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meadowlarkooc2020-11-16 03:09 pm
EVENT #011
On July 26, 2512, everything changes for everyone in Meadowlark's world. Whether someone is in a car, taking a nap, or pouring a beer, everyone who's on the planet Earth will be swept away to a different reality. When this event occurs, there will be no one left behind on the planet with the exception of the three remaining AI (Cassius, El, Judas) and the people who are up at one of the many colonies run by the UN. To the people who aren't on Earth, it will seem as if all communication and shipments have come to an abrupt end. To the AI, it'll seem as if people disappeared in a complete rapture. While an event of this scale should lead to widespread tragedy, nothing of that nature occurs. Hover cars will simply descend without a problem, trains will come to a stop, and the world will seem to quietly come to a halt, abandoned.
Abandoned. Not stopped. Fauna will still continue to frolic. Flora around New Amsterdam will, as ever, continue to grow. But all of the human race will be swept off somewhere without a single sign of where they've gone, leaving all the megacities eerily quiet.
So, where will they have gone?
All of Meadowlark's Earth-side inhabitants will be pulled into The Aerie, a 254-year-old world that was developed as a response to several apocalyptic tragedies. As far as anyone can tell within the world, they have lived there their entire lives. As a way of managing rising population concerns and keeping the world in check, the people of The Aerie live in fear of being thrown into The Quarry and hunted as if they're game. Month after month for the past 244 years, the people of The Aerie have gathered around screens to watch the Quarry events. They're simply a fact of life. If you commit a crime, you do the time—no matter how big or small the crime is, or if it was actually committed in the first place.
The Aerie may seem to be an alternate reality, but at its heart, it acts as a reimagining of a lot of Meadowlark's core conflicts. When characters are finally free of The Aerie, they will need to determine what is real and what isn't while contending with memories from another life. Beyond that will lie a single question: what caused The Aerie's creation, and could something like that occur again on a more permanent scale?
Before we give the rundown, we wanted to give a key to what you'll be reading below to help:
THE AERIE: The name of the world.
PARLIAMENT: The name of the ruling class.
CARDINALS: Highest members of the ruling class.
ROOKS: Middle members of the ruling class.
MAGPIE: New members of the ruling class.
THE CONGREGATION: The general population.
THE COMPANY: Arena organizers, designers, and more.
THE QUARRY: The arena events.
SHRIKES: Secret police.
KESTRELS: The rebels.
Much like our previous AU event, we wanted to create a high-concept way of reimagining Meadowlark's inherent conflicts while also shedding some light on these things to allow for further investigation in the future. The other goal of this event is to help manifest new CR, as AU events help speed up the timeline on these things because of the new investment characters may have with one another.
◉ Our event will run for approximately two weeks ICly, with the OOC timeframe of it running from NOVEMBER 21 to EARLY JANUARY. We do not have a set end date.
◉ Our initial log for the event goes live on NOVEMBER 21. This will be the lead-in week on the upcoming Quarry event and where the rebels will be angling to make their move.
◉ We have other logs in mind, but they will all be posted as a response to character actions. We will have a header down below for plots and plans that would change the course of the event so that we can work them out with players organically as they come up! If characters aren't acting to change the course of the plot, we have a very loose outline of a starter log, a Quarry log, and an aftermath log. But we're trying to be more loose because we like to have flexible outlines for how these events go, and we want the AU effects to last for the characters.
◉ All information within the event will be plot significant. It may not reveal itself in the same way in the "real world" of the game, but characters will need to figure that out through the aftermath of the event.
Since this is a convoluted event, we wanted to be as straightforward on the mechanical side of things as possible. It is highly likely we will miss something that may be relevant to your character, so please feel free to hit our questions thread below, and we'll update it here once we've discussed it.
◉ COMMUNICATION: Communication will take place on Warbler, a social media site that's so popular that just about everyone has an account. Communication on public posts is limited to 360 characters, while DMs allow for an unlimited number of characters to communicate. All private communication will be considered to be a DM, and can only be one on one. Emojis are acceptable!
Everyone will be able to make up their own Warbler username. It's very much like a Twitter username, completely with the @ function. (e.g. @lowlowlowKey)
During the event, DMs can be posted to the Meadowlark network, or done in inboxes. The mods will also have an ongoing post for Warbs with gossip around The Parliament and notices about The Quarry. The devices used will be a lot like your average iPhone 12 and everyone logs into their device via facial recognition.
◉ EVERYTHING FEELS REAL. For characters who were around for the simulation from our last event, they will come out of the AU event being able to clearly delineate the differences between that experience and this one. Judas could not tamper with someone's memories and could instead simply control what people perceived around them. The AU will act as a complete rewrite of everyone's selfhood.
◉ APPEARANCES. Characters appear as they would if they were raised in the AU, so that means they'll have full head of hair (unless they'd like to not have a full head of hair, that's fine, too). Coming out of the AU, they'll appear as they would naturally after such a life-altering event, so it's up to you if they do or don't keep any scarification that they may have had before the AU, or gained during the AU. Basically: do what you want with this!
◉ OPT OUTS. The opt-out available will be characters who are in the AU, but are not given AU memories of their own. However, we do think it will be a lot more fun for everyone to be AUed in, as it may be difficult to play in the setting otherwise. We are not having an out of AU opt-out as none was requested in the feedback post.
◉ POWERS. Unless your character is a member of Parliament, a participant in the Quarry, or a rebel, your character has no powers. This is a shift from previous events and is a slight adaptation from our original pitch for the event. We realized that keeping powers to select groups will make things more interesting.
