![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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.
.
no subject
Usually, the legal process is straightforward, but she'd be flagged in the process and could be at risk of arrest. So, there are two options available to you, and it depends on which you'd like to take yourself:
1. El can intervene after she's flagged, but would have to change her identity again. This would result in her losing her job at Riverstone, and a good deal of stability.
2. On the other hand, a certain someone (or something?) known for rescuing people from arrests could intervene (the one who got these guys out, for reference), but it could draw unwanted attention.
Let us know which sounds more appealing to you!
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
First off, we want to note that this is going to be a part of a mini-event that we'll be running in October while we prep for a year-ending AU event. Good job on those worms, Rey!
Secondly: go ahead and head over to our taken list to have Rey's name updated again. Will she still be Rey Nolo? We're in suspense!
For the first leg of this plot, Rey will be called into a meeting with Meredith Ling and Montague Finnley, Riverstone's Head of Security. Ling is a cold woman in private, with sharp, decisive eyes and a twist of her lips. She's all business, though she does smile, briefly, when she sees Rey face to face. In contrast, Finnley is a charismatic Black man who seems like he enjoys the sound of his voice. But he's nice and he welcomes Rey into the office, calling her "Rey." It's Finnley who leads the discussion here, stating that they got word from the UN that she decided to change her name back to someone that the UN most wanted, but interference from an unknown source prevented any punitive or diplomatic action. Since she's an employee of Riverstone, Ling and Finnley were informed of this.
Now, Finnley insists that they're not mad at Rey in the least: they understand that the UN had made some of her friends look rather bad following the EMP in New Amsterdam, blaming them for everything but the EMP itself. Her moral character there is to be commended. It's just that her friends—meaning "the Displaced"—are of interest to Riverstone.
Starting with Rey, they'll ask her:
• How she came to be what she is now?
• Do the Displaced have a tie to the person who's intervened? Important note: they seemed to be asking about a singular person.
• Do they know where that person is at this time?
• Where does she think she gets her abilities from?
And then they'll offer to do tests, both for Rey and her friends, to help get some clear diagnostics of what they can do. They know the UNA put Rey through some intense circumstances, so they would be happy to provide any and all information on the testing they'd like to do. Everything will involve informed consent, especially since Riverstone could easily take the heat if anything were to happen.
The offer itself comes with a week-long all-expenses-paid vacation to New Beijing. It helps, of course, that Riverstone basically owns the city, but anyone accompanying Rey wouldn't need to concern themselves with reservations and hotel rooms, wouldn't need to eat bad street food, or anything like that.
The offer in return? Answers. They have "suspicions" about who releases them out into the world and are hoping that they can gather information from the Displaced that will help them find who's doing this.
They'll give Rey time to respond, as well as bring her offer to the others. And they encourage her to do just that: to let the others decide if they want to take Riverstone up on their offer, to learn more about themselves and their abilities, at least from a scientific perspective. And in turn, they'll get answers.
no subject
no subject
no subject
Will this be happening in early OOC Oct (i.e., should I time my network post about this then) to segue into your mini-event?
Should I gather info from network post and come back here with what people are planning to do before the event, so y'all have more info for that, or is just throwing up the network post sufficient lead-in?
no subject
Yep, early October! We'll be announcing it on the calendar, so you can put up the post anytime after that. The mini-event will largely be what the characters do when/if they go to Riverstone, and will play out accordingly to their reactions.
As for a post, we'll stick a mini-event post up of our own, though it'll largely be detailing what's here. We're going to encourage players to go wild with it, and any new characters can feel free to tag along once they ship out.
So, the event will basically be "these characters go to Riverstone for tests and answers. What next?"
no subject
Thanks for unlocking these worms!
no subject
If Rey would like to reach back out to the security team at Riverstone, would she be able to get clarification/follow-up information and negotiate the deal further?
no subject
no subject
Some things I know already they'd be asking about:
no subject
Let's go down these questions, shall we?
What is Riverstone's interest in the Displaced?
