|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 4, 2015 12:43:43 GMT -5
I went back and looked at this pitch again. The only problem? The concept of a grand sweeping compartmentalized RP is such a good one, and I am SO GODDAMNED INSPIRED BY BACCANO, that now all I can think of is how much I want to run an RP with the same format.
All I can say for sure is that it would be sparked by the really obvious Terrian development which I'm hoping to bring to bear in Ulima (alluded to heavy-handedly in the Featured Character article and retroactively in Emet): that he becomes able to consistently copy any item he can pick up and carry, not just material covering enough surface area on his body. What's the most glaring consequence? Well, he won't exactly be strapped for cash at any future point in time.
The resulting would be a gangster opera exploring the consequences when one man has the unique ability to generate infinite wealth. The information would only need to be leaked once to bring the Archipelago's entire organized crime population onto his doorstep in a matter of days. Cue a tangled, multifaceted plot, with plenty of bargains, lies, double-crosses and shootouts, roughly in that order I imagine. Large cast, bringing in hopefully as many characters with relevant connections to Terrian as I can muster, in a chain of interconnected topics.
The only conceivable resolution would be for Terrian to denounce all claims on his allegiance and form his own gang, using his connections within the Power culture to draw in the best supernatural allies who'll side with him (they might like the prospect of naming their own wages). A lot of job opportunities there. I'm thinking of the likes of Rie, Helen, Blaise, Rhys (if he meets Terrian by then), maybe Nopcsa even if the money can lure him away from the Fascere Order.
Ultimately, then, Terrian would declare an isolationist stance from the rest of the underworld and prepare for a pretty much neverending current of offers to change his mind. He'd need tight security to remain safe, which is where the associates would come in, but that just means plenty of easy plot hooks in the future.
What do you think? Could work maybe? It would have to wait until you'd already run yours, so it couldn't take form until like years from now, but it would be pretty awesome I submit.
So Ishkabibble began pretty close to six years ago. It was an EVENT RP the likes of which hadn’t been seen at least since I’d started RPing. 2010 was the Year of Ishkabibble, but there was a problem: by the end of the year, we hadn’t gotten halfway through the story. Come 2012, we were still struggling to finish the third batch of scenes. Since then, it’s gone entirely dark, and with most of the RPer participants out of the story, I’m not optimistic about finishing it.
Frankly, I’m not sure I’d want to, anyway. Overambition was only one of Ishkabibble’s problems. In my dizzying rush of Baccano! inspiration, I fell way too much in love with the idea of a hyper-multifaceted plotline, getting so caught up in the parts that I disregarded their sum. If Ishkabibble existed in its entirety, it would be a pointlessly convoluted, incoherent monstrosity in which characters do little but bounce from one unmotivated hostile encounter to the next.
Still, it obviously wasn’t a total failure, since it introduced a few indispensable new characters, forged important connections between some pre-existing ones, and established Ecruteak/Winstone as a key ORP hub. Being that it's the daddy to three all-star stories, Burgled Boullogne, Muddy Season, and Obscured Truth, I’ve got to respect Ishkabibble’s place in history. And it’s in that spirit that I come here to open up the file and disclose everything that was intended for the outcome of Ishkabibble.
Or, mostly everything. At the behest of a certain pious, long-haired visionary among us who is FAMOUS for his timely responses, I may possibly be running either two or three of the last several scenes. Aren't you excited? In the meantime we've got a lot of fat to chew through, so let's crack those knuckles and get started.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 4, 2015 12:45:14 GMT -5
First, a recap: SCENE ZERO: Paolo Undertakes Preparations to Look the Part of a Made ManI wish Q had stuck around to RP more. We had plans for a later story in which Paolo would join the Giarrettiera organization, forging a friendship with Nico, and then find that friendship put to the test when that little inner god that directs Paolo realized that there’d be a lot more profit in defecting to the Rogues & Brogues. She had another character, a young black woman named Koro Oleander, who would’ve been cool too, though I forget what her deal was. SCENE ONE: The False Assumptions which Instigated the Shakedown are Soon DispelledThis was a solid start. If I were to reboot the story in a different form, we’d keep this open, probably. SCENE TWO: Mandelbrot Considers It Poor Form to Leave Certain Threads DanglingYay violence. Boy, this one is hard to reread. I would regret bringing Lucas and Scar into the story 100% if it weren’t for Biscuit’s triumphant takeover later. SCENE THREE: Blaise Euler Demonstrates Surprising Compassion and is Subsequently Held at KnifepointOkay, I actually like this one. But only because I have a giant soft spot for Blaise (and her giant soft spots). Well, actually mostly because I love Flo & Hugh in undercover mode. I would rather write them than Charles Tanner any day. Did I mention I’ve really soured on Charles Tanner in the intervening years? SCENE FOUR: One Again Rhys Finds Himself Somewhat Awkwardly in the Midst of Older AcquaintancesWhat were Prime and Alyssa doing here? Boy, for a chapter with Rhys in the title, this sure has nothing to do with Rhys. Pointless filler (on my part, I mean). SCENE FIVE: Joseph and Tsubota’s Vehicular Accident Occurs Five Minutes Off from Being ConvenientWHAT WERE JOSEPH AND TSUBOTA DOING HERE? Boy, you notice how I thought Joseph and Tsubota were some kind of natural buddy pair because of That Shrinking Feeling, when in fact I don’t think Lee had ever used them together before or has ever done so again since Ishkabibble? Also pointless filler on my part. SCENE SIX: Auguste Tylor is the First Character to Correctly Interpret the RumorOkay decent scene here between Nopnop and Alpha. And then Cardsharks guy. Okay fine. SCENE SEVEN: Massimo Giarrettiera Considers the Counterfeiter as a Lucrative Business ProposalAlso fine, reinforcing the impression that Ishkabibble should have been about Terrian and co. interacting with the Giarrettieras and a minimum of other things. SCENE EIGHT: Natalie Happens Upon an Easy Answer to her Puzzlement Regarding the Dead BodyThe scene that wouldn’t die. It turns out that if you ask Lee to write a confrontation between two of his own characters and then for SV to jump in later, you get a really good scene that lasts two years. It was this that reduced Ishkabibble to a meme. I don’t blame either of them, though. Again, this is just poor structuring on my part. Did Natalie really need to be on hand for these proceedings? SCENE NINE: The Hotel Staff will Ultimately be Spared the Trouble of Cleaning Up the Mess in Room 126YAY VIOLENCE. Okay, though, everybody loves Biscuit!Lucas, let’s be real. And that’s all the scenes we got through. What? Don't look at me like that. We totally got all the way through every one of those scenes. There is not a single unfinished scene in that lineup. Luckily (for people who like reading a shitload of text), I have a ton of prepared material from 2009 regarding the rest of the story. I have both opening posts and directives for each of the remaining scenes. Any of you guys remember the directives? I sent along scene outlines and any points that were necessary to hit by PM, because I love using words and telling people what to do. It’s a revealing window on what else was meant to occur.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 4, 2015 12:48:18 GMT -5
Monday the 16th 1:15 pmAs the minute hand of his pocket watch slid into place, so did the King of Clubs’ own white-gloved hand move to an appropriate position, pointing down before him from the arched balcony onto the dining hall below. Naturally this hand was holding a revolver with an elongated barrel. The other hand was holding his jewelled cane, which he gently twirled: dark curtains fell into place over the room’s many windows. This was roughly the point at which those taking their luncheon on the ground floor chose to notice his presence and begin panicking. Those except for the diners who, in fact, now happened to pull out firearms of their own. Tanner watched Rowland and Warren kick their table to the floor with glee as they brandished their rifles, while Belinda unceremoniously dropped her tray and pulled from the folds of her waitress’ uniform a pistol which she immediately pointed at the civilians to whom she had just been serving tea. Culverton was standing, a gun in each hand, atop the grand piano which he had been playing a few seconds earlier. Tanner made a mental note to reprimand him for this. There was no need to disrespect the instrument. The vanguard stood: all eight of them, scattered around the d. h. below Tanner’s gaze. And a handful more had not even risen and presented arms yet – they remained camouflaged amid the unknowing civilians who now screeched and shouted and ducked for cover and threw their hands in the air. They would wait for the Mafia to arrive before joining the others in his faction. Through the tinted lenses of his papier-mache plague doctor mask, the King of Clubs counted off faces swiftly. All well and good. Everyone here was in his scheduled position. He trusted those elsewhere in the hotel had secured their stations by now as well. ISHKABIBBLE SCENE TEN Those in the Dining Hall Find Both the Intruding and Defending Forces Equally Disagreeable “Valuables at once, please!” the King of Clubs called down. “My associates will collect all purses, wallets, jewelry and cell phones. Particularly the latter. Yes, let’s have none of that, shall we?” He gestured to indicate a woman who had been fumbling with her phone. Rowland stooped down to pluck it from her fingers with a grimace. He and Warren continued upon collecting duty while the others held the room. “One begs your cooperation,” Tanner added. “Really there shall be no need to complicate things, at least until… Ah of course.” As he had expected, there was a soft but distinct thump. One of the employee’s doors, partially obscured by a mammoth potted plant, had just quietly swung shut. * * * Why did I ever put Charles Tanner in this plot? What's the point of Charles Tanner anyway? Good question! If you were hoping for Ishkabibble to provide answers, I'm sorry. Anyway, it's a scene for Prime and Alyssa to react first, and then the Giarrettieras arrive at the dining hall to face off against Tanner's crew. Below are the directives for this scene. If you're on the fence about whether you care to read these... Let me assure you that you don't. Very small scene here. The dining hall showdown has a handful of phases to move through, and this is the first of them. Prime and Alyssa are the only characters in the room right now besides the King of Clubs and his group and the many innocent customers and hotel staff.
