Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Three Wall Asylum. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Plotting; its not just for graphs!
Topic Started: Apr 17 2014, 09:58 PM (923 Views)
Valkyrja
Member Avatar
Fact Cat
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
On the note of starting new Public Lives threads (because I think this is a great idea), I've had several thoughts bouncing around for the past couple months.

1. There are too many backlogs for this game for new players to read through.
2. With the large number of players who have joined this game but later retired from it (often without an announcement or with an announcement that leaves room for them to come back later), even if someone reads the archives, it's difficult to tell which character and plot elements are still valid to the setting.
3. Unlike the Truman forum, which always had a thread where unrelated happenings could logically go, this forum only has plotting and specialized threads. This makes it more difficult to include vignettes for inactive characters (which could lead to new plot ideas).

Therefore, I have a couple suggestions.

For the benefit of new players, I suggest that we declare current-3WA SLC an alternate universe to Truman SLC (and early-3WA SLC). Following a broad strokes approach to canon should give new players a bit more confidence in contributing to the setting while allowing old players to make minor retcons to make their characters more fun to play. Also, if old players find the old plotlines more compelling than the current ones, it gives them the freedom to quit 3WA SLC guilt-free and return to the Truman SLC board (before anyone votes to delete it) and take those plotlines to their logical conclusion.

I also suggest that we start an official time skip thread in Public Lives. This thread would consist of self-contained vignettes set between the time of the "gas explosion" and the second first day of school. Each vignette would carry the assumption that it could be rendered non-canon by events in other threads (at the author's discretion) and that involving another player's character in a time skip post or involving one's own characters in another player's time skip post requires the permission of both authors. If you're thinking of introducing (or re-introducing) a character, this would be the perfect place to do it.
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Genya
Member Avatar
Graveyard Duck
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Posted Image

The canon weighs heavy thanks to very poor and stupid weight-distribution on some characters, so I'm very okay with tossing it and applying necessary/desired retcons to older characters. The chance for (re)introductions is particularly appealing.

Right, quillpig? Aw yeah.

Hay look, the vignette thread is a thing now. Hell yeah.
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Valkyrja
Member Avatar
Fact Cat
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
We seem to be on the verge of a new Lawyers thread! Here are some things that we need to do as a group:

1. Decide on a title for the thread. (Update: Following the trope title pattern, we are currently considering "Our Lawyers Advised This Thread".)
2. Establish an in-game time for the thread. Since Conrad is trying for "the lastest one available for the day", this'll depend on Ronne's schedule, and given previously-established facts, I'm assuming mid-to-late afternoon.
3. And since this is going to be a Public Lives thread, here's the official invitation for new players to join the fun. Let us know if your character has reason to be at the Law Offices of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe on a Monday afternoon. We'll have at least two lawyers on duty and a couple clients and visitors coming through.

On that note, it's worth noting that even though it's a public thread, the events of the thread are not inherently public knowledge. Additionally, DC&H has anti-spying measures in place, and barging in on private meetings is frowned upon / grounds to call security.

[spoiler=Things that my characters might do]
Carlton (client) is going to have his meeting with Werden (lawyer) cancelled.
Wainwright (lawyer) is going to meet up with Carlton (client) instead.
Wainwright (lawyer) is going to need to talk to Werden (lawyer) before Carlton (client) leaves.
Wainwright (lawyer) will take a late lunch break or something and call in Hayes (visitor). Hayes can ask legal questions while he's there if he wants.[/spoiler]

If we're going to start the thread in a lobby or waiting area, we'll also need a secretary (or similar) to interact with the clients. I volunteer to provide such a character, but if anyone else wants to fill that role (or skip over that scene entirely), we can do that instead (I have no real attachment to the idea). However, I would like some help designing the interior of the building.
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Genya
Member Avatar
Graveyard Duck
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
1. Trope. Trope for always.

2. Far as I know, Ronne isn't doing anything but standard paperwork stuff on Monday. Or, well, any day of the week, really. There are some mid-week plans for him, so Monday is probably the earliest he can see anyone.

