January 2016 Plotting Post

[undergroundmods]

January 2016
Happy New Year, everyone, and here is your January plotting post! You can make use of the information here to plot what your character will be doing in the next month. A new year means new beginnings. An important event will be coming up in the spring: the Night Council elections. Those of you working your way up the influence ladder may want to start thinking about this. OOCly, we also have our next How's My Driving meme coming up mid-month. Check out the calendar for a quick summary of when things are happening.

A note on territory claims
I would just like to remind everyone that when you sign up a character for a territory claim, you are signing up to participate in that plot. If you sign up and then don't participate, the end result is that you are influencing the outcome of that claim without actually taking part. Please only sign up for territory claims if you intend to play in them.

Factions
The big story of the month is the new law imposed by the Night Council, which bans the use of all dark magic, the use and possession of dark magic objects, and the selling or trading of dark magic objects. This crackdown on dark magic is a response to the increasing influence of both the fae and Circle Midnight, and the latest attempt by other factions – most notably Circle Daybreak – to squash their power.

With the truce between Circle Daybreak and Circle Midnight looking like it will shatter at any moment, the Redbright Institute will attempt to provide a neutral ground for witches to meet and share their concerns. Consider it the carrot offered along with the Night Council's stick.

Despite these moves, the fae remain a disruptive influence going into the new year, having gained another territory. As a result, there will be increased activity from the Unseelie fae all over the city, possibly causing some localized wintry weather in contrast to last month's unusually mild temperatures.

Territories
Croydon has become a disputed territory, following disruption by Circle Daybreak who successfully prevented the Seelie/Unseelie Court from handing over the territory to Circle Midnight, but failed to take control of the territory themselves.

Meanwhile, while everyone was distracted by the goings-on in Croydon, the Seelie/Unseelie Court sneakily took over Havering, further expanding their territory to the north-east fringes of the city.

The Redbright Institute and Circle Daybreak are jointly the most powerful factions in the city, with six territories each. Greenwich is currently a disputed territory, claimed by vampires and werewolves alike, while Croydon is claimed by Circle Daybreak and the Seelie/Unseelie Court. See the Territories page for more information.

If your faction would like to claim a new territory, please comment to the appropriate thread. Players will then have three days from the date and time of the initial claim to sign up for the conflict. Anyone can sign up, but please only volunteer your character if they are a member of a faction involved in the conflict or they have IC reasons to actively help out. Please do not volunteer if you won't be able to participate in the plot.

If the outcome of the conflict is not already guaranteed, I will then look at the sign-ups list to calculate which faction will emerge victorious. It is up to players to plan and play out the actual conflict itself. If you comment to claim a territory, then you should also take the lead in planning and organizing it.

Minions
The following lucky minions will be promoted this month:

Christopher Zil | Meta Human, Redbright Institute | Level 1
‣ Member of the Outreach team. Powers include slowing and quickening time.

These minions will decide to leave town this month:

Emily Vale | Witch, Circle Daybreak | Level 1
‣ A teenage witch with strong psychic powers and a terribly quick temper.

Jake Morton | Human, Circle Midnight | Level 1
‣ A young man who uses potions bought from witches on the black market to help him study and do well at university.

Nux | Human, Hillingdon Clan | Level 2
‣ A teenage boy who grew up as a member of the War Boys, a gang of hunters who hated everything supernatural. Has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and given two years to live.

Willard H. Wright | Fae, Hillingdon Clan | Level 1
‣ An irascible outcast fae who makes a living as a hunter.

Grurg | Fae, Unseelie Court | Level 2
‣ A Troll, large and physically powerful. Trolls live under bridges and will generally leave a passerby alone if they offer a toll. Grurg is not mindlessly violent but he takes his job very seriously.

Factions may decide how and when their minions die, leave town or receive a promotion. Feel free to work these developments into any of this month's plots.

Events

4th-29th January – THE PURGE. Following the introduction of the law banning dark magic, the Night Council will waste no time enforcing it. A purge of dark magic will take place throughout this month. If you are a known trader or practitioner of dark magic, expect your premises to be searched by Guardians. They can and will arrest anyone found to be breaking the law.

11th-25th January – MAGIC AND ETHICS WORKSHOPS. The Redbright Institute is hosting a series of workshops aimed at witches but open to any interested parties, themed around the ethical use of magic. These workshops will educate the participants on the new anti-dark magic laws introduced by the Night Council, and encourage discussion and debate around the ethics of magical practice. The school is particularly hoping to attract participants from Circle Midnight, though of course no one will be asked to divulge their own magical affiliations. Still, if your business was shut down by the Night Council for selling dark magic items, at least you can come and complain about it?