This topic should only last a few minutes, at the end of which the Giarrettiera brothers and their men will burst through into the dining hall and confront the King of Clubs. Until then, we have a little free time to fill with Prime and Alyssa.
Prime: This might be a tricky scene for you – reining you in is going to be the hard part, specifically. As hard as it might be, I need you to restrain your urges to go full-on action mode and start beating the hell out of the King of Clubs’ guys. The thing is that when the Giarrettieras come in at the end of this scene, I’d like for the King of Clubs and the others to be able to turn their attention fully on them, instead of having to keep fighting you.
This means there are two basic ways you can play this scene. You can either keep the conflict at a low level throughout, or else you can start to escalate the conflict and get derailed before you can take it to too high a level.
If you go for the former option, it means that you’ve looked at this room full of criminals toting guns, considered your own lack of weaponry of any kind, and decided that in fact you might just want to lie low instead of inviting their fire with an attack. You could still oppose them, but verbally, trying to intimidate them and/or find out why they’re here, instead of attacking.
The latter option entails that you go ahead and try to fight the King of Clubs’ henchmen (probably Rowland and Warren, the rifle carriers, who are the ones moving through the room and collecting valuables). However, this choice would require that we would need to agree on some way to offset your attack before the topic ends. I’m thinking a bullet grazing the leg, as an example, might put you off for the moment without inhibiting your ability to fight Lucas and Scar later on. Something like that.
You can choose either option and I’ll react from there. Just know that we’re not going to see you Defeat the Bad Guys and Save the Hotel in this scene, so don’t go in with that expectation. Your moment of true heroism is still coming up.
No matter how you approach this topic, remember that you’re ultimately here for the Reiki (whose exact location you’re not yet sure of, but it’s clearly not in the dining hall). So your motives in confronting the King of Clubs’ men would probably be less “They’re going to rob me, how dare they” – I assume you’re not carrying much of anything valuable on you, as far as that goes – and more along the lines of “They’re not letting anyone leave the room bullshit leaving the room is exactly what I felt like doing right now.”
Alyssa: Knowing Prime the RPer as we do, I’m asking Prime the character to resist his instincts and not go totally apeshit on the King of Clubs’ underlings right now. The conflict can’t erupt in full force just yet, which means Prime will either keep it real for now, or else he’ll try to fight the King of Clubs’ men and I’ll offset his attack with a bullet to the leg or something. Either way, I’m assuming that you, Alyssa, are probably a bit more pragmatic and will try to dissuade him from going crazy (remembering that the last time he did such a thing, he wound up comatose with an axe wound in Shrinking).
On the other hand, maybe I’ve misread you, and maybe you’re actually the one more likely to try to fight back. To be sure, you’re the one carrying weaponry, whereas Prime is totally unarmed. However, obviously, if you start a battle, I’ll have someone injure Alyssa in the same way and force her to retreat for the moment. The thing is that I need the King of Clubs and his group to be able to give the Giarrettiera brothers their full attention when they burst in at the end of this scene – they can’t still be fighting you and/or Prime.
So my recommendation is to take it easy and confront the criminals verbally rather than physically. Try to intimidate them, try to find out what their deal is, whatever you like. Or, if none of that is your thing, just lie low and watch what happens for now. You’ll get your opportunity to spring to action soon enough.
Oh, and one more thing for both of you guys: I’ve been calling Charles Tanner “the King of Clubs” throughout this PM in order to stress that you should totally never refer to him as “Charles Tanner”. You both know him as Tanner from Shrinking, but the identity of this fellow, whose head is concealed beneath that plague doctor mask and wide-brimmed felt hat, should be a mystery to you. (If voice recognition is a concern, we’ll say his voice is muffled by the mask.) This goes double for you, Blood, since Alyssa seeing Tanner unmasked near the end of the story will serve as an important character point for her.
