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nayrusfountain · 6 years

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Expanding Clock Town: Fan Ideas

Welcome to my newest blog. This will be a series of neat ideas that I will randomly pump out for your enjoyment as well as discus what can improve our overall experience with the games we love. Today we will look at...

Clock Town

Clock Town is a fun little city in the heart of Termina that I always look at fondly. With its cheery music and colorful visuals as well as a great cast of characters, there is a special charm to this town that I feel no other settlement in the Zelda series evoke on me.

But I'll admit its a little lacking in attractions among other things.

With only three main gaming stores plus the Deku Playground, I think its safe to conclude that Clock Town could use a little funding to create new points of interest and the like. But what can they built exactly? Well let's dive in and spice up this cute little town!

A Few More Inns

The Stock Pot Inn is the only source of a motel that the city has, and this is a big no no in my honest opinion. Originally a cafeteria back in the days, the now old and outdated Inn is of poor quality and not up to par with Inns you find in BotW, which is strange because some great inns were in a small post apocalyptic town while Clock Town is fairly well off. The room with the performers hold no such luxuries aside from bunk beds and a card table, and disgusting creepy crawlies are an example of a building in need of pest control.The first class room is falling apart, with a large unkempt hole glaring back at its guest as it allows one to access the private conversations of the next room without consequences.

The place doesn't have electricity and must rely on old fashioned candles to lit its halls. I say this because places like the Milk Bar have ceiling fans, and along with other stores, electricity generated lights (study the game closely and you'll see what I mean.) There is also a random man stuck in the toilet of a doorlees restroom, forever ignored... Alas, these issues doesn't stop the Inn from getting booked, for it is the only option in Clock Town...

But not anymore.

Various Inns would be places in all four sections of the city, each one reflecting the theme of the providence from the 4 corners of the world; South Clock Town would be Swamp Theme, North Clock Town promotes Snow Theme, and West Clock Town embraces an Ocean Theme. Each one would offer a different level of costumer service as they compete with each other. One could have a beautiful high quality hotel, but the staff are stingy and rude, while a less flamboyant option would reward Link with friendly employees. Not only that, but they could be run by various races like Zoras and Deku Scrubs depending on the inn. This will affect Link in the long run as there are perks to staying in each inn, such as how many hearts he gains for his stay. A side-story should be implemented for each Inn as well, seeing as that's where the game shines.

While the Stock Pot Inn are of poor mainaince and constantly overbooked, the Southern Inn could be struggling to gain costumers due to Deku being unpopular among Hylians. However, the Deku themselves are nice people and openly optimistic, determine to erase the stereotype of their race. If wearing the Deku Mask, some of the staff members will recognize you as the son of their King's butler, and it is here where the lost son's backstory will unfold.

On the contrary, the Western Inn is popular for its wealthier ascetic, tropical themes, and beautiful design both internally and externally. Plus there is the added benefit of being closer to the ocean where the Indigo-Go's resides.

However the Zoran staff are snobbish and vain, refusing to serve costumers if they do not hold their standards or have enough money. But they will instantly serve celebrities like members of the Indigo-Go's with the best costumer service. Link would either have to grind to add money to his bank account or wear Mikau's mask for easy access and better treatment. As Mikau, Link is offer the best room, best food, and invited to participate in Zora based mini games, concerts, parties and of coarse side quests. Also, sidequests are only done with the Zora Mask.

Goron Link will either be dismiss without a second thought, or offer a less then fabulous room for his stay and limited access to games. And Deku Link will be yelled at to "get lost!" The staff reveals their struggle to provide happy costumers after many had file complaints against them, and mentions the personal problems and racial insecurities affecting their attitude. If Link beats Gyorg before the third day, the band will be found in the hotel after their performance back in the hall. As a bonus, if he helps the hotel staff, they'll soften up and change their strict policies to appeal to everyone equally, and reward Link a special mask.

I think that by applying more hotel opinions with different benefits can really enhance the gameplay and story, and having them all compete with each other would make things quite interesting.

Happy Mask Shop

I'm honestly shock there isn't a mask based shop in Clock Town, especially considering how influential masks are to their culture. I know that people traditionally craft their own masks and such for festivals, but it would be great having a store center around these artifacts. The shop's sidequests would require the player to build their own original masks and customize existing ones with added perks, transformations included. Link would have to explore Termina for certain materials to craft his own handmade mask. However, players would have to be wise with how they spend their limited products; would they use up the items to create a new and unique mask with unknown functions, or use those resources to upgrade existing ones with increased benefits?

For instance, using certain materials on the Zora Mask will give Mikau ice abilities and resistance to it. Upgrading the Goron Mask will make Darmani burst to flames when fighting and send explosive shock waves to surrounding enemies. Enhancing the Deku Mask will boost its durability in fights and spit acid bubbles. You know, little examples like these. This could give previously useless masks a new use in the game while creating new ones to add to Link's arsenal.

More Game Shops and Stores

Nothing much more to say aside that the city can use more gaming shops across the town. Things like the bombchu game from OoT, racing, horse and Zora riding, diving, sword fighting tournament, etc. The games should not be limited to Link as each activities can be play as his different forms depending on the theme of them. Have them either spread out or in different corners of the town.

