December Plot!

[powersthatbe]

The Solstice Masquerade
December 10th - January 3rd

Nibiru is a harsh world, slow-turning, tilted close to a bright sun, and the people who live there have grown to revere night, cold, and the starry sky as instruments of blissful salvation. Their most important holiday, therefore, is the Winter Solstice, the coming of dark and snow to cool them for a few months before the threat of the sun renews itself. But there’s more to it than simple celebration. The people of Nibiru believe that unless the Great Orrery is ritually empowered once each year, the world will stop turning properly, and endless summer will destroy them all.

So, for the weeks leading up to the Solstice, the most sacred duty of Nibiru’s elite is to travel to the Orrery, a massive structure built with technology beyond their understanding, by absent beings they call the Starmovers, and revere as extraterrestrial angels. Wars stop for the Solstice. Trials are delayed. There are no elections, no marriages, no function of religion, government, or politics that can be allowed to interfere.

At the Orrery, the chosen delegates explore mazes of mysterious chambers that lock and unlock in response to stately celestial mathematics. They don ritual garb left there by the Starmovers. And they dance four ritual dances, each a week or so apart, in the great ballroom, wearing masks that cannot be removed, in order to keep the world turning.

This sacred celebration is a solemn thing, but for those less superstitious, it’s also a golden opportunity. In the ballroom, secret bargains can be struck. Forbidden affairs can begin, or end, in anonymity. Criminals may seek pardon, or perhaps new crimes. Treaties can be negotiated and signed, in violation of all taboo. But all of that relies on knowing who lies behind which mask.

And then there are those who seek other advantages - the technology and knowledge of the Starmovers. Even a little of it has helped revolutionize what the people of Nibiru are capable of, bringing them solar power, clockwork mechanisms, and a space race yet to be won - as well as laser weapons, advanced physics and chemistry, and other advances that place pseudo-Victorian cultures into a modern industrial revolution like that of the 1950s.

The people of Nibiru are living their lives on the brink of great changes they cannot yet understand. And the Travelers present may have to decide what’s more important: helping them… or taking dance lessons to save the world (if you believe in that kind of thing).


World Info | Countries | Political Movements | Religious Factions | Maps | Casting Call

Suggested Infiltrator Roles | Masquerade Mechanics | Schedule | Skills | Player Resources

Questions

Comments

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!!!!!!

[surveyor]

AIGHT SO. Levi will be infiltrating this time around, as the shady mofo crashing the party (sort of) to steal your secrets. Or not so shady, if he plays it right.

He'll be impersonating a delegate from Brumaire, and under the pretense of collecting information to aid his country in 'strengthening trade relations' or some such load of shit, will be digging up as much dirt on Germinalia, Fructidor, Thermidor, and Prairial as he possibly can... While maintaining that he can't divulge anything about himself out of respect for the Starmovers' wishes. He's so pious, truly... He'll absolutely be using the fact that Brumaire is so isolated to his advantage.

I don't have a preference as to which place he wants the most crap on, I'll roll with whatever other people have going on as far as that's concerned, but basically he wants to go someplace and not be bothered, one way or another; he's lifted enough junk over the years to be reasonably well off but the notoriety is making it next to impossible for him to enjoy any of that. He's looking for a reset button, basically. Dude wants out, he's tired of this crap that he brought on himself, whoops.

If anyone specifically wants to be targeted for some (subtle) interrogating, let me know here or on plurk or by PM or however you'd like, just so OOCly I have some direction on who to hit up for Secrets. ICly, Levi will have been working with someone who's keeping him up to date on which important people might earn him the most info, so if your character is a prominent figure I'm down to play around with that too.

THAT SAID I am also down for doing pretty much anything with pretty much anyone. Levi will be taking lessons on How Not To Be Levi and I think it will be fun to play him trying to keep his actual personality under wraps while dealing with a bunch of people he wants nothing more than to mess with at every opportunity. He'll be on his best behavior... Kind of.

...There will probably be slip-ups, because where's the fun in a flawless plan??

[itsananimalthing]

Want a big, burly, observant bodyguard who may or may not have his own agenda?

[surveyor]

...yes this sounds like fun. I'm still waffling over posting Levi to the first mingle (because he's supposed to be in disguise and it'll be harder to pull that off without the masks & costumes) but I'm down to work this in, definitely. If he does go out, it'll be covered up and with some costumey crap like boot lifts or padding with some kind of explanation as to why he won't take it off. THE STARMOVERS DEMAND IT!!!! IDK IDK

Is Riddick infiltrating or investigating this time around?

[itsananimalthing]

Infiltrating, otherwise he'd blow the whole thing off in exasperation. Also why I need something for him to do that's less than savory :P You're the least savory option, looks like, ahaha.