If you really need a name to use in reference to him, you can go ahead and call him “the King of Clubs” with the explanation that you learned about this criminal from watching the news or reading the paper or whatever. Or else just call him “the masked man” or some such. I hate to be nitpicky about such a point as this, but it would be pretty jarring to see anyone else identifying him as “Charles Tanner” just yet.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 4, 2015 12:56:01 GMT -5
Saturday the 14th 8:21 pmLeavy vines, as like as not genuine considering the atmosphere here, sinuated up and down the brick columns interspersed throughout the room. Stone tiles of beige and reddish-brown were ranged across the floor. Black chandeliers were fixed overhead, delicately casting reflections over the polished wooden tables. Waiters glided from station to station carrying steaming trays laden down with pasta, salads and meats. All aspects of the room, including the well-dressed customers talking and laughing over their dinners, broadcast this message: Here at d’Arcangel’s you could throw away an easy hundred dollars before you got to dessert. Terrian Brogue was not planning for quite such expenses but he felt confident that he would be able to budget for whatever happened to come up. ISHKABIBBLE SCENE ELEVEN Helen’s Dinner Date is Regrettably Derailed by the Evening’s Entertainment He rested his elbows on the table, on either side of his tortellini alla romana, and smiled up at the waiter who passed by their table. This smile soon moved to a different recipient, Helen, who was seated across from him. “Tell me again, when’s the performance tonight?” It was the first he had seen of her in… months? Maybe a year or more. Whenever that business at the Parmigianino Institute had occurred. He hadn’t been wrong in his estimation, some unclear time ago at a café in Brightmeadow, that Helen was more than good-looking. Still – this was nothing like a date. No… Simply an opportunity for old friends to catch up. And as old friends went, Helen wasn’t bad. Without her, none of Terrian’s adventures in this latest chapter of his life might have come about. He covered up a chuckle at that. So he’d started thinking of them as “adventures” now. And not “harrowing brushes with death”. Must have moved up a notch somewhere along the line. Terrian speared a couple of twists upon his fork and lifted them to his mouth. Ah. Cooked to perfection. This was his first time at d’Arcangel’s, which he had known before tonight only as a classy Italian joint in uptown Winstone. He understood now that their reputation was well earned. Only a shame that they planned to run him a good thirty dollars for this plate alone. Was it a shame? Terrian let his fork drop again. Hardly. What drawback could monetary issues present to him anymore? He couldn’t think such things. How foolish! Thirty dollars for a plate of pasta: that wasn’t a shame, that was a triumph! A symbol of status. No reason he couldn’t invest in a few of those. After all what use was there in being monastic about all this? Prudence, yes, prudence was required, but flagellation was not. No. Terrian would indulge himself when he wished. This was a night to indulge himself and let the check be damned. “I can’t say I’ve never been curious about your shows,” he added. “I’d love to catch this one. And I can almost promise not to sabotage your trick if you call me onstage.” * * * Trivia: I was pretty drunk when I wrote this scene! Man, good times at Vassar. It's wildly uncharacteristically florid prose for Terrian, but I guess he was a little drunk too. This is the earliest scene. We've got Terrian and Helen on a not-date at d'Arcangel's, and then Lucas and Scar come in to fuck everything up. Why?? I don't know, but anyway, in the confusion following, Terrian leaves three identical twenties at their table. And that's how the Giarrettieras discover that he's got a counterfeiting business. Julia was here too. Directives below the spoiler. Here we are, guys. Halfway through Ishkabibble, and now we’re looking at what is chronologically the very first scene. Everything starts here at d’Arcangel’s.
You guys already understand the basic nature of this scene. Terrian and Helen are catching up over dinner, Lucas and Scar come in and bust the place up in search of the Reiki, the two diners fight them off, but Terrian makes the double whammy mistake of both summoning Alpha to his side to help him out, and leaving three identical twenties on the table when they take off.
This topic will probably be a little longer than most so far, but even then, maybe just run up to around a page and a half. Won’t need more than that.
Helen: I feel there’s not much you need to hear; you’re pretty much all set for this scene. I think we agreed that you would have a magic show at, like, ten o’clock? Somewhere in the Ecruteak night scene. So here you are grabbing a nice upscale dinner with Terrian beforehand.
As to how exactly the two of you met back up, this probably doesn’t need to be clarified, but you can go ahead and make something up if you find it helpful. Maybe Helen heard somehow that Terrian was living in Ecruteak now and so contacted him, or maybe Terrian saw publicity for Helen’s event and so contacted her, or maybe they ran into each other quite by accident on the street. Anything that works. As I said, this isn’t a crucial point.
You should bring one subject into the discussion, which is where you’re staying. You’re at the Hotel Ansonia. Let’s say you’re there for a week: this weekend all the way into next weekend, with performances throughout. Or something like that. No need to rush this into the conversation – I’ll have Terrian angle it in – but just know that’s a checkpoint that needs to be passed in this scene, so that we understand what you’re doing still at the hotel on Monday afternoon.
After the fight against Lucas and Scar ends with them beating a retreat, you too should want to make tracks as soon as possible, most likely to recuperate, freshen up and get ready for the performance. Part ways with Terrian, therefore, as soon as you want to (after possibly using some magic to restore whatever wounds the two of you may suffer in the fight). The scene will end there.
Lucas and Scar: Why are you guys going to put in an appearance at d’Arcangel’s? You’re looking for the Reiki, and the only thing you know is that it’s at a location with ties to the local Mafia dynasty. This restaurant qualifies: as we saw back in Scene One, old Sergio Peverelli the owner is a longtime friend and associate of the Giarrettiera family. You probably don’t specifically understand that connection or know Peverelli’s name or anything – at the minimum, you’ve simply picked up that this restaurant is greatly favored by the Mafia higher-ups, so you’ve considered it as a more than likely candidate for the location of the Reiki.
Unfortunately, you’re going to figure out pretty soon that it’s not here. Nothing in this restaurant but classy decorations and wealthy people. Oh, hey, though, those all sound pretty fun to break.
So very shortly after you enter – whether because you’re still hoping to find the Reiki someplace or because you’ve already given up on its being here and are just looking for some fun – you guys should start tearing the place apart. Now that I think of it, I suppose Scar might hang on longer to the prospect that the sword could still be here and he just needs to destroy enough things and people to reveal it, while Lucas would probably be more likely to look around, say “Oh well it must be somewhere else,” and just start going to town on the restaurant for the thrill of it. But if I’ve misinterpreted you two, forgive me.
Naturally, our heroes will rise to oppose you. Terrian and his duplicate Alpha, though they’re packing guns, will surely prove no more than a minor annoyance to you two. Helen, on the other hand, is a very capable spellcaster and it will probably be due much more to her efforts than Terrian’s that her side will ultimately win the fight. (I assume she can heal any injuries that she or Terrian sustain, so there’s no reason either of them can’t suffer any wounds here.) Give the battle a little time, but then allow yourselves to concede that the sword isn’t here and it’s not worth drawing this fight out any longer. And so exit the restaurant and escape.
That’s it. Just, both of you, don’t enter the topic right away. Let Lee and me have some conversation first, and give Choobs the opportunity to chime in at least once, before cutting us off with your entrance. Thanks.
Julia: You don’t really do anything in this scene. And yet, you’re the most interesting thing about it. For the most part, this scene is pretty much by the numbers in terms of the readers’ expectations. We already knew Terrian and Helen were at a restaurant, we already knew the place got attacked, we already knew about the three counterfeit bills, blah blah blah.
You’re the surprise. We had no reason to know that you’d be here at d’Arcangel’s this evening. And though your only role here is that of a detached observer, it’s a significant clue all the same. Attentive readers will ultimately understand [REDACTED].
So, you’re here. Eating alone, I assumed, but if you want to make up an NPC of any personal or professional connection for Julia to be dining with, that wouldn’t damage the proceedings in any way.
A key note, though: [REDACTED]. But if you want to use this scene to plant some early seed of dislike toward Terrian, go ahead. You can put your table as close to Terrian’s and Helen’s as necessary if you want to be able to overhear their conversation; otherwise, you can just judge him based on visual cues. Maybe his eating habits strike you as unrefined. He’s already propped up his elbows on the table which I guess is still seen as a breach of etiquette in the higher circles. Whatever. Anything you like.
No matter the substance of your post, I want to hear from you at least once before Lucas and Scar come in. You shouldn’t feel obligated to “take turns” throughout any of this scene – that is, it’s going to be me and Lee alternating at first, and then me and Lee and Prime and Kuroboom in some order, and you don’t need to feel that you have to write a post every round. Since you’re not directly interacting with the other characters, you can go at your own pace.
In any event, Lucas and Scar start wrecking the whole place. My intention was for you not to try to fight them back, and instead to simply take cover behind the table or whatever and ride the fight out. However, honestly, if you would feel up to it, I wouldn’t object to you aiding in the battle. Be a surprise, and maybe suggest too much to the readers at this point, but you could. That just means you shouldn’t engage Terrian and Helen in conversation afterward or anything. Take right off if you need to. The police will be on their way and such.