Stores full of goodies are also welcome, and certain gear will only become available after completing a dungeon. Stores should also be expanding across Clock Town and the rest of Termina populated by shoppers trying to buy supplies in preparations for the end of the world. Over the 3 days the amount of shopper dwindle, until by the Final Night the shops are devoid of life entirely. Little things like these should add more to an already wonderful game.

Homes and Neighborhoods

Finally, I want to see a variety of houses like in OoT's Hyrule Castle Town which we have access too. Here we can interact with the characters privately as they dwell on their thoughts concerning the falling Moon. We can enter the homes of the commonfolk via the alleyways and the residence of the more wealthy in the area around the Mayor's office. To make it easier for the dev team, the homes of the people can be designed like apartments for the poor and condominiums for the rich. That way the Zelda Team can save environmental space.

What can we do?

Perhaps we can rent or buy an apartment/condo via sidequest. When Link obtains the apartment, he will received a stamp that will travel with him through time similar to the bank stamp. The stamp is proof of ownership for that home, meaning the player is all set and doesn't have to do that quest again. Renting/buying can provide certain benefits like regenerating health when at the residence or storing deletable items like arrows and bombs for the next cycle. This is basically a storage space and can vary greatly depending if you buy or rent. Renting is more limited, only allowing you to store a certain number of every items. Buying, which can only be done by after obtaining the Adult Wallet, can boost the number of perishable items dramatically and even display your masks as you have more freedom to arrange your home how you like. Also, the basement can be served as a minidungeon were goodies can be obtain from completion.

Epona can also be allowed in this section on the city, but only if Link has a private property.

Of coarse, living in a neighborhood require interacting! That means sidequest galore, as Link will communicate and solve the problems of mismatched people going nuts over the moon. Rewards include weapons, items, gear, rupees, access to games and masks. Link basically becomes a neighborhood hero and wearing the three main masks can generate different missions and misadventure. Also it would generate funny reactions from random neighbors.

The Captain of the Guard Viscen, impressed with his righteous heart, will offer Link a brief position in the guard allowing more story quests and missions to unfold.

Just imagine a chase scene across the streets on horseback tracking down a criminal with the guards as backup?

One sidequest however can have an dire impact on Link himself and effect the player's playthough. If Link doesn't lock the doors when at night and sleeps, Sakon will break in at 12:00 am and steal his Transformation Masks. If this were to occur Link must immediately give chase before the thief sells them off for profit. He would have to track him down through the alleyways, but only have till morning before Sakon makes off with them to his hideout. And considering that the mask contains the souls of the fallen, it doubles as unintentional kidnapping!

Viscen would appear roaming the streets on his night patrol and confronts Link during the chase. He would then accompany Link as they go after Sakon on horseback and hunt him down. If Link succeeds, Sakon will be arrested and his magical masks with be back in safe hands.

If he fails and Sakon escapes with them, the thief will flee to his hideout and bid them for high prices. Link and Viscen would then proceed to travel to Ikana and sneak their way into his lair. A stealth mission begins, and the duo must avoid the security to reach the room where the precious items are held. Once they pass this, they break into the audition and confronts Sakon. The thief will send out Wolfos and monsters to hold them off as he once again try to escape, but by defeating the enemies Link will face him one on one and quickly wins. Sakon would then be apprehended by Viscen, and the audition quickly scatters. As Link gets his Transformation Masks back, Sakon reveals that he knew of their magical transformation powers the whole time as he had been spying on Link. He further admits that he planned to make a fortune off of them for that reason alone, saying there are nothing else like them in Termina. Viscen silence him and the screen fades white, where we see Sakon being sentence to prison. Viscen congratulates Link and offers him a guard's mask as a reward for his trouble, a mask that enables him to directly help more people across Termina.

This should be a Fanfiction. I need to write this now.

Conclusion

Although I love Clock Town dearly, after playing Ocarina of Time I found myself really wishing that Nintendo took the time to include a small section of neighborhoods in the town. All the possibilities are just screaming to come to life!

#RemakeMajora'sMask4HomeConsoles

That is it. I have nothing more to say. This is how I would expand Clock Town if I were part of the Zelda Team. I sure have an active imagination. A switch remake would defiantly have the power needed to render all of this. How would you improve Clock Town? Tell me what you would add to Majora's Mask should you be given the chance!

Thank you for taking your time to reading this. I'll share more ideas on other Zelda games like Breath of the Wild. Will it be a mini series? Maybe. It depends whether an idea spark in my head. I do have a sidequest idea for BotW, so it'll be posted next time!

#legend of zelda #majora's mask #termina #clock town

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zutaras-where-its-at · 6 years

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Baby, It’s a Wipeout [2]

Summary: It’s the final run, and Zuko’s sure Katara doesn’t stand a chance.

Notes: I have so many other things to do right now, but I decided to stay up until 2am writing this, so plz enjoy the product of my stress. (Also, I did some shoddy research on pro-snowboarding because I really don’t know jack about it, so please correct me if something is just completely off!)

“I guess I’ll see you there.”

That’s what Katara had told him as she’d stood on her porch just before he and Jet had left the cabin. All he could offer her at the time was a pathetic excuse for a smile and an uncomfortable grunt. Meanwhile, Jet had been all charm and sass and grins and big hugs around tan skin and a tiny waist. All because Jet is an only child and Zuko isn’t.

