At today's council meeting, it was announced that a significant portion of the funds needed were raised at this year's Spring Fling! And while it's a great start, this battle is just beginning, with much left to do so that we can purchase the land.
But... rumbles have been heard through town that the Benefactor is nervous. Apparently, seeing the town come together as well as they did to really rally, raise awareness, and start putting together funds has made them second think the resort. While, for now, they are still planning on moving ahead, they have slowed the timeline and a second offer on the property has been rejected. For now.
The following proposals were made by council members and agreed upon by the committee:
July will be Dine & Drink For the Cause month, with various restaurants, bars, coffee, tea, or drink shops offering specials all month long, with a portion of the proceeds going directly to the cause. This will be up to each individual establishment. They can offer something different every day, every week, or just a flat special for the month, and the amount that they donate is completely up to them, whatever they're comfortable with.
We will be holding our usual charity gala later this summer, but it will not be dependent on the Benefactor. This means that we will be choosing our own theme, having people volunteer to provide food, drinks, music, come to help decorate and set up... everything that was normally taken care of for us will now be in our hands.
The committee will start taking sign-ups for Dine & Drink for the Cause month and volunteers to get involved with the charity gala after Pride Weekend, as it was agreed that this is an important event for people to focus on and enjoy and... let's face it, everyone could still use a breather after Spring Fling.
Overall, the general atmosphere of the meeting was very positive and optimistic, with people starting to feel a little better about the situation... but also a little nervous to learn that the Benefactor is starting to feel threatened, and that they have no plans, at the moment, to put any more money into town, or help with slated events. The meeting was adjourned.
OOC INFORMATION.
There you have it, two pretty fun ways to get involved for the plot drop are coming your way! I will not be taking sign-ups at this point until after Pride Weekend, as I need to stay as organized as possible, but you are welcome to start thinking about it!
If you own a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, or anything that serves food or beverage, or work at one and would like to represent it, you're welcome to handle that however you please! I'll have more info when we take sign-ups.
And for the gala, I have a theme in mind that's been suggested a few times... but I'm also open to suggestions if someone has one that's burning a hole in their brain. Either way, we will need people who can provide food, desserts, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), as well as music, and many people who are willing to decorate and help set up! But, again, more information on that will be available later.
If you are not already on the committee that heads up research and attends council meetings, as well as doing a lot of leg work for this plot drop, it is never too late for you to get involved! Just send an ask to main, and I am happy to get you on the list. If you have any questions, let me know!
The plot drop page (as well as committee list) is linked in our pinned post, and can always be found here. xx
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As today is the second Monday of the month, there's a special council meeting happening at town hall!
What we have learned: the Benefactor is still moving forward with plans for the resort, and has been working behind the scenes to try to ensure zoning changes can happen before a final purchase. While it is important to know that offers have been made, the council stresses that it is equally important to know that the first offer was turned down, and the second is being considered. All offers are currently being entertained.
The committee has been asked to provide their findings, giving members Cage Newman, Joshua Lane, Jason Browning, Elena Vazquez, Kennedy Warren, Chetan Gupta, Aleja Alverez, Trey Wright, Harley Hua, Esperanza Tamayo, Jayla Hopkins, Theodore Browning, Harland Newman, Dominic Da Silva, Elizabeth Stewart and Mateo Fuentes the chance to present the council with any research that has been done so far, as well as updated information about the Spring Fling event set to take place next month.
The council, in return, has asked for the committee to begin consider asking businesses and locals in town to donate money to a fund -- they have stressed that any amount is a big help at this point in time. They have also encouraged continuing research into the natural habitat and proposing ideas for what is to be done with the land should they purchase it, and how to move forward.
The council has also asked the committee to move forward with preparing for Spring Fling, using the next few weeks to assure that the following things are taken care of:
a new stage built in Cityview Park for performances.
local businesses offered help with painting, window decorating and general clean-up to present a good view of our town.
streets and sidewalks cleaned up, lights strung in trees, banners hung from light posts & flowers planted in pots/planters.
Cityview Park cleaned up & worked on, including flowers planted the week before the event.
volunteers to paint murals and signs for the event.
passing out & hanging up flyers for the event.
The meeting came to a close with a soft warning: while the rallying is helping and moving in the right direction, the Benefactor is moving forward with their plans, and rumblings have been heard that if they can't get land in Merrock, they will get land elsewhere, potentially still bringing problems to the area. Good luck, Merrockites.