Either way, things will happen as they happen. The reason you’re here, in storytelling terms, is to see Lucas and Scar, hear their voices, and understand that they are raving murderers, so once you’ve got that accomplished you’re really free of any further obligations. Do as you like.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 4, 2015 12:58:33 GMT -5
Sunday the 15th 1:24 pmNatalie's cell phone rang. The caller's number was unfamiliar. She glanced at it, almost as if trying to intimidate the device into yielding more information about the caller. After another plaintive ring, she flipped it open. "Whoever you are, I'm not buying and I'm not interested." "Natalie? This is Terrian. That's you, isn't it?" "Sorry, but Natalie said she'd be out for the night. Something about beating up a bunch of identical guys or something." Her grip tightened on the phone, the case creaking audibly. "Okay, cool, you're Natalie. Look, don't hang up. I'm sorry for jacking your number -- Sly gave it to me 'cause he said he wasn't going to be around. I didn't store it on my contacts list, I promise." "It's like having a gun. It's all right to have it, but if you use it carelessly…" Nat produced a pencil from a nearby table, and snapped it next to the phone. "People might get hurt." "Right, got it, you are totally Natalie. Listen, the thing is -- I don't know if it's been on the news yet but -- there was an attack on a restaurant last night where I was eating. A couple of psychopaths. People died." "You're going to have to narrow it down a bit for me. People die all the time, and I can think of more groups of murderous psychopaths than decent places to eat in Whelkshore." "Well, that's kind of why I wanted to talk... I was hoping to get some people together this evening or tomorrow afternoon, see what we could dig up on these guys. They didn't stick around too long. That's me being modest in case you were unfamiliar with the phenomenon." After a pause, Terrian added, "So -- where are you right now, Whelkshore? -- you think you could stop by my place in Winstone tonight or tomorrow? It's looking like tomorrow from what Jonas and Rhys said." "I don't think I really have the times, means, or patience to stop by Winstone any time soon. It's not like there's anything good up there unless you like corny stage acts and old bars." Natalie sighed, and then switched her phone to the other hand. "But, if you tell me about whoever these freaks are, I'll see if I can remember anything about them. None of them had green hair, right?" "No... no, their hair was pretty normal. I would definitely remember if they had green hair. Because green hair is weird, Natalie. Totally weird. All right, well, listen, if you see some guys who are mass-murdering lunatics just run the other way, okay? And I guess let Zebedee know he's invited if he's around." "Unlike some acquaintances of mine, running the other way really doesn't come naturally to me," Natalie let the venomous words hang, and then resumed, "I haven't seen or heard from Zebedee in like a few days. He said something about Africa or whatever." If Terrian was stung by the comment, he didn’t show it in his response. "Okay then, well, thanks for being a pal about all this, Natalie. I definitely thought you were going to hang up soon—" Natalie didn't hear the last syllable. She already had flipped her phone closed, and tossed it onto the hotel room bed. It bounced, and slid down the comforter, onto the floor. She ignored it, traversing the small room with four paces. She put her hand on the blinds, pushing them aside with a faint rustling. Sunlight poured in, rendering everything bleached and bright. Natalie looked out over the balcony, her eyes adjusting to the afternoon light. Winstone City was not exactly bustling today, but there was still enough traffic to make travel on foot annoying. "Now, to kill time... Until I get a chance to go hit some of those old bars with crappy stage acts." ISHKABIBBLE SCENE TWELVE Nopcsa Assesses the Scene and Gamely Works Toward Mutual Understanding Monday the 16th 1:27 pmThe lobby was not one of the areas in the Hotel Ansonia immediately affected by the handful of explosions that occurred all at once, but the walls and ceiling trembled. Florence was thrown off balance and fired her gun by accident, shattering a window near the front doors. Most of the hostages on the floor cried out, and some of them continued to scream well after their point had been made clear. “Bloody hell was that?” Hugh yelled, shaking his blonde bangs out of his eyes. “Not us, was it?” “I wasn’t aware we were going to bomb the place!” Flo cried. She turned her head. The nearest explosion seemed to have come from the dining hall. She doubted any of the hostages were about to make any sudden movements in this state, and so, though she kept her gun trained on the group, she permitted herself to take her eyes off them and look down the corridor to the doors leading into the dining hall. * * * Okay, okay, this scene would've been fun, maybe we can revisit it someday. It's just Blaise retaking control of the lobby, and then meeting with Rie, Nopcsa, and Alpha when they emerge from downstairs. Short and sweet. Blaise: No points for guessing that this is the opportunity you’ve been promised. Tanner’s three henchmen here have been thrown off their guard: they weren’t counting on any explosions. Neither were you, but you’re substantially quicker on the uptake than they are and you’ve been waiting for a distraction precisely like this. So, with their attention diverted, you need to seize your chance to overtake these attackers.
This topic therefore starts with a brief battle between you and the criminals – no more than a few posts, for you to disarm and defeat them using whatever science trick you can pull up. Needless to say, all three have contractual immortality, having already been shown aboard the Magnet Train a few days in the future. So no dead henchmen; just unconscious or incapacitated ones. I’m not altogether sure you’re the type who would kill them anyway. Maybe I’m wrong. But all the same, don’t.
The other civilians and staff members who were being held hostage in the lobby will rush gratefully out the front doors and into the safety of the police cars rallied around the hotel. You can start to follow them if you like, but hold back once you see Terrian and two other unknown figures emerge from the stairwell down to the garage.
Once again, of course, that isn’t actually Terrian; it’s Alpha. But that’s hardly much better. After all, he was left in your service until mysteriously vanishing a couple of evenings ago, and you have every reason to think he and Terrian have deliberately conspired to escape their debt to you and flout the agreement you made. So you’re not exactly going to be pleased with any guy who looks like Terrian Brogue right now, whether it’s the original or the duplicate.
I didn’t foresee you straight-up attacking Alpha – I guess you can if you really want to – but certainly you should be verbally confronting him. He needs a pretty friggin’ airtight story to escape your ire right now. And that’s where Nopcsa comes in, so let me just transition real smoothly-like to…
Nopcsa: So here you are, makin’ your way back up out of the stairwell with Alpha and your previously unknown rescuer Rie. She just busted you and Alpha out of a tricky spot in the garage, which you shouldn’t make too much specific reference to at the moment. At any rate, out you come into the lobby, and suddenly there’s this other lady accusing Alpha of welshing on debts and what have you.
Well, your assignment is all there in the title. Assess the scene and gamely work toward mutual understanding.
Brushing the lady’s mind might reveal a variety of info, such as the fact that her name is Blaise Euler; that she is a former/current employee of the Parmigianino Institute; that Terrian Brogue owes her a debt of service. Best of all would be some images from Chords or Whisper – snapshot memories of her interactions with Terrian and the other main characters in those stories.
Whatever you can turn up, you’re in a unique position here of being able to consult both Alpha’s and Blaise’s memories, and synthesize a proper understanding of the events of Saturday evening. So, however you want to do so, you should bring your mindreading powers to bear in order to resolve the dispute between them. Work toward a little love and peace. It won’t last long, granted, but just do what you can.
A note for both Blaise and Nopcsa: This would be the proper scene in which to introduce the idea that Blaise is not simply pissed at Terrian and Alpha for apparently skipping out a couple of days ago – she still carries, as we discussed, deeper resentment of the fact that Terrian left a duplicate with her and took off instead of owning up to the debt himself at the end of Whisper. It’s your call whether to have Blaise bring that up directly, or let Nopcsa slyly piece it together after his scan of Blaise’s mind. Either way, get that on the table for discussion; it’s something both Alpha and Nopcsa should understand by the end of this scene.