And now, Zuko is seeing Katara, but there’s no laughing over a silly card game. There’s only the frigid air, his tense shoulders, and Azula’s fifteen-point lead.

“Wonderful job, Azula.”

“Your dedication has paid off.”

Zuko shuddered at the monotone voices of Azula’s ancient twin coaches. He’d known them for over a decade and had never once seen them apart from one another. If he and Azula ever spent that much time together, they’d either kill each other, or themselves.

Beside him, his sister combed a well-manicured hand through her hair, her rusty-orange ski jacket unzipped to reveal a black sports bra.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s paid off. And once I’m at the Olympics, the whole world will see just how dedicated I am.” Her shoulder bumped against his. “Isn’t that right, Zuzu?”

He snorted and crossed his arms, eyes watching as Katara’s silhouette shuffled to the starting line. He squinted against the sunlight that bounced off the fresh snow. “I think your ego’s big enough without me reaffirming it.”

Azula stuck her lower lip out and wrapped her hand around his arm. “Is this how you repay me for coming to every one of your football games in high school?”

Zuko turned his head to glower at her. “You only came to my games to flirt with my friends.”

Her pout lifted into a smirk, but before she could tease him further, the announcer sounded over the speakers.

“Our final halfpipe competitor of the day is eighteen-year-old Katara Siluk from right here in the Southern Isles. This is her first time at the Kuruk Games, but she has a nice home field advantage. Let’s see if she has what it takes to beat out senior competitor, Azula Jin, in this last round.”

“Not likely.” Azula’s snarky remark was just loud enough to reach Zuko’s ears.

He resisted the urge to cover his eyes as Katara’s figure finally stood, knees bending in preparation. His heart sank with the inevitable massacre of her spirit and soul. Azula always ruined everything.

She took off down the slope, her wild hair trailing behind her. Zuko’s fist clenched inside his jacket pocket.

“Here she goes with her first trick—beautiful takeoff—oh wow! A flawless frontside ten-eighty! Second take off—straight into a frontside nine-hundred, wow! Clean landing! Air to fakie, right into a huge crippler! Incredible air on that—right into the method—do you see the air she’s getting—No way, she went for a double Michalch—Katara Siluk has stuck the landing! She has landed a perfect double Michalchuk! What a way to end that run! It just might be enough! The crowd here is absolutely losing its mind!”

Azula’s grip had gotten steadily tighter and tighter around his bicep, but Zuko didn’t even notice. He could not believe what he had seen. It just wasn’t possible.

Apparently, Azula had similar sentiments.

“She’s a rookie. She’s a rookie.” His sister ripped her hands from where they were tucked into his elbow. She turned to Lo and Li, and Zuko was glad he wasn’t the focus of her wrath. “You told me that you scoped out the competition. You said that this would be a blow out.”

“We did. We watched her tapes along with everyone else’s. She never stood out.” They answered in unison, but their voices shook almost imperceptibly.

Their attention snapped back to the announcer as the speakers crackled to life. “And here comes the score for Katara’s third run from the judges.”

The scoreboard above the slope flashed a number. The crowd went into uproar.

“Katara Siluk has scored a 97.25! The newcomer from right here in the Southern Isles has taken the Kuruk title! For the first time, Azula Jin’s reign has been defeated by just 1.5 points!”

Zuko saw Azula’s back straighten in the slightest of movements, and he internally cringed for her mentors.

When she spoke, her voice was soft to the point of danger. “Does she stand out now?”

Lo and Li didn’t get a chance to respond as Azula abruptly turned and stalked towards the lodge.

Before he could decide whether he should follow her or not, a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Dude, it was a nightmare to get down here.” Jet huffed out a cloud of steam. “I had to wait until the security guard wasn’t looking in order to get out of the stands.”

“Why did you—”

“Well, I took one look, saw you standing here like a goddamn garden gnome, and knew you needed my help.”

“Your help with what?”

Jet rolled his eyes. “For one, connecting the dots. And secondly, helping you talk to Katara since you’ve been angsting over her all morning.”

Zuko spluttered and tried to shake Jet’s grip from his shoulders. “I have not been—Okay seriously, dickhead, stop shoving me.”

“Quit squirming. I promise you’ll thank me later.”

“She’s probably in the locker room away from all the reporters, you asshole!”

“Good thing you’re not a reporter.”

“Azula will literally behead me if she knows that I went and talked to her!”

“Well, Azula’s not here, is she? And since when have you been scared of Azula?”

“Since when have you not been scared of Azula? I’m not kidding, Jet, stop fucking pushing me—”

“Shut up and smile.”

“What are you—”

“Oh hey, you guys. I’m surprised you made it through that crowd.” Sokka clapped Zuko on the arm, his cheeks rosy and a bright grin stretching his face. Just behind him, Katara was wrapping up a brief interview with a reporter.

“Zuko here insisted on congratulating Katara after that epic run. Said he wouldn’t let anyone get in his way. Right, Zuko?” Jet elbowed him in the ribs and purposefully raised his voice. His light brown eyes sparkled when Katara’s head jerked to the side mid-sentence and landed on the two boys.

Over the noise of people, Zuko heard her turn back to the reporter and politely dismiss him before she started toward them.

