#acup: admin

[acuppellarp]

Happy New Year, everyone! 

As we announced three months ago, it's time for April's little coffee shop to close its yellow door. And while it would be easy to turn this into a sad day, we'd much rather focus on the positive and celebrate the last 29 months (that's two years and five months, guys!),  instead. 

We've been saying this over and over again from the day we opened this game, but it bears repeating: we couldn't have asked for better players and characters (over 200 of them throughout the course of the verse!), and you guys are the reason this little game has been chugging along for as long as it has. When we first started, we knew we were asking a lot from our players. We didn't give you a storyline or a running plot to follow along. We just gave you a setting and a handful of connections, and we asked that you bring your characters to life. And you absolutely did. 

And that's why this main will stop being updated from now on. The characters and their stories have outgrown this format, and though a part of us is sad to see this end, we honestly couldn't be prouder. We hope you'll continue enjoying this little universe you've helped create. We look forward to seeing your storylines turn into small closed groups, or 1x1s, or whatever your inspiration takes you. ACup and its stories belong to all of you, and we hope they'll keep thriving and growing as long as you want to keep them alive. 

We want to ask, again, that you let ACup as a "traditional" game end today. Please, don't make a new main to revive the group. And, though it goes without saying, please don't use its premise for a new game. ACup is our baby, and we want to be the ones to decide what happens to it.

One last time, we want to say thank you so very, very much for all your creativity, energy, and friendship. To those of us who've been here from the very beginning, and those who joined us along the way, we couldn't be more grateful to have had the opportunity to play with all of you. Being your admins has been an awesome experience, and we hope we'll meet again in the land of RP! 

All our love and best wishes for 2020 and beyond,

em & wen

[acuppellarp]

This is a bittersweet moment to wear our admin pants. As you all know, ACup's been open for over two years now, and we love each and every one of our members, characters, and stories. In every single admin post we've said how proud and grateful we are for all of you, and that is still very much true: we couldn't have asked for better friends and writing partners. However, we feel like it's time to take a step back.

We're not closing ACup, but we will be locking it as an active Main at 12AM EST on January 1, 2020. You’ll be more than welcome to keep playing your characters on the dash, to keep your storylines going, to create more characters, and to keep ACup alive for another two years and many more! But we will not be adminning the verse any longer, and the Main will no longer be updated.

The reason behind this decision is simply that we believe ACup as a traditional game has run its course. Our aim has always been to give you guys a sandbox to play in, and we feel like we got exactly what we wanted: a group of characters and storylines that can stand on their own without help or direction from any admins.

The next three months will continue on as normal: there will be Battles of the Bands, there will be Stir the Pots, there will be events, and everything else we all love about ACup! And on January 1st, we'll leave you to your storylines and characters and turn off the lights of April's coffee shop.

Again, please don't think this is the end of ACup. You all are ACup! So whether you decide to keep playing as a closed group, or make smaller groups with a few characters, or even turn your favorite ship into a 1x1, we hope you'll keep ACup's spirit going for as long as you have the muse! All we ask is that you don't make a new Main, or use our idea to make a new game. ACup is our baby, and we want to be the ones to decide what happens to it.

As always, please come to us if you have any questions, and we hope you'll enjoy the last three months as a traditional game. We know we will!

em & wen

[acuppellarp]

Celebrating two years of ACup...

We hit this amazing milestone on Sunday, and couldn’t be happier or more proud of our little family, and truly the biggest thanks goes out to all of you.

While we may have conceived of this verse, the heartbeat of the dash belongs to each of you who’ve dedicated your time and energy into the creation of ACup. We might have provided the sand, but you all have built the most fabulous castle for all of our muses to play.

And we’ve said it before, but we’ll continue to shout it from the proverbial mountaintops, that we are beyond grateful and know we’re the luckiest admins because your continued creativity, dedication, and investment in not only the verse but each other is second to none.

Thank you a million times over for these past two years!

em & wen

[acuppellarp]

2019 ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

A new year often calls for resolutions and changes, and here at ACup it’s no different. 

1. Wen

For the time being, Wen is going to be stepping back from her roles as admin and player. ACup has always been Wen’s brainchild, and while you all have become the heart and soul of the verse, we wouldn’t have this game in the first place without her. Because of that, and because she hopes that in the future she may be able to return to her canon characters that have been hers for nearly a year and half, we’ve decided that Quinn and Puck will shift into NPC status. Specifically, Quinn and Maisie will be relocating to Georgia for an indefinite period of time due to a medical issue with one of Quinn’s aunts (the women who raised her after she was kicked out of her home), and Puck will be on special assignment with the NYPD in another area of the country.

What does this mean for gameplay? Both Quinn and Puck can be referenced (not modded) on the dash as needed in the same way you’re free to mention April. 