(Oh, and one more thing: I don’t know whether there’s ever been any interaction between the Parmigianino Institute and the Fascere Order, but if you suppose that there has been, keep that in mind as a possible factor that might color the meeting between Blaise and Nopcsa one way or the other.)
When all parties are satisfied, I’ll let Alpha lead the way back into the dining hall, where the final confrontation is already underway. The scene will end then.
Rie: I hate to say it, but you’re kind of the odd one out here. This scene is going to hinge on three people: Blaise, Alpha and Nopcsa. Coincidentally, those are all of the main characters in this scene except for you.
So you’re under no obligation to hang around. I doubt that you have any interest in the conversation that’s going to take place and would much rather press on straight into the dining hall to figure out what’s going on there. In that case, by all means, feel free to skip out on this topic as early as you like by moving straight through the lobby down the opposite corridor into the dining hall.
Once you’ve gone there, though, we shouldn’t hear any more from you in this topic. We shouldn’t see the dining hall yet. Suffice it to say there’s plenty of fighting going on there and you’re down for that.
On the other hand, if you want to hang around for this scene, I’d welcome you to. It’s your call. Just remember not to pop up right away. First Blaise has to retake control of the lobby; then, you, Alpha and Nopcsa will come up out of the stairwell. That’s all.
Having wrote all that a few months ago, I forgot that Rie actually knows Blaise, and you mentioned that there might be some lingering animosity toward her. If you want to, then, you can totally stick around and play that up, letting Rie confront the scientist. We can use whatever animosity you drum up here to allow Blaise to redeem herself in your eyes somewhat in the final fight scene, by helping you somehow.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 4, 2015 13:00:03 GMT -5
That's it for now. Unlucky scene thirteen has a spoiler that I don't want to reveal just yet until I figure out where we stand on the final scenes. I'll probably go on tomorrow.
|
|
|
Post by Yoshimitsu on Nov 4, 2015 16:37:53 GMT -5
As the daddy to three all-star stories, Burgled Boullogne, Muddy Season, and Obscured Truth, I’ve got to respect Ishkabibble’s place in history. Does that make me the mother of OT? Easier than raising an actual kid. I do see what you mean about losing the full picture - each individual plot was super interesting, and I loved the dynamics with a lot of the characters (and RP needs more Tanner, hush), but I did struggle with where the pieces all slotted together when I first read through. Loved the concept and I adored Terrian's moment when he realised he had to keep a bill behind, though.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 4, 2015 16:40:17 GMT -5
Aw that's nice of you to say! Well then we'll have to try to honor those character dynamics in the final two or three scenes.
After it's all over I'll post the complete chronological timeline which might help.
i, uh... meant that ish was the daddy of those stories... not me... if that was misleading
changed the ol' wording
|
|
|
Post by Tout-Perd on Nov 4, 2015 23:32:27 GMT -5
If I had a bit more open time, I'd actually consider writing the Blaise/Nopcsa situation out. There's some really juicy tidbits that I could play around with there, since Blaise is so emotionally cloistered, and has a lot of secrets and thoughts that she'd never give voice to. And Nopcsa likes to kick puppies.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 4, 2015 23:35:53 GMT -5
We could sneakily tack it onto the end of scene twenty-one, since that just ends with Nopcsa, Alpha, and possibly Rie heading upstairs from the garage where they'll meet Blaise. We could sneak as much of scene twelve as you like in there.
Whoa, 12, 21? Spoooooooooky
|
|
|
Post by Tout-Perd on Nov 4, 2015 23:37:12 GMT -5
Also, was Nopcsa supposed to meet Yoon at some point? Because that would be some interesting stuff to play around with. Or is that an Obscured Truth thing?
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 4, 2015 23:41:56 GMT -5
Not possible in Obscured Truth: Yoon and Mayordomo are in Europe at that time for Loogs' plot. Yeah-ha, I did that all sneaky like so Yoon wouldn't have any chance of breaking the mystery.
Nopcsa and Yoon had no preordained facetime in Ishkabibble but that sounds like a fun combo for the future. You do have to realize though that much like Williams, Yoon's first reaction to discovering that he's a mind reader would be "get the hell out of my ten-mile radius".
|
|
|
Post by Tout-Perd on Nov 4, 2015 23:50:07 GMT -5
I think we established that Yoon's first reaction to mindreaders would be to mentally start gushing as many poisonous rumors and facts that might get Nopcsa killed as possible. Meaning that she'd poison the well of trying to dip into her knowledge, because Nopcsa doesn't know if the info is for real, or falsehoods designed to get Nopcsa murdered post-haste.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 5, 2015 8:00:45 GMT -5
Huh, I guess that's a strategy. I still suppose she'd probably rather do business with him by phone. But that's just not as cooooool
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 5, 2015 9:32:15 GMT -5
Monday the 16th 1:20 pmAll this looked like a wonderful scene to Cesare. Yes, these new black curtains suddenly draped over the windows, which were encircling the attackers positioned around the dining hall, who were lording their guns over the terrified customers and staff, altogether formed a tableau lovely to Cesare’s eyes. And that lunatic standing up on the balcony with the ridiculous mask and hat set the whole thing off nicely. Who were these guys? Why were they there? Did they honestly dare to attack the Giarrettiera family this blatantly? Did any of these questions really matter? Only one concern really pressed upon Cesare’s rapidly beating heart: the issue of when he was going to be allowed to start emptying enough machine gun rounds into these attackers to cut them in half at the waist. Weapon at the ready, he would’ve been happy to start right away. But Massimo had raised his hand; no one was to fire until his hand fell. The oldest Giarrettiera brother just couldn’t let them get to the fun before saying his bit. Cesare gritted his teeth. He threw a glance off to the right and caught Ferdinando’s eye among the gunmen who had pressed into the dining hall after the brothers. Cesare drew his right hand’s fingers away from the trigger of the machine gun to give one barely audible snap. ISHKABIBBLE SCENE THIRTEEN Disillusioned with his Brother’s Financial Judgement, Cesare Giarrettiera Sees his Chance Massimo’s hand, the one that wasn’t clutching his pistol, still hung infuriatingly in the air as he furrowed his brow and called out, “I know you, don’t I?” “Do you?” the masked man on the balcony replied in a muffled voice. “Yeah. You’re that…” Massimo trailed off. It wasn’t lost on Cesare that his oldest brother turned to Nico rather than him for help. But the youngest Giarrettiera didn’t take his eyes off the masked man, leaving Massimo to work out: “That guy who’s been running around England cleaning out banks. Aren’t you? Who – the King of Clubs, isn’t that right? I’ve seen you on the news.” The masked man nodded. “Excellent!” he said. “Very good. I’m chuffed my reputation precedes me.” Yeah, he was a Brit all right. No mistaking that chipper accent. Kinda grating on Cesare’s nerves now that he thought of it. “And you must be Massimo Giarrettiera. Eh? And Cesare and Nico, I presume. You’ve managed to turn up in the headlines yourselves a few times… Not nearly so far away as London, of course...” Cesare burst out into a disbelieving snicker. “You’re not gonna be too angry if I go ahead and paint the walls with this clown, are you?” he muttered to Massimo. “Give me a second,” Massimo responded shortly. “So is there anything we can help you with, Your Majesty?” he shouted up to the man. “We can’t be looking at a robbery here, can we?” “Ah, well…” The masked man leaned slightly upon his cane. “One might have had that in mind.” His goons around the room drew themselves up to full height. Some of them, Cesare noticed, were wearing the uniforms of hotel staff. In fact, the one standing on top of the piano had been running gigs here for the past few months. Was he seriously with the King of Clubs? Had the Hotel Ansonia been letting criminals trickle in onto its payroll? Why all the questions? Cesare hated questions. He lifted the machine gun up a little higher and was pleased to watch both attackers and customers recoiling instinctively. Oh the bastards would be having second thoughts, all right. * * * Directives below. Unlucky number thirteen. This is the scene where the juice really gets let loose in the dining hall. But it’ll be brief.