Her whole face seemed to glow with her victory, and a few strands of sweat-dampened hair clung to the sides of her smooth neck. She had abandoned her helmet and goggles, and her blue scarf was on the verge of unravelling to the floor, but she didn’t bother to take notice of it.

“I told you guys that I was better than you had assumed.” Her chapped lips couldn’t stop smiling, and Zuko found that he naturally returned her cheer.

“Congratulations.”

Her smile widened just the slightest bit more and Zuko felt a hot blush spread across the tips of his ears.

“Thanks.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry about your sister though. Really. I hope she wasn’t too upset.”

“She wasn’t,” he lied.

Their eyes connected for just a touch longer than normal, and right when Zuko was about to excuse himself out of sheer flustered embarrassment, Jet cut in.

“Congrats, Katara. You deserved that win without a doubt.” He swung an arm around Sokka’s shoulders. “By the way, Sokka, I was meaning to ask you about sparring sometime. You mentioned fencing last night, right?”

As the lanky brunette casually led the other boy into a friendly conversation a few feet away, he snuck a quick wink to Zuko and Katara.

Zuko coughed lightly into his hand. Then he reached up to scratch the back of his neck. But then he realized that he was fidgeting out of nervousness and quickly shoved his hands back into his pockets, actively avoiding Katara’s eyes the whole time.

“So…” She drew the word out awkwardly.

“Yeah.”

“I was wondering—”

“Could I—”

They both stopped, eyes wide. Katara laughed and gestured for him to speak.

Zuko carded his hand through his hair. “I was gonna ask if I could call you sometime, maybe?”

Her laugh grew a little breathier. “Funny. I was going to ask if you were staying in town for a little while longer. I could, I don’t know, show you around?”

She wrapped her hands around the ends of her scarf and tugged anxiously. A self-deprecating snicker escaped her teeth. “God, that sounded so cliché. Wow. Okay, I’m gonna just go throw myself from the top of the ski lodge if you don’t mind.”

Zuko’s expression softened, and he took a small step closer to her. “I’ll be here for the next two weeks. Technically this is my vacation hours from work, and Azula planned to train on the slopes here after the competition.” Another step closer. He had never realized how short she was before. “You know, I’ll probably need someone to help make sure I don’t get my dumbass stuck in the snow again.”

Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief as she peered up at him. “Oh, well, in that case, it’s probably my moral duty to not let you out of my sight.”

“You’re right. Do you want to help me out tomorrow, maybe? I might get lost on my way to dinner.”

“We wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we?” A fake frown shifted her features, but one corner of her mouth quirked up. She let out a loud sigh. “I guess I could spare some time tomorrow. How does five o’clock sound?”

Zuko’s fingers lightly brushed her wrist and he felt her skin twitch.

“Five o’clock sounds great.”

#maybe a third and final installment to come???#idk kinda depends bc I really do have a lot of shit to do #please review if you like it/want more!#I live for feedback especially since this is my first time writing in forever #zutara #my zutara stuff #baby it's a wipeout #chapter 2

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emaguire · 4 years

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Case Notes: The Theft of the Great Green Jewel

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot for all of us, but especially those who spend time in creative industries. For the time being, theatre work has dried up, and digital work has pivoted exclusively to the self-filmed and self-taped variety. So I made some more of that. Here’s a sorta... discussion?? of my process.

We went into lockdown on the 27th of March 2020, with at least four weeks, but potentially more, enforced. In total, proper lockdown lasted five weeks, with another two weeks at ‘level 3′ - with slightly looser rules, but the same focus on minimising crowd movement. I personally had been in lockdown since the 25th, as my places of work both closed on that day.

I also decided to write. I write a lot, I write an approximate ton of fanfiction every single week (no judgment, it’s a legitimate hobby), but I wanted to do something bigger.

It’s no secret that I like cozy mysteries. Generally, a cozy mystery is a mystery narrative that’s got very minimal stakes. It might be a murder plot, or it could just be a theft, but in general, the whole thing takes place in a quaint country town, there’s often a quiche competition, and there isn’t much in the way of peril. They’re mostly made for old people, so obviously I love them. Think Midsomer Murders, Rosemary and Thyme, Agatha Raisin...

I personally had just gotten into Agatha Raisin, which is a UK show set around a marking exec that moves to the country and starts solving murders - though a lot of the narrative is about the love triangle the titular character has with Sir Charles Fraith - a flirty dude who lives in an estate, and James Lacey - a more sarcastic, take-no-shit kinda guy, who’s Agatha’s neighbour. It’s a fun show, with very minimal stakes, and a lot of comedy. It’s also the first cozy mystery show I’ve seen that’s actually said the word ‘bisexual’, and meant it - which is significantly better than a lot of mainstream shows these days, but I digress.

(It does fall into its stereotypes, but it’s mostly harmless. Pictured, Roy Silver and Agatha Raisin from one episode of the show.)

I loved Knives Out last year, and I’m a big fan of mysteries. So, I decided to write one.

The Premise

First, a crime. I chose a theft, because honestly, murder is depressing, and during a global pandemic I wanted to steer away from the idea of ‘obvious death’. Plus, ‘be gay, steal jewels from monarchists’ is a fun premise, while ‘be gay, murder innocent people’ is not.

