[August Plot Post and Announcement] Let's groove, baby.

[theearth]

ANNOUNCEMENT

---

The mod team, currently consisting of Louise (head), Kira (head), Aave, Bookie and Len will be joined by two new helper mods. We'd like to extend a warm welcome to to Fae (of Killian Ryan) and Mark (of Liam Benedict). Mark will help with lists, AC and apps, and Fae will help with npcing.

Having Fae on the team, we now can offer npcing of minor NPCs on request. This currently includes monster encounters, mafia encounters and cultist encounters, but may expand in the future.

PLOTTING POST

---

This format of plot post is designed for players to ask questions and find ways to influence the plot. Be bold and ask what you can or can't do; the worst that can happen is that we will say no. As plots in Save the Earth are not self resolving nor on a time limit they can evolve in many ways. Although some potential outcomes are given, they are little more than suggestion and can be changed by character action. What role you take is up to you.

The post is also open for players to plot and coordinate between one another.

---

Events that occurred recently or are occurring currently:
• Since the night of the 10th/11th of August, the reincarnate-run Espresso Yourself in Locke now houses a teleportation device. The machine is comprised of a metal booth roughly the size of a shower stall and a touchpad interface which displays a monochrome map of the world. All echo boundaries that are currently active are shown in colour. If a reincarnate touches Locke on the map, nothing will happen. If they touch one of the other areas - currently only Las Vegas, the area will light up and a glowing sigil will appear on the floor of the metal booth. Las Vegas shows the Sigil of a lobster-crab-like being.

If a reincarnate steps onto the symbol, they will disappear in a flash of pink light and find themselves touching a glowing sigil of the same shape in the other location. The sigils can only be seen by reincarnates; touching them will transport the person to Locke. After using the teleporter, the individual will have to wait four hours before they can use it again. In Vegas, the sigil is located at the bottom of a pool, though if a bright mind checks the ceiling of the room below the pool, they'll find it there as well.

• Media: While both negative and positive voices regarding the numbered can still be heard, there has been a massive surge in negative opinions after the theft of Project Jump, and they now outnumber the positive/neutral voices. The talk about them having a startling amount of power that they are hiding and about reincarnate influence behind the scenes, and the questioning if they have hidden plans and motifs that are sinister in nature, have now partly turned into claims that they have sinister plans, are common criminals with superpowers, are a threat to public safety, and so on. There are also voices who talk about how Thunder Corp is acting oddly when it comes to the machine itself, but those are more on alternative channels.

Locke City
• Vincent Albero's mafia have been doing the rounds, making it clear that the Numbered's heroics aren't welcome in the city. Several of the attacking thugs seem to have had animal modifications, much like the corrupt police had under Detective Sherman. The strikes against the Numbered have been wide-reaching: Fred, Julien, Torin, Robin and Danny, Hjalti, Richard, Dirk, Alan, Ariel, Liam, Floweregg, Isabela and Åsa, Rakka, Raye, Isaac and Miria are all known victims, with L, Tony and Cesar's brother Moises being currently in the hands of the mob. The attacks are starting to taper off in frequency, but they are certainly no less violent - rumours within the mafia indicate that Albero might be working up to something big...

• Reincarnates stopped Thunder Corp from removing Project Jump from the city, claiming it for themselves during the process and securing it within Espresso Yourself. People who used the machine initially got trapped within a void - with the death of Jovan Burzek in Las Vegas, this situation was rectified and a portal opened up at the site of his death. Which, unfortunately, was at the bottom of a pool.
As of yet, there have been no repercussions for this - no arrests have been made, and reincarnates involved in law enforcement may note that there has been no police report submitted in regards to the theft.

• A small church a few blocks down from the city centre of Locke, that had been heavily damaged in the earthquakes and subsequent snake attack, and from lack of funds been abandoned by its congregation, has over night been replaced by a new building. It went through the press quite a bit. scramasax, from whose canon it is, will start an expedition to find the catacombs that he remembers being located under it; if you are interested in joining, even if your character does not know Anthony, please check out the mun's plotting comment here.