It's actually more convoluted than Rey first believed in her post. The Displaced are unique because of their powers and strange appearance in the world, but also because they helped disrupt the simulation. Their emphasis will be on this disruption. Riverstone seems to be very focused on what it is about the Displaced that allowed them to cause those momentary disruptions within the simulation. After all, several Riverstone employees were able to report back that this took place. How are they able to disrupt AI technology like that? Given the reveal of Judas' return to the world, they seem concerned about protecting civilization from another eruption of war between humans and AI. Judas is still out there, after all!
Obviously, the Displaced have played pivotal roles in other arenas, but they seem single mindedly focused on the simulation disruption.
What will this data be used for? Who will have access to it? Can the Displaced negotiate an NDA of some kind?
The data will be used to help the Displaced have access to information about what they are, first and foremost. From there? Riverstone admits that they want to come up with means to combat any AI attacks, as well as any of the monster attacks since they do seem uniquely connected to the Displaced, though they won't be able to answer how the information they gain will be applied. They know about the curing in the first monster-sickness event, as well as the most recent one (again, via Riverstone employees, which they'll reference).
As for who will have access: the Displaced who sign up, as well as certain Riverstone employees.
They do not appear to be interested in selling this knowledge, or the findings.
How can the Displaced be assured that they will be allowed to leave the Riverstone labs once entering, either once testing is done or because they saw the test descriptions on the consent forms and changed their minds?
Riverstone has thrived for centuries upon their integrity and interest in helping out human kind. Capturing a bunch of people and not letting them go would be ludicrous. Obviously, they only have their word. They will be a bit curious as to why the Displaced are so paranoid, though they'll add that they assume it's because of what Rey went through.
How can they be assured that Riverstone will not introduce more tests that were not agreed to once the Displaced are vulnerable and in custody?
Again, this is based on their word and little more. That said, Riverstone intends to speak to the Displaced about what they can do and they can decide which of the tests they want to take. Right now, Riverstone doesn't know a whole lot about the Displaced powers, but we'll add that Riverstone has the means to do things with the empathy bond and some sleep studies if people reveal those abilities to them. This will depend upon what players have their characters reveal, though they wouldn't be able to say "we have sleep studies available" until … you get the gist.
How do the Displaced know Riverstone has any information about the people who dropped them off? They will want evidence before signing up for anything.
Does Riverstone know who kept Rey out of jail, and will they share that information?
We're answering these together because they go together. They have their suspicions about who helps set up the Displaced and who releases them, as well as who's been intervening, because they're one and the same. This is someone who's working outside of the jurisdiction of the United Nations and has flouted the rules for far too long.
They'll add that they believe the Displaced's presence and power is connected to an incident that occurred out in the Mariana Trench in September 2510. Numerous Riverstone employees were killed as a result of this experiment, and they want those dead employees to find justice. They'll appeal to Rey's sense of righteousness here.
Request that other Displaced be present for procedures?
This is granted!
Finally, all contracts and so forth!
Riverstone will be confused by the fact that they're asking for NDAs and additional contracts since that would've been included in the consent forms. These Displaced are mighty paranoid! (Okay, they don't put it that way.) But they will have already planned to draw these up, as they, again, need to adhere to their own integrity and being The Good Guys.
That said … they are a sketchy corporate entity that we loosely based on Disney. OOCly, we'll say that these contracts will probably be meaningless if Riverstone (or those affiliated) decides to do anything they want to do because they can do whatever they want. But ICly, the contracts will be airtight.
No Displaced will be harmed in the making of this event, however, and they will be let go when the procedures are done.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Riverstone won't be available for being hacked, if only because they have super duper good firewalls. In fact, even if he used his special extremis stuff, Riverstone's firewalls would just assume one of the Displaced were hacking in to see what they're doing. Both Rey and Tony would get a message informing them that their attempts at compromising Riverstone's data security are not welcome, though they understand their paranoia at this time.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
babysitting chargesfriends who are?no subject
We're putting up a mini-event plotting post on October 14th! That will include guidelines for this, but Riverstone did give the go ahead for this, yes! They won't be paying for their trip over, or any of their other expenses.
no subject