Prime: You can pipe up or not in this conversation as it suits you. I figured you probably would, but whatever you like. This whole situation just got quite a bit uglier; you weren’t aware the Mafia were in control of this hotel, and you’re not very happy to be sandwiched in the middle of a confrontation between them and the King of Clubs’ group.
So you’d prefer to just get out and find the Reiki. But the King of Clubs’ associates and/or the Mafia gunmen will try to stop you, not wanting to let anyone out of the dining hall. Hence, fight! Not right away, but you’ll know. Once the bullets start flying, it’s time for you to rise to the occasion.
Alyssa: Just a couple rounds of tense conversation for the moment, but you’ll understand pretty clearly when the time to fight arises. Bullets will start flying. At which time, I assume, you’ll decide you’d rather get the hell out of here. The King of Clubs’ associates and/or the Mafia gunmen will try to stop you, not wanting to let anyone out of the dining hall. That would be a good reason to start kicking their asses.
I’m not sure if you would be likely to kill anyone, but if you would, just bear in mind that not only do the King of Clubs and the Giarrettiera brothers obviously have contractual immortality, so too does the henchman standing atop the piano, simply because I mentioned him back in the Scene Three cutscene which takes place several days in the future. Anyone else – whether with the King of Clubs, the Mafia, or totally innocent – is an acceptable target.
This topic won’t last long at all, nor come to an obvious resolution, so expect that I might end it at any time. Just as this topic continues directly from Scene Ten, so will it carry directly into Scene Sixteen when the next batch begins.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 5, 2015 9:36:46 GMT -5
Tuesday the 17th 11:37 amIt really seemed as though all aspects of the room, except for the two people seated at the table, were in some kind of monochromatic conspiracy. The flourescent light glowed coldly, giving everything it illuminated a harsh, desaturated hue. The gray cement floor provided the closest thing to a vibrant splash of color against the bare white walls, which were devoid of features besides the large mirror across from the table. Reflecting this bleak room’s image back upon itself was a prospect at which most mirrors wouldn’t have leaped. Of course, the men who sat handcuffed in their dark metal chairs were savvy enough to understand that this was not an ordinary mirror. No doubt, people beyond the other side of the glass were looking in on the room, watching them. ISHKABIBBLE SCENE FOURTEEN The Winstone Police Station Becomes the Site of a Daring Rescue Inspector Davidson pushed open the door, carrying a folder which he dropped unceremoniously onto the table between his own chair and those of the two men. He chose to take a seat. He could have remained standing, even paced the room for added effect, but prudence seemed to dictate that he should hold off on intimidating body language for the moment. “Okay, guys,” he said. “Right now you two are being held for assaulting officers while attempting to escape the Hotel Ansonia. Fine, that’s not so bad as far as charges go and I’m really hoping that’s all we need to rein you guys in for.” He scratched at one of his baggy eyes and let the other hand fall onto the folder. “But on the off chance that you have anything else to own up to… Well, I want to go ahead and advise you, now would be the time to do it. If the investigation turns up anything else on you two about yesterday’s incident, you’ll be much happier that you let me know right here and now. Sound good?” Davidson cleared his throat. “Wouldn’t mind getting some names, first of all. Long as you feel like cooperating, that’d be a good start. I’m Inspector Seth Davidson.” * * * Wow, considering Landsvale is the driest character in my cast, for Davidson to be a dry run for Landsvale makes him about as dry as a piece of sandpaper stuck in the Sahara. Also, it's pretty amazing that I thought Ishkabibble needed more of Lee's cast, so here's Miko! Okay, Lee. I refer you back to the cutscene before Scene Five, which, obviously, this scene directly predates. Should give you a loose understanding about what’s supposed to happen here. Davidson is questioning Joseph and Tsubota at the police station when Miko arrives to bust them out. Following a minor skirmish against Davidson and the other officers on the scene, all three Summoners make good their escape.
Joseph & Tsubota: It’s your call how much you want to play along with Inspector Davidson’s interrogation. Going again by my possibly misconceived Red Oni Blue Oni perception of you two, I’m imagining Joseph as being the uncooperative one, while Tsubota is more willing to work with Davidson, but once again, that’s wholly up to you.
Obliging or otherwise, though, you two are definitely both going to find some things in this conversation to be confused about. Davidson’s suspicions of you primarily range toward the idea that you might have been the ones who planted the bombs throughout the Ansonia, but you two don’t even know that there were any bombs – Terrian already shooed you out of the hotel before Lucas and Scar kicked the proceedings into high gear.
(In case it’s not obvious enough, since we’re not going to see this onscreen: after you escaped the hotel, you were faced by the barrier of police cars outside, and not wanting to get tangled up in the investigation, you tried to break through. Police officers tried to subdue you, you fought back, in another moment there were enough guns on you two to ensure your obedience. You were subsequently carted off to the police station.)
So Davidson will be making suggestions about your activities that are not only untrue, but are totally alien to your understanding of the events that took place yesterday afternoon. Go ahead and let that confusion register, no matter how you respond overall to his questions.
A key grace note here will be Davidson showing you two a rough sketch of the face of a woman who also hopped the hotel a little earlier than everyone else, but who actually managed to evade the police. It’s Julia, whom you met back in Scene Five proper (not that you know her name). Your call whether to give an honest account of meeting her beforehand to Inspector Davidson or not, but regardless of what you say to him, we the audience should understand that you recognize her and how.
Miko: Once we get past the Julia sketch, you can pretty much interrupt the interrogation with your arrival whenever you want. Surprise me.
I assume you’re powerful enough to break into a police station if the mood takes you. Whether that amounts to opening the door into this room, knocking the door off its hinges, or straight up blowing a hole in the wall, is up to you. Actually, writing that gave me this great image of the one-way glass panel shattering into the room to reveal that you’ve already slipped into the recording room beyond and subdued those who were watching the conversation from in there. But do what you need to do.
You’re here to free Joseph and Tsubota, which may necessitate specifying exactly how you know they’re in there, but I figured Tsubota would probably have some means to mentally get in touch with you and let you know what happened. So a very brief fight scene ensues in which you (and Joseph and Tsubota, if you remove their handcuffs by then) very handily kick the asses of Inspector Davidson and the other police officers who will rush in to attack.
Magic or plain combat, your call. Only remember that in addition to unspecified cuts and bruises, Davidson must suffer “a substantial gash running from the shoulder down the (right) forearm,” so either you, Joseph or Tsubota should bring about that wound at some time in the melee.
Davidson obviously has contractual immortality. The other officers don’t, necessarily, so I don’t know, if you feel like killing them then go ahead. Just floor Davidson and anyone else who lifts a hand against you, and escape.
Returning to Joseph and Tsubota for a moment, you might want to keep in mind that this will be their last scene chronologically – the end of the Joseph and Tsubota thread. As such, depending on your preference, you might want to try to give some kind of closure to them in this scene, beyond simply writing “They escaped through the door/hole in the wall.” Whatever you want, here. A moment to tell Miko how negotiations went with Terrian, or something. A proper send-off.