Las Vegas
• On the 25th of June, Petunia Bonbright, the woman who offers the numbered housing in Las Vegas, got abducted to be sacrificed by cultists who blamed her for "corrupting the numbered": Making them not be true to themselves and forgetting what their real purpose is. Five numbered went to save her on the 26th, one of whom managed to leave such an exceptionally bad impression with the cultists that they concluded that he had been "corrupted" by her not only beyond salvation but also was the source of the corruption of every other "corrupted" numbered. The result of this could be soon on the 6th and on the 10th when grannyfucker was found dead, murdered by cultists. At the same time, an earthquake shook Las Vegas and a sigil, showing a lobster, appeared there, opening the Vegas gate of the teleporting device that had gotten activated in Locke a few days earlier. Currently, the only known access to the gate is at the bottom of a pool, but cunning minds might want to check the ceiling of the room below...

• Cultist activity in Las Vegas is at a low right now; streets seem almost wiped of them, or they at least do not openly wear anything that identifies them as cultists now. This might be partly due to the police and FBI having taken more interest in them now that there is evidence for at least some of them having committed a crime or more.

---

Events occurring in the immediate future:

• There are sermons clearly originating from the Vegas cultists on the internet now, announcing that the time is coming and the Pure Children of the Shell must be found and gathered. Attached are lists of names and descriptions: All numbered that have made public appearances, and whatever is known about them. The lists also include attempts to assess them - what they have made known of themselves in public and whom they associate with, and going on from there, if they are "corrupted" or not. Numbered that are categorized as "pure" or "savable" will be invited to a conference in Vegas on the 22nd of August. Numbered that are not considered "pure" or that the cultists have too little information of to contact them will still be let into the conference if they're interested and present themselves as wanting to "better themselves" - or they might sneak in under a disguise. If you want to know what your character's status is, comment with them and one sentence on what is known about them in this thread.

Locke City
• Reincarnates shouldn't get too comfortable about their victory over Thunder Corp. In a surely completely unrelated turn of events, beginning on the fifteenth and lasting through the end of the month Vermedi will once more be spotted around Locke City. They will avoid non-numbered people, but be easily provoked into approaching and/or attacking the reincarnates. As always, encountering a Vermedi if your character has never encountered one before grants one plot echo! If you'd like to have a mod-NPCed Vermedi, you can request it here.

• With the reincarnates sufficiently shaken up by the recent spate of attacks, rumour has it that Vincent Albero himself is preparing to personally get involved in the anti-Numbered activities. Reincarnates may want to keep their eyes open around the end of the month...

Las Vegas
• Starting on the evening of the 22nd and all the way through the 23rd, minor tremors will shake Las Vegas. The ground is in randoms intervals hot to the touch where it should not be a cold where it should be, and then in the early morning hours of the 24th, parts of the echo boundaries are starting to rise. Literally. Starting with the area of the Boulevard Mall, the ground is rising, steadily, the bottoms of the buildings being mysteriously transformed so they will fit the new ground that they stand on - or for the most part, are fixed half against, half into. Equally mysteriously, the sewers and electricity will stay fairly intact.

Sure, your basement might get redone and some windows will become useless, but that and the tremors aside, there is a surprising lack of damage potential - no earthquake, no houses falling off the side of the rock rising under them. Just make sure to not step out of your door without checking that there's still a road to step on, or anything at all... While many people will leave the area in a rush, evacuation won't be enforced and a good number of people will still stay.

On the 28th, when the movement stops, the whole echo boundary area is elevated, clearly displaying the shape of a mountain, just with a city on top of it. For now, there seem to be no entrances into the mountain, at least none that would be open: What looks like a great gate, located on the area of the now useless airport, doesn't move and there are no other openings in the mountain that make it look like there is anything inside.

---

Events potentially occurring in the immediate future:

Las Vegas
• Big things will happen in Las Vegas right before the third location opens, bearing a completely perchancely resemblance to what happened before the pink light appeared for the second time. Stay tuned!

---

Events occurring in the not-so-distant future:

Neuschwanstein
• In the not too distant future, a pink light will go up over a countryside area at the German-Austrian border. The pink light will this time leave behind three presents: Not only the establishment of echo boundaries and thus a place for numbered to hail from and travel to unscathed as well as a plot echo, but also a giant building right slab down on the border. Applications for characters from this location will open once a certain plot point in Las Vegas is reached; we estimate this to be around the the end of August or middle of September, depending on player actions.

---

Potential Echo Opportunities

• Encountering a ghost-like presence for the first time grants one plot echo.
• Using the teleporter for the first time will grant one plot echo.

