and left in the shoddy condition it's in now. No one will know what was there, but all the windows have been removed for reasons unknown.

[gasping]

hiya!

i think we'll move forward with the riverside mob to develop that side of things!

caroline especially is used to being dismissed or unwanted, especially by men older than her — thanks damon, ya peach — so while she won't be totally unruffled by the disgruntled mob men, she'll do her best to keep her complaining to hope's implant or behind closed doors. that said, she'd like to seek out jobs as long as they're willing to give them to her!

what sorts of ways could she prove her loyalty/trustworthiness? would being efficient/resilient be a mark in her favor in these deals, or reason to suspect her? strangely, this is something that she is finding to be more rewarding than her day job, so while there's a vampiric sense of pride in being capable and competent, she's also personally got a lot of motivation to do well and prove people wrong. she is a good deal, whether or not they believe it, and she wants them to prove it to the people who matter.

if it's possible, i really like the idea of there being a female figure in the mob that she could be drawn to. someone powerful and still feminine — katherine vibes, maybe? — who may support her & hope... or who may exploit her youth and naivety?

[evite]

as an update: daisy wound up getting medical attention from strange, so no external documents would need to be erased! you're welcome, el!

i'll touch base with y'all on the brain surgery stuff in that chain.

[resleeves]

hello mods!

i'm reporting here in regards to the favor that kovacs got from cassius. i'm not exactly sure what's needed (forgive me) but i wanted to get it rolling so i don't keep forgetting.

[realists]

hey mods!

if a small group was looking to hit up new honolulu as a family vacation spot, what would they need to do? i imagine there is some travel agent that works with the rich assholes in jyn's building she could hit up but imma be real. idk how they would even get there? an underwater train? it is a long ass chunnel? since jyn has traveled to new tokyo and new beijing already, her natural wanderlust looks pretty real on the outside, despite the circumstances of her past travel. would this travel agent i just made up be able to help jyn navigate the papers and arrangements they would need to make to get to new honolulu?

[forcevisions]

So wwx and co did legwork while in New Beijing on how to get to Everest. I'm here to suss out a way that Rey can figure out an itinerary back to New Beijing for them to start that trip (rather than trying to squeeze it into the Cassius one). A few more specific questions below.

01. I feel like I thought travel was difficult for a while but I think y'all corrected that to say it just has to be a clear itinerary, yes? I was not sure if Rey would need to rope in Riverstone work favors or anything to set up a trip there or if they could just call it a sightseeing group for NB.

02. Would El have anyone in Morningstar New Beijing who knows some stealth routes out of the city for them to take?

03. In terms of supplying the expedition, how many days would the trip be outside of the megacity be (back and forth) and would the weather likely be consistent or extreme in either direction?

04. Idk is there anything else I need to clear up to get this show on the road before Rey picks some days and invites people along basically.

[selfimage]

Hey other mods! I've got a few questions for you as I try to hammer some things out!!

1. During the EMP plot, Loki lifted a bunch of weapons from a Pulsar subsidiary. I'd like to get him moved, position-wise, from Pulsar's main headquarters over to that subsidiary as a Senior Business Manager! He's shown that he's capable inter-personally at his current position, and is absolutely not afraid to be downright devious to get what would be considered good for the business. He'd even use his own break-in (without alluding that it was him) as an argument on why they need stronger upper management over there. They wouldn't want the same thing happening again, would they? Let me know if this is doable, and if you need more framework I can provide!
   
   
2. A question spawning off of his work from Pulsar, he'd drop in casual conversation with some of his colleagues and ask just where Jovavich started. What's her story, exactly? He's versed well enough (and been paying attention enough) in politics to not come off totally clueless, but curious as to her ambitions.
   
   
3. Diana, Klaus and Loki would like to hold a Displaced mingle/masquerade! Loki's got some cash but he's going to be reaching out to Ball to see if they can get something a little more fancy (bankrolled) as well as possibly set up a mingle with his people? I've got an idea of how Loki will get in touch with Ball. Would it most be possible to hold it down in the underground caves and get some resources from Ball?
   