◉ TYPICAL DISPLACED POWERS ARE ABSENT. The empathy bond, the dreams, the chest objects, and all the rest of the Displaced's special abilities will be absent in all parts of the event. Even powered people will lack these abilities.
◉ DEATH: Death is permanent in the AU! Everyone will come back to life when the AU ends. If you choose to have your character killed in the AU, you can backdate other threads to continue playing. They will remember their death when they return to reality!
◉ More will be added as questions come in! We know we likely missed a lot that you're thinking about, so let us know!
Around 300 years ago, a major apocalyptic event affected all of humanity, forcing them to face their very probable extinction. After years of struggling to find a solution, a group called the Conclave emerged to help. These individuals managed to help humanity evacuate the world and shift over to a small dome called The Aerie, which served as their salvation.
◉ The Aerie is a large city crammed into a snowglobe-like fixture that protects it from the elements of the outside world. The barrier between The Aerie and the world outside is transparent, allowing everyone to see the sky, the sun, and the moon. Constellations are much harder to make out because of how far away they are.
◉ The world outside of The Aerie has been rendered uninhabitable by radiation. While some people throughout the past two centuries have tried leaving The Aerie, they've never been seen again because they instantly died. On and off throughout the years, people could see incinerated bodies outside of the transparent walls of The Aerie, only to later find that those bones were ground to dust by the conditions.
◉ The Aerie is also a large city, with many people crammed into small spaces. People who run businesses likely live out of the same building.
◉ The Aerie is divided into 104 sectors, with secret police (Shrikes) assigned to patrol each sector.
◉ History from the previous world is very similar to Meadowlark's up to World War III. That means it's similar to our world, both in mythology and historical events. For example, people will know that Prometheus refers to the Titan who gave fire to humanity.
◉ Overpopulation is a very real problem. This factor drove the creation of the arena events in order to manage overpopulation. While there are no official quotas to meet for the arena participation, there is a sense the arena is meant to be a silent threat that hangs over the head of every person in The Aerie (sans anyone in The Parliament).
◉ The currency in The Aerie is bells. That's simply the name. No one carries around tiny bells, unfortunately.
◉ With the exception of Parliament (the ruling class), everyone is limited to one child per family. There are strict birth control regimens to ensure that more children aren't born. Attempting to bypass these will earn someone a spot in the upcoming Quarry.
◉ There is a strong stigma against committing crimes in this world. Anyone who commits a crime gets what they deserve (fighting in The Quarry). This belief is at the heart of The Aerie, and most people within all classes believe it, making it so that bringing about change is difficult.
◉ The calendar of The Aerie is in its 254th year, based on the lunar cycle. There are 13 lunar cycles in the year, lasting approximately 29 days each. The event starts in the third quarter right before the next dark moon: the War Moon.
◉ Social media is a big deal in The Aerie. Everyone has a Warbler account, with each message sent known as a "Warb" or "Chirp." Arena designers thrive on their popularity on social media. If someone's arena theme is seen as a failure, they can potentially lose their job—or worse.
Previously known to a pre-Aerie world as The Conclave, The Parliament are the fascistic group that rules The Aerie. Prior to The Aerie's creation, the original members were superpowered people attempting to use their strength to revert the damage done to the world. When these efforts failed, they came together to create The Aerie, and they proceeded to help evacuate all of humanity to this safe space. However, overpopulation was immediately a problem, and measures were then implemented to manage this issue.
After 200 years, The Parliament now rules the world with an iron fist, flaunting their self-created laws while perpetuating Quarry events for their enjoyment. At the very top of Parliament is The Conclave, a secret society (or cult, if you prefer) for the elite members of the ruling class. Members of The Conclave are entrusted with the secrets of the source of the Parliament's powers. No one outside The Conclave will know any of this.
All members of Parliament, whether new or old, believe that they've been predestined to have this power and rule The Aerie.
◉ Members of Parliament live in a many-tiered hulking building that reaches near the very top of The Aerie called The Volary. This is a compound that is strictly guarded. Only members of Parliament can enter and leave freely. Guests are allowed inside, but they won't be able to open doors in The Volary without having a member of Parliament with them. Parliament's powers are the key to getting inside.
◉ The Volary is made up of many businesses that directly feed and clothe the people of Parliament. Food-wise, there are stations set up for animal processing. Basically: Parliament eats well, drinks well, and has a good time.
◉ THE CONCLAVE: This is a secret society made up of the elite members of Parliament. It's a natural evolution of what they were before, but the public does not know that The Conclave still exists in any shape or form. Members of the Conclave will have special plot information.
◉ PARLIAMENT TIERS: There are three tiers in Parliament, and one tier for the people who live close to the elite as servants, guests, or otherwise:
CARDINALS
◈ These are members of The Conclave.
◈ The world knows them as Cardinals, understanding that they have the most power in The Aerie.
◈ These individuals will have secret plot information, and we'll be sending that out before the first log. It will be up to them as to how that information will be released, and if it's released at all. You can also choose to have this information in hand for after the AU.
◈ Parliament members who are Cardinals will not be sympathetic to people in The Quarry or The Kestrels.
◈ If you'd like, your Cardinal character can be especially long-lived, holding their post since the very beginning of The Aerie.
◈ Turnover among the Cardinals has been low as a result, with many of them being seemingly immortal. But there has been some turnover.
◈ Cardinals have the final say on who joins Parliament because they decide who does and doesn't get a power, and they also manage removing the memories of the power-granting process.
◈ Prometheus, the head of the Kestrels (the rebels), is a Cardinal and thus a member of The Conclave. He will not be easily identified by other members of The Conclave. This is not known by the Kestrels.
