A Star Is Born

[quotemyname]

I need more threads for Breakdown!

He'll be "returning" to Freedom City in late February after his tour supporting the release of his band's album.

As the front man for a new, popular band, Eddie will be gaining the feat Benefit (Fame) as soon as this month's edits go through.

Anyone interested in hanging out with Freedom City's newest celebrity? Could just be a happenstance meeting on the street, at a bar or club (he's got a fake ID), or some other semi-public event.

If you are interested, please provide an example event/scenario that you would like the thread to be based upon.

[Quinn]

Depending on the circumstances, I'll throw either Push or Crow in there. But there better be villains to whoop! ;)

[quotemyname]

What about a good old fashioned West-Side-Story-Back-Alley-Greaser-Dance-Off-Fight? :D :D

[Cubist]

Jubatus could be involved in his capacity as a technical troubleshooter; if Something Goes Wrong with the band's equipment, Jube has the skills to fix it. I'm sure some weirdness that requires heroic response could occur while Jube is tweaking the amps and such.

Scenarios... hmm...

Some jerkwad musician with recently-acquired superpowers has decided to pound on Breakdown. Maybe he's doing it for the publicity, maybe he thinks thrashing Breakdown will set him on the road to stardom, whatever.

One of the songs Breakdown will perform has foreign-language lyrics... which just happen to be a mystical incantation of some sort. During the concert, 'the stars are right' -- that is, whatever external conditions are needed for the incantation to do its thing, those conditions are true -- and Something Weird And Horrible happens to at least one member of the audience. Heroes are needed to deal with the SWAH-ified audience member.

Some villain or other attends the concert in their civilian ID -- they're a fan. Maybe they get a little boisterous (drunk?) and when the ushers try to calm them down, they let loose with the powers...

[quotemyname]

Are you suggesting that Eddie summon a Troll like in Metalocalypse? That's awesome.

I actually do really like the idea of an upstart musician trying to thrash BD as a sort of get rich quick scheme. Would you care to elaborate on that scenario? What powers should he use? What instrument does he play? etc.

[Cubist]

Are you suggesting that Eddie summon a Troll like in Metalocalypse? That's awesome.

Summons a Troll; transforms one or more members of the audience; whatever the traffic will bear...

I actually do really like the idea of an upstart musician trying to thrash BD as a sort of get rich quick scheme. Would you care to elaborate on that scenario? What powers should he use? What instrument does he play? etc.

The basic concept is "dark side of fame". Eddie wants to be a world-famous celebrity? Great! Everybody knows you, or at least they think they know you... and some people will respond bizarrely to what (they think) they know. The dude could be someone whose band lost a recording contract to Eddie's band, or a (super-) stalker, or a wannabe with more ambition than talent/ability, or any of a number of other options, really.

Powers... how about electricity-based? Or, combining two notions, how about if this guy is the one who gets transformed into a Troll by Eddie's unwitting spell? Hmmm... if the guy is a punk, who's used to slam-dancing and mosh pits and such, turning him into a Troll could make him dangerous even if he retains his human mind...

[quotemyname]

Maybe he gets a back stage pass and they have a sort of confrontation before the show? Then during the show when he's turned into some sort of strange monster its all the more pressing that he be stopped, because Eddie already knows the guy's got beef.

I like this idea. But to be perfectly honest, I'm going to ask that you run the NPC. It'll be easier for me to organically role play the confrontation if I don't know exactly what his motivations are, you know?

This would likely drive Eddie to try and put down a fan without hurting him while protecting the crowd!

[Cubist]

I s'pose I can handle the NPC "fan" as well as Jubatus...

[quotemyname]

I guess you'll be starting the thread then? Make it for a smaller venue. Eddie will have been in town for about a week. This could be a show he's doing as a favor to a friend who owns a club or something. End of February is a good date. Other than that, do what you will! Let me know when it's up And thanks!

[Heritage]

We never got to explore Grim's 'mentorship' of Breakdown, largely because I pissed away the whole Legacy of Al-Kazar storyline I had planned. I'd like to have her rekindle their friendship, and what better way to start than by having a backstage pass to his concert? :D

[quotemyname]

Would you like to be in on the above thread? Or would you want to make this a new one?

[Heritage]

Would you like to be in on the above thread? Or would you want to make this a new one?

This thread sounds fun, so I'm down with it :D

[quotemyname]

Cubist, can we handle one more?

[Cubist]

This is your thread, Quote. Far as I'm concerned, it could just as easily be an open thread, so as long as you're okay with the number of participants, I'm good with it, too!

[Cubist]

Alright... after reading up on Breakdown, and pondering a bit, here's my attempt at a scenario (and PLEASE correct me if I've messed up on any details):

After an unscheduled hiatus that was at least partially due to an unfortunate episode in Eddie's heroing career, OCTOPUS DROPKICK makes its triumphant return to Freedom City! As it happens, Eddie owes a favor to a bloke name of K-Jones, who saved Eddie's butt from getting caught by the police a few years ago. Today, K-Jones runs a somewhat low-end club in the Theatre District... and he's calling in this favor now. What K-Jones asked Eddie for: One night of OD playing at his club.

Meanwhile, the clientele at K-Jones' place is primarily made up of college froshes, high school seniors, and a lot of people who have their fake-ID suppliers to thank for the fact that they can actually have some hard stuff every now and then without needing to bust into Dad's liquor cabinet. One of these people is a 13-year-old boy who is very tall for his age, and is thus easily mistaken for 18. Okay, a very thin 18, but 18 nonetheless. He comes from a middle-class family, and his nickname at school is "Trollbait". (his own fault, as he tried to get people to call him "Troll", but the other students didn't feel like playing along...)

Trollbait is as insecure, emotionally immature, and 'face'-obsessed as any other 13-year-old, and he's seriously obsessed with Octopus Dropkick. He will be absolutely ECSTATIC about OD's showing up at his club, and he believes that he and Eddie are the bestest of friends -- okay, maybe they haven't *met* yet, but jeez, Eddie *knows* him, okay? OD's songs really really *speak* to him and how could Eddie *do* that if they weren't sympatico like anything and there's just no *way* absolutely no way at all Eddie wouldn't be his best friend forever once they *do* meet and he's gonna bring all his OD discs for Eddie to autograph and --

Anyway.

There's the setup, Quote; as I said before, this is your thread, so you've got my blessing to do whatever you like with it, including "change it around beyond all recognition". Feel free to fill in missing details -- like, what's the name of K-Jones' club? What style(s) of music are normally played there? Etc etc etc.

PC involvement...

Breakdown is there just because. "Like, duh."

Jubatus is there in his civilian capacity as Jay Nelson Xavier because Jay has been in K-Jones' rolodex under "troubleshooters" for at least 10 years. (every once in a while, some sort of tech snarl occurs in K-Jones' club; K-Jones calls Jay; Jay makes the