   
4. Much like he did before, Loki took some specs from inside the New Beijing UNA base. He'll be passing those along to Gaby.
   
   
5. Lastly, for people who don't have drivers licenses (i.e. Ren) because they don't know how to drive anything but a cat bus, is there a process involved in this? Is it just some classes and then hurrah! Hover car license?

[evite]

hey so... how's marriage work? asking for a friend.

[reneger]

Hey, mods!

Some follow up on previous plottings (so that I have it written down somewhere) and some questions for future plottings!

Gangthings: Jason's been working on slowly integrating both the Kings and the Warlocks together without causing an extreme amount of tension! I'm assuming that, since it's been a while, he's been at least a little successful with it. This includes putting together resources, combining bases, choosing leaders to take over operations below him. It also includes vastly deterring getting kids involved, because that's just how Jason rolls. He's not kicking out anyone underage! Just keeping them away from drugs / weapons / fights as much as possible.

Anyone caught within these two gangs dealing illegal or dangerous substances/items to children would have been immediately dealt with; not killed per se, but made an example of and definitely left mutilated to the point of preventing further malpractice (severing tendons, snapping bones, etc etc).

(Obviously he's not going to kick sad kids out because where else would they direct all their energy? Stealing stuff out of stores and getting caught irresponsibly? nah. Jason will just divert their attention to less terrible things to get caught doing and teach them how to not get caught. )

Jason is also taking Kovacs as his public right hand man, pending how far the favor Cassius promised him takes him! So this isn't coming up yet but once Kovacs figures out how big and important he is.

With this, Jason will also be refocusing gang efforts onto big corporations and corrupt government activities. Which! He'll be asking El for a bit of assistance with.

As mentioned before, Jason would be going to El to ask if there's anything that needs to be "taken care of". While he's just fine uh. targeting his own enemies and focusing on taking them down, he promised to try and keep some heat off of Morningstar and he's going to be keeping his end of the deal. If there's anything El can think of that needs to be handled, Jason will use his own built up resources to target them down as long as there is some benefit he can talk up to the street ruffians to make it worth it to them. SO if there's anything El would mention when Jason asks--I'm totally down for trying to build a plot around it!

[evasives]

okok here i am again!! god what even were the numbers, this is a short round of follow up for now!

a quick clarification about the 2510 earthquakes, since i've learned new beijing was prepared for them too. i know new amsterdam, new oslo, and new venice were hit, but was this a worldwide power outage? if not, what other cities were hit by it? it seems to be global but i can't seem to find anything in any of the threads about the exact scale of the earthquake/outages.

5. yes re: the records, i would like to say he's gained access a little bit pre new beijing but definitely post!


also as a side note, i am definitely trying to compile things cassian has learned into a network post! my goal is to get it up before christmas.

[larkers]

Hi Jenna! We're excited about your feedback here, so hopefully what we've cooked up works for you!

First off: the mob family that she's joining has a very different makeup from what you'd find today: there are men, women, and nonbinary individuals on all levels. This might be a comfort for Caroline. Any of her new bosses will likely be a good mix of men and women, and any of their henchpeople (oh, yeah, we made that up!) are also a blend of different genders and types. Anyone who's discounting her is just mad because they didn't show off in the same way and earn the interest of the higher ups. In that way, it's not men diminishing Caroline, but people who are incredibly jealous of her ability to get her favors.

The best way to prove her loyalty is to not bite back against jobs or orders that she's given. After all, even if she does this only to her higher ups and in a private space, someone on hand might talk about it. Her resilience and efficiency will be appreciated by her bosses, but those around her - the lower rungs, if you will - will definitely dislike this. So, it's ultimately up to you for what Caroline would do. She doesn't need to kowtow to anyone who's not her boss, but they're undoubtedly going to try to make her life difficult by pinning things on her. If she's following orders and being efficient, those above her will see the difference - but they won't admonish anyone pinning her with things she didn't do. It's up to her to come up with a plan - so let us know what she (and Hope, if she's involved) does to mitigate these people trying to sabotage her. Death is probably not a good option, but terror? Eh, terror can probably do the trick.