ROOKS
◈ Your standard, everyday member of Parliament.
◈ If someone is born into Parliament, they are Rooks! Even if their dad is a Cardinal, they're a Rook. Of course, a Rook can ascend, following their father's footsteps.
◈ Rooks know that Cardinals granted them their powers, but they do not remember the process, as it's removed from their memories immediately afterward.
◈ They eat well, can throw their powers around, and genuinely can do whatever they want.
◈ While there is no probation period between Rooks and Magpies, there is a sense that someone considered to be a Rook has proven themselves as worthy of their destiny.
◈ They have a good handle on their power, but they have no plot secrets.
◈ They can be angling to join the ranks of the Cardinals or sympathetic to people in The Quarry.
◈ Rooks cannot be thrown into The Quarry even if they mess up.
MAGPIES
◈ Newly chosen members of Parliament.
◈ Longevity does have its place among Parliament, and proving that you're willing to uphold their place in the world goes a long way.
◈ Magpies are typically considered to be magpies for a full year.
◈ Magpies can just as easily fall from grace.
◈ Magpies can be sympathetic to Quarry participants or Kestrels, and can be stripped of their powers and thrown into the Quarry.
◈ Newly chosen Magpies are often Carrion (see below) who earned a permanent place among Parliament members for various reasons (IE Quarry fame and participation, a long life as a Shrike who deserves better, simply romantic entanglements—or anything else that comes to mind). The Cardinals are the final approval process for newly inducted Magpies.
CARRION
◈ These are the individuals who live their lives around members of Parliament, even if they haven't been inducted into their ranks. Officially, they do not have a title, but the general populace refers to them as either Carrion or Crows. Some members of Parliament refer to each other's groupies as Carrion, as well. Technically, these people are still members of The Congregation, but are more or less permanently affiliated with Parliament.
◉ Colloquially, members of Parliament are referred to as Peacocks (or any derivation you can think of 😉).
◉ POWERS: Cardinals, Rooks, and Magpie all have powers.
◈ Cardinals and Rooks will have fully-realized, fully-trained powers that are a mature variation of their Meadowlark abilities.
◈ Magpies will be new to their powers, and won't know the full extent of what they're capable of just yet.
◈ Everyone is granted their power by the Cardinals at some point in their life. If born into Parliament, children typically receive their powers by time they're five years old.
◈ Only Cardinals know the full power-granting process. For the past 200 years, everyone below the Cardinals in rank has had to accept that they would have their memories removed.
◈ Magpies go through a ceremony to receive their power.
◉ Parliament decides what businesses live and die within The Aerie. Rather than having corporations, The Aerie works off a patronage system that extends throughout The Aerie and into the Quarry. If a member of Parliament favors a business owner, they can help them succeed in such a difficult world. But if a different otherwise successful business owner angers a member of Parliament, they could lose everything they work for in the process. These circumstances have caused conflict between Parliament members, though they're often resolved by Cardinal intervention. Meanwhile, members of The Congregation suffer as a result of their petty feuds.
◉ Members of Parliament eat well. The rest of the world lives off of rations, but they have three full meals a day made up of meat and vegetables that are otherwise hard to find.
◉ Members of Parliament dress extremely well and their clothing is usually very flashy. Fond of makeup, perfumes or colognes, and generally looking good, they're a particularly gaudy bunch.
◉ They're also a dramatic bunch. Think of celebrity gossip and drama turned up to 11. Are there orgies among Parliament members? Do they drink a lot? Are they sleeping with each other's spouses? Some of this is thought to be true, but it's up to the players if Parliament is defined this way.
Most of the people in The Aerie are afraid. Afraid they'll rub someone the wrong way and be framed for a crime. Afraid that they'll be unable to protect their loved ones. Nearly everyone in The Aerie knows someone who's gone on to fight in The Quarry and died. While everyone is packed into a tight, unlivable space, they don't know what life was like before. Parliament has a rigid control on history. They don't lead their people to believe that life began with them, but there is a strong origin myth tied into believing that this is a new step for humanity, as well as a necessary one.
◉ Education is compulsory for members of The Congregation until they're 18 years old. Anyone who has a promising background in mathematics and science will have an opportunity to have further education from The Cotillion.
◉ The Cotillion is The Aerie's higher education institution. It's staffed and filled with promising members of The Congregation, as well as younger members of Parliament. The latter students tend to treat their higher education experience as a joke and a waste of time.
◉ Cotillion-educated members of society often go on to have careers in The Company.
◉ Not all alumni of The Cotillion join The Company, however. Many go on to become doctors, engineers, and even agricultural scientists. There is also a small group that's dedicated toward finding a solution for stabilizing the world outside of The Aerie, but they continually find that their projects run out of funding.
◉ Most businesses are small and singularly owned throughout Congregation society. Some business owners can luck into patronage from Parliament, but this is rare and seemingly impossible. Plus, Parliament members are fickle: gaining their favor can be a double-edged sword.
◉ Despite the risk, crime runs rampant among The Congregation. The crime bosses are able to pull this off because they either have ties to Carrion in Parliament, or members of Parliament themselves. This keeps them out of trouble, but any drug traffickers may not be so lucky.
◉ Thanks to rigid population controls, families need to be approved to have a child. If they aren't approved, they won't have their hormone modulators removed by an Aerie physician. For this reason, pregnant women are not called to enter The Quarry until after they've had their child. Removing these modulators is illegal, and carrying an unapproved child to term/raising them is nearly impossible.
◉ "Complicity" is a theme for The Congregation, as well as a persistent sense of personal responsibility.