23rd January – NIGHT ON THE RIVER.* The River Thames is a defining part of the London cityscape. The leaders of the Night Council will be making their annual introduction to the supernatural community – aboard a cruise ship on the river. Each faction is invited to send their own boat and join the fleet. Get to know your overlords... from a distance.

24th January – FULL MOON. Werewolves, it's that time of the month! Will you chain yourself up or spend the night in a cage? Roam wild in the London parks? Or perhaps find a witch to make you a wolfsbane potion. Whatever you choose, better be prepared.

*There will be a mod-posted log for this event.

Plots
The following prompts are up for grabs this month:

1) There's a bounty on you. A rogue fae has been posing in your likeness and killing people. Reward: £1000 – Claimed by Jack
2) A student who committed suicide has now returned as a ghost seeking revenge on all the people they believe wronged them while they were alive. They're terrorizing the school.
3) A family have gotten mixed up with the fae. Their daughter has been drawn into the Unseelie Court, and has become increasingly worn and listless.
4) A mischievous fae casts an illusion spell, causing people to believe that they are interacting with someone else e.g. they think Character A is Character B, etc.

About plots and events
• You may claim one plot prompt per month.
• You can also run your own plots based on the events listed above, or create your own.
• If you claim a plot, then you also volunteer to take the lead OOCly i.e. planning and organizing with other players, deciding on the outcome, setting a timeline etc.
• Once you have claimed a plot, you should introduce it ICly within the next month.
• Plots may not be entirely handwaved. You may handwave some of the plot, but you should play out at least part of it.
• Some plots will require NPCs as well as player characters to fill different roles. Please feel free to make up and play the NPCs yourselves.
• Plots are generally open-ended enough that you can make them big or small. It is up to the player who claims the plot to decide how they would like to handle it. You may want to do open sign-ups for your plot and specify whether there is a limit on how many characters can participate.
• Plots can also be self-contained or form part of an ongoing storyline. Again, it is your choice on how you would like to handle it.
• Please feel free to integrate plots and events or join plots up where appropriate. For example, if you claim a plot that involves a murder, why not choose an event during which the murder could happen? As long as the mod and other players are aware of your plans, I'm happy to accommodate.
• Do not ask the mod to explain what the plot is and what your character should do or discover. That is up to you. These plot ideas are just that, ideas, and it is up to you to run with them and decide how and why these events are happening, what your characters are going to do about it, and what the consequences will be.
• You may ask the mod questions pertaining to game mythology, to check that what you are planning to do makes sense within the game world.
• This list is not meant to be limiting in any way! Player plots are also very welcome.
• If you have an idea for a player plot, please feel free to comment here and see if there is any interest. Run it by the mod first if you're unsure of anything.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[undergroundmods]

[hurtfew]

I'm trying to work out the best way to thread Purge things with Norrell, when he probably wouldn't attend each house investigation/raid type thing in person because ruffians.

Could I say he leads the investigation, and that people caught with things are brought before him etc to answer the charges? That way people can interact with him rather than me spending most of the threads npcing guardians or night council people doing it for him!

CLAIM A TERRITORY

[undergroundmods]

Comment here to claim a territory! Please complete the following:

Plot lead(s): Who is going to run this plot? This should be you, but you can also list any other players who will be co-running the plot with you.
Faction: The faction that is claiming the territory.
Territory claimed: The territory that you are making a move on. It must be adjacent to a territory that your faction already owns.
When this will happen: Give the timeline for your plot. This should be in the next month. If you haven't decided on an exact date yet, a rough approximation is fine.

And here is the same information in a handy form for you to fill out:

<b>Plot lead(s):</b> <b>Faction:</b> <b>Territory claimed:</b> <b>When this will happen:</b>

Once a claim has been posted, players should then reply to the comment to sign up. Please specify which side of the conflict your character will be supporting.

Do not use this thread to start plotting. This thread is for claims and sign-ups only. Please start a separate thread or post to plot.

[youronlylaw]

Plot lead(s): Kim
Faction: East End Pack
Territory claimed: Greenwich
When this will happen: January 10th

[falsify]

Plot lead(s): Frank
Faction: The Unseelie/Seelie courts
Territory claimed: Croydon
When this will happen: Jan 15th

CLAIM A PLOT

[undergroundmods]

Comment here to claim a plot from the prompt list. Please complete the following:

Plot claimed: Which plot are you claiming?
Plot lead(s): Who is going to run this plot? This should be you, but you can also list any other players who will be co-running the plot with you.
When this will happen: Give the timeline for your plot. This should be in the next month. If you haven't decided on an exact date yet, a rough approximation is fine.

