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meadowlarkooc2019-08-01 08:44 am
CALENDAR AUGUST 2019
IMPORTANT OOC NOTES
◉ It's now August 2019! What that means is that Meadowlark has hit its one-year anniversary! Many of you have been here since the beginning or around the beginning, and we thank you for your interest over the past year. There's still a lot to be done and uncovered in the world itself. The world is also constantly evolving due to player response and action—so keep going big, and we'll do everything we can to meet you on our end!
◉ Thanks to the feedback we received during the month of July, we will be posting our OOC Event Plotting Post a week earlier, giving players two weeks to plot. Ideally, we will be able to review everyone's interest in the event and tailor the log for those interests by the time it goes up, rather than writing a slim outline and adjusting and adapting afterward. We want this approach to help us figure out what you want in your event, and so that we can streamline things to suit everyone involved.
◉ For future events, we may give players a three week head's up! However, timing for new applicants and AC may demand that we only give two weeks. We're still working this out to see what's best for everyone in the game!
◉ On this note, our June event was extremely experimental, and gave us room to develop things for our playerbase! We had a very narrow outline for the event, and many of the outcomes that occurred were due to player response. However, we were left playing a lot of catch up, too, because we were trying to hit all the notes necessary. Therefore, the extra week of time will hopefully give us more opportunities to develop the flavor and arenas that you all want during the event itself. That said, our August event will involve the characters approaching a very precise problem!
◉ We still hope to have a complete Setting Update by August 18th. We're going to be working on transferring a lot of important details that we've shared on plot engagement and on the FAQ to the Setting page. However, due to the number of mod hiatuses in July, we may need to push this back! We do intend to have it done by the end of August!
◉ We are going to highlight more cause and effect in our aftermath posts and our calendars so people know where things came from! We hope this helps people see how everyone is impacting the game!
WEATHER: The rainy season has hit, without any surprise environmental shifts to stop it. Weather in New Amsterdam is still a lot of fluctuating extremes, making the rain itself the same. Always humid, and sometimes extremely cold, with the rain feeling like it's sharp icicles prickling against someone's skin. Highs of 85 and lows of 35.
NOTABLE NEWS:
◉ Thanks to a suggestion from one of her coworkers and hopeful future constituent, gubernatorial nominee Katelin Jovavich has taken to pushing a movement to plant over a hundred thousand trees in New Amsterdam over the next fifty years. Much of this will mean clearing abandoned buildings so that fertile soil can be put in, and she's putting forth a great deal of money to do just that.
◉ Due to the shocking disappearance of the head of the Committee for Customs & Border Protection Policy, Neema Seif is appointed as temporary head of the committee on December 2. This appointment comes down from UN officials in New Beijing following a series of reports of citizens sneaking out beyond the walls of the city. A news blast reminds New Amsterdam citizens that they are not to leave the city without official paperwork regarding where they're going, as these sanctions are in place to protect the environment outside of each and every megacity. This action responds to this player plot.
◉ Remember that site asking for United Nations citizens to turn in suspected Morningstar agents? If anyone doesn't, it was the direct result of the aftermath from our Dreamscape Event. Nightly news reports begin referring to it every evening, asking for any and all assistance in identifying Morningstar agents in New Amsterdam. There are reports of widespread Morningstar-related violence in New Amsterdam, so putting a stop to it is of the utmost importance. These reports start on December 3 and continue throughout the month.
◉ Chief of Police Shanna Mikhailov issues a statement on December 4 regarding this so-called "widespread violence." Careful not to contradict local news sources, Mikhailov indicates that what may have been violence believed to be Morningstar may actually be a gang war between rival factions who are aiming to frame the rebel organization with their efforts. Over 17 gang members are debilitated and not talking, with New Amsterdam police patrolling districts of the city known for gang activity to try to prevent more deaths. Mikhailov does not inform the public that these gang members have Morningstar tech – the masks, in particular, even if they were redesigned – but NAPD are aware of this factor. Mikhailov does not share this information so that she does not contradict UNA reports. This action is in direct response to this player plot.
