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abovegrounds2017-04-28 09:17 pm
undergroundmods) wrote in abovegrounds2017-04-28 09:17 pm
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May 2017 Plotting Post
May 2017
Welcome to your May plotting post! You can make use of the information here to plot what your character will be doing in the next month. May is a big one, guys. We're going to see a major political shake-up this month, culminating in an election campaign for the highest position in the Night Council: the President. That's right. Sylvia is going down.
OOCly, we've got a How's My Driving post and the latest faction reward scheduled in for mid-month, so look out for those. Check out the calendar for a quick summary of when things are happening. You can also check the game timeline to see what has happened in the game so far.
Factions
Tensions between Circle Daybreak and the Seelie/Unseelie Court are at an all-time high following the latter's successful claim on Croydon ahead of the controversial opening of the Magical Innovation Centre. Many of the fae that had gone missing were captured and imprisoned at the Centre to be used in magical experiments. The Seelie/Unseelie Court would not stand for this offence and mounted a rescue attempt to try and save as many of the imprisoned fae as they could.
The idea behind capturing fae was of course down to Samantha Okeke, the Mother of Witches, and the divisive nature of her policies has only further cemented her determination to continue. Angered by the Night Council's withdrawal of funding for the centre, she has instead concocted a plan with Cesare Borgia of the Islington Nest to get both of them elected to the Night Council.
In early May, Samantha will officially replace Nora Shannon as Witch Representative on the Night Council. But that's not all. On 7th May, a breaking news story will reveal that Sylvia Redbright cheated her way into the Presidency when she was first elected by conspiring with Millicent, the now deceased ex-leader of the Islington Nest. This scandal will result in a vote of no confidence for Sylvia, who will be forced to step down as President. It's snap election time!
Meanwhile, the Hillingdon Clan has joined the leaders of the Redbright Institute and the Islington Nest in that its leader Faolan has now publicly condemned Circle Daybreak's stance regarding the fae. It seems there are many who disagree with Samantha's actions – but do they have the political will to stand together?
Last but not least, the East End Pack finds itself in yet another dilemma. They made an alliance with Circle Daybreak in return for help to fight the vampires, but Samantha has all but given the cold shoulder to the pack's alpha Katherine Moore, blaming the werewolves for Circle Daybreak's failures in Bromley and Croydon. Is it time for the pack to find a new ally?
Territories
The Seelie/Unseelie Court won Croydon from Circle Daybreak, which makes the Islington Nest the most powerful faction in the city with seven territories. 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:
Events
Plots
The following prompts are up for grabs this month:
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.
Welcome to your May plotting post! You can make use of the information here to plot what your character will be doing in the next month. May is a big one, guys. We're going to see a major political shake-up this month, culminating in an election campaign for the highest position in the Night Council: the President. That's right. Sylvia is going down.
OOCly, we've got a How's My Driving post and the latest faction reward scheduled in for mid-month, so look out for those. Check out the calendar for a quick summary of when things are happening. You can also check the game timeline to see what has happened in the game so far.
Factions
Tensions between Circle Daybreak and the Seelie/Unseelie Court are at an all-time high following the latter's successful claim on Croydon ahead of the controversial opening of the Magical Innovation Centre. Many of the fae that had gone missing were captured and imprisoned at the Centre to be used in magical experiments. The Seelie/Unseelie Court would not stand for this offence and mounted a rescue attempt to try and save as many of the imprisoned fae as they could.
The idea behind capturing fae was of course down to Samantha Okeke, the Mother of Witches, and the divisive nature of her policies has only further cemented her determination to continue. Angered by the Night Council's withdrawal of funding for the centre, she has instead concocted a plan with Cesare Borgia of the Islington Nest to get both of them elected to the Night Council.
In early May, Samantha will officially replace Nora Shannon as Witch Representative on the Night Council. But that's not all. On 7th May, a breaking news story will reveal that Sylvia Redbright cheated her way into the Presidency when she was first elected by conspiring with Millicent, the now deceased ex-leader of the Islington Nest. This scandal will result in a vote of no confidence for Sylvia, who will be forced to step down as President. It's snap election time!