So how are you doing this, then? Are you doing ANY work out of mask? Cuz Riddick is not going to be able to disguise himself, he's huge and distinctive, so I need... something for him to do outside of masks if your character isn't going to be around :: chinscratches ::

[surveyor]

As of right now what I'm thinking is that he's gonna be disguised in some fashion when he's out and about, with the excuse that it wouldn't be very anonymous if people saw who he was before they got to the ceremony. blame it on strict as hell religious code or something. US SILLY BRUMAIRANS, AMIRITE??? >>;

What's Riddick's history look like for this? I CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE SOME UNSAVORY GOODNESS IN AND OUT OF MASKS IF THAT'S WHERE HE'S LEANING

[itsananimalthing]

I have absolutely nothing for him right now except that I want him to be Not Nice. I can make up anything at all, whatever would serve your plot best. That's my problem, I have like no idea what to do, so I'm trying to latch onto someone else's plot to give me ideas ^^' I'm shameless, I knw.

[surveyor]

OH NO, sometimes I have no idea what the fuck's going on so I do the same! The joys of being in a collaborative hobby, man 8'D

AND HM. WELL. Maybe he's in the crime business too and knows who Levi is, and spots him for it early on because they've met before? He's gonna be doing his best to hide his real build but I'm down for that not being enough for at least one or two other people. If that happened Levi wouldn't be happy about it, but he wouldn't want to risk his entire operation so he could prooobably agree to work together and split whatever intel they get? With or without backstabbing on either side, though Levi legitimately wants out and so he'd try to avoid any more collateral damage.

Riddick could do some digging out of mask while Levi does his in disguise, that sort of thing. Also maybe help sell his story a little, maybe, to have another person claiming they're from the same place. Makes it totally legit.....

[itsananimalthing]

Oh, I mean, I meant... I wanted them to be working together from the getgo? Like be in on whatever Levi's deal is, backing him up and such? I mean, I don't know why his persona would even be at the event otherwise. I can't decide on a persona, you see.

[surveyor]

OH. OH I GOTCHA OKAY. Wow, sorry, it was late last night, jesus. THAT WORKS TOO, ABSOLUTELY. I kinda figured Levi had had a gang of some kind at some point like he did pre-snk, so Riddick could be one of them if you're down for that!

The only other person who knows what's going on (to my knowledge OOC and Levi's IC) is Erwin (civics), so there'd be some built-in CR there too if you want it. I talked to Kelly about it and she's down for that. 8D We worked out a bunch of shit that basically amounts to 'Levi wants intel to trade / hold over people's heads for freedom, Erwin wants the same and/or intel on Fructidor to fix their shit since that's where he's from; Riddick can totally have his own goals independent from those- if they're working together Levi won't have a problem with that unless or until it conflicts with what he's after.

[itsananimalthing]

I like the idea of built-in CR, yeah ^^ Always good to meet new people! Riddick's goals would probably be more mercenary, like stealing some info or blueprints or techology in order to sell it, maybe he even has a contract for some other group back "home", but I like the idea that the three of them have history :: chinscratches :: A gang works just fine. Riddick's older than both of them, right? Like the AoT guys are mostly teenagers, aren't they, and he's in his 30s? Are you aging them up at all?

[surveyor]

ME TOO. I like infiltrating in general for that reason, it makes for fun times later when they're themselves again and they already sort of know each other. ...Even if this incarnation of Levi is closer to who he was than who he is now. He's gonna be mad about it.

ANYWAY, the kids are mostly mid-teens; best guess based on interviews are that Levi's in his mid-late 30s (he's just hella short and the anime makes him look like a bb waif) and Erwin is in his late 30s so they're all about the same age, I think! Which also works for me C: Levi could probably pass for younger from the nose down since looking at the art his wrinkles are mostly around the eyes... He'll probably be using that and his size to his advantage as far as hiding in plain sight goes. Might add to credibly passing Riddick off as a 'bodyguard', too.

I WILL POSSIBLY be putting up a top level for Levi at the mingle at some point, unless you're doing one for Riddick in which case I'll tag into that.

[itsananimalthing]

Sorry this took so long, been a busy weekend so far :P

Oh good, I'm afraid I'm pretty much canonblind for AoT, so I was afraid all the mains were kids... XD But having them all be similar age is perfect :3 Then I don't have to explain why the full adult is acting subordinate to the teenager, ahaha. It'll definitely help with the bodyguard angle, and I think all the important people here have entourages of some sort, so bodyguard seems perfectly reasonable :: chinscratches ::

No ideas for a Riddick top-level at the mo', so if you make one, I shall hit it :B

[surveyor]

I KNOW THE FEELING.....

And no worries, yeah, most of the main cast is definitely made up of kiddies and lmao anime everyone looks like a kid /o\

But re: top levels.... I'm probably not gonna do one for the first mingle since now the new posts are up, I'll PM you with which mask Levi's wearing so you'll know which thread is mine or just PM you the link when I get it up. That should be sometime later on, hopefully before I leave work.