OOC INFORMATION:
As a reminder, the committee is still open for people to join! There's quite obviously a lot of work to be done, and all you have to do is send an ask to main and let me know what characters you would like to add! Anyone can join -- just care about your town, that's all we ask.
Right now, here is where we stand with Spring Fling participation:
live mural painting – Harley Hua.
a lucky prize wheel – Bardales Inc.
raffle for free services at garage – Takato’s.
selling crystals to keep away bad spirits – Universal Rocks.
tent of goodies – Cobblestone Cafe.
rock painting activity – Celestial Foundations.
dance performance – Darcy Jessops.
baked goods tent ($10 purchases go to charity) – Cherry Amour.
spring art lessons & coloring books – The Color Wine.
food truck offerings – Ojichan no Sushi Reshipi.
library booth – Oliver Sutton.
lucky dip – Page Turners.
food truck with light bites & snacks – Overlook.
band performance – Cosmic Riot (Tae Suh).
charm bar (jewelry) – Libby Stewart.
performance – Libby Stewart.
performance – Mateo Fuentes.
DIY floral arrangements / flower bar -- Kennedy Warren.
If you would like to have your character participate in the Spring Fling, there is still so much time to do so! All you have to do is send an ask to main and let me know what you have in mind, and I will get you on the list. I am going to gently ask that if it's possible, you make a post for Spring Fling for your offering! It does not have to be fancy... at all. You don't even have to use graphics if you don't want to!
One reminder: if you are working at a location with someone, please contact them to work with them on a project. If you own a business -- even if you have employees -- you're welcome to make the decision of what they do, just let others know when you're ready, so they can choose if they want to get involved. Reach out to one another and respond to messages about this, guys! Please. We want people to work together!
If you are looking for ways for your character(s) to get involved, the council said they need more research, door-to-door asks for donations from businesses and locals, and left a list of things to do! If you want ways to get involved with the Spring Fling, some things that I think we could use would be:
bake sale items.
fun drinks for sale (non-alcoholic).
face painting / hair tinseling booths.
informational booths about Merrock.
selling crafts and goods with portion of proceeds going to the cause.
pay-to-play activity for kids and families.
more musical performances!
Remember: we do have our carnival coming up later this summer, so things like a dunk booth, carnival rides and games, all of those can take place then! This is more of a street fair / festival kind of vibe. We can have a few of those things, but want the two events to be as unique as possible, to keep events fun and fresh.
If you have any ideas or suggestions for how to add to Spring Fling, or future money-making ideas for the town, my ask box and messages are always open. <3
REMINDER: part 1 here. This portion of the plot drop (the meeting) will be taking place Monday evening, but is posted early for attention / plotting purposes.
The Merrock Town Council has met and heard the concerns of residents in regards to the plot of land for sale and the plans to turn it into a beach resort.
After a little digging, the council has found that the plot of land has sat untouched for decades; it has only come up for sale after the passing of an elderly resident who has no heirs left in town to take the land and care for it. But as it is sizeable and prime real estate... it comes with a very hefty price tag, too much for most people in town to fathom.
The council has heard concerns that a resort in town will damage small businesses during the summer season, with tourists choosing to visit the resort instead of our historic inn or bed and breakfast, restaurants having less patrons (or access to seafood and ingredients that they need!), and that the town itself will become oversaturated with tourists and run out older generations who may head elsewhere, looking for quieter lifestyles, sell their businesses, only to be bought out by big names that have no place in town. Major environmental concerns were raised, as well.
On the other side of things, the council has heard arguments for the resort, as well, with several residents speaking up against the 'doom and gloom' and pessimism, pointing out that development and change are good, and that there's nothing wrong with moving forward.
By the end of the meeting, council member Kenji Reyes made the suggestion that the town band together to raise enough money to purchase the plot of land, relying on themselves, donations, and events around town to make it happen. Town event planner, Layla Clark, offered her services to help make things happen (with the reminder that there is another event planner in town to lean on, as well!), and council member Tex Barron made the suggestion that the town host a spring fling to kick off this initiative, where businesses and townspeople can come together to create a fun spring / sidewalk festival without the Benefactor's help to raise money to go towards the purchase.
Bella Avery and Mack Henderson, also town council members, made suggestions for future money-making endeavors such as a Benefactor-free Gala, completely operated by the townspeople, and dedicated nights for bars and restaurants and other businesses to donate a portion of their proceeds to the cause.