Caroline's immediate boss will be a woman named Micaela Yavuz. She's six-foot-two, strong-shouldered, beautiful, and commands a lot of attention whenever she walks into a room. She's notoriously difficult to read. Rather than giving off Katherine vibes, she'll likely be a whole different type of powerful. She's the head of security for the Riverside Mob, and she's a legacy. Her father was in this position at one point, and so was her grandmother. Micaela - called Mic by those she likes - is a professional in every way, and she's a bit of a badass. She'll have personally pitched for Caroline and Hope, but will have also told Caroline that she couldn't have the freedom she originally requested because she knew that her other underlings would be, for lack of a better word, babies about it.

Mic won't see Caroline and Hope as underlings to abuse - instead, she'll see them for who they are: incredibly strong assets who make the mob more powerful. She'll protect them, but will leave them to figure out how to handle the babies who are throwing tantrums because she's curious about how they'll handle this situation.

[larkers]

Hey Trace!

There was a slight miscommunication on the way that we handled the Cassius request. We thought that you wanted a different request and so we want to apologize for the mix-up and how late this comes! However! We hope you like what we've got for you. Here's what Kovacs can expect:

Cassius will leak to the press, with what would be considered "proof enough," that Takeshi Kovacs is the same as the mystery shrine maker who's been leaving their graffiti art all over the city.

(For reference, these were first mentioned in our January arrival log under the "A Visual Detour" section. The specific artist in question is first mentioned here in the second question's answer for Jen/Markus back in the day. We hope this helps!)

Reports will start coming in that go viral and turn him from normal, mild-mannered Kovacs to a city-based celebrity almost overnight. He'll be the focus of art articles, celebrity e-magazines, investors, and suddenly invited to all kinds of bougie parties. This will give him a lot of flexibility without having to change his demeanor and still remain a New Amsterdam celebrity! Most of the upper class who invite him to their galas won't scrutinize but will ask questions about his inspiration and his process (most are clueless, so he's free to make up whatever answers suit him).

We thought this might be fun to work with, but if you'd like something else let us know!

[larkers]

Hey there Emma! You're in for a ride.

There are no travel agents anymore, as those who are affluent enough to travel frequently have personal assistants who make their plans for them. Aside from the cities, there aren't many other places to go. That isn't to say that traveling is out of the question, just that it requires some level of personal research. There are guides and forums online that are dedicated to traveling all over the world! New Honolulu is usually passed up because of the strict travel restrictions around getting into the city, but those who do visit it say two things: It's one of the most, if not the most beautiful city in the world, and that it's an experience unlike they've ever had before (or will again).

From New Amsterdam the trip takes around 18 hours, and much like New Beijing, there's a maglev train that runs from New Amsterdam to New Honolulu. There's a single stop in New Tokyo where no one is allowed to leave the train before it runs beneath the Pacific Ocean and to its final destination. A round-trip ticket for a single passenger runs around one month's salary. That isn't the reason why New Honolulu is such a low tourist destination, though -- it's due to the heavy travel limitations on entering the city. All who make the trip must be up-to-date with immunizations, must ensure that they're bringing no foreign flora or fauna into the island limits, and must be quarantined for 12 hours upon arrival to ensure that no invasive materials contaminate the current protected ecosystem on the island. Any plans made for accommodations will ask for IDs in advance, along with the proper travel documentation. Some will remark that it was an invasion of privacy, as all of their luggage was thoroughly searched by armed guards. These guards stand at the entrance of the train station, and are definitely not UNA soldiers. Actually, the forums will remark at the very sparse UNA presence once they reach New Honolulu.

All this trouble is all for a good reason. New Honolulu is one of the only cities in the world surrounded by the last temperate tropical rainforest. Conservation is of utmost importance. New Honolulu has an impeccable record for reuse and conservation of resources. Hawai'i is now a large island connected by 500 years of volcanic and seismic activity. There are smaller islands sprinkled along the rifts, but the Big Island is now connected to the others. The wildlife and native flora have thrived, covering the entire island in lush greenery and unique plant life that can only be found there.