3. Come bother the lawyers. I know you all want to. Do it.

So, uh, how do we want to start things off? What do we want to get done in this thread? I've stumbled upon some weird-ass Utah laws, so that will be fun to explain and deal with.
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Valkyrja
Member Avatar
Fact Cat
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Lawyers Thread plotting update:
The thread will officially be named "Our Lawyers Advised This Thread" and will take place the Monday afternoon after Scouting Run, Caught in the Rain, and Spot of Catnip Tea.
[spoiler=Here's the layout of the Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe lobby area (done by Brie):]
Posted Image
[/spoiler]
The secretary at the front desk is a [abbr=late 40s]middle-aged[/abbr] Caucasian female of average [abbr=five feet and four and a half inches]height[/abbr] and [abbr=overweight but not obese]build.[/abbr] She is wearing a work-appropriate blouse and skirt.
There's a bell on the [abbr=the one labelled "Outside"]door[/abbr] that will ring as soon as someone opens or closes it. At the time that the first PC enters the scene, the secretary will either be sitting at her desk (working on the computer) or standing in the copier room behind the desk, whichever seems more suitable/convenient for the introduction post. Unless an unnatural amount of effort is put into preventing the bell from ringing, she will hear it and (unless she's already speaking to another client) address the entrant soon afterwards.
If anyone wants to get the thread started, please start a new topic on the Public Lives board with Our Lawyers Advised This Thread as the Topic Title. (Topic Descriptions are completely optional and can always be added later.)



School District discussion:
With the reset of canon, we have a great opportunity to rework the way that the Little Salt Lake school districts work. It's my opinion that an LDS-affiliated private school never made much sense, and it was always a problem that teenage characters had to attend a costly private school or be ignored during school hours. Therefore, I'd like to suggest a shift to making the 'default' school a public school with [abbr=But not the same resources unless people specifically request them. We can give the place a well-funded feel without traipsing into outright opulence. Theres no need for a Burdell wing, and people should probably build their full-sized secret labs at home.]similar[/abbr] resources to the old canon school. It would, at Brie's suggestion and Steve-o's endorsement, be "Home of the Fightin' Marmots". It can retain the same students and teachers as the old canon school (if their players return and reclaim those spots), though it will definitely have a different principal and administration than the old canon one did.
If we would like to leave open the opportunity for a lower class/ underfunded school, then I would suggest that there be two separate school districts in the area, one urban(-ish) and the other suburban, though we really do have to figure out the scale of this setting, since [abbr="But how did multiple impressions create a singular problem?" you ask. "Arent were and was equivalency words? Shoudnt you be able to reverse the entire sentence around that axis? That doesnt work as you wrote it. Are you sure that your grammar is right, Constance?" To this I say, DEAL WITH MY NON-PRESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR. DEAL WITH IT. MUAHAHAHAAA]clashing impressions of setting population and infrastructure were a huge problem[/abbr] in old canon.
If we would like to have a private school in addition to the major public school, then I suggest that it be a school dedicated to an alternative teaching style (such as Montessori) or non-LDS religion (such as Roman Catholic or Missouri Synod).

End of year update: Now that we've got Conrad's business stuff at DC&H pretty well wrapped up, we should probably start setting up the next Public Lives thread. Any thoughts?
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Genya
Member Avatar
Graveyard Duck
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
It's been a long-ass time between Plotting posts, and I still don't have any ideas for a new Public Lives thread. What I do have, however, are open characters:

Mara is still officially available, what with In the Woods cratering early. He can easily be found outside after work or on weekends. During weekdays, he works at Salt Smith as a janitor. It should be more than reasonable for an open thread for school staff and faculty to happen. If we'd like something more accessible, we have a park, saline lake, and lots of sidewalks to explore.

I distinctly recall a new librarian coming in, as well as some adjustment in the teacher lineup.

Anne-Marie ain't doing squat now that Scouting Run is over. Since I'm running both her and Ronne, I can handle her contract signing off-screen or as a vignette (if it winds up being detailed enough for that). So, really, she's up for pretty much anything. Except being all woods-y. She's a city girl, dammit.