In fact, now that I think of it, you might want to mention Helen at some point while wrapping things up. Joseph and Tsubota never come face-to-face with Helen at the hotel, but it’s perfectly reasonable to assume they might have known she was staying in Ecruteak to do some magic shows, and might even have known she was at the Ansonia, in which case they’d naturally be curious as to what happened. Miko, I’d say, has probably been contacted by Helen at some point since the incident; she’d want to explain that she’s taking on a part-time gig with Terrian to act as a “liaison” between his crew and the Summoners, as you put it. So if Miko wants to continue trying to do business with Terrian, I suppose you’d do well to let him slip in a comment about how Helen will work much better toward that end than Joseph and Tsubota were able to.
One more thing: Davidson starts this scene off by asking Joe ‘n’ Bo’s names. Now, they don’t have to offer him the answers right off the bat like that, but note that he is able to tell Williams their names in the cutscene before Scene Five. (I wanted the literary snap of being able to cut straight from Davidson saying “Joseph and… what was it… Subota?” to the scene in which we see those two characters for the first time in this story.)
So either they need to yield that information at some point in the proceedings, or else when Miko comes in to bust them out, he needs to address them by their names so that Davidson can hear. This is a minor point and I’m sure you can fulfill it in a way that works.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 5, 2015 9:39:00 GMT -5
Thursday the 19th 4:15 pm“All right,” said Alfred Lans loudly, at which point most of the chatter dropped off and only the real diehard conversationalists went on murmuring to each other. He leaned back against the desk and faced the dry, dusty auditorium. “I hope you – Can we get the windows up? Stuffy in here. Okay. Hope you all had a restful break. Sorry I couldn’t make it here on Tuesday; my travel plans were waylaid. I’m assuming you all weren’t too choked up about skipping class. Anyone do something remotely interesting over break, by the way? Sleeping twelve hours a day doesn’t count – Grace, yes, what’d you do?” The student who had raised her hand now spoke with some hesitance. “Actually, Professor, I was wondering about that hotel disaster that was in the news. In Winstone?” “Yes, right, the Ansonia. What about it?” “Well… were you there when it happened?” Alfred batted an eyelash. “Makes you think that?” The girl seemed to sink a little in her seat, but she said clearly, “I heard a couple teachers talking about it the other day, and they mentioned your name. It sounded like the Ansonia thing was the reason why you got back to campus late.” “Well,” Alfred said. He picked up his notes for the day off the desk and fiddled with them. “Can’t sneak anything past you all, I see. No no, Grace, I’m not mad. It’s true, I was…” He trailed off as he saw about half a dozen more hands fly into the air. “Okay, do we need to have some kind of – Q&A thing before we start class, is that what I’m seeing here? Fine.” “What happened?” “What did you see?” “I heard everyone’s memory got wiped. Is that true? Did you forget everything?” Alfred picked this one out of the mass and decided to run with it. “Yes! I did. Well, not everything, I mean, I remember the whole morning, but then… Somewhere around one o’clock-ish, I just blanked out. I’ve got nothing. And you see that’s when the important events are supposed to have rolled around. Next thing I knew, the place was on fire and there were policemen everywhere telling me to get out of the building. I wish I could tell you all more, but… that’s it.” That wasn’t it, of course. But Alfred didn’t really feel like there was any use telling them about the old fellow with the cane whom he still distinctly remembered spotting at lunch. Nor the young man and woman who’d been sitting not too far away. All three of them were acquaintances from an earlier incident, and that was something Alfred was not telling anyone about. He’d been too scared even to go near any of them that afternoon in the dining hall. Frankly, he’d been trying to convince himself that the whole thing at the supermarket had never happened. Hands had drooped to desks. The students weren’t doing much to cover their disappointment. “All right, all right,” Alfred said. “Look, I don’t want to brush this topic aside, except that that’s actually exactly what I want to do, because the clock ticks on. Let’s get started. You guys all went ahead and did the reading assigned for today, I hope. Who wants to start us off about the cultural construction of ‘childhood’?” ISHKABIBBLE SCENE FIFTEEN Jonas Cannot Rest while Innocent Children are Being Threatened with Nasty Guns Monday the 16th 1:24 pmThe Hotel Ansonia certainly knew how to treat its smallest patrons. Only a mentality that put the young master first could have condoned investing in such a massive playground next to the hedge maze. The installment in the center was Muriel’s favorite: a great multistoried wooden fortress, towers connected by rope bridges, metal slides coiling out of windows toward the ground. Bloody impressive playhouse for the little brats, she should say. So fun, in fact, that she couldn’t bring herself to jump down off the highest platform now she’d flushed the tots out of the place. Felt too grand up there, Sterling in hand, for the world to see. She expected she would have looked quite statuesque to the sobbing children and parents who were scattered facedown on the pebbly ground by the swingsets, at least if any of them had had the brass to look up. Oh she heard the sirens perfectly well. The swine wanted her to know they were out there, converging around the hotel. Fine; she heard them. Wasn’t going to change things a jot. Only way to get a clear shot at her and Kenneth would be to barge through the hedges. And the cops knew just as well as Muriel did that that approach would give her plenty of time to introduce a few little spoiled-rotten brains to the sunlight. “You don’t think you’re being just a bit theatrical there, love?” Kenneth called up to her from his place in front of the jungle gym. His own gun didn’t move off the hostages. “Yeah? So what if I am? Queen for a day, Ken, that’s who you’re looking at. The Queen of Hearts. Off with their heads!” Muriel let loose a few bullets up toward the second story of the hotel, dashing a window to pieces. She also let loose a piping laugh. “Come on, darling, really, let’s see a smile out of you. This is fun!” “Right,” he said, and rubbed at the stubble on his chin without further comment. Muriel tut-tutted and shook her head. Her black locks whipped her face a bit more emphatically than she had expected at that. A stiff breeze was picking up. No matter. Up there at the top of the Hotel Ansonia’s wooden fortress, she would have been ready for the Four Horsemen to come galloping down out of the clouds. * * * That's Alfred from That Shrinking Feeling, by the way. He seemed like such an obvious choice for victim in that RP's "anyone can die" scenario that I couldn't help but want to rescue him. Oh, here's a fun Jonas and kids scene. Which kids? Oh, you know, KIDS. Yeahhhh Jonas playground fight! Here we go. Nice brisk battle scene, shouldn’t take long at all.
Jonas: You need to make your way out here through one of the hotel’s side doors. You were just sent looking for Alpha by Terrian, who seems to have lost contact with him. On the off chance that Alpha might be outside, you decided to search the grounds for him.
Which is when you see these two gun-toting criminals holding a bunch of families hostage on the playground. Can you rest while innocent children are being threatened with nasty guns? I submit that you cannot!
So it’s Jonas to the rescue, and now, in this open space, we can see you really bring your powers to bear. Noted landmarks of the playground include the large wooden fortress in the middle, the swingsets (around which the hostages have been gathered), and the jungle gym, but in addition to these, you can name any other playground features you’d like to make use of. After all, I’m assuming you’ll find it helpful to take advantage of the levels here, instead of just keeping two feet on the ground all the time.
These robbers, Kenneth and Muriel, have contractual immortality (remember them from the cutscene before Scene Three?), so no killing, not that I imagine you would deliberately kill them anyway. Rather, please knock them unconscious, as with those Mafia goons who stung Terrian’s place.
I’m not envisioning this being such a simple fight, though. After all, these two have guns, and you don’t. Naturally, you’re a big guy and you can shrug off a few bullets around the extremities, but I (who will write for them, obviously) want to see them gain the advantage over you at some point toward the end of the battle. Specifically, I’m hoping I can get them to subdue you in such a way that they think they’ve got the fight won. Standing over your injured form with their guns pointed at your head or some such.