And here is the same information in a handy form for you to fill out:

<b>Plot claimed:</b> <b>Plot lead(s):</b> <b>When this will happen:</b>

Do not use this thread to start plotting. This thread is for claims only. Please start a separate thread or post to plot.

[knightscode]

Plot claimed: 1 - A bounty on you. AKA GUARDIANS GONE WILD
Plot lead(s): Jack/Lancelot
When this will happen: Maybe week of the 11th

RUN A PLOT/EVENT

[undergroundmods]

And finally, comment here if you are running your own player plot or event. This could be one of the events listed in the calendar. Please complete the following:

Plot/Event: What is your plot?
Plot lead(s): Who is going to run this plot? This should be you, but you can also list any other players who will be co-running the plot with you.
When this will happen: Give the timeline for your plot. This should be in the next month. If you haven't decided on an exact date yet, a rough approximation is fine.

And here is the same information in a handy form for you to fill out:

<b>Plot/Event:</b> <b>Plot lead(s):</b> <b>When this will happen:</b>

Do not use this thread to start plotting. This thread is for claims only. Please start a separate thread or post to plot.

[hurtfew]

Plot/Event: The Slippery Slope
Plot lead(s): Norrell/Jack
When this will happen: 4th-29th alongside The Purge

[kleptofaeniac]

Plot/Event: Time for a Change
Plot lead(s): Kim & Teresa
When this will happen: Late in Jan

[hurtfew]

Plot/Event: The Croydon Debacle Pt. ii
Plot lead(s): Norrell/Jack
When this will happen: ~15th, around, icly, alongside the purge

[protagonized]

Plot/Event: Be Careful What You Wish For
Plot lead(s): Simon/Emily
When this will happen: Early to mid-January

The Slippery Slope

[hurtfew]

What's that? A purge of Dark Magic users? Enforced by the Night Council?

Sounds like a good idea to Norrell.

Norrell will be One Hundred Percent involved with and backing this. If someone even looked at a Dark Magic user once or happened to vocalise the word fae suspicion will be cast on them.

In his new position of Witch Representative Norrell will, essentially, begin something of a rein of terror -- without really thinking of it that way. He is protecting Daybreak! Protecting London! Making magic respectable!

If you would like to be scrutinised, either as a Daybreak person acting suspiciously or a Midnight Witch trying to hide dark magic use, let me know! Even if you are entirely innocent it may not protect you from scrutiny.

Equally, if you'd like to try and point out to Norrell that this isn't very friendly behaviour please do! Despite appearances, Norrell can listen to reason when approached the right way! Normally Childermass is the voice of reason, but unfortunately he let Norrell and Vrinak be in the same room as each other and now they are best friends talking about how everyone but themselves are awful and everything should be banned.

Oops.

Lastly, Abigail is up to be Maiden soon!

As soon as her signs begin to show Norrell will be alongside Sylvia trying to promote a cat to maiden instead of Abigail. If anyone would like to be hired to begin sabotaging this NORRELL WILL PAY THROUGH THE NOSE make it stop.

[stauncherhearted]

HEY SO AFTER KIDNAPPING DO YOU WANT TO BREAK AND ENTER?

I'm pretty frickin' sure Nancy's on Norrell's list after their fabulous conversation (friendship bracelet is in the mail) so why not come check out her flat? There's dark magic artifacts and drugs and stuff there. Depending on how much warning she has she may be able to save some, but hey.

He could probably even figure out from raiding her place she's one of the Shadow Coven witches. Depending on how much he cares about that with Sylvia.

CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES take 2

[kleptofaeniac]

I'll never get tired of making that subject line lol

ANYWAYS. Just posting some new deets on this for anyone interested in being involved or at the very least having their characters know about it.

Kenzi is going to be turned into a vampire this month by a new vampire character by the name of Jean-Claude! Yaaaaaay~ It's going to serve as a punishment for her reckless and antagonizing interrogations (beatings) towards vampires in an effort to be a good friend. Yeah, she's full of horrible ideas.

I'd like to encourage anyone who wants in on this in some capacity to let me know!

Re: CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES take 2

[stauncherhearted]

no I want nothing to do with this ever.