Anne-Marie does need to shop around for an apartment, cheap car, and some necessities that didn't come with her in the trunk of her rental car. I think we could do something with that if people are interested.

Hayes should be free for the entirety of Sunday, and has nothing planned for Tuesday onward. I can toss him in the ER or have him be out running errands for people to meet with/run into him. This may be a good time for Valia and her group to swing into the game. Alternatively, perhaps he is taking his feline friend for a walk.
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Valkyrja
Member Avatar
Fact Cat
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Posted Image

I will also contribute an updated character listing. In alphabetical order by last name:

Bradt
Andrew is a cat, so whether he's outside or inside is partially determined by whether Hayes opened the door or not. However, if anyone's interested in interacting with the human version, he should be back to normal(-ish) by Tuesday.

Carlton
Dr. Carlton is getting plenty of screen time, so unless there's an amusing role for him to fill at the school, he should take a break from an active role.
Iris should have screen-time once we get school going. However, that needs to be after the next rain so we can squeeze in a thread or vignette there if/when we have time. I'm debating whether to have her be involved in Drama Club or not. It would probably be psychologically healthy for her to take a break from high school drama (of all sorts), but that doesn't mean she will. Student government is another option. New students might meet her breaking up a fight or bullying attempt (in what would have been, in old canon, an uncharacteristically altruistic move). She'll be in senior level classes.
Max is getting retconned back to his pre-Reunion character development and will also show up at school. If anyone wants to interact with a sensitive and creatively-inclined teenager (he's a poet, though not a very good one), he's available for threads. He also has a tendency to fall asleep in class, which might put him on the bad side of a teacher (or the good side if they realize that it's because he's got a serious health problem, and he's still willing to make up the missed classwork). He'll be in sophomore/junior level classes.
Vladimir/Uladzimir will also be a student at the high school. If you'd like to interact with a small, grumpy guy, he should fit the bill. He'll usually be keeping to himself or walking with one of his adoptive siblings. He'll also be freshman/sophomore level classes.

Harris
Previously on SLC, there weren't too many Harrises left. However, seeing as anyone who might have taken Ethan into their homes has left the game, I think it's time to draw on the Never Found The Body rule and declare them alive.
[abbr=Formerly Mark, but renamed because I want to avoid confusion when talking about my boss]Ethan[/abbr] is a high school junior/senior. He's often hyperactive and has a strong interest in both science and "science". However, his normally cheerful attitude has been deflated by the proximity of his house to the gas explosion and the fact that he knew many of the victims personally. As such, while he still puts on a smile, he's undergoing an existential crisis.
Michelle is Ethan's mother and a member of the school board. She's an assertive, career-oriented woman.
Randall is Ethan's father and a statistician. He's easy-going and introverted. He was also a stay-at-home dad for much of Ethan's childhood.

Mitchell
Hope is a high school sophomore. Physically, she's very attractive but has blunted affect. Her difficulty interacting with her peers has earned her epithets ranging from "ice queen" to much more offensive terms. Hope seems unbothered by this, but it's difficult for casual acquaintances to tell if she's ever bothered by anything. She's on the swim team and can often be found reading books on her own.
John is Hope's younger brother. I'm really not sure what to do with him if he's still middle school aged in 3WA canon. However, aging him up to be Hope's twin brother could lead to some amusing incidents. He's mature for his age but a little naive, and he has no idea how to respond to his classmates' crushes.
Joseph is Hope and John's father. He's a monster hunter, previously employed by the local government. He was caught in the 'gas explosion' and has been hospitalized with major second degree burns (which will require skin grafts) as well as some blunt force trauma.

Strix
Michael Strix is a relative newcomer to town. He wears antiquated clothing (1920s-1930s) and drives a hearse. He appears to be in his early 20s. Suggestions on what threads to put him in would be appreciated (and I can provide additional information if that would help). Some thoughts I had were teaching at the school, working as a detective, or running a travel agency or moving company.

Wainwright
Sophia is a lawyer at DC&H soon to be a prosecuting attorney. She's currently in the Lawyers thread, so I think she's got enough screen time for now.