◉ Life in The Congregation isn't without joy. There are Aerie-made sports, as well as a lot of television shows, movies, and performances. Many of the people who are in these jobs, whether it's athlete or actor or performer, ended up there because they won a match in The Quarry and then leveraged the fame they obtained in the aftermath.
Officially known as the Aerie Quarry Standardization Society, they've been widely referred to as The Company by people within The Aerie for the past 150 years. When someone refers to The Company, everyone knows who they're referring to on the spot. The Company is staffed by a number of intelligent and charismatic individuals who keep the Quarry engine running month after month in the world. There is little room for a crisis of faith in what they're doing, and the interviewing process does look for signs that someone might be unable to perform their duties as a member of The Company.
There are multiple roles throughout The Company: arena designers and engineers, mechanics, physicians, ecological engineers, and even talent supervisors. Stylists have a role to play as well, as this is a monthly reality TV show that needs to go off without a hitch. Some members of The Company are recognized and invited to join Parliament for their service to The Aerie, but this is a rare occasion. Many members of The Company only get as far as being considered Carrion before they experience a fall from grace.
◉ Quarry arenas are planned months in advance, often in association with the upcoming new moon. During the AU, the upcoming new moon will be the War Moon, referring to the moon cycle.
◉ The Quarry is reconfigured month after month in tune with a change in theme. While there are repeat victors in the arena, there is a sense that they aren't meant to succeed time after time and subsequent arena designs might even be meant to exploit the weaknesses known about a repeat participant.
◉ Some former Quarry victors can go on to work with designers to create future Quarries. If a victor was seen as being particularly clever and innovative, they might have been scouted to help in this area.
◉ Reception of arenas is dependent upon social media. Some of the most famous arena designers have hundreds of thousands of followers.
◉ There is a whole community designed toward dissecting an arena designer's vision—either to determine what they might do next, or what message they were attempting to depict in this current Quarry.
◉ Talent supervisors handle being talent agents, working with the best stylists, and getting sponsorship for their participants by trying to gain the favor (and thus, patronage) from a member of Parliament. Talent supervisors are the mentor equivalent from The Hunger Games, with some supervisors being up and coming, while others are seasoned professionals. (Unlike The Hunger Games' mentors, these are not former participants).
◉ Many top talent supervisors work with marketing agencies. There are very few freelancers trying to make a name for themselves. Some will leave their previous agency to branch out on their own, and they bring many of their own stylists and advertisement specialists with them.
Once a month on every New Moon, the monthly Quarry begins. These events are televised Aerie-wide, with every member of the population tuning in. Even if someone wishes to avoid The Quarry because of its violence, it's nearly impossible. Neighbors will inevitably be watching, and televisions in businesses throughout the city will be broadcasting it.
Thought of as just punishment for committing a crime, Quarry events have gone on without a hitch for 244 years. There is always one victor, and thus, there are many people who are dead afterward. Since the Quarry is one part social media and one part reality TV, participants in the Quarry are meant to be entertaining. They can develop alliances, play to the camera, or be the villain of that month's story. Recurring participants can be the villains of many stories.
◉ There is no official name for arena participants. However, participants are colloquially referred to as guineas, while repeat participants are known as snipes.
◉ Arena participants are given a new power twelve hours before the arena event starts. This means that characters entering the Quarry will not have their new powers at the start of the event. You'll need to wait for the second log!
◉ Arena participants will not know how they got their power, and if they win their Quarry, how they lost the power afterward. Any memories of these events will be stripped away, like with the Rooks and Magpies.
◉ Arena powers are based around survival and what that would mean for the participant. They are given full knowledge of their ability when they receive it, even if they've never used it before. Repeat participants will always have the same power.
◉ Arena powers are granted by the Cardinals twelve hours before every Quarry event.
◉ After The Quarry has decided its victor, the Cardinals remove that person's power and they're back to being an Average Joe, albeit with a potential for fame in their future.
◉ Repeat participants can be volunteers (doing a petty crime to be thrown back in purposefully), forced to participate again, or anything else your heart desires!
◉ Arena participants are like felons after their victory. They can't get traditional jobs, and are largely forced to become either celebrities, arena engineers/designers, or they can hope to be brought in as Carrion for Parliament if they play their cards right on the big screen. Many people don't succeed in any of these categories and are thus viewed as societal pariahs. Winning in the arena doesn't necessarily grant someone special favors.
◉ There is no minimum age for arena entry. However, children are less likely to commit crimes or be punished for such. Children who do commit crimes often see their parents sent to the Quarry for them.
◉ Gambling is legal throughout the Aerie and a tradition for monthly Quarries. However, if someone doesn't pay their bookie, they're in for a bad time. There are former arena participants who didn't pay their bookie.
Since Parliament often doesn't like to get their hands dirty, they have enlisted the help of The Shrikes for the past 200 years. Known to many people in The Aerie as the monsters that are hidden under the bed, they're often mysterious individuals who maintain law and order throughout The Aerie. Some Shrikes aren't as scary and carry on normal lives, while others maintain a secret identity, letting very few people on to what their career is. There are lists of people who are suspected to be Shrikes based on speculation around who ends up caught and thrown into the Quarry (and if a personal grudge was involved), but there are few opportunities for someone's identity to be revealed.
Although the Shrikes don't have powers, they are able to move freely in society and do as they wish. If someone is worried about surveillance, they have a right to be: Parliament set up The Aerie so that surveillance could continue around the clock.
◉ Shrikes are typically assigned to various sectors throughout The Aerie.
◉ Like with the Quarry designers, Shrikes are typically tested for psychological capability before being trained for the position. They have to accept that the people they arrest will likely die.