The suggestion was made by Aiden Jake, the town manager, that a committee be formed by townspeople who are willing to get involved in doing the heavy work for these events -- setting things up, handling the money side of things, contacting businesses to get involved, and also doing a lot of the smart stuff: researching the land, making sure that every i is dotted and t is crossed on what can and cannot be done, diving into the impacts on the environment, and designating the land for future use to be sure it stays out of the hands of those who would use it in detrimental ways.
Venus Dallas approved of all of this, asked for people to sign up on a sheet if they wanted to be involved in the committee, and ended the meeting. Phew.
OOC INFORMATION:
You heard it here first! We'll be having a Spring Fling event in town taking place in May (stay tuned!) where everyone who owns or works in in a business can sign up to offer something fun to the fling, and everyone in town is encouraged to get involved -- can be something as simple as selling something you make, running a game booth, coming up with a fun activity, anything at all! We'll have more on that coming very soon.
We are also taking sign ups for the committee! People who want to serve on the committee will be asked to attend all of the council meetings (held on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each week) to get and relay the latest information. They will be expected to do research into the plot of land, find out its history, research things like animals and plants that call the land home, what a big resort could do to a small town, the negative impacts on the environment, etc. And lastly, they will be responsible with the set-up and running of the events in town (these will include the spring fling and a gala later in the year so far -- more may be added as we go along!), whether it's decorating, asking businesses and Merrockites for money for supplies, going door to door for donations and inviting people, or encouraging others to get involved.
If you would like to be a member of the committee, please send an ask to main and let me know what characters you want involved! You can have as many or as few as possible, but it's probably a good idea to keep it smaller so that you're not spreading yourself too thin. The committee list is as follows:
Cage Newman
Joshua Lane
Jason Browning
Elena Vazquez
Kennedy Warren
Chetan Gupta
Aleja Alverez
Trey Wright
Harley Hua
Espie Tamayo
Jayla Hopkins
Theodore Browning
Harland Newman
Dominic Da Silva
Libby Stewart
Mateo Fuentes
Feel free to write and plot with fellow committee members! Go to the library and research beach dwelling animals. Knock on doors and hand out flyers. Ask business owners if they're willing to donate money to make the spring fling happen -- get creative and have fun! Please also note: you don't have to be on the committee to get involved! You can volunteer your time when you have it, without signing up for all of the responsibility if you can't attend meetings, or can only do a little bit here and there. No worries! xx
Residents of Merrock have noticed a large plot of land at the edge of town has recently been listed as for sale. It's a beautiful stretch of beach, but not far from one of the major roads in and out of town, a sort of 'gateway' to Merrock.
And while this plot of land seems innocuous, rumors are starting to spread through town -- the Benefactor has his eye on the plot of land, and they have plans. Big plans. Commercial plans. An item has been submitted to the town council to consider: a resort opening up in Merrock that would consist of a large hotel, several chain restaurants, coffee shops and bars, and major 'tourist trap' vibes.
Some people in town might think this is delightful -- growth, a boom to the economy. But those who work in or own local businesses are starting to feel the rumble... big name chains have always been the enemy, and bringing more and more tourists to town might have negative effects on the charm of the town that they call home. Might just be the beginning of the end of the simple life they've loved.
There will be a council meeting held on March 9th to discuss the town's options. All are encouraged to attend.
OOC INFORMATION:
Welcome to the big show, my friends. The Benefactor has finally gone a little rogue, and our sleepy town could be changed forever because of it! Are you ready?
This plot drop is structured to take place long term in Merrock, meaning it isn't something that will start and end in March -- it's something we plan on integrating into the town for a while! We figured that it was time to shake things up, do something fun. Don't worry! If it's not your cup of tea, your characters don't have to get involved, it's not mandatory. They don't even have to have an opinion! But if you'd like to, it could be a fun way to make new connections, or get involved in events and happenings around town a little more. So let's tackle some stuff!
WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THIS PLOT DROP?
As promised in the beginning of the year, our goal for Merrock is to really bring back that small town, tight knit community feeling. Nothing does that quite as well as a threat to that feeling, and seeing how the community members band together.
CAN MY CHARACTER LIKE THE RESTORT IDEA?
Yeah, sure! I don't have a problem with people going against the council and supporting the Benefactor, or wanting to see it happen. The end goal of the plot is, of course, to bring everyone together and kinda 'save' the town from going the way of every other tourist trap map dot, but that doesn't mean everyone has to agree. It might actually be fun to see relationships strained and for people to butt heads.
SO... IS THE BENEFACTOR, LIKE, BAD NOW?
