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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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no subject
No problem! And sorry for the delay on our end. Getting the event up meant a delay here, and we're very sorry for that! Some of the more sensitive ones were most likely swept sooner than later to ensure the integrity of Vynoation's operations and partnership with Cassian. We want to stress that there's going to be a lot of noise to sift through on all ends – so he's going to need to listen thoroughly, and most likely for hours at a time to get anything juicy.
Here's some of the information he'd get:
• Vyonation has set pace to begin to raise corporate defenses, though it's unclear in what they're planning in that regard. While they're aware that they're the underdog of the Big Three in New Amsterdam, several of the board members seem to have different ways of wanting to play their wins and loses: by exploiting recent tragedies in New Amsterdam to their benefit, by changing their backing for the governorship to fully support Joseph Lynch instead (because of his charitable work and they want to "look good"), or by creating a hole in the securities of these other corporations' products when they work together. The general idea and hope is that they can generate some negative press for Pulsar and Giles Bell.
• Gill-Jade's office is a lot of careful dodging (and a whole lot of silence because no one's in until after the bugs are swept), but her apartment is not. There will be some tense conversations that may reflect upon her time in office, and how she felt "squeezed" out of politics. Several visitors show up to ask when she'll be returning to public service, demanding that she finish her time in office even if she's ill-prepared. Her daughter is always out for the day for these meetings, as if she's afraid of her experiencing these occasions first hand.
• Jovavich talks a lot. There will be little information about her candidacy handled in office, as she keeps a fairly strict work-life balance that has extended to work-life-candidacy at this time. Jyn's name will come up at one point because of her E-Mails requesting the trees, and there will be a sense that Jovavich went along with it to seem like a "good coworker." She doesn't want to seem as if Pulsar employees can take advantage of her for their vote, and Jyn's request is harmless (compared to others on the table but not outright stated).
She takes a lot of calls and makes a lot of arrangements from her office. Almost all of these conversations are referring to Pulsar's space exploration, with some requesting data on any recent maintenance on the Mars colony (always referred to as UNC2). There are a few people who come up a lot if Cassian is keeping count: Marianna, Larkin, Johann, and Soto. Typically, she needs to consult with one of them.
• Giles Bell is releasing a new drug on trial despite some hazy scientific findings. They've got their hands on a rather large subsidy from the UN to move forward despite possible health risks.
• Despite the sometimes ruthless nature of companies, Pulsar board members are focusing on trying to release new environmental stability technology. They're discussing diverting marketing resources away from the government subsidies for the colonies, but all of this remains up in the air for the time being. No one is in agreement, and some of the board members are against risking a flow of workers to the UN colonies.
Let us know if there are any questions!
no subject
i just wanted to check in and see if cassian would have gotten anything notable from gill-jade's home lately!
just... edits this in light of Recent Events 👀
are there any more details he would have gotten about/from jovavich's conversations and interest in the mars colony? like, are there specific areas where she talks to specific people of the four? how does she seem to feel about what's happening and would cassian get a sense of her goals? would he get any sense of the data itself?
no subject
A lot of Jovavich's sentiments toward Mars are covered here, at least as far as Cassian would know. He wouldn't have any up to date information on her sentiments, especially following the recent debates. If anything, Cassian would be able to confirm that both Durcell and Lynch have up to date information on Jovavich's apathy toward the revolts, especially since she would see it as a natural consequence of the UN's failure to put actual legitimate engineers and scientists in positions of power at the colonies. If anything, her frustration would show, with statements like, "You know why this is happening out there." She doesn't seem to have sympathy for the people out there, instead viewing it as the side effect of incompetence. Which, of course, can be twisted in a debate, especially since Jovavich herself isn't a very ... amiable person (or politician-to-be).
no subject
i would still like to know what's new on gill-jade's end, even if it's idle chatter! and i am still curious as to the patterns of who jovavich consults with on what topic - at least at the time cassian's bugs were in place. for example, what in particular would she speak with each of those four people about? and what would he glean from data she spoke about?
i know the jovavich stuff is not up to date because of when the bugs were swept, this is more me asking in retrospect!
no subject
For Gill-Jade, she's diligently working on her charity mentioned here with Rebecca worrying over her a lot and whether she's overextending herself. Her preparations are meant to be lasting, though Rebecca worries it might be futile. Taylor has private lessons every day, with time out in the evenings to visit her friends. She's still excited about New Honolulu, but tensions are high between Gill-Jade and her wife because Rebecca doesn't feel like she owes New Amsterdam anything (and, frankly, it is a bit Weird that things are hard for Gill-Jade, given the unnatural cause behind her changes).
Marianna Webster-Doyle attends her every need, as we said, and bears the brunt of Jovavich's good and bad moods. Jovavich is a brilliant scientist, but isn't as socially charming as her position might require her to be. You know who is in her place? Marianna charms people for her.
Olivia Larkin often discusses day to day workings within Pulsar, as well as recent models and responses about things on the colonies. They're trying to work together to design systems that take much of the work out of workers' hands.
Calls with Johann are suspiciously short - but frequent, especially around when the EMP happened. Jovavich often arranged meetings to meet with him later on. She often sounded impatient with him, possibly because he's annoying.
Soto and Jovavich are trying to come up with a strategy that promotes Jovavich's strategy, but continues in accordance with the UN contracts to send able-bodied but flexible (they mean: expendable) workforces out to the colonies. It's not what Jovavich wants, and she wants to both attract scientists and hope they have prepared hands. Right now, Jovavich and Soto are working on an intensive training program to better prepare workers for life on the colonies, working under the care of scientists to better streamline the process. Workers who would go through this program would be foremen and paid better, but Pulsar and the UN are both reluctant to pay for the training involved with this measure.