Meanwhile, the Hillingdon Clan has joined the leaders of the Redbright Institute and the Islington Nest in that its leader Faolan has now publicly condemned Circle Daybreak's stance regarding the fae. It seems there are many who disagree with Samantha's actions – but do they have the political will to stand together?
Last but not least, the East End Pack finds itself in yet another dilemma. They made an alliance with Circle Daybreak in return for help to fight the vampires, but Samantha has all but given the cold shoulder to the pack's alpha Katherine Moore, blaming the werewolves for Circle Daybreak's failures in Bromley and Croydon. Is it time for the pack to find a new ally?
Territories
The Seelie/Unseelie Court won Croydon from Circle Daybreak, which makes the Islington Nest the most powerful faction in the city with seven territories. 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:
Konstantina Nicolaides | Vampire, Islington Nest | Level 1These minions will decide to leave town this month:
‣ A Grecian vampire, she hasn't actually been back to Greece in 200 years. She pissed off a Gorgon and is unsure if she's still mad at her.
Parthenope | Fae, Unseelie Court | Level 1
‣ An ancient siren with a peculiar soft spot for nu-metal.
Dexter Freeman | Witch, Circle Daybreak | Level 2And these less fortunate minions will sadly die this month:
‣ One of the last remaining vocal members of the Norrellite coven, Dexter is convinced his disappearance was a Night Council inside job.
Loretta Ortega | Meta Human, East End Pack | Level 1
‣ An eccentric writer whose popular bed-and-breakfast is supposedly haunted. She may or may not be using her powers to encourage tales of supernatural activity.
Elicia Darby | Meta Human, Hillingdon Clan | Level 2
‣ Loves coffee more than tea and claims she was disowned by her family for it; couch hops around Hillingdon and complains about money but never seems to be short of it when she really needs it.
Liadan Waters | Meta Human, Hillingdon Clan | Level 2
‣ Mother of a young son, she runs a daycare centre for meta human children. Her powers include healing and foresight.
Caratacus Snewing | Shapeshifter, Islington Nest | Level 2
‣ A horse shapeshifter, he hangs around the vampires under the illusion that they are much cooler than they appear to be.
Thomas Nightingale | Witch, Redbright Institute | Level 1
‣ A witch who thought he was retired until he started ageing backwards. Now over a century old, he returned to the Institute as an instructor and member of the Outreach team.
Gregory Blake | Fae, Unseelie Court | Level 1
‣ A changeling who thinks this makes him an expert on human culture. He hasn't been to the mortal realm since 1823.
Tandra Hahn | Shapeshifter, East End Pack | Level 1Factions 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.
‣ A striking young gambler with a knack for trouble. And a knack for spying while disguised as a starling.
Shady Heavens | Vampire, Islington Nest | Level 1
‣ Everyone's favourite drag queen. Famed for her neon pink hair and terrible singing voice.
Events
1st May – BELTANE.* The fire festival of Beltane is a time of celebration for witches, marking the beginning of summer. It is traditional for covens to light a bonfire, wear flower crowns and perform fertility rites. The first day of May is also when the barrier between the mortal world and the Other Realm is at its thinnest, which is why some witches still leave offerings to appease the fae who may be passing through.
2nd May – THE WITCH REPRESENTATIVE. Following a series of supernatural visions, Nora Shannon will officially pass on the mantle of Witch Representative for the Night Council to Samantha Okeke, the Mother of Witches. Nora is convinced that her visions mean that Samantha is destined to take the role, and so this changeover of power happens without any objection in the witch community.
6th May – WESTMINSTER MORRIS DANCING. That good old English tradition of Morris dancing will be on display in Westminster as teams from all over the country perform dances from their region. It's quite the spectacle, but watch out for the Seelie sneaking in to steal the dancers' sticks.
7th-11th May – THE MILLICENT SCANDAL. It'll be a media feeding frenzy as breaking news on 7th May reveals that Sylvia Redbright cheated her way into the Presidency when she first took office with help from Millicent, one of the previous leaders of the Islington Nest. The news will escalate over the week, as Samantha Okeke takes the opportunity to call a vote of no confidence in the President. The pressure will mount until the storm finally breaks on 11th May when Sylvia Redbright announces her resignation as President.