Second, a location. A big country estate. They’re stereotypical, they’re self-contained, and most importantly, they allow for a multitude of rooms and backgrounds, which is what I was expecting for a self-filmed work.

Third, a time period. The 1920s is a fun time, full of intrigued and very specific costuming. I had just come out of Fringe, where I’d written a short noir sketch called Eat Your Heart Out Raymond Chandler - which was noir, but with mad libs cobbled together from the audience. That was set in the 50s, but it had some neat characterisation and ideas that I liked, as well as a detective named Fairleigh Goode...

The Characters

Detective fiction has a ton of trope characters. You can easily name them. There’s the detective, the blushing ingenue, an older ‘wise’ person, maybe a groundskeeper or member of staff... the list goes on. I wanted ten characters in total, because it’s a pleasing number, and it allowed for multiple threads of action and dialogue, alongside character interaction. I also didn’t want to rely too specifically on stereotypes from the genre, which are often very blatant, and often fairly sexist.

The Detective - Fairleigh Goode already existed as a character in my head, so I just gave him a little more of an existence to play with. In this script, he’s retired - after a Serious Incident at the age of 26. He’s a little fed up, a little exhausted, but stuck on a case that fascinates him. He’s also very into using overlarge metaphors and general wordplay nonsense. I took some inspiration from Benoit Blanc, from Knives Out, who’s an immensely Southern detective with a tinge of insanity, and I just... elevated that. Fairleigh’s a good detective, he just doesn’t quite get idioms, okay - and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The Victim/Lord - Lord Arnold Ruxley is a detective fiction cornerstone character. In cozy mysteries, there’s always a lord of some sort, whether they’re chaotic good or generally a bastard. Wealth brings another level to a mystery script, and thus, I wanted a jewel of his to be stolen. However, I wanted to create a character that was multi-layered. Generally a party animal, but with a touch of mystery to him, Ruxley’s life is one of spending large and spending wildly. Overexcess, one might say. Hubris. A metaphor for capitalists. Yknow. Inspiration - Jay Gatsby, Charles Fraith.

The Governess - I personally wanted to play a role that was a little quieter, a little less orchestral to the story. There’s always members of serving staff in these kinds of narratives - people tend to overlook their servants, which allows for secrets and gossip to run wild. Servants notice things that other people might not. Thus, Daisy was born. Good at her job, but cutthroat. A little cruel. Inspiration - just... people from Downton Abbey, yknow.

The Porter - As above. I wanted a little more of a foil to Daisy’s ruthlessness - someone who wasn’t afraid to call out the double standards of the time, but also had a heart and a kindness underneath. Observational, quick to anger. In hindsight, I really would have liked to have done more with this character. When an audience’s first impression of a character is them in anger, it’s often not a great look and can cast them in a negative light despite their motives. Only time will tell.

The Femme Fatale - obvious. A trope character. However, my femme fatale has a brain. She’s not just there to be looked at. She pays attention, she notices and understands things, and she looks good while doing it. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying literature and also wearing makeup. Fuck your standards.

The Scholar - So, SO often in detective fiction is there an older scholar. Usually a white guy, usually quite poised and status quo - I wanted to turn that on its head. Athena is a scholar who will go above and beyond for what’s right, even if that leads to her being struck off. She’s alienating, a little, but will say what’s on her mind. Inspiration - Indiana Jones, but like... the opposite.

The Bastard - Just an absolute dick. No redeeming features. An absolute tool. In this case, someone comically over bad who didn’t commit the theft. He’s just a dick regardless. Plus, there’s something funny in his existence - he’s a bit of a red herring. It’s very easy to expect him to be bad, and he is. He’s just bad in a narratively-irrelevant sense.

The Romantic - A flirt. Obvious, really. Someone to break up the characterisation a little, allow for sneakiness and secrets and excitement and sex. There’s always one of these in detective fiction as well, a dapper young man who often has an eye on the femme fatale, or other such ingenues, but is generally harmless.

The Gossip - A character who notices things and doesn’t keep them to herself. She’s harmless, really, if you’ve got nothing to hide. Characters like this can be quite jarring, quite intruding into the text, but I think I managed to soften her to the point where she’s likeable, and fairly performative.

The Artist - We all know this person. We’re all artists, we’ve all been at shows or exhibitions where there’s one person who knows too much about the subject, who name-drops other creatives for the sake of doing so, who perhaps doesn’t know when to stop talking. For the most part, he’s not hurting anyone, he’s just a little bit grating sometimes.

One other note, about these characters - I was trying to create characters that were... chaotic, of a sort. People with real motives, real existences, who weren’t afraid to push towards their own goals. My initial thinking was, “What happens if I put nine mildly-terrible people in a room, and a detective has to sort their shit out?”

The World

I’m a bit of a surrealist. I write very few pieces complete ‘straight’ - that’s in all senses, for the record. There’s usually an element of the eldritch, or the bizarre, to my pieces. I think it’s funnier, I think it allows for expansion, and I just don’t like writing jokes about normal shit. There’s enough comics that write about the mundanities of life, I’d rather write about a lord who’s wife almost definitely came into contact with an eldritch being at the bottom of a sinkhole and fell in love with it. Why? It’s fun.