New Honolulu is purely powered by geothermal energy from the underground magma pockets and active volcanoes, which is more than enough to host a city that's a little over 1.5 million residents. New Honolulu is one of the smaller cities in the world, and one of the most communal. It almost seems like everyone knows one another. The residents of New Honolulu take the nature of the island very seriously, and almost seem to incorporate it into their daily lives. The city of New Honolulu still has vast walls, but the plant life has been welcomed into the city, supporting some very impressive flowering gardens that work with the native architecture. There are very, very few hotels, but that doesn't leave anyone at a lack of a place to stay. Many residents are willing to sublet their properties for a week or more to those willing to undergo the process to get into the city. (That isn't to say that they won't ask for assurance: IDs, copies of receipts and immunization records.) Those that have been there will remark on a few things that really stood out to them! They'll say that it has one of the lowest poverty rates in the world, and that food is not only surprisingly affordable, but fresh and unique. There's a variety of tropical fruits and vegetables, and fresh fish and seafood that are taken right from the coast. (Most of those practices are all done by hand, as there are still strict conservation rules!) Poke is definitely still a thing. There's plenty of rum, and the coffee industry is thriving. Get a cup of coffee in the city, and it runs half the price as it does in New Amsterdam! Though if anyone decides to bring it back out of the city, they'll be charged so many tariffs in customs (and they'll be checking) that they may as well have bought it where they came from.

New Honolulu is the only place in the world that allows for a far-range whale migration observation. The marine life that had passed through 500 years ago still passes through today. As New Honolulu is the only city on a vast island, the rest is made up of tropical forest. There have been efforts made to keep the volcanic activity (which is very frequent) from harming the ecosystem. There are no trips to the volcanoes, however, as it's not only dangerous for people, but also a threat to the wildlife. Small spots along the coast are still designated for physical (not VR!!) surfing. Head into a surf shop and they'll even print up a 3D board for you with the specifications that you want! Of course, they'll expect that it'll be brought back for recycling purposes.

If you have any other questions or want to expand this in any way, please let us know!

[larkers]

Hi Tifa!

1. No need for roping in Riverstone, they just have to be clear on their intentions for travel. Declaring it an expedition would be fine, there isn't anything shady about that.

2. The New Beijing based Morningstar agents don't want much to do with the Displaced, unfortunately, and El'd be upfront about that. However, we've illustrated a few routes to Pax here and here. Feel free to take a look at some of these!

3. The trip from New Delhi to Mount Everest (assuming that's where they're going) could take upwards of nine days—a week for the hike and a day of quarantine (12 hours each way) before they're able to enter Mount Everest. The weather will be unpredictable, somewhere in the upper 30Fs with high humidity. There will be sporadic rainstorms that quickly turn to hail, occasionally ice, and slippery slopes up the mountain. They'll need to bring some gear! All of this can be found on online forums and the information is readily available.

4. We'll be focusing on this with the next event, so don't worry too much about the logistics! We intend to loop in your planning and streamline it to make it more viable for you and those that you invite! So keep trucking, we appreciate the questions, it helps us round out what we can all expect.

Let us know if there's anything else!

[larkers]

Hey Jenna! So glad you asked. You can pass this along to your friend.

In Meadowlark's world, marriage is seen strictly as a contract. It may seem a little unromantic, but it ensures that all parties are protected under the law. There are no religious figures that can receive ordainment to practice under the law, and this all happens at City Hall and specific offices designed to streamline this process. All marriage licenses must be issued in the city of residence, and there is a necessary period of notice that's required for all that are petitioning to be under the court's consideration. There are no fees for the issue of a marriage license, as it's seen as a civil right for all persons to enter into a union. That said: shotgun weddings are out of the question due to the aforementioned period of notice, making it so that two individuals must wait at least a period of two weeks to get their license. Some people can expedite the process, but they'll need some help to grease the wheels on this.