What does this mean for the admin side of things? In the next couple of days I will likely be looking for someone to assist with queuing ads and brainstorming meme/tasks and the like, and possibility someone to take on a rival to JBI’s gossip blog.

2. April

As Wen was the voice behind April, going forward her blog will continue to be used for event post spam. As mentioned above, please feel free to reference April in general as needed on the dash, but if there’s a specific headcanon you’d like to use, poke me about it first. And as a refresher, here’s April’s about page for general info on who she is and what makes her tick.

3. Activity and Hiatuses

Activity checks will continue to occur weekly. You can expect them every Saturday morning (EST). If you need a hiatus, please message Em on discord or send in a message to the Main. 

We’ve also posted a hiatus form and guidance information. Of note, going forward we’d like limit hiatuses to no more than 4 weeks (exceptions will be considered), and are requesting that players on long-term hiatuses (hiatuses lasting more than 2 weeks) check-in. Failure to check-in may result in characters being reopened. 

4. Plotting

While we do have our plotting channel on Discord, don’t forget that it can be used for more than just general shout outs. Do you want your character to get into an argument? Have a one night stand? Spill (or throw -- ask Mae about aim) coffee at someone? Dedicate a song to someone? Babysit a pet? Take someone out on a date? Get locked in a closet with someone? Get stuck on the subway with someone? You can drop more specific ideas into the plotting channel, too, or reach out to specific players as well.

Along those same lines, we answered an anon a few weeks back about overall activity and ways you can help. I want to highlight it again now, and hope that the next number on the list assists as well.

5. Meme Mondays, Task Tuesdays, Friday Five, etc.

One of my admin resolutions is to be more consistent with rolling out activities for our themed-days. Meme Mondays will now occur every other week. On the weeks when there’s no Meme Monday, Task Tuesday will take place. Friday Five will drop at least twice each month.

6. Jobs Masterlist

Self-explanatory and should be helpful if you’re thinking of creating a new character/mumu. We have a number of professional areas open and ready to be explored!

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or need clarification, I’m here. 

[acuppellarp]

With the holiday season just on the horizon, and with a real world filled with so much negativity, our Give Thanks activity is a way to spread positivity and good vibes throughout our amazing ACup family. 

HOW IT WORKS

We will accept both IC and OOC messages. 

All messages will be presented anonymously. You can submit on anon or not, whatever your personal preference is.

IC messages will post on the main with @ character links.

OOC messages will be delivered via inbox, and of course the recipient can choose to publish if they wish.

We’ll accept messages starting now and through November 30.

To participate, send a message to the Main using the following format:

IC/OOC:

Character/Mun recipient:

Message:

[acuppellarp]

After last year’s successful 12 Days of ACup Christmas, we thought we’d do another seasonal gift-giving event this year:

TIS THE SEASON OF DOUBLE SECRET SANTA!

DOUBLE SECRET SANTA BASICS...

The event will take place over 4 rounds/weeks.

Like all events, this edition of Secret Santa is voluntary, but highly encouraged.

And because each round/week will be separate from the others, players who don’t participate in the first week, or players who may join after the first week has started, may join for the other weeks of the event.

HOW SECRET SANTA WILL WORK...

Including today, on each of the next four SUNDAYS in December we will post a Secret Santa Questionnaire.

If your character(s) would like to participate in the week’s Secret Santa event, they should submit their answers to the main by 11:59PM EST on TUESDAYS. 

On WEDNESDAYS we will assign each character an alias and post their answers on the Main. We will then send IMs/Discord messages to players letting them know which character alias they are assigned.

Using their assigned character alias’s answers to the questions, Secret Santas have until 11:59 EST on FRIDAYS to submit a gift for their assignee. 

On SATURDAYS April will post gifts and reveal who was buying for whom. 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE…

Please have your character answer the following questions and submit their responses to the Main no later than 11:59PM EST on Tuesday, December 4. 

DOUBLE SECRET SANTA QUESTIONNAIRE - WEEK 1

Your character’s answers can be as broad or as specific as you’d like, but please take into account the overall secret-ness of this event.

What are three of your favorite colors to wear?

What’s your favorite NYC landmark?

What are three scents you enjoy?

Do you prefer showers or baths?

Do you prefer to cook for yourself or do takeaway?

[acuppellarp]

...or Wednesday!

Having been open for over a full year now, a lot has happened in the lives of our our ladies, and we absolutely love all the stories we see everyone weaving. There have been breaks-ups and make-ups, love triangles and love forged, friendships have been challenged and bridges have burned, and many characters have gone on their own journeys of self-reflection and change. Since we want to make sure the Main reflects all of that has happened we have three tasks we’d like everyone to complete.

These tasks may be reminiscent of what was suggest for Task 4, but unlike that task, which was voluntary, Tasks 6, 7, and 8 will be mandatory as we want to make sure current players and any potential players interested in our open roles are all on the same page.