◉ It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! As if a commerciality-based future would pass up on this opportunity. Of course, out of respect to the old Dutch traditions, Christmas celebrations start early in New Amsterdam, with the biggest celebrations starting on Sinterklaas Eve on December 5. The Sinterklaas celebration will be covered in more detail in the arrival log. (An odd quirk: Sinterklaas is not translated unless someone manually asks for it to be done!) Christmas decorations can be seen throughout the city by midnight of December 1, stretching everywhere and anywhere. This season, it seems that whoever's in charge of decorations has made a point of hitting everywhere in the city. Those typically ignored districts? They're lit up, with fake – and completely sustainable! – Christmas trees lining the sidewalks. The sponsor for all of this? Polarized, of course – who most recently sponsored the Lantern Festival.
◉ Christmas celebrations go on through the entire month, with other traditions coming into play! The first half of December will emphasize Dutch, German, and Eastern European traditions, while the latter half will be an eclectic mix of the most commercial parts of Christmas combined with an acknowledgement of Winter Solstice. All of that will be covered on our September 2019 calendar!
◉ Wealthy philanthropist Elin Zepatka – wife of Geoff Bozos, a low-level manager at Vyonation (though she's currently separated from him) – spearheads further charity work in New Amsterdam. Believing that New Amsterdam's wealthy cannot stand aside while people continue to be in need, Zepatka partners with gubernatorial hopeful Joseph Lynch in order to encourage everyone to participate in charity work. Volunteering? Helping rebuild homes? Gathering supplies? Zepatka and Lynch hit every area that's needed at this time. In contrast to Halloween – where only the middle class participated in charity work – Zepatka speaks out about the difference of the New Amsterdam elite, demanding that they step up for the other citizens in the city. Right now, everyone is in need. It's time to stop being complacent and to think big.
◉ As a result of these efforts, there are lots of charity drives and donation collection pop ups around New Amsterdam! Have some extra clothes or a roommate who disappeared and left you with all their stuff? These drives are here to help get them to some people in need!
DROPS: Amos Burton, Cassie Cage, Peggy Carter, Leo Fitz, Dick Grayson, Max Guevara, Katana Kahn, KD6-3.7, Johnny Jaqobis, Noh-Varr, Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, X'rhun Tia, and Elizabeth Weir all disappeared within the last two weeks.
> AUGUST 01◉ Activity Check opens. Current characters will need to provide 20 comments across 2-4 threads, while new characters (accepted on July 8) will only need to provide 10 comments across 2-4 threads. This activity check will encapsulate the dates July 1 - July 31.
◉ Monthly CR meme.
◉ August calendar goes up.
◉ Test Drive Meme
> AUGUST 03 | DECEMBER 2◉ Neema Seif is appointed and announced as temporary head of the Committee for Customs & Border Protection Policy, with a news blast being sent out about how New Amsterdam citizens have to respect the restrictions against leaving the city without proper documentation.
> AUGUST 05 | DECEMBER 3◉ Local news in New Amsterdam begins to report on widespread Morningstar violence throughout the city, asking for citizens to report any suspected Morningstar agents.
> AUGUST 07 | DECEMBER 4◉ Chief of Police Shanna Mikhailov issues an additional report regarding this news, indicating that this Morningstar violence may actually be New Amsterdam's gangs at war. Mikhailov reports that there are 17 dead, with NAPD officers dispatched in areas frequented by gang members in order to maintain peace.
> AUGUST 08◉ Activity Check closes (midnight UTC).
◉ Applications are processed.
◉ Sinterklaas Eve.
> AUGUST 10 | DECEMBER 5◉ Arrival Log. New characters arrive in New Amsterdam.
> AUGUST 11 | DECEMBER 6◉ The feast of Sinterklaas.
> AUGUST 12◉ OOC Event Plotting Post.
> AUGUST 18◉ Projected Setting update completion.
> AUGUST 24 | DECEMBER 12◉ Event log. A neighboring world threatens to overtake this one, starting with New Amsterdam.
> AUGUST 31 | DECEMBER 15◉ OOC Event Wrap Up Post.
> SEPTEMBER 1◉ September calendar
◉ Activity Check opens. Current characters will need to provide 20 comments across 2-4 threads, while new characters (accepted on August 8) will only need to provide 10 comments across 2-4 threads. This activity check will encapsulate the dates August 1 - August 31.
◉ Monthly CR meme.