Locke City

• Encounters with an altered Mafia subordinate for the first time grant one plot echo if the character never received an echo from encountering an altered Blood Key.
• Encounters with a Vermedi for the first time will grant one plot echo.


Las Vegas
• There are Vermini to be found in the waterways near cultist activities. Seeing them for the first time grants one plot echo.
• A first encounter with this symbol as worn by head waterfront "cultists" will also grant one plot echo.


Please direct questions regarding these plot points to the thread below and not the post in general.

Comments

General Questions

[theearth]

[gogoghostpowers]

WRONG JOURNAL, I DON'T GIVE A DAAAAAAMN

With the rumors of Albero getting personally involved in anti-Numbered stuff, what would Chuck have heard from his contacts in the mafia and how would it affect him?

[seed_of_memory]

question.

would it be possible to test the teleporter using an inanimate object, to ensure people aren't getting stuck in the void anymore?

[flamberge]

So where would the Police stand on all this re: mafia? Would they help out the Numbered attacked by the mafia or try to lead a small scale investigation? Not like going to arrest the mafia head but maybe seek out the lackies behind the attacks or something like that? Or is police opinion of Numbers low enough for it to not be priority?

[abhero]

Do Vermedi have feelings? Emil would try using magical music on them, and it's based on emotional manipulation. It's useless if the target can't relate to the emotion conveyed in a piece.

[ursoreckless]

Gah.... so out of touch with stuff here @.@

Anyways, as being on the outside of the mob thanks to his moving in the yakuza circles, would Shou hear stuff about mob? Will the mob try to force his hand on the sides he's chosen now?

[umbrael]

er, if a character can't cram entirely into the teleportation device, would they still be able to use it?

[detectivetroll]

Nick here has been working for the mafia as a "corrupt cop" for quite some time! Would he know anything more specific about the rumors, about what they're planning or how they're preparing for it? Or if there's anything he could get involved with for it?

[professorwolf]

So if Lyall manages to get a group to go public, what kinds of repercussions would that entail?

[greenisthenewblack]

Related a bit to Lyall's coming out post... would it be realistic to assume that the school's now scrutinizing their staff more closely, and may notice that one of their teachers is suddenly wearing nothing but long sleeves and gloves (with extra makeup)?

Sheila getting fired would be an interesting plot point for her, but also could be fun to play out in the school if she lets her temper get the better of her. Nothing like reaffirming that anyone Numbered is dangerous!

What do the cultists think about my character?

[theearth]

<b>Character:</b> Name and journal <b>What is known about them?</b> Roughly one sentence, please!

[abhero]

Character: Emil Fiedler abhero
What is known about them? A high school student from Locke with seemingly demonic powers; lost control on them in June and caused property damage in the Aria after Russel brainwashed a bunch of people, some of them cultists, into trying to violently murder him.

(This was the mods’ answer when I asked about the cultists’ reaction back in June)

[gogoghostpowers]

Character: Cure Phantom, gogoghostpowers
What is known about them? One of Locke's more prominent superpower-types (although very little is known about the person behind the mask), Cure Phantom has largely been occupied with busting up supernatural monsters or other crime causing trouble in Locke City.

Visiting the Oublié Cathedral Catacombs.

[scramasax]

As stated in the plot post, St. John's Episcopal Church was replaced with the Oublie Cathedral Old Tower chapel earlier in the week! To get on opening and plotting around the eldritch monster-infested catacombs underneath, I'll be assuming that Anthony made one visit to the church after developing suspicions based on the information about it on the news, received an Echo of opening the catacombs (to be formalized shortly), and made a handwaved network post inquiring as to whether anyone would be interested in investigating their existence - and possibly the catacombs themselves, tentatively this (IC) Saturday before congregation resumes.

More information on what to expect from the catacombs is here - suffice to say in short that they're a spooky place as catacombs from horror series often are, and there will be hostile entities inside - and I'm not expecting most characters would be planning to come armed.

This is all dependent on what happens organically, of course, in both whether it happens and how it's all to be planned and framed ICly if it does, but at the moment I'm expecting that there will be a second trip later on, better-prepared for beast-slaying.

In any case, if you've got a character who'd be interested on an initial exploratory catacomb-crawl and/or have any questions with regards to this bit of plotting, please, let me know!