My world? 1920s Europe, but it’s not the Europe we know. It’s a Europe with a lot more scope, a lot more wide-ranging characters. Perhaps international travel began to happen a little earlier, perhaps the combustion engine was invented earlier than 1876, perhaps everything is powered by magic and nonsense, rather than reality. A world with a degree of the mystical to it, but a world where people just get on with living instead of actively trying to fight against that.

Prejudice. Obviously it’s a remnant of the time. When I was writing this piece I knew I wanted to queer it, knew that if I didn’t it’d feel insincere - and really rather status quo. Most of my mates are queer, most of the actors I was writing these roles in mind of are queer - I wanted a piece that reflects the world we live in and the people I know. However, I didn’t want homophobia.

Someone I quite appreciate as an academia has coined this term - “homo-utopia”. It’s not technically a ‘real’ word, but it serves its purpose as a binary opposition to the slightly more common ‘hetero-utopia’, which is used in this case as “a world where heterosexuality is normalised, is the status quo, effects policy and the fundamental makeup of the world. (So, essentially our real world, y’know). In said academic’s eyes, a ‘homo-utopia’ is one where the same is true for the reverse, in that - it’s not a world where queer relationships are the dominant, but they are recognised in policy, in worldbuilding, they’re factored in to the fundamental makeup of existence, rather than tacked on when straight policymakers want to curry favor.

In this work, the scandal isn’t that there’s two men in the 1920s gettin’ together, it’s that it’s slightly crossing class boundaries and one of the dudes is a lord. The characters don’t care about the queering, they care about the fact that the thing is happening. The same scandal would erupt between any of the characters that aren’t the status quo, really. I think there’s scandal in the Daisy/Tom relationship too, for the sake of - they’re two people that you wouldn’t expect to get together, but they do.

Also, I’m just tired as fuck of homophobia. So many narratives featuring queer characters go straight to homophobia for a crisis point, and there’s absolutely a reason for that. It’s pivotal in our worlds. However, it’s upsetting, it’s exhausting, it’s bigotry that we see constantly, and I’d rather not write about it. I don’t need to throw out slurs or write obvious bigotry to give queer characters a reason to exist. Queerness for queerness’ sake, you know?

Re: classism - yeah, I know I’m hypocritical. Classism is a pretty big problem, and it is especially so in this narrative. It still exists in this ‘utopia’. Look at it this way. Capitalism is a flawed system. If big capitalists exist, so do the underclass. Wealth is entrenched in a narrative set on an estate, featuring a theft. I couldn’t just remove it. (also capitalism SUCKS SO I WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT IT.)

Re: colonialism - I make mention of the Empire a few times in this work. If there’s Lords, there’s a monarchy. Colonialism SUCKS SO I WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT IT. Could it have been a smidge more subtle? Yes. Did I get to write about a scholar uncomfortable with the current system stealing artifacts and returning them to the people they were stolen from? Also yes.

The Script

This is a... hefty script. It’s thicc. There’s a lot of facets to it, because it’s interactive. I was considering giving it more angles, but honestly - two turning points was enough for me by the time I finished writing it.

I wrote the thing in about four days. It wouldn’t work as a stage play or anything, because the entire thing works to guide the audience towards a specific conclusion, and it’s also very heavy on the exposition.

It’s a story that has a very open ending, because of the interactivity. There’s technically three main culprits, but the story is written in a way to guide the audience towards picking a specific one. The question is, do they go for the moral choice, or the logical choice? Or, alternatively, the wildcard? Only time will tell. I definitely wrote one specific dominant pathway though.

In the first act, we’re introduced to our characters. Each of them attended the party at Lord Arnold Ruxley’s manner, though most were hardly at the table the entire night. Lucinda and Paul were there for the longest time, with Raphael the least. We learn that Ruxley’s definitely hiding something, Athena disappeared for many moments, and Daisy and Tom weren’t there at all.

Then, there’s what I like to call a ‘choke point’. A place where the audience must make a decision. In this case, it’s - which character couldn’t have done the crime? This choke point was to narrow the scope for the next act, to take some players off the court, to slim the investigation down a little.

Lucinda, as she was at the table almost all night, Paul as he was too, or Raphael, as he was thoroughly pissed on Ruxley’s wine by the end of the night?

I’m writing this just before I release episode 2 tonight, and it’s a pretty even tie between Lucinda and Paul for innocence. Raphael’s just a bitch of a character so I’m not surprised that very few people think he’s innocent, considering the choices given.

In act 2, we respond to the innocent party, whoever that may be, and delve into the bulk of the main case. On a whole, whoever was deemed ‘innocent’ by the audience doesn’t really matter, as the narrative essentially deems all three innocent and they’re discounted from the case.

During this act, we learn that Ruxley is in debt - too many lavish parties and spending, as such Daisy and Tom are about to be fired and need to do something drastic, and Athena has a sordid past as a thief, stealing to right wrongs.

This is the second choke point, where the narrative starts to draw the audiences to a conclusion. On a whole, Ruxley is the character who has done the worst. He’s an overspender, a bit of an egoist, and he stole the jewel in the first place. It is, genuinely, the most moral choice to convict him.