◉ Shrike training is intense and shockingly anonymous. Shrike trainees are allowed to back out as a result of the process without anyone knowing that they couldn't succeed. There is no penalty for this given the protection of someone's identity.
◉ Needless to say, Shrikes are dangerous. They're in peak physical condition and are trained in a wide number of weaponry. They are the most dangerous people in The Aerie aside from Parliament, and that's only because members of Parliament have superpowers.
◉ Shrikes have really cool costumes concealing their identities.
◉ Some Shrikes are open about who they are and where they work, even appearing on social media without their masks.
◉ Shrikes typically need to sign up and go through the selection process, though some are handpicked by members of Parliament to do their bidding due to being favored by them.
◉ Some people identify purely as Shrikes day in and day out. Are they okay under that mask? It's hard to say.
◉ There are rumors of intense psychological training for the Shrike. While this training does exist and does hurt someone's mind, not everyone responds to the training in the same way. Some see it as a necessity so that they don't break in the line of work, while others … well, are basically Shrike One and Shrike Two, happy to discard their identities. There's a range of these things.
◉ Some Shrikes are lawful, trying to commit to the rule of what's written, while others are petty and happy to take bribes to get someone arrested, easily swayed to abuse their power.
◉ Shrikes do undergo annual reviews to see if they're still suitable for their position.
◉ Because of the unique nature of who they are, retired Shrikes are invited to live close to The Volary in fully furnished apartments. Some are even invited into the compound if they've served a member of Parliament loyally for most of their lives.
No one knows how long there has been a rebel organization brewing in The Aerie. Some would say that it's a new development, while others insist that it's been developing for decades. Either way, they're here to stay, and they hope to blow the entire concept of Parliament out of the water. Their first stop? The upcoming Quarry. They specifically chose the War Moon, as they felt it best reflected their intentions. Life in The Aerie isn't peaceful, and it's high time that everyone started viewing it that way.
Led by the mysterious Prometheus (prmtheus), the rebels are a trained group with a strange set of powers. They are an aggressive bunch that's working to undermine the hold Parliament has on the world and liberate everyone from the cycle of Quarries. Some work as spies. Some angle to be treated as Carrions. Others live on the lam because they've committed a crime. There are numerous safehouses throughout The Aerie, though the Shrikes are dedicated to sniffing them out as much as possible.
◉ Becoming a Kestrel means getting a tattoo of a kestrel. Some rebels bear this kestrel proudly, while many others hide it under their clothing.
◉ Kestrels are put under to receive their tattoo and power simultaneously, so they are unaware of the process.
◉ With the tattoo comes a power. All Kestrels have aggressive powers. For example: pyrokinesis, telekinesis, super strength, terrakinesis, and more. This can be a version of their "real world" power or a new power that they acquire for the AU. While we recognize that powers like telepathy or empathic control can be used offensively, we're thinking of typical physically offensive powers here.
◉ When using their powers, Kestrels' eyes will glow gold.
◉ Unlike the Shrikes, Kestrels don't have a fancy uniform.
◉ Communication among the Kestrels occurs via handwritten messages that are burned upon receipt.
◉ Parliament individuals largely ignore the existence of the Kestrels, though they've privately directed the Shrikes to wipe them out.
◉ No rebel has met Prometheus personally. It's rumored that Prometheus is a Cardinal who's had a crisis of faith. Others believe that it's less sympathetic: he simply wants to bring in a new world order.
◉ It will be possible for someone to meet Prometheus during the course of the AU event. However, we would like this to be determined by what characters want, so please feel free to reach out to us in the plotting thread below!
◉ All Kestrels, if found by the Shrikes, will be forced into the upcoming Quarry event. Your character can be an arrested rebel, even if their crime will be simply listed as treason (as no one wants to make the Kestrels seem like a legitimate organization). They will still have their power if forced into the arena, granting them two powers as they will receive another as a matter of course when they're inducted as a Quarry participant.
◉ Many Kestrels may purposely get arrested as a result because two powers may give them the upper hand in their goal of revolution. Of course, this is also a risky move that could just as easily end in their death, and a number of Kestrels have already literally given their lives to the cause.
◉ Prometheus has given instructions for how to avoid detection after winning a Quarry event, allowing his rebels to maintain their powers.
Crime makes up the backbone of Aerie society. Without crime, there wouldn't be population control. But what constitutes a crime? Who commits a crime? Is anyone able to commit a crime without being thrown into the Quarry? We know these are important questions, so we wanted to hit them!
◉ Anyone who commits a crime runs the risk of arrest by a Shrike. However, this does require a report. The Shrike could file the report themselves because they saw the crime, or they could have the crime reported to them.
◉ Not everyone who's a criminal ends up in the Quarry. Some people live long lives as seasoned criminals without being caught. Many of these people have arrangements with Shrikes who work in their sectors. Feel free to plot something like this out!
◉ Crimes are broad. They can range from stealing a pack of gum to stealing medicine to performing surgery to remove someone's birth control implant without approval.
◉ On top of that, not everyone has to commit a crime to end up arrested for one. Framejobs work. Some people frame someone else because they feel they've been slighted, and it's only just for that other person to have a go at the Quarry. Perspective in The Aerie is screwed up!
◉ Finally, this likely goes without saying, but sex-related crimes will not be permitted within the AU. Members of the Parliament do not engage in sexual assault or force someone to do their bidding sexually, and we won't be accepting any backstories that revolve around sexual assault. This is because of moderator discomfort with this subject matter. Please keep this in mind when developing your backstories.
Of course, there are miscellaneous bits of information that don't feel as if they belong anywhere else! So, here we go:
◉ Transportation in The Aerie is all done by trains. Parliament has special train cars at the front of the unit specially designed for them.