Nope. SITS HERE as the bff Nancy is required to be involved somehow. Especially because she'll blame herself, like a good friend.

are you sick of hearing about Croydon yet

[falsify]

All this strife for such an awful area, am I right?

Anyway; I don't have a lot in mind yet, but basically Eames wants to push Daybreak out ASAP and in Feb will probably try and hand it back to Midnight so he can be done with this awful, awful place. Thanks to Norrell's alliance with Coward, however, he's highly aware that they may not have the manpower to oust Daybreak.

So basically, ANYONE INTERESTED IN HELPING A FAE OUT? If it helps he has a lot of money to throw around.

[thelittlemerman]

finnick is here to help this time 8)

Blood Bag

[paenumbra]

The holidays combined with the fact that he's so far away from home has lead to a depressed Matt. When Matt is depressed, he tends to be reckless and throw himself into physical pleasures - drinking, partying, and anonymous hook-ups. Usually, Matt finds himself in a heap of trouble and this time, it's with the vampires. Who knew getting bitten could feel so good?

I'm looking for a vampire who would be willing to bite Matt but not turn him. Use him as a free blood bank since the poor fool is going to become addicted to the sensations. The reason for biting him can be an attraction (he looks good enough to eat), revenge (this kid tried to use manipulation on me? I don't think so!), or plain boredom (well, if you have to eat someone...).

The goal is to begin turning Matt to the darker side and with the purge on Dark Magic, someone who looks like he's on the up and up with Redbright might be a nice pawn to have.

[kleptofaeniac]

SO idk if you'd want to wait long enough for Kenzi to be turned but she's going to be a vampire come late Jan! If you want, we can def do something with this!

GUARDIANS GONE WILD

[knightscode]

You know how Daybreak sucks, and the Night Council sucks? Well, what if you were a fae who could look like anyone you wanted to?

What if you decided to look like A Daybreak member of the Night Council Guardians and have a little fun?

That's what happened to Lancelot, around the 11th and for that week a fae is having a bit of fun going on a murdering chaos spree dressed up as Lancelot. Which is annoying for Lancelot because it means there's a bounty on him and he might have to get into a fight with himself.

Fae-Lancelot will basically be working on the general 'idea' of how Lancelot should behave, but very fast and loose and thus probably will behave oddly and out of character for those with a clue.

If you'd like to get attacked by not-Lancelot or interact with the fae, talk to real Lancelot and ask him what is going on or generally help/hinder hit me up!

[brightwitch]

Oh my god Lancelot what are you doing. Get back on your leash. Do you have any idea what a PR nightmare this is smh.

A Little Snowdrop (cont)

[acrookedchild]

So! As stated in December, Abigail is slated to become the Maiden in February. But, obviously, Sylvia and Norrell both have a vested interest in making sure this does not happen.

The current Maiden will be/has been seeing the signs of a new Maiden. Six of them, which, combined with the timing, suggests Imbolc as the time for the reveal.

Five are decided, but the fifth is still up in the air, and I'd love to chat with the Daybreak witches (who are going to be the rivals for the position whether they want to or not) to help work out the signs to be somehow able to be twisted to suit them. I'll post the signs I've got so far (and how they point to Abigail) so you all can see what we're working with. Please feel free to suggest changes/alterations. Because since it's prophecy, etc, it's not going to be a clear cut thing.

Snowdrop signs -- do not reply

[acrookedchild]

1. present for the forming of a coven (Shadow Coven, obviously)
2. expansion of a realm of influence (Enfield claim)
3. strong connection to an important day for witches (born on Samhaim)
4. jasmine (the flower and scent are heavily tied to the Widdowson line)
5. present on board the Night Council cruise ship (Abigail will basically sneak on board)
6. ?

Night on the River

[brightwitch]

Following on from the above, a few more details on the Night on the River event! Basically, Sylvia is going to use the event as an opportunity to present the potential new Maidens to the rest of the Night Council, in fulfilment of the fifth sign. (Abigail is not invited in order to prevent her from fulfilling this sign. HAHA SCREW YOU ABIGAIL.)

Young Daybreak witches will therefore be invited to mingle with the elite on the cruise ship. This will include our very own Elizabeth and Siobhan.

What else will be going on? Well...