However, given the facts, it’s most likely that Daisy and Tom actually did it. They weren’t present at the party, they had the most time to steal it, and they have the motive.

Athena is a wildcard, a choice I threw in to give the audience something else to think about. I’m not sure how many will pick her, though she does have the opportunity.

Act three is a summing up of the case. All the characters get the opportunity to showcase their feelings towards the crime, and then Fairleigh talks a little more nonsense. It’s a conclusion to the piece.

In the end, it’s a bit of a moral decision. Do you convict the person who’s genuinely a bad guy, or do you convict those who fit the facts?

We will just have to see.

...

(Also now I really want to write this into a proper radio drama with actual fully fleshed characters and foley. Any takers?)

#witterings #writing

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standuphippy · 4 years

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February Favorites

Every December I have a ritual. First, I try to compile a list of records, movies, and shows I’ve enjoyed the year. I wait until the last minute and then struggle to get it posted before the first of the year. I dump something half-assed on New Year’s Eve, then sit back and cluck my tongue at anyone who posts a “Best of the Year” list after Jan. 1.

I always resolve to do something sooner (and better) so this is a first step in that direction. The world has changed since I started this, but fuck it, here’s what I enjoyed in February. Here’s a link to a playlist for the music: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ucvCNnCuT4ZZVCyz2ddKM

NEW MUSIC:  

Agnes Obel “Myopia”   Her fourth record of fine orchestral pop.    Arbor Labor Union “New Petal Instants” Four years ago I went to see them at the Bootleg and I’m pretty sure I was the only person in the audience who wasn’t in one of the opening bands. It was a great show. Southern fried guitars. I like Bo Orr’s yelp.

Califone “Echo Mine” Happy to finally get a new Califone record, though it’s a companion work to a dance piece and some tracks leave me wondering what I’m looking at. There are some great songs that anchor it as a whole. I love the sound of Tim Rutilli’s voice and guitar, and I think he’s a master of weaving abstract lyrics and melody in a way that makes his phrases land emotionally true.

Cold Beat “Mother” Synth pop that has the hooks.

Eyelids ”The Accidental Falls” Three years ago I visited a friend in Minneapolis. Woke up and made coffee and he put the “Or” record on the turntable, and Oh! that riff in “Slow it Goes”… a pretty great intro to this band. They’ve really put in a lot of work with collaborators recently, including an EP with John Cameron Mitchell. “The Accidental Falls” has lyrics furnished by poet Larry Beckett. (Related recommendation: Eyelids “Or”)

Frances Quinlan “Insight”   Hop Along started out as Frances Quinlan’s home recording project, then grew into a band so successful that she has to qualify her new record as a solo album. The distinction makes sense when you hear it, though, it’s pretty stripped down. I love her voice. (Related recommendation: Hop Along “Painted Shut”)

Greg Dulli “Random Desire”  The Afghan Whigs are one of my all-time favorite bands. On his first “official” solo record, Dulli sounds energized and tries some interesting vocal tricks.  (Related recommendation: The Afghan Whigs “Gentlemen” and “Black Love”)

Grimes “Miss Anthropocene” I like this record.

Heart Bones “Hot Dish” Sabrina Ellis and Har Mar Superstar are two of the best performers out there. They got together a few years go and toured playing songs from the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack; now they’ve got their first full length and it’s just as catchy and funny as I’d hoped.

The Innocence Mission “See You Tomorrow”  I loved their first self-titled record back in 1989 and I’ll check out anything they release. Their arrangements are pretty spare these days but Karen Peris’ voice has always been the draw.  (Related recommendation: The Innocence Mission “The Innocence Mission”)

The Men “Mercy”  Over their career they’ve gone in a lot of musical directions and made several outstanding records. They’re incredible live but they haven’t been to Los Angeles in years. (Related recommendations: The Men “Open Your Heart” and “Tomorrow Hits”)

POLIÇA “When We Stay Alive”  This may be their best record yet. 

Sarah Harmer “Are You Gone”  Sarah Harmer played at Spaceland (now Satellite) in support of her excellent record “Oh Little Fire.” I’d had a long week and skipped it; I’ve had to wait ten fucking years for a follow up record and tour. If Kathleen Edwards is the Zoë Records version of Lucinda Williams, Sarah Harmer is the label’s version of Shawn Colvin.

Soccer Mommy “color theory”  Haven’t been much of a Soccer Mommy fan in the past but this record is one of my favorite records so far this year. Ride the mid-tempo wave.

Squirrel Flower “I Was Born Swimming” Could easily sit on the shelf between Mitski and TORRES. It’s a great debut.

TORRES “Silver Tongue”  I happened upon Pitchfork’s review of her debut back in 2012 and have been a fan ever since. Her debut is a classic to me. She signed to 4AD, put out two ambitious records and then got dropped. Now she’s on Merge and produced “Silver Tongue” herself. I think it’s her best since her debut. She’s fire live. (Related recommendation: TORRES “TORRES”)

OLD MUSIC (record store finds and new discoveries):

Dry Cleaning “Sweet Princess EP/ Boundary Food and Drink EP”  I was listening to Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs in anticipation of their show here and when the record was over, Spotify played a Dry Cleaning track and I loved it. Both of these EPs are great, filled with spiky guitars and dry, spoken lyrics about the numb horror of modern life.