By the way, if you noticed posts going missing from this thread, don't worry. Anything from a year or more ago has been moved to the archive board.
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Tarsisus
Member Avatar
Member
[ *  *  *  * ]
I've added a vignette introducing Valia and Jackson, so both of them are available, as is Conrad (although he's been very busy lately and has much prep work to do in order to start work on his club).

I'll be adding an additional vignette to introduce Hastur within the next day or so, as well as reintroduce The Library Ghost in the same instance. Once that is done, they'll be available as well.
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Genya
Member Avatar
Graveyard Duck
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
To follow up on Wednesday's Skype call: if we are going to nix the "Summer Break, Part Two" and move back to having classes, we should get that worked out here. Other than just skipping over the initial downtime, do we want to have it "happen" off-screen to give things like businesses and recent move-ins to town time to be built/settle in?

With characters, I can easily send Mara to go clean or repair something that is conveniently close to another character. I can also have him sit in on a class, study in the library, or something similar. He is an easy-going quillpig.

Regarding Public Lives threads: Hayes has a need to get his herb on.
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Tarsisus
Member Avatar
Member
[ *  *  *  * ]
sounds good to me. the shop will be open within one week of the vignette setting.
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Valkyrja
Member Avatar
Fact Cat
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Sorry for lack of response for the last... while. Things have been busy. Let's dive into some plotting.

First off, the list of background modifications.
The character renames/reworks continue. At some point, I'll be reintroducing some old characters with new names.
[abbr=formerly named Mark]Ethan[/abbr] and his family will be returning at some point. Right now, it's possible that Ethan is staying at the very same hotel as Conrad and Anne-Marie, but he won't be there for much longer. If you think it would be funny to have one of them bump into an awkward teenager disposing of some illicit and/or embarrassing substances, let me know. I'm also playing around with the idea that he's only half-human (since this is that kind of game), but I do like having some normal humans around, and there aren't nearly enough of them right now.
[abbr=this rename has been around for much longer]Iris[/abbr] is now officially one of two decomposite characters based on the Iris/Angela Carlton from old-SLC canon. While Iris fills a similar role in terms of age, education, and extracurricular interests, she does not fill the same role within her family or in terms of personality. However, there is now a second character who has a similar personality/attitude and backstory to the old-canon character but who fills a vastly different role outside the home.
(Notably, both of these characters are slated to appear in Fairview in the theater department.)

Moving on to the planning part, now that I've seen Valia's introduction, I definitely think she'd be the most fun health teacher we could choose. So, Steve-o, if you're still interested in having her fill that role, I say 'go for it'. If not, I still think that we could have a lot of fun putting her in that hospital job (and surrounding Hayes with all sorts of undead types to be paranoid about). And since Hayes "has a need to get his herb on," it might be worth considering whether they meet through work with a "btw I have herbs" or if he investigates an ad for the shop and learns "FYI I am a nurse." Once her role's officially defined, I'll bring back the topic of where to assign Carlton and Strix.

In a more random plotline(s), I'm going to try to get more teenage characters out of their houses. Max is going to be on a quest to find a cassette tape player.
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Genya
Member Avatar
Graveyard Duck
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Hayes does like to keep his eyes on his surroundings. It helps to know what roads go where, and what shops and services the town has to offer. Plus, it's nice to know the lay of the land before you try and freerun anywhere. Some people might not appreciate some random guy vaulting their fence and running across their lawn because he took a wrong turn back on Maple Street.

My initial inclination is to have them meet at Valia's shop. The reasoning here is a bit meta: we've been to the hospital (kinda) in Old Canon, so I'd like to check out the new location and get it openly established in the setting. It also feels like a chance for a less formal atmosphere than the ER, which means it should be much better for chatting and interaction as well as allowing other characters to freely roam in-and-out.

TL;DR Either option works, but I'm leaning towards meeting at the shop (timeframe providing).