10th May – 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.
19th May – NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENT. The nominations for President will be announced on this day. Candidates are nominated by upstanding members of Circle Daybreak, Redbright Institute and the Night Council. Player characters can stand as candidates if they are at level 4 or above, but please bear in mind that the election result is not up for grabs.
20th-31st May – PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN. The Presidential candidates will be campaigning for your votes right up until the evening before the election. Expect eager volunteers to be knocking on your door with flyers, slogans and persuasive arguments. Note that only members of Circle Daybreak, the Redbright Institute, the East End Pack and the Night Council get a vote, so candidates will only need to campaign in those areas. This is a snap election with a very short turnaround, making for an inevitably chaotic campaign. Oddly enough, candidates seem to be dropping out at a rather fast rate...
23rd-27th May – CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW. Enjoy the wondrous displays created by gardeners all over London. Who says that city life can't be green?
1st June – PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. The day of the election! More information about this in next month's plotting post.
*This event will be incorporated into the upcoming test drive meme.
Plots
The following prompts are up for grabs this month:
1) There is a bounty on a rogue vampire. The vampire has defected from their nest and is turning innocent people without permission. They have created a violent gang terrorizing the streets. Reward: £2000 – Claimed by Melly
2) You are abducted by fae. It seems they want something from you... perhaps your blood, a lock of hair, or even your soul. Either way it looks as though you're about to be sacrificed. – Claimed by Shade
3) A teenager is killed in a tragic accident, then mysteriously turns up alive again. They're not dead or a vampire. It seems they have some other power.
4) You're asked to take part in a May Day event with a twist: all the dancers around the maypole must be naked. Come on, it's all for a good cause.
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.
no subject
The vampire behind this mess is one of the few ones left that are frustrated that Raymond was disposed off some months back. They liked his way of ruling things (AKA anything goes) and would like it back ASAP for themselves. They're attempting to do so by recklessly making their own vampire faction! Hence the turning many as people they can get their hands on - They're trying to raise lots of foot soldiers/mooks for themselves and is testing them by unleashing them on the streets to see what they do.
A lot of these new vampires are innocents/probably unawares, many only following the vampire in fear of getting hurt/killed and are being kept in the dark about the Nest's existence. With the Millicent Scandal being the main focus of the supernatural community right now, they're using this chance to try and get rid of many perceived enemies of vampires as they can because they can.
Lillian will be picking this up and will try to stop this in an attempt to prevent any more harm happening to others. The fact this could help her get on the good side of the Nest also helps because possible allies/deals in the future would be nice.
INVESTIGATING
This will happen during the 7th to 9th of May. Lillian will notice the string of deaths and attacks that will be occurring over at Redbridge and Waltham Forest since they're East End territory and start snooping: Talking, spying, the works.
(And if it's alright of the players from East End and the Nest - Can I use the deaths of the minions as part of the plot? I was thinking of making their deaths connected since Tandra Hahn is an East End member and that'll help Lillian figure out that this vampire-related and a death of someone who doesn't fit the pattern - Shady Heavens, in this instance - being killed since they stumbled across the hideout and had to be silenced. If not then it's cool! That's the basic gist of how the investigation will go.)
The vampire's hideout will be over at Hackney due to its proximity of Redbridge and Waltham. It'll be a rundown building that's meant to be torn down this week but oddly enough there's been reports of accidents there huh. At some point she'll be meeting JC to talk about the situation and to also hammer out some details. After promising to keep this under the rug to the best of her abilities and etc, he'll help her out by pointing her to the right direction and stuff like that. After confirming it'll lead to-
GATHERING
This will specifically happen during the 10th of May with Lillian trying to gather the tools and materials to prepare for the confrontation and find allies in this mess. Lillian will be asking for help with this by approaching characters she thinks can help out + be discreet about this when looking for things or bak up. She will pay them in return if they ask: A article of clothing of their choice, charmed with her magic to have multiple charms on them instead of just the usual one charm. It's exhausting but will be worth it.