Guided By Voices “Live From Austin TX”  Found this one at Soundsations. Double vinyl, recorded in 2004 before a hiatus. Sounds good. Lots of “Bee Thousand/ Alien Lanes” classics alongside tracks from “Half-Smiles of the Decomposed,” the record they were touring at the time.

Rosie Thomas “With Love”  I liked Rosie Thomas’ Sub Pop releases, I didn’t know about this one but I found it at Amoeba. Happy to find out about it, it’s one of her best.

NEW MOVIES (theatrical): 

Emma.  It’s fun and it’s gorgeous. Every frame of the film is carefully considered and it shows. The performances are excellent and when the sparks start to fly it’s a thrill. 

Beanpole  It’s soul-crushing and gorgeous. The characters struggle to put their lives together in postwar Leningrad and find that any act of kindness or mercy can be manipulated or subverted. It’s not a cruel film, but it can be hard to watch. I’ve thought about it quite a bit since I watched it: about what writer/director Kantemi Balegov showed onscreen versus what he didn’t, how the characters’ histories are revealed, and about the performances that brought them to life. The film stayed with me, which is one of the highest compliments I can give. The trailer is a fine piece of work in and of itself.

OLD MOVIES:

  Ad Astra  I don’t know how this got made and that’s not a slight but a registration of genuine bewilderment. The film is a juxtaposition of emotional emptiness and the void of the universe. An internal character study wrapped in first-rate sci-fi set pieces. I marveled at it on an XD screen last year and recently watched it with my wife. If anything, I wish it had leaned even harder into its art house impulses and cut the voice-over narration in half.   Doctor Sleep (Theatrical)  I tried to see this in the theater but I couldn’t make it happen. It wasn’t that my wife gave birth a week previous or that the film got middling aggregate reviews, as either of those factors by themselves would not have dissuaded me. I simply couldn’t get past the fact that I’d already wasted two and a half hours in the execrable mire that was IT: Part II two months beforehand and the experience left me gun-shy. Wish I’d checked it out on the big screen, looking forward to diving into the Director’s Cut.

The Gold Rush (1942 Version) I’d never seen this version of the Charlie Chaplin classic: it runs a few minutes shorter than the original and has voice-over narration. Started watching it with my daughter while we were home sick and realized that the sight of Big Jim, especially in a jittery frame rate, is pretty unsettling to a six year old.

Hacksaw Ridge Mel Gibson gets away with a lot of things, as a director it’s graphic violence. Andrew Garfield plays a conscientious objector who joins the army to be a medic and refuses to touch a weapon. The second half of the film is grueling but the WWII combat looks incredible.   House by the Cemetery  Your enjoyment of this movie will depend on your love for Italian horror cinema and all of its idiosyncrasies. The value is in the modes of death and the sound design. House by the Cemetery is not a great movie, but I love the scene where Bob is trying to get out of the basement. For a split second I felt genuine panic, as I realized that Fulci might be willing to take the events of the film further than I was willing to follow them.

Old Joy  I saw Old Joy when it was originally released and I loved it. Two old friends at different turning points in their lives go on a camping trip. Kelly Reichardt’s made a lot of great films since then, but Old Joy has a special place in my heart because when I saw it I had just entered my 30’s and still had friends like Kurt.  

BOOKS:

Ad Nauseam by Michael Gingold It’s a collection of vintage newspaper ads for horror films from the 80’s. Reading it brought back a lot of memories. I admire the effort of saving these for so many years.

The Guardians by Sarah Manguso   I picked up 300 Arguments a few years ago after the AV Club recommended it and read it on a flight to Chicago. It’s made up of 300 short passages, some only a sentence long. I admired the precision and thoughtfulness of those focused lines.

I sought out some of her other work and found her very relatable, in part because we’re the same age, suffered from similar medical conditions, and spent time in Iowa City. I’ve read Ongoingness: The End of a Diary, and The Two Kinds of Decay.

The Guardians is a memoir about her close friend, written following his suicide by train.

Reading her books creates this expansive image of Manguso as a person, in that some of the events of the three books overlap. I realized that her reflections in The Guardians were those of the person who had also overcome the prolonged health issues described in The Two Kinds of Decay, and was writing about all of it in the diaries described in Ongoingness: The End of a Diary. They are all great reads. I’d start with 300 Arguments.

SHOWS:

Imperial Teen Zebulon 02/28/20 When I see Imperial Teen I think about all the other times that I’ve seen Imperial Teen. I think about all of those times in my life and the different highs and lows that the band has been through. All the different times that they seemed poised for great success that never materialized. Despite those disappointments, they still put out a record every few years and occasionally play a few shows. They have a deep catalog of excellent pop songs. It’s as great a pleasure to see them today as it was twenty years ago.   Califone The Hi Hat 02/29/20 I love Red Red Meat but I’ve never seen a great show by them. I like Califone and I’ve seen some good shows, but the last one I caught (2017) turned out to be a Tim Rutilli solo show and that’s not what I wanted. The show at The Hi Hat was the best Califone show I’ve ever seen. They sounded excellent and Rutilli seemed enthusiastic. He kept thanking the audience for coming out on a Monday night (it was Saturday.) The set stretched close to two hours with no encore.

#favorites #February 2020

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