The Benefactor has never been inherently bad or good, they've always just been there, without anyone knowing their motive, or why they decided on Merrock. Long term? No. I wouldn't say they're bad at all, and in fact, could end up like the Grinch. Y'know, work together, help them grow a heart?
OKAY, HOW DO WE GET INVOLVED?
The fun part! This is going to take the whole town -- because the Benefactor's gonna be mad at us. But stay tuned until March 9th to find out a little more -- let's just say that people who own and work in local businesses are going to be pivotal, as well as people willing to research, brainstorm, raise money, and just love their town.
IS THIS GOING TO CHANGE GAME PLAY OR THE STRUCTURE OF THE GROUP AT ALL?
Nope! All of the plots you have, fun things like mini events, tasks, all of it will remain exactly the same. This is something running in the background. As said above, those who don't want to get involved really do not have to. There will be slight changes to some things -- for example, some events won't have the Benefactor's backing at the moment, which means the town will have to come together to put on a fun event, but I have faith in you.
Plot drop time! This plot drop doesn't have a set date, other than it should happen sometime during Creek Fest, and centers around your characters having a bad day -- one way or another. I have assigned the partners and chosen the scenario, but it is up to you to choose the characters you want to write as, if you play multiples!
ANNA & REBECCA: while taking a hay ride (you can choose where to!), the tractor breaks down, leaving your characters stranded and having to figure out how to get home. -- @xsylcuenco & @theobrowningfd
KATE & BEE: during the hike along black creek, your characters drop something into the water. trying to retrieve it… they both end up in the actual creek. oops. up to you if they actually retrieve the item! -- @lucie-newman & @aishathevar
ALEX & JESS: while out searching for the most perfect pumpkin, one character ends up tripping over a pumpkin vine, resulting in an injury (any injury you want) the other needs to help with. -- @javi-acosta & @isabelmulligan
MIMI & ERIN: quick! innocent little kids got called away for a family emergency, and your characters need to step up and run the (very busy, popular) lemonade stand! good luck. -- @naomiayodele & @mcndyhcrtmcn
KATIE & NIKI: in a move truly no one saw coming, someone's goat broke loose, and knocked down a few stands. your characters must catch the goat & help clean up the stands. -- @cagenewman & @mariah-h-kenmore
LINDSEY & BLAKE: the alcohol tent fell down. no, literally, your characters were drinking together, and the alcohol tent fell down on top of them. better figure that out. -- @elisequinn & @savstone-rp
Yes -- you can absolutely take some creative liberty with these ideas, as long as the basic prompt is followed! There's no set thread goal, but I am going to ask that you maybe try to reply every time you do that character's replies, so that it's guaranteed activity for your partner! And, you know, more fun. I've tagged your first character's account, but again, it is 100% up to you what character you use if you play more than one.
If you reach out to your partner and they do not reply within 48 hours, please message me! I am happy to step in and write with you, or assign you a new partner to help you enjoy your scenario. xx
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They're calling it the storm of the decade… and although we just welcomed in spring, it looks like mother nature is not done with us. A snow storm is supposed to drop up to two feet of snow, as well as some ice afterwards, resulting in power outages and school closures throughout town. Good luck, Merrockites!
Welcome to our first plot drop of 2025! The OOC duration of this event is March 22 through April 5, and the timeline is as follows.
MARCH 22 -- weather warning issued.
MARCH 23 -- snow begins to fall late at night.
MARCH 24 -- snow day.
MARCH 25 -- snow day.
MARCH 26 -- snow tapers off.
MARCH 28 -- early morning ice storm.
MARCH 29 -- snowy, icy weather tapers off.
School will be closed all week, with kids expected to return on Monday, March 31st. There will be power outages throughout town, with loss early morning on the 24th of March, and return dates as follows:
DOWNTOWN: early March 25th.
SUBURBS: late night March 25th.
COASTAL AREA: various times March 26th.
COUNTRYSIDE: various times March 27th & 28th.
Road conditions in town are expected to be very poor. The countryside and further out in the coastal areas are expected to have the worst roads, with the suburbs and downtown a little more maintained, but traveling will be dangerous for the first few days. Please try to avoid going out, and if you do, make sure that you take your time and have the proper equipment!
With the announcement coming ahead of the storm, some Merrockites may plan to get together to weather the ... weather. Please travel carefully! Each area of town has at least one shelter open that will be providing food, water, bathrooms, generated electricity, and places to sleep for free if you need: Town Hall (downtown), Stubs (downtown), Breathe In (coast), Community Center (suburbs), North Shore (countryside), Harmony Ranch (countryside).