Edit: Remember that thing where teaching positions were being considered? I think I have the answer.
Posted Image
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Valkyrja
Member Avatar
Fact Cat
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
This may come as a shock, but Dean in gym shorts isn't the answer to everything. Also, substitute teaching may be an impractical option for the current batch of characters. (Though it could certainly be useful in the future.)

For now, I'm leaving Strix's career undefined. The more I think about his back story, the more likely it seems that he doesn't have a stable civilian identity and that he just psychic papers his way through things. This seems most in-character for him, but it leaves him a little isolated from the plot. He'll probably be an on-request character only until something happens to get him involved (I.E. a death or near-death, especially a bizarre one).

On the other hand, I have an official job assignment for Dr. Carlton. Mostly because if I'm crazy enough to watch the Twilight movies for research, I might as well put it to good use. He'll be in charge of the hospital's Sleep Disorder Center. (Which is, incidentally, the one legible sign in the movie version of Forks Hospital.)

I'm planning on writing vignettes for Hope and/or Ethan after the lawyers thread gives a good tie-in to their stories. I'm also planning on introducing an antagonist to build on the previous 'arc' of old canon. Oh, yes. An antagonist. In SLC. Brace yourselves. But fitting the more personal nature of the game as I see it, their impact should be of limited scope. I wouldn't want to force the character on anyone. I could see them trying to hinder Conrad's attempts at establishing the club, if you'd like to create some conflict there. If not, I could actually see them becoming a regular there instead. They'd have an interest in some of the special red drinks that the bar would serve.

I'm also thinking about introducing some new teenagers. I've got a young technomancer and a jock girl. They may have an On-screen Waiting Room vignette together or they may be introduced separately. It'll depend on how things go. (The girl already knows Mara at the start of game, so that's a potential tie-in.)
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Valkyrja
Member Avatar
Fact Cat
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
The New Timeline and You

A while back, we decided that 3WA canon is an alternate timeline to SLC canon as a means of allowing more contributions from new and prospective players. However, we didn't really discuss what this means in practical terms.

Old canon and new canon both exist as separate timelines in the same multiverse. They are similar in many ways but diverge in others. Some characters may exist in one timeline but not in the other or may exist in a wildly varying form. The game is set in approximately the same location in each reality, but the history, architecture, culture, and name of the town vary in each. In old canon, the community was named Little Salt Lake. In new canon, it's Aspen Bough, Utah. Travel between the two universes a possibility that has not yet been explored.

Threads begun prior to July 2014 take place in Little Salt Lake. Threads started after that take place in Aspen Bough. This means that:
Awakening and Into the Woods take place in Little Salt Lake. Awakening has been moved to the archive, but Into the Woods remains as a character exercise.
Spot of Catnip Tea and Caught in the Rain take place in Little Salt Lake but are assumed to have very similar Aspen Bough counterparts that simply aren't worth (re-)writing.
On-Screen Waiting Room, Scouting Run, That Old Time Prescription, and Our Lawyers Advised This Thread all take place in Aspen Bough. However, some of these (e.g. Scouting Run) may require a consistency check to make sure that the nomenclature matches the new setting.

In order to keep certain critical backstory events consistent between settings, some characters that existed in LSL whose players have left the game must be replaced by Aspen Bough counterparts. I've got replacements lined up for [abbr=Specifically, Mary"s Drake Maguire and Luke Maguire, and Emily"s Renee Emmett]three characters.[/abbr] Because the new characters' personalities and templating differ from those of the originals, I've brought back the Past Lives board to flesh out certain events prior to the "gas explosion." If you'd like to put threads dedicated to character backstory there or explore interactions in the distant past, it's an excellent place for it. Past Lives posts were very popular on the old board, though they are somewhat more limited than Public/Private Lives posts since they can't disrupt the status quo to the same degree.