• The Night Council might just "forget" to send an invitation to the Seelie/Unseelie Court. Haha, whoops.
• Only the elite will be invited to join the Night Council cruise ship. This means only level 3 characters and above, with the exception of the young witches.
• Characters at a lower level can still get on the cruise ship if they work there! Enjoy serving drinks.
• Most characters will be in the surrounding fleet, however. Each faction will send its own boat. (But not you, Seelie/Unseelie Court. You're still not invited.)
• There will be a group of peaceful protesters along the river bank. Anyone who objects to the Night Council is free to join them.
• You can also crash the party if you want! But do it quietly unless you want to be thrown in the river by Guardians. Please let me know and discuss here if you want to do anything that would cause more of a scene...

[acrookedchild]

Sorry, Sylvia. Abigail's going to be getting on board.

How, I still need to consider. But. You get to deal with her anyway.

The Croydon Debacle Pt. ii

[hurtfew]

Those gosh darn fae just don't know when to give up and go home.

As per his usual tactic, Norrell is going to flash his cash dollars money around to try and recruit some Hillingdon folk into helping him out, pay out scholarships, etc etc. However! He will also pressure Daybreak folk that Croydon is their territory and look at the fae menace look how terrible they are, we only want them gone to live in peace, offer tutorship, and -- AND -- guess what.

Now he can help himself.

Norrell will specifically make sure Croydon is one of the first territories hit by the purge so that, guess what, there's less dark-magic using witches to resist when BY COINCIDENCE Daybreak begin to fight back to take it.

Isn't that wonderful!

You can hit him up to plan/discuss his strategy here or... you know, to heckle. He has a few prompts going on.

Be Careful What You Wish For

[protagonized]

Crazy late to the party with a plot that I was originally going to do in November before school and my job conspired to destroy my life for six weeks.

Here is the original post:

Simon loves his parents. He really does. They gave him everything he could have ever wanted as a child, and more, and raised him to be a pretty decent person. They were also really open with him about the fact that he was adopted as a baby, and he's completely made peace with that. Or at least he thought he had until right around the time he turned fifteen, when he started turning into a very large, very fluffy white dog.

Since then, Simon's been on the hunt for his biological parents because he has questions about being a shifter that he needs answers to. It's been seven years since then and he hasn't had much luck, but after agreeing to trade his dignity to Sylvia Redbright for help, this month he's finally going to find them.

Too bad it isn't exactly going to be the happy reunion he'd envisioned.

The ideal outcome of this plot is that Simon is going to have to kill a member of his biological family in order to protect his adopted one and become a skinwalker. Would a fae be willing to help out in that regard? Also, I know that we talked about having Matt and Skip help out, but anyone else who wants to join in is welcome to.

Thanks!

[paenumbra]

Matt will stand behind Simon and help him with whatever he needs. He's got your back, bro :D

MORE CROYDON TALK

[falsify]

I can't speak for what Daybreak is doing, but here's how it's going down on the Fae side of things.

Once Norrell starts his crackdown on ~dark magic~ in Croydon, that's pretty much a red flag that Daybreak's planning to mobilise soon.

Step 1: Helping people leave the area/hide their illicit magic. He'll be promising temporary refuge in Faery for those mortals who want it, but he's hardly going to be insulted by being turned down.

Step 2: The dramatic reduction in forces and the grey area wrt the Midnight/Daybreak truce means it's pretty much a lost cause, but Eames isn't willing to let it go easily. Some fae and sympathisers will have an evacuation effort of sorts going, and in the early hours of the 15th anyone who intends to fight will attack. The intention is to reduce Norrell's forces as much as possible before they abscond.

I'll put up a log in a few days, but in the meantime; thoughts, ideas, insults?

Re: MORE CROYDON TALK

[anniesgonemad]

Annie and Eames uhm uhm uhm.
She's more than happy to help with evacuation, which could lead her to talk with Eames?

GREENWICH TERRITORY CLAIM

[youronlylaw]

Here's a link for those who are interested in participating.

It's going to be a fairly bloodless affair. If you have a vampire that is opposed or someone in a totally different faction who isn't happy about this, please let me know and we can do something with that if you so desire! Otherwise it's going to be token patrolling after encouraging those vampires who live there to get the hell out.

If you're a wolf, please feel free to tag this! I've put up a few different prompts that I think will be suited to that. New characters are welcomed!

Magic/Ethics workshops and you

[brightwitch]

I figured since Sylvia organized these, I would throw up a post! Although don't let that stop you from posting your own thing if you want.

Basically, think of these workshops as something like the "don't do drugs" lessons you had at school, where "dark magic" is substituted for "drugs". Sylvia specifically wants Midnight witches to attend, but anyone is welcome to go!

Also, if anyone wants to make an appointment with Sylvia or otherwise interact with her this month, consider this an open post. Hit me up if you want a thread!