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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
Caroline would still be pressing her luck entirely too much to getting Hope in. While a demonstration would make them more willing to accept Hope into their ranks, they would force Caroline to rescind many of her demands in order to get her friend a job. Basically: Caroline is an asset they want, but they don't like her thinking that she can do (and get) whatever she wants. How this goes from here would likely be a negotiation process, and we're eager to discuss this with the both of you!
no subject
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!
no subject
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.
no subject
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?
no subject
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.