[dominateartimus]

I'm signing Xander up and he won't come unprepared.

[disdainfully]

As soon as the dwarves realize that this is the Lonely Mountain, they'll try to get in and claim it. With dynamite, if necessary. Thorir will probably ask who's interested in coming with them and checking it out on the network. GET INVOLVED WITH DUMB DWARVES??? YES!!!!!!

Floweregg is going to Vegas around the 18th. She'll be found by Cecil and later meet up with Eugen and then hang with him for a bit. Ride in his giant robot =D Is there anyone who wants to check out Vegas with her? Or who wants to deal with a panicked Siiri when she realizes that her dog is gone? (I'm hoping to make a post with her about it...)

[youngestone]

Killian is really sorry about Floweregg, Siiri ;;

[icy_heavens]

Dang, this makes me wish I'd outed Toushirou to more than just the feds. Which means he certainly wouldn't get an invite, though it's possible he'd want to try and sneak in to see what those cultists are up to. Whether he could actually do it (since he wouldn't want to be around these weirdos without his weapon handy) is another matter entirely.

But that still leaves things on the home front. Been a while since the boy has encountered any of the Vermedi. That needs to change, clearly. So yeah, he'll be getting attacked by one at some point.

And he'll definitely be getting more watchful when he picks up rumours on Albero getting personally involved; kid doesn't want to be caught unprepared.

[theearth]

Just as a note, public numbered whose identities aren't known will "receive" invitations through lists on the internet with their known information and the invitation attached - posted in various places where they're supposed to be seen by lots of people. So Toushirou might still get an invite that way if you want and if they consider him savable/pure.

[gogoghostpowers]

Danny will be receiving an invitation from the cultists and...might attend? I don't know. Although he'd be more willing to go if he does so with others, soooo anyone receiving invitations and intending to go, hit me up!

He also has never fought a vermedi before, only vermini and vermaxi, so. Anyone who wants a ghost boy with a terribly shaky control over newfound superstrength, let me know and let's do something!

Jovan is currently preoccupied with being dead.

Chuck has also never fought a vermedi before, and I would love for him to get a chance to deal with one. Especially in a team-up. A team-up that can end in getting ice cream and hanging out afterwards. Come on guys, it's summerrrrrrr, ya gotta have ice cream!

Also, due to being so close to the mafia, he'll be hearing about the rumors of Albero's impending involvement quite soon and will be posting to warn the network about it ASAP, which will be in a couple of days.

[abhero]

Emil might attend the meeting with others and feels like they won't be... murdered or anything. Maybe we can do something?

[chalicejoker]

Hajime is currently super mortified at a thing that aired on the radio and will likely have a post of some up soon griping about the media without specifically mentioning this. He'll also be accompanying Anthony and crew to the cathedral.

Arthur is still in Vegas, has helped rescue Petunia, and is very wary of the cultists after they offed Jovan, who was with him on that rescue mission. I'm thinking of having him go to the cultist's little party, but he is both angry with them because killing is bad and fails at stealth forever, so I'm not sure if he will or not (and have not checked on invites yet).

Torin is currently hanging around Espresso Yourself to guard Project Jump, though he might be tempted to get to the cultist gathering if he thinks he has a chance. He's no longer a tiny and cute parrot and hiding is kind of hard when you're a giant birdman, after all. Otherwise, it's all business at Espresso Yourself and fussing over whether or not he can find L.

[grannyfucker]

Not related to the cultist party, but HEEEYYYYYY how'd Arthur like to do a thing once Jovan comes back from the dead later? 8D

[professorwolf]

Lyall is considering going public but doesn't want to do it alone. If he actually does it, I imagine he'll get an invitation to the conference. Even if he doesn't, I think I'll finagle him into going somehow, anyway, provided the teleporter is numbers-public knowledge by then. He can't afford the flight, or the time it would take off of school :|

(Thank goodness the full moon for this month happened already.)

[nowi_wins]

Nora hasn't encountered a vermedi yet, and this seems like a good time to finally give her a worthwhile echo. I haven't completely decided, but I'm thinking maybe letting her be a dragon again.

So would anyone be interested in a vermedi fight followed by echo shenanigans?

[abhero]

I'm all for a vermedi fight and echo shenanigans, dragons and others! What are your thoughts about stupid teens with stupid music and a tendency to hurt everyone BUT that opponent with said powers?