So she's going to need items! Basic items - Vampire Toxin, Jupiter Stones, ropes - will be gathered by Lillian herself/the fae minions or be things that she already has. Things that are a little more difficult to obtain - blood bags, components for a... shrapnel bomb, wood, and the like - will be searched for by reaching out to others like asking for help from the NPCs or from player characters. Especially making the shrapnel bomb part because hey. :|a
CAPTURING
This is going to happen during the 11th - 12th of May just as the scandal is dying down and Lillian needs to nip the on the bud before people start to pay more attention to this.
Lillian is going to try and separate the vampire leader from the newly turned so there's no strength in numbers and no one to rely for orders/directions from, respectively. This is because she thinks if the newly turned vampires are separated from their sire and learn there's somewhere else they can turn to for support/help, they'll be willing to give themselves up in hopes of mercy/something better. (That and there's good old menacing intimidation to make them back down.)
So how is this going to happen? She'll lure out the group and the leader by spilling blood near the hideout. The newly turned won't be able to control themselves and rush out with the vampire following to stop them from being spotted. When they're noticeable, they'll be kept apart via fae trickery and Lillian will try to incapacitate the boss vampire soon as possible.
How? She's going to use a homemade shrapnel bomb that's specifically made of wood when they're close enough. It's going to hurt a lot but oH WELL. SHE'S BEEN THROUGH WORSE. (Stares at certain places and laughs.)
(Also, if you guys want, feel free to reply to this plotting comment with a -1 or +1. For reasons.)
Either way the vampire is distracted and that's when fae minions + vampire minions come out of their hiding spots to apprehend the weakened/distracted vampire when the chance presents itself. The vampire will then be turned over to the Nest to be punished as the Nest sees fit.
If you have any questions, comments, or critiques about this plot let me know here or via my plurk
no subject
this is a good writeup and it does good things. i don't mind if you want to use tandra for this! i'll point the other wolf players your way too just to make sure nobody has anything contradicting planned.
if you'd like to borrow ghoul for this too you're more than welcome to! he'd likely be checking in on her anyway when he sees her shop is occupied again (wait, is she back in it?), so there's incentive for him to talk to her right there. he has experience with making explosives but he (obviously) doesn't go around sharing that kind of information so she'd ppprrrrrobably have to mention it first...
no subject
Thank you! I hope the others don't mind but they're free to decide what happens to Tandra since they are a East End minion. o /
And yes!!! I would love to have Ghoul and Lillian meet up again because I love their thread to pieces so it'll be neat they met after her disappearance. She'll probably try not to say anything about what happened as to no worry him so ignore the bandages!!!
… If you want, when I throw up my catch-all post for this plot that'll be different from my normal catch-all, I can make a special prompt for Ghoul. On a scale of 1 to Holy Fuck, how surprising would it be to hear explosions in the back when he drops by Lil's shop?
no subject
realtalk tho, omw yes please go for it! :) unexpected explosions would definitely be a solid Holy Fuck rating but god he might as well show her how to do it right...
no subject
I really like this dynamic A++.Perfect. \ o / I'll have something set up for the two then because please save her from herself Ghoul. Otherwise there's going to be a smouldering pile of glitter and ashes where her shop used to stand.
no subject
no subject
Post is now up with different options for Mogget to try out but if you'd like to see her during the investigations, the first top-level for the 7th to 9th will work best for him. She'll be very interested in speaking with him that's for sure.
no subject
more seriously Eames probably won't get directly involved because honestly he's had enough of vampires, but he'd be more than willing to point Lillian in the direction of useful people and/or help her procure any items she might need.
He also thinks keeping goodwill with the Nest is a good thing since it's always nice when your predators aren't trying to eat you, so there's that.
no subject
She's glad to hear that he likes this!! She'll just be happy to get an idea of where to get certain things - human blood bags without arousing suspicion, the wooden ammunition, etc - so that's perfect. She'll also like to thank him for saving her in person last month, haha.
Like I said on plurk, I'll post a plurk with links to the post and private threads for others! I have yours up and running so feel free to hit up whenever you have the time. o /