I'll be updated the profiles board with a new, color-coded character list and/or locations directory. If there's anything that you'd like to be sure makes it onto the list, let me know. Otherwise, here's a bit of a preview.
[spoiler=Preview]
"lightsalmon" characters are played by Brie, "khaki" characters are played by Steve-o, "skyblue" characters are played by Constance, "darkgray" characters were created by a former community member, and "white"/uncolored characters are unclaimed.
||_. Aspen Bough |_. Little Salt Lake |
|<. Mara Cavanagh, Custodial Services, Aspen Bough HS |>. Mara Kazac, Janitor at LSL High |
|<. Dr. Edgar Carlton, Sleep Specialist|>. Mr. Edgar Carlton, Businessman |
|<. Iris Carlton, 17 year old |>. Angela Carlton, Teenage actress |
|<. Maximilian Carlton, 15 year old|>. Maximilian Carlton, Bad Poet |
|<. Vladimir Moroz, 14 year old |>. Walter Carlton, Angst Bucket |
|<. Melissa Cheatem, Name Partner at DC&H |>. Renee Emmett, Emily Dempsey's succubus lawyer |
|<. Valia DeMortis, Herbalist |=. - |
|<. Hastur DeSoto, Librarian|=. - |
|<. Jackson DeSoto, 16 year old|=. - |
|<. Will Hayes, Haven Hospital Emergency Department |>. Will Hayes, Physician in unnamed ER |
|<. Anne-Marie Jackson, Freelancer |=. - |
|<. Sherri Lauritzen, Receptionist |=. - |
|<. Joseph Allred Mitchell, Chief of Police|>. Joseph Mitchell, Bureaucrat |
|<. Hope Loralyn Mitchell, 16 year old|>. Hope Mitchell, 16 year old |
|<. J. Leviathan Mitchell, 16 year old|>. John Mitchell, 12 year old |
|<. Samuel Rigby Price, Police Sergeant |=. -|
|<. Lyon Talbot, 14 year old |>. Drake Maguire, Mary Oliver's mean teenager |
|<. Mr. Talbot, Waste Management Administrator|>. Luke Maguire, Mary Oliver's main antagonist |
|<. Mrs. Talbot, Lyon's mother |>. Alice Maguire, Drake's mother |
|<. Conrad Wallace, Restauranteur|=. - |
|<. Sophia Wainwright, Prosecuting Attorney|>. Sophie Smith, Lawyer |
|<. Sissel, black Tesla Model S |>. Cecelia, blue Tesla Roadster |
|<. Ronne Werden, Junior Partner at DC&H |>. Reyes Werden, Lawyer ||[/spoiler]
You'll notice that with a single exception, supernatural templates are left out. If anyone has a question about how specific supernatural templates impact the overall plot/setting, feel free to ask those questions here.



Upcoming threads
First Day of School
Plot: Exactly what it says on the tin.
When does it happen?: On a weekday
Likely participants: Mara, Iris, Max, Vladimir, Jackson, Loralyn, Levi, [abbr=including Ethan, Solinda, and Ken]and others[/abbr]
Discussion questions: Are there any teachers for this thread(s)? Having at least one could really make things flow better.
What might make a day of school at Aspen Bough High School different from a day of school literally anywhere else?

The Haunted Motel
Plot: The occupants of the local motel begin experiencing strange hallucinations with a unifying theme.
When does it happen?: Before Catnip Tea, which takes place before Lawyers, but the timeline is flexible. Not everyone who stays in the motel notices anything amiss. The haunt can begin before or after Anne-Marie and Conrad arrive but no later than Saturday night. However, the nature of the thread means that it can stretch over several days.
Likely participants: Andrew, Ethan, Anne-Marie, Conrad
Off Profile Quote Top
 
Genya
Member Avatar
Graveyard Duck
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Constance and I have been going over some ideas for threads. Here they are, in brief (hopefully):

Date Night: Our couples and potential couples-to-be go out and enjoy the town together. Why, they might even interact with each other, which would be delightful.
Back to School: I was thinking a big meeting in the gym for the principal, superintendent, and possibly other faculty members to talk about grief counseling available for students.
Haunted Motel: We should probably get back to this at some point and discuss what manner of spoopy we'd like to pursue here.

Thoughts?
Off Profile Quote Top
 
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Create a free forum in seconds.
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · SLC Vamp Headquarters · Next Topic »
Add Reply