Which is exactly when a couple of characters who have nothing else to do with Ishkabibble’s plot will show up for a cameo and disarm/upset Kenneth and Muriel in such a way as to allow you to bang their heads together or whatever you want to do and Save the Day!
Got that? Fun battle, but let yourself appear to be losing, so that the tides will have an opportunity to turn. Oh, and afterwards, the cameo characters will take off without saying hello and the hostages will rush out into the hedge maze toward the police cars. Behind you, a set of explosions will go off in the hotel. This is your cue to hike back in there and see whatever is going on. And there the topic will end.
Vieve: Surprise! This is your cameo scene, along with Rho & Hig. And what are you and Rho & Hig doing at the Hotel Ansonia this fine afternoon? Who cares? You’re the shadow kids! No one questions your presence. They can only appreciate. They can only respeck.
You two were here on the playground the whole time, and played along with those criminals when they took control of the area and told everyone to lie face-down on the ground. It was fun! Playing cops and robbers always is.
But then the fat man comes out to fight the criminals, and then they shoot him a few times, and that’s when you and Rhometer start thinking all this maybe isn’t so much for fun after all. Which is why you leap to action to disarm, distract or upset the criminals in some appropriate way. I remember PMing you about this and I think you said you could, like, trip them up and knock them to the ground by manipulating their shadows. Or something? Whatever works to knock them off-balance and let Jonas take them down.
After he’s defeated them, you and Rho & Hig are going to book it into the hedge maze and disappear as suddenly as you appeared.
So yeah. Quick and easy cameo. Just remember: don’t start posting right away. You’re a surprise, after all. Wait until you see me post that Rhometer stands up and greets the combatants. Then you can jump in too.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 5, 2015 9:52:02 GMT -5
So here's the big spoiler of this batch: Cesare kills Massimo.During the faceoff against the King of Clubs in scene thirteen, the impatient Cesare sees a chance to eliminate his tedious brother and take control with impunity. As tension mounts but before any fire has been exchanged, he signals one of his men who's positioned across the room to shoot Massimo, with the appearance that it was coming from one of Tanner's lackeys. This instantly sets the gunfight into full tilt. Fatally wounded in the stomach, Massimo dies by Nico's side, while Cesare leads the battle in a state of what appears to be righteous wrath at Tanner's cold-blooded murder of his brother. This is why I convinced Choobs to clarify that Luxury Train Ride precedes Ishkabibble - which is logically the case since LTR started first, but considering that the Ishkabuzz was already coming on thick at the end of 2009, I was worried that putting the Giarrettiera brothers aboard the train might imply that all three of them survive Ishkabibble. It also explains why Massimo's cameo in Shouta's dream strongly hints that the real Massimo has already died, much to Shouta's chagrin. But don't feel too bad for ol' Mass. We'll always have flashbacks.
|
|
|
Post by Tout-Perd on Nov 5, 2015 10:27:14 GMT -5
Awww, that's a shame... I had been about 90% sure that Terrian was going to kill Massimo, or pull a "Dark Knight" and take credit for somebody else killing Massimo (if that was the case, my money was on either Rie or Tanner). But yeah, I figured Massimo bites it, because his scenes in many RPs had been subtly dripping with a sort of theme of mortality and exhaustion.
As a present day plot concern; is the Cesare Mafia more aggressive and less covert than under Massimo's lead?
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 5, 2015 10:47:34 GMT -5
Present-day Giarrettiera operations are definitely more aggressive and, I would say, more suffocating. But they're not a whole lot less covert. It just sucks quite a bit more to be under their thumb than when the reasonably equitable Massimo was in charge. Leashes have tightened.
|
|
|
Post by Tout-Perd on Nov 5, 2015 10:51:04 GMT -5
Also, in rereading this, I must say that I think Ishkabibble's biggest weak points come from incorporating Prime, Tsubota, and Joseph. While there are some gratuitous fight scenes, and way too many "goons with guns", I think that those three feeling inorganic to the plot is the most jarring issue it contends with. The whole Reiki plotline feels a bit out of place, and Summoners very rarely concern themselves with monetary matters. I'm not really sure who would have been better to integrate, though, as Choobs and I were already stretched fairly thin, and I think the year where Elliot barely roleplayed was somewhere under the Iska-umbrella. A few years later, I'd say Flint would fill the Joseph and Tsubota role fairly well, since he's all about the Benjamins and could even do the red-oni, blue-oni routine with himself. At the time Ish started though (2009ish?), Shoni was waaay too green to fit into the most presitigious RP on the site. Not sure how one would change/alter the Reiki plotline to feel more organic, though. EDIT: To expand on the "too many goons with guns" bit, I think one of my main issues writing in Ish was that everybody and their uncle was a fairly generic thug with a handgun, and maybe a knife. While it can maintain interest in a visual medium, in writing, it makes everything feel a little too same-y. I would have personally had a few Powered enforcers of some kind in service to the Cardsharks and Mafia, just one or two would go a long way. Heck, Aveiro Boniface wouldn't have been remotely out of place, and he would have given Prime somebody to SWORD with.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 5, 2015 10:54:04 GMT -5
For sure, those were the most glaring additions. I like the Powered enforcers idea - if I could do it over again and get Elliot in on the action, maybe he could have helped us out there.
The Reiki plotline is staggeringly out of place. Let's all tip a hat to Prime for somehow managing to convince me that I wanted his character in the story badly enough to negotiate in a legendary Japanese sword for him. And that is why scene twenty, "Prime and Alyssa Stand Firm in the Presence of the Two Villains and the Sword", is the only one out of the final four that we will NOT be running.
|
|
|
Post by Tout-Perd on Nov 5, 2015 11:05:38 GMT -5
Actually, now that I think about it, what if instead there was something that tied into Triannual/the Zodiac Amulets plotline? I'm not sure exactly who or how, but a Zodiac Amulet would feel a little bit more tied into things (since Nopcsa's coworkers already have two, Cancer and Ophiuchus). Maybe Albatross seeking Aquarius, instead of Prime seeking the Reiki, would have been the way to go? It would have been more fun seeing the easygoing, amicable Albatross palling around with shrinking violet Alyssa, and it would have been delightful to see Albatross and Jonas try to out-ham eachother.
This is all just conjecture, but it's kinda fun to go back into the 2009 mindset to piece things together. I think examining flaws in planning is the best way to ensure we make better plots in the future.
|
|
|
Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 5, 2015 11:11:33 GMT -5
Yeah, no, it's useful to consider what-ifs. The zodiac amulet idea sounds a lot more organic. Not sure I would have tapped Kevin, though, sorry, Kevin, if you ever read this. I mean, I still have no idea what the hell an Albatross is.
|
|
|
Post by Yoshimitsu on Nov 5, 2015 11:51:30 GMT -5
I think we established that Yoon's first reaction to mindreaders would be to mentally start gushing as many poisonous rumors and facts that might get Nopcsa killed as possible. Meaning that she'd poison the well of trying to dip into her knowledge, because Nopcsa doesn't know if the info is for real, or falsehoods designed to get Nopcsa murdered post-haste. Personally I'm a fan of what Williams thinks he should have done. Though something like the caramelldansen might be more effective. Would Yoon sing the caramelldansen in her head on loop in response to Nopcsa's presence? Probably not. Is it a hilarious image though? Well, I think it is.
|
|
|
Post by ch00beh on Nov 5, 2015 14:10:51 GMT -5
vieve is such a qtπ :3
|
|