◉ Technology is stuck in the early 21st century. So, take 2020's technology and glow it up a bit, and you'll be close.
◉ Paper exists! People are able to keep journals, write in books, and more.
◉ The internet exists! But memes as we know them did not survive. Create new, wild Aerie-based memes.
◉ Sorry, you still can't have pets!
◉ Everyone outside of Parliament is a vegan. That means that new Magpies or special Carrion can experience meat for the first time and wonder why their stomach is unhappy.
◉ There are a lot of TV shows, movies, and musical acts. Feel free to create some of your own! We would prefer that all media be unique to the AU, so no genre-savvy pop culture references for this go around, please! However, feel free to create TV shows with the serial numbers filed off that are popular in the AU.
Our hope with this AU is to let all progression happen organically. That means that we will announce a log date in advance. We have a thread for plot events to proceed, as well as things that people may want to work out and plan with the mods. We also have every intention of using that thread to link players up if their plots intersect!
That said, we wanted to let you know the main goals and conflict for the AU so that you can begin plotting toward that!
◉ Finding Out the Source of Parliament's Power. Entrusted to a select few members of the playerbase, you will need to work with these players to come up with a plot that helps release this information. That said, all Cardinal characters will still have their knowledge after the AU ends.
◉ Finding Out the Identity of Prometheus. Who is Prometheus and why is he giving power to members of Aerie society so that they can rebel against the world he (likely) helped create?
◉ What is the Rebels' Goal? We suggest that the rebel players discuss their end goal among themselves! They don't need to be in agreement, but it's up to you all to determine their end game! Their goal also does not need to match Prometheus' goal.
◉ Setup AUs to Further "Real World" Plots. Feel free to create situations with NPCs that can further their plot after the AU! Work with us to create an NPC to further their plot. The sky's the limit.
◉ Sadness and Quarry Angst. The sky's the limit here! You can also have your character be a villainous member of Parliament.
◉ Any Other Plots. Want to betray other members of Parliament? Want to take over the world for yourself? Want to make your character into a victor-turned-movie star? While we can't promise success on all of these, your AUed character can certainly try.
We're looking forward to what everyone does with the event! Down below, we have a load of signups and forms available so that everyone can outline their character backstory. If your character is a former Quarry participant, you can put them in the Quarry and wherever else they belong afterward, with the former clarifying what their power used to be. You don't need to write separate backstories—we mostly want the headers to be visual aids! We also thought that these sign ups could be edited, making it so that you plot in the main body of the post.
So, for that plotting in the main post comments, we have a helpful form for you:
We also know that a lot of players did advance planning, but we ask that you keep in mind that not everyone has everyone else added on plurk and be flexible about your plotting here.
In addition to all the forms, we have a plotting comment for AU impact, as well as a comment for TMZ-style Parliament gossip.
As a note, this is an event caused by a variety of in-game reactions. Like we mentioned above, this will involve a lot of Meadowlark's plot elements, though they'll be distilled or altered. In addition, all memories from this event will remain afterward, so please keep that in mind!
There is one power up available for this event simply for participating in the event. The turn-in date will be determined in our Aftermath post, as we don't know when this event will end!
Finally, we have not figured out how new applicants from our December round will be added to the AU just yet. We'll work on that and get back to you.
KESTRELS
Bellamy Blake
Warbler username: @aegis
Power: Pressure manipulation aka he can crush things with his mind
Background:
- Bellamy was orphaned when his parents were thrown into the quarry and so he and Rey grew up together, essentially as siblings.
- He haaates the quarry system, and so joined the Kestrels. His tattoo is on the back of his left shoulder.
- He has an antagonistic relationship with Murphy, rip.
- Rey is going to be tossed into the quarry and that will set Bellamy on the warpath.
- AU CR planned with Rey, Murphy, Clarke, Ren, Blake and Lexa, but I need to flesh some of it out more rip. STAY TUNED.
Lexa
Warbler username: I don't know yet.
Power: Pyrokinesis. I'm thinking Human Torch leaning rather than firebending if that's cool.
Background: Lexa's parents are both Shrikes and she never bought into the system, she was rebellious from a young age having seen them take in people off the streets that she actually knew. Her parents were true believers. She ran away from home and was like I'D RATHER LIVE ON THE STREETS THANKS. and then ... did not enjoy living on the streets. But she was stubborn. Eventually she stole some medicine to help people on the streets. Her parents pulled strings and put the blame on her lover Costia. Costia was put into the quarry and Lexa watched her die. She has been on a path of vengeance and justice ever since.
Added: Lexa had a big brother/little sister relationship with Castiel when she was young, but he became a Magpie and when Costia died she emotionally struck out at him as part of the problem. He will reach out to her when he wants to connect with the Kestrels and that will eventually lead to him being in the quarry. sosb.
She treats Tewkesbury like her little brother and is very protective over him.
Her tattoo is exactly where her tattoo is from the show (on her back/spine).
wanda maximoff
Warbler username: @ scarlet
Power: empathic creation, upgraded to better weapon creation and control
Background: her mother had been approved to have a child, but gave birth to twins, resulting in wanda's existence to be kept a secret growing up. her brother, pietro, took great care of her and often took her to the streets to steal food and supplies, needing higher quantities of what they legally received since they were feeding an additional secret mouth. years later, in their teens, wanda had been caught by the shrikes, but pietro rescued her from capture, allowing her to escape as he took her place in the shrikes' custody. for this, he was sent to the quarry, where he was killed.
vengeful for her brother's death and her own illegal existence, wanda chose to continue fighting against the system, learning how to better survive the streets with better skill under natasha's training. soon, she found membership within the kestrels, joining their ranks for the next decade, choosing to take large risks and play dirty if it means burning the entire system to the ground.
her kestrel tattoo is located just behind her left ear.