There are many kinds of marriage licenses, but the most common is a fixed term marriage contract. A fixed term marriage contract ensures a union of common property between two (or more, depending) parties for a fixed amount of time, no less than 2 years, but up to 10 years max. After the term period has ended, the couple may return for a contract evaluation and renewal to extend it if they're still happy together. The contract includes clauses on how to split financials and possessions if the marriage doesn't work. If the contract is broken before the fixed term is up, then there it acts as a guide for the proceedings, but can come with a hefty court fee (situation depending). Divorce is a thing of the past, and there is no social stigma around breaking a partnership by either a natural contract end or a premature contract recission. The more affluent the partners, the more complex the contracts can get. Politicians, public figures and others with more to lose generally contract a lawyer to draft their marriage licenses before petitioning the court. Aside from financials and properties, there are other partner rights that come with entering a marriage contract, including: end of life and after death care, marital inheritance, and governmental approval for a child, among many others.

As you might expect of a socially progressive world, these contracts aren't limited to couples. As long as everyone within a partnership agrees to it, these contracts can include multiple people long term, allowing for polyamory. The key thing here is consent and mutual agreement. No one's taking five wives without them all being in agreement. Arranged marriages are a thing of the past, too - though there are political and marriages between people with money, though mostly determined by the people entering that arrangement. No one can get married unless they're considered financially independent and able to consent under the law, which is at 18 years of age.

There are no formal weddings, no ceremonies, no churches, and no vows. All that's needed is a notary (usually supplied by the court) and a witness to the proceedings. Most that receive a marriage contract don't really do large receptions, but smaller parties to celebrate their union if they see fit within their budget. Those who have a lot of money generally hold more extravagant parties, some of which are even streamed live.

There's always more to it, of course, so feel free to ask any follow-up questions!

[larkers]

Hi Jessi!

Everything about the gangs you wrote gets our seal of approval! So, go forth! Have fun! Save the kids! Ish. Save the kids … ish.

This sounds like a good way to get Morningstar back into the picture in New Amsterdam, and therefore El would be open to having the conversation with Jason. Morningstar's resources in NA have been cut off for a while, so if Jason is tangentially giving himself over to that cause, El would offer up some suggestions for how to fight corruption within the city.

This would lead to the election and the current front-running candidates. El's opinion would be that Lynch was their best bet for a potential winner, in terms of being the candidate who'd be most likely to look out for the common people. Yes, Durcell has put support behind the Mars uprising, but they also have intense ties to the mob. If Durcell won, the mob would get more power, and El doesn't want that as ze doesn't have any way to control them. This could put Jason in a tough spot, however, as some gangs also wish to gain power through Durcell.

El would suggest that Jason use his position with the Kings and the Warlocks to shift public opinion of Durcell and Jovavich. Something like fabricating a scandal, investigating and exposing true corruption about them, or anything else you can think of that would make voters less likely to vote for them would help!

If there are other areas of corruption within the city that Jason personally wants to target as well, El would be willing to hear him out. This was just what came to mind first!

[larkers]

Hey Tomato!

The power outage wasn't worldwide or expected on most levels. New Oslo, New Amsterdam, and New Venice certainly didn't know that it was coming. Some cities are better prepared against power outages because of the trouble the city itself might face. For instance, New Tokyo is generally built up to be prepared for seismic activity that might cause problems - since it's a city literally built on the ocean - but wasn't prepared for the type of extreme cold and blizzard that happened once the Displaced came out of the dreams. New Beijing (and Riverstone's scientists, to be more precise) were aware for some reason of the incoming seismic activity on that particular day!

We'll say now that you've figured it out that naming exact cities was actually a red herring! A lot of cities got hit. Some cities didn't - though in some cases, it was based entirely on luck! What can further be concluded is that it's weird that an earthquake would be predicted to impact New Beijing and New Oslo, even in this globally relocated world. Heck, that's true for New Amsterdam as well - which Cassian will now be able to physically put together, having taken a train from one to the other. How could an earthquake have such a large effect on the world? Hint: the answers are out there.

re: the records, that's fine! Let us know if you need anymore information beyond what we've already provided.

We're looking forward to a post from Cassian on this! As we've said before, we've enjoyed working with you on this, even we've laid a few red herrings and false leads along the way. As we said before, there's still a much bigger picture to solve, but it's been fun writing the puzzle pieces and detours for you along the way.