Good luck, Merrockites! Jump under cut for more info, and assigned writing partners.
While the storm timeline is outlined above, we are giving this plot drop a two week window to start threads! It will run from March 22nd through April 5th. You do not need to end threads after that point, but you can't start them after the 5th.
Because we want to encourage people to not just start, but continue threads with random pairings, we are assigning writing partners for this plot drop. Each writer must reply at least twice to the thread before the event duration ends, and ideally, we would like to see the thread reach 10 notes before it is moved on from -- or even better? We'd love to see the thread seen all the way through! It is up to you and your partner to choose which characters to write as.
If your partner is simply not replying to you during the event, please reach out to the admin team. If they are otherwise active, and not responding to your thread, we will give them a nudge for you. If they go inactive, and you would like to still be able to participate, we will happily pick up the slack and write with you ourselves, or ask someone else active to take it on! While we're not encouraging bubbling, we are saying this is the one time it's okay to always reply right away to a thread.
Kate & Mimi
Amelia & Rebecca
Rhys & Tash
Katelyn & Elle
Bri & Bee
Bee & Kate
Erin & Mav
Katie & B
Some things to take into consideration when plotting for this event would include:
where does your character live? who are their neighbors?
when the storm alert goes out, are they going to travel to spend time at one of the shelters, or with friends/family? or stick it out?
in a crisis, are they the type to lead and help others, or will they be relying on help?
how do they deal with no electricity?
what's their prep like? do they already have food, water and flashlights ready to go, or is it going to be a scramble to head to the very busy shops?
If you are looking for a place to start with ideas, here are some prompts that might help you out:
as the warning goes out about the storm, character A texts character B and asks them to buddy up and hang out.
unfortunately, character A wasn't paying attention to the alerts and got stuck on the road, asking character B to come save them.
character A and character B decide to get together to go shopping and stock up on needs before the storm.
alternatively, character A really needs some water, and character B just grabbed the last jug... what happens?
character A gets stranded on the road, and thinks they're in big trouble, until character B happens to notice them and helps.
character A and character B are together when they lose power, and build a fort to stay warm.
character A gets the brilliant idea to try to shovel their driveway and slips on ice, asking character B to nurse them.
character A needs help clearing their walks and asks character B to come do it, with the promise of cocoa.
the food is going bad! quick, character A, bring your generator over to help character B!
character A & character B have had enough of sticking it out and decide to walk to a shelter for food & drinks.
a dumb idea, character A and character B go ice skating, but the snow is heavy, and the ice had started to thin... do the math.
character A ends up crashing their car, and character B comes to help them out of the ditch.
character A shows up on character B's door step, cold, with no food at home, asking if they can hang out.
IMPORTANT NOTE: we will allow slightly heavier plots during this drop, such as injuries! However, we cannot have every single person in the group breaking an arm when they fall on the ice. Please send me a message here on main, so that I can know who is planning on doing what if you are doing something like an injury, car accident, heaven forbid getting some frostbite, falling in the ice, anything that might be triggering or a little bit heavy to read. You won't be told no! It's just a good idea for us to keep tabs.
We really, really hope that this can be an immersive, fun event for everyone to get involved in, that it might inspire some other fun interactions outside of what you are assigned! We will do a plot / thread call post in the OOC, as well, for anyone looking to plot and have fun. xx
For a little bit of fun over the next few days, we're having a snow storm in town! Starting Sunday night, around 8PM, a snow storm will be moving through Merrock, and is expected to drop well over a foot of snow before 12PM on Tuesday. School will be closed both Monday and Tuesday this week (and delayed on Wednesday) due to the weather, and you can expect power outages in the outskirts (countryside and coastal area) on and off Monday. The snow is expected to stick around for quite a while with the very cold temperatures we are experiencing this week.
If you would like to share a social media post of your character enjoying the snow and the storm, feel free! Remember to tag it as #merrocksocial so that we can see and share it. Open starters are welcome! If you don't have time during the storm itself, this snow will be sticking around for quite a while, so you can enjoy all sorts of wintry activities, if you would like! xx
All of the information (and the entries!) are up and ready for you to check out. Please be sure to read through everything so that you know how to vote and your vote isn’t tossed out! We will be accepting votes through December 24th, and you can vote if you did not enter -- everyone can!
CHECK OUT THE ENTRIES & HOW TO VOTE HERE.
Thank you to everyone who entered, everything looks great! xx