[abhero]

Emil will recieve an invitation from the cultists, cheerfully reassuring they haven't given up on him and would happily have him there. He might even go if he's convinced it's not a ploy to lure in and murder more reincarnates.

Since he never encountered Vermedi before, I'd like him to fight one. Maybe he'll even manage to use magical music without messing it up!

Also, I'm considering having him attacked by the mafia because he obviously needs more people trying to murder him. So if anyone wants to help a teen who won't take it seriously because he just got a very dumb memory, let me know!

[senseandcecilbility]

Emil, why. Cultists and Vermedi are just not healthy.

EVERYBODY WALK THE DINOSAUR i think i made that joke already

[umbrael]

So as mentioned in Doyle's most recent text post he's feeling a little cooped up and wants to stretch his legs.

If he can arrange a moving van to transport him somewhere on the outskirts, or somewhere open and away from people (and uh with water since he needs a bath) he'd prefer that, but he might have to walk all or part of the way there in the dark of the night. He'll throw a post up about that soon! If not today, then sometime this weekend. He'll be looking to get this arranged for next week - most likely the middle of the week (since, y'know, people will be too concerned about work to stay up and look for dinosaurs or what have you, right?).

So, to anyone out there:

Does anyone want to accompany him (or loan a van or vehicle or something?)

Who wants to hang around away from civilization with a big ol' dinosaur?

things that could happen on their way out of town or while hanging out:
- encounters with Vermedi
- encounters with the ghostly presence???
- someone could interrupt their trip out of town???
- I'm open to a lot of things as long as Doyle gets from point A (the garage he is living in) to point B (a park or the city outskirts) in some way.


Also important: Does anyone want to pierce a dinosaur's ears? He's going to ask for that while trying to arrange transport and chill time, since it seems to be the next step in figuring out why he echoed an earring back. This could happen on the trip, or any time before or after.

[gogoghostpowers]

I unfortunately can't offer Doyle any transport, what with Danny being a 16 year old without a license and also the power to fly, buuuut we can have the two of them deal with a Vermedi? (Most likely when he'd be mid-transport from point A to point B.) Especially because they've spoken quite a few times over network but never met IRL before.

[waltharius]

Walter will probably be heading off to the conference, since he'll be getting an invite and staying in Locke with his parents is driving him completely stir-crazy. He'd be cautious, but he'd feel better around other numbered, and especially people he knows.

Also open for anything in the meantime! He was stuck in the void and got back okay, + some trauma, and he's not dealing with his new-found fame super well. The public knows him as the amazing tentacle'd spider murderer.

[gogoghostpowers]

do you need some fame coaching

do you need help adjusting to life as a public figure, walter

danny can help with that

(and then they can go to the conference TOGETHER! danny would absolutely go if a friend like walter is too)

[onecream_fivesugar]

Robyn probably isn't going to get invited to the conference, but she's probably going to find out about it because she keeps up on everything Cure Phantom related and will follow Danny to it.

I wouldn't mind her running into a Vermedi at some point but she'll probably need some help dealing with it. ...Okay she'll probably need a lot of help with it.

[purestambition]

I have people that could help with the Vermedi dealing. Y/N/PIE?

[detectivetroll]

Nick is going to be investigating the chapel, of course. He's still super undercover and won't get an invitation to the conference, though he might attempt to go anyway if enough of his CR goes. Also if Lyall and Anthony go public, he'll be doing his best not to have a heart attack.

He's also still working with the mafia, pretending to be a corrupt cop! He has some smuggled ThunderCorp tech that he got for the mafia, if anyone's interested in looking at it, and some incriminating evidence in the mafia/ThunderCorp kidnappings awhile back, but he's sitting on that at the moment. He'll be trying to figure out what these rumors are.

I also really want to play with his semi-immortality! I've got two potential ways I'm thinking of getting him killed, depending on plot stuff. One is while he's working for the mafia, and possibly having him get taken out by a reincarnate who doesn't know he's numbered.

...so basically hey, if anyone wants their character to take out a mafia member, I might be looking for volunteers!

[professorwolf]

... Lyall will be devastated if he's dead for long enough for him to think he's staying that way :| jsyk.

Which will, of course, be tons of fun.

He also thinks Nick should keep his cover if he can, so he's not encouraging HIM to go public at all, just to be clear ;)