Task 6: Six Degrees of Separation

Connections. Across the board connections have been shaken up by in-game happenings. We have characters with new roomies, new friends, ex-friends, girlfriends, exes, enemies, you name it, and we’d really like to capture all that has changed or blossomed over the course of the game. And while all characters are connected on some level (remember no one is an island!), we’re not asking you to come up with a connection to every character, but rather the highlights of your character’s social circle. If a stranger were to look at your character’s bio post, which important relationships would you want captured? We ask that you work OOC-ly with your fellow players involved in any new connections that need to be created or old connections that need to be tweaked.

TASK 7: Money, Money, Money

Work History. We’d like to add a work history section to the bio posts as we’ve had characters change jobs, get promotions, graduate, etc. This blurb essentially serves as a way to describe where your character was job-wise when you joined, where they are now, and if you feel so inclined, possible professional goals they have for the future. As an example, Rachel’s blog has been updated with this new section and can be viewed here.

TASK 8: A Tale as Old as Time

Bios. We’d like everyone to revisit their bio and see what, if any, updates or tweaks are needed. We’re perfectly fine if you feel so inclined to do a full overhaul of your character’s bio, of if you’d just like to tack on a few bullet points or a paragraph that encompass the changes that have occurred from the time your character joined the game to where they are today.

When you complete a task, please submit it to the Main. Once all tasks have been completed and collected for a character, we will refresh that character’s bio card with a new post so that everyone can catch up on all pertinent changes. 

While these tasks are mandatory, we’re not enforcing a hard deadline for their completion, but of course would like to have all the updates sooner rather than later. And as always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns!

[acuppellarp]

Because this is such a character-centric RP without any real overarching plot going on, we feel like making ‘weekly recap’ posts is pretty useful so everyone can stay up to date even if we don’t always have the time to read every single post on the dash. So here’s ACup’s sixty-second week in review!

New Characters

Rocky Carter (minor character), played by Jaye

JBI, ACup’s Gossip Blog (just in case anyone hasn’t been following!)

This brings us to forty active main characters and seven minor characters!

Re-opened/Retired Characters

None!

Wanted Characters

Haley’s kinda sorta almost not really ex-flame

Mickey Sandoval, Teddy’s ex-best friend

Brandy Weston, Rachel’s sort of ex/FWB

Characters on Hiatus

Fiona Hudson, Nicola de Rocha, and Hunter Clarington, played by KT - on hiatus until October 3

Jackie Pucker and X Scott, played by Ace - on semi-hiatus until October 6

Haley Sterling, Mari Gardner, and Lacey Mikhailov, played by Jeanne - on semi-hiatus until October 6

Stacey Evans, played by Sharp - on hiatus until October 6

Serena Smythe, played by M - on hiatus until October 13

Tasks/Events/Other

Tasks - 6 + 7 + 8 here!

Meme Monday - Fall Edition here!

Battle of the Bands - Pamela Lansbury wins!

Make-ups/Break-ups/Hook-ups

ACup’s Chart - If your character needs an update, let us know!

Hookup: Kate and Sam

Coming up

SUNDAY, September 30

April’s Showers

Score: Win; 4-2

Goals: Evie 6′ @evielutionary, Stevie 32′ @streetsmartstevie, Spencer 48′ @superspence, Jemma 74′ @itsjemmabitch

Current Record: 3-0

April’s Showers Fall Schedule

Week 1 - Sept 16 - vs. Pathetico Madrid

Week 2 - Sept 23 - vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Škrtels

Week 3 - Sept 30 - vs. #SquadGoals

Week 4 - Oct 7 - vs. Game of Throw-Ins

Week 5 - Oct 14 - vs. Farcelona

Week 6 - Oct 21 - vs. Victorious Secret

Week 7 - Oct 28 - vs. The Mighty Schmucks

Week 8 - Nov 4 - vs. Athletico Pathetico

Week 9 - Nov 11 - vs. Mighty Morphin’ Flower Arrangers

Week 10 - Nov 18 - vs. ABCDE FC

MONDAY, October 1

PL Practice

ACup Karaoke, 8PM

TUESDAY, October 2

Warblettes Practice

ACup Open Mic, 6PM

WEDNESDAY, October 3

April’s Showers Practice

ACup Karaoke, 8PM

THURSDAY, October 4

ACup Open Mic, 6PM

FRIDAY, October 5

ACup Karaoke, 8PM

SATURDAY, October 6

ACup Open Mic, 6PM

UPCOMING OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS

October 13 - Harper

October 22 - Evie

October 31 - Teddy

MISCELLANEOUS

List of holidays here.

List of observances for every day/week/month here.

List of events in NYC here.

List of weekly in-game scheduled events here.

Other Stuff

If there’s something we may have missed - a birthday, a hook-up or anything else - please message us and let us know! We keep up with the dash, but we obviously can’t know what you headcanon with other players, and we want to make sure everyone is up to date!