Lance Sweets
Warbler username: @liketheweapon
Power: Electricity
Background: Linked above here! His tattoo with be on his right shoulderblade.
no subject
Warbler username: @.percival
Power: concussive force. basically an invisible energy shockwave that can fuck people up internally. : ')
Background: pretty standard life! his father was a magpie and his mother was a quarry victor elevated to magpie status.
* had an interest in medicine and the like, so he did a bunch of training in that vein. possibly a doctor? idk.
* best friend was from a family of rooks that decided to act on his sympathies to the quarry, working with the kestrels. got killed as a result.
* this ended up radicalizing him into joining the rebels too.
* thinks getting tattoos when you're supposed to be a secret organization is real fuckin' dumb you guys but sure why not his is on his thigh for the express reason that it's an easy surface to cut a tattoo off of if he needs to. :' )
* still debating cr. we'll see. watch this spot!
Ren Amamiya
Warbler username: @joker
Power: Demonic transformation: He'll be able to have enhanced physical features that look "demonic." Think of his Persona, Satanael.
Background:
- Ren's life was normal before he almost got tossed in the Quarry: He had a mundane mother and father, he went to school and went quietly on with his life despite spotting the injustices around him. They never sat well with him, even if he didn't feel like he could do anything about them.
- He saves someone (??? still up in the air) by taking the fall for a crime that they committed.
- Was gonna get tossed in the Quarry, but bolted and found his way to the Kestrels. Jack had a hand in helping him out a bad situation, and inspired him to take action against what he deems is unjust.
- Not to be a burden to his parents, he left without telling them.
- Since he "committed a crime," he's a societal outcast and lives in one of the safehouses. Usually he pulls his weight!!
- He goes by "Joker" because he's way too good at cards.
Misc.:Roy Harper
Warbler username: idk yet :(
Power: Pyrokinesis
Background:
⇝ Spy!! He's working in The Company/arena designing, doing his spy thing for Kestrels
⇝ As a babbu, he was a dumbass and stole something cool, got caught, mother ended up going to the Quarry in his stead, dad became a depressed drunk/deadbeat
⇝ Joined up with Kestrels as a teenager
⇝ Went through The Cotillion for engineering, he was one of those obnoxiously lazy/flippant students that somehow still aced all his classes, which pissed off Q, so they're frienemies/designer rivals now
⇝ Grew up childhood pals with Kyna, they dated at some point in the early years, broke up, but he still cares a butt ton for her
⇝ I love the idea of the Kestrels being a really tight knit crew, so Roy would be one of those talkative, friendly dudes who everyone knows, good for a smile or some back up
⇝ Archery :V
⇝ Tattoo v small and hidden on a hip, because spy
Established CR/Plans:
▹ Kyna - childhood friend, ex-girlfriend (still really likes her)
▹ Lance - Roy is his Kestrel contact, Lance finds him Shrike info, they've known each other as long as Lance has been playing double agent
▹ Q - Rivals from Cotillion, frienemies in the Company, Q will eventually catch Roy being a spy and they'll have a blackmail thing, or a reporting him thing, we'll see
▹ Bellamy - survived on the streets together as kids, eventually joined the kestrels together
▹ Lexa - helped her out on the streets as a kid, stole medicine with her
▹ Gene?
Clarke Griffin
Warbler username: When you can't use Wanheda, it gets hard. I'll come back to this.
Power: Organic decay - the ability to rapidly break down organic tissue into nothing.
Quarry Power: Life theft, allowing her to steal powers from others to heal herself.
Background: Clarke is the daughter of Jake Griffin, a former Quarry designer, and Abby Griffin, a former medical doctor. Former because both of her parents are dead. Both of her parents were Carrion, and had raised Clarke as such. Much of her upbringing was spent in or around The Volery, right up until Jake landed in The Quarry himself. How did this happen? He tried sabotaging his own creation, making it so that Quarry victims wouldn't be forced to die by the hand of his traps. After he was found out, he was killed in the Quarry the next month.
Abby Griffin was the one who found out what her husband was doing, and she turned him in, believing that his service to Parliament would earn him mercy. Angered by her mom for doing this, Clarke promptly left, moving deeper into The Aerie to live a difficult life while working in free medical clinics to provide any assistance someone might need. At this point, Clarke was already in her second year of medical training at the Cotillion, but she had to quit because she couldn't be complicit in the world as it was.
Left feeling guilty by her actions, Abby promptly fell into abusing drugs and writing prescriptions for herself. Clarke was unaware of this until her mother was announced as a future Quarry participant. Due to the hard detoxing process, Abby does poorly in the upcoming Quarry, and dies almost immediately.
Angered by what happened to her mother, Clarke is spurred on by these losses into joining the Kestrels. Her goal? Enter the arena and help tear down the system, even if she dies in the process. Or especially if she dies in the process. Hurt and broken by the world, Clarke is extremely self destructive.
Her tattoo is on her right shoulder blade.
Roles:
Friends: Bellamy Blake, Lexa, Ren, Laura
Neutral/imperfect for various reasons: Cassian, Wanda
RIVAL!!!!!!!: Jyn
Romantic Stuff: FWB with Lexa, dated Gene when they were in Cotillion together, but broke up when she left after her father died. Before Gene, she dated Julian, and while they didn't work out, they were friends afterward and he had to watch her crumble after she left school following her father's death.
Jake's killer: Ellie
Abby's killer: Reyes
Recruiter to Kestrels: Jack Morrison
no subject
Warbler username: still deciding
Power: telekinesis I'm thinking
Background: - Grew up as the congregation with his parents, who died recently, which left him fending for himself on the streets
- He started stealing to eat and got caught, but Diana stopped them from arresting him and he ran away. He feels terribly guilty.
- A new member to the Kestrels, out of necessity, but also because he believes in the cause, though he fears he lacks courage
- Immediately clicked with some Kestrels
- Tattoo is on his right bicep
Julian Bashir
Warbler username:
Power: telekinesis
Background:
- Both parents killed in the Quarry--they thought Julian wasn't going to amount to anything in his life (he was showing signs of maybe being slower learning when he was younger) and so tried to break the single child rule.
- Graduated from the Cotillion and is a physician with the Company
- The Company completely disgusted him with the senseless violence which drove him to join the Kestrels
- Therefore he works as a spy!!! But continues on being a physician, helping where he can and who he can.
- Perfectly willing to be a personal physician for any of the Parliament c:
- Tattoo is between his shoulder blades
WOULD LOVE TO PLOT WITH PEOPLE
no subject
Warbler username: @(something something spouse's surname it'll be moon unless I pick up an ic alternative)
Power: Super strength. Terrible, horrible super strength.
Quarry Power: I'll get back to this
Background: Born to the McCabes, an ordinary working couple with extremely complicit values and an underlying self-hatred that would ultimately drive one to drink and the other to indoctrinate her daughter with everything a good Congregation woman should know, Laura grew up despondent and disillusioned.
She got an average job and lived her average life, until one day somebody showed up on with the intention of committing a crime. Laura noticed, stopped them with a very clear description of exactly how the establishment's owners would notice the criminality and have them detained and thrown into the Quarry. That night she took them home to bed, and six months or so later they were engaged to be married.
Being engaged was exciting. Being married was exciting. Briefly. Then her exciting criminal became a settled homebody, and she started losing her mind. Eventually she proposed a robbery of her old place of work, one last big thing to prove that life could still be worth living. She guaranteed the plan was perfect and her spouse, wanting her to be happy, went along with it. It went wrong. Her spouse ended up in the Quarry - and won.
After a particularly impressive victory they were inducted into the Carrion and refused to speak to Laura who, believing them to be kept there against their will or brainwashed into complicity, joined the Kestrels in a furious bid to break them free. She now uses her power without restraint to punish suspected shrikes and people who have been publicly rumoured to have sent others to the Quarry, and is mostly a law unto herself - though she stops short of doing anything so outrageous that it might get her kicked out of the Kestrels or stripped of her power, the risk of losing her chance to one day bust into the Volary and rescue her spouse too high.
Ultimately, she'll end up in the arena at the right time either as part of the Kestrels' plans or because she incidentally gets caught tearing a shrike's head off at the opportune moment, we'll see where the plotting maths lands her.
Her tattoo is the size of her heart and sits over it.
cassian andor
Warbler username: thinking on this too!
Power:
still debating this! he has geokinesis regularly and can already create earthquakes, but i think i want something else for the aushadow manipulation! physical shadow time yoBackground:
- both of cassian's parents were killed in the quarry when he was a child (probably for something simple like stealing food), leaving him to the streets and radicalizing him pretty quickly into joining the kestrels very young. tattoo is on his back.
- highkey militant about overthrowing literally everything. would not particularly care if everyone in the ruling class died and is unapologetic about that stance. guillotine: war moon edition please and thank.
- is currently fucking rook jyn erso, started under a spying guise and to snoop around in the upper echelons. you see how that might clash with the former point. it's not fake dating, it's fake hating.
- pseudo-mentored by jack starting in his teenage years.
- will probably use a fake name for all his rebel associated activities
- more to come???
Jack Morrison
Warbler username: @seventysix
Power: Earth manipulation
Background:
- Raised by both his parents to follow and trust in the system because that would keep him safe; followed their lead for a long time, even following in their footsteps as far as work (he's in agriculture, gotta love those farm boys).
- When he was much younger, was close to (and boyfriends with) Gabriel Reyes. When Gabe got thrown into the Quarry, Jack figured that he would never see him again. Instead, he got to watch Gabe use ruthless methods to come out the victor, and when he came back, he was never quite the same.
- Between this above mentioned incident and many years of watching as friends and acquaintances got sent to the Quarry to die, often times for crimes that they didn't even commit, Jack came to believe that his parents were wrong and had only ever been acting out of fear, and he realized that the system he lived in was inherently broken.
- By sharing these developing thoughts and feelings with others (but only those he trusted felt the same), he eventually got an in with the Kestrals, and has been supporting them ever since. Since he's been with the group for a while, he's learned a fair amount about subterfuge and covering his tracks, and his anger toward the ruling class has just simmered over time. He doesn't have any actual combat experience in this AU, but he's in good shape and has been practicing how to master his power of earth manipulation.
- It's possible that he's a mentor figure to some of the group's younger members, as he's one of the older people in its ranks, most likely. He has at least been kinda-sorta looking out for Cassian for a while as a psuedo-parental figure (though he would hesitate to call it that), since Cassian joined the organization at a rather young age. This could be the case for others!
- His Kestral tattoo is on his inner left forearm, but it's usually covered up.
Callisto
Warbler username: TBD
Power: probably telekinesis
Background:
- New-ish member, brought in by Lexa, more info here
joe
Warbler username: @ alkaysani
Power: soul sword; effectively a psionic sword a la illyana rasputin that he can summon at will and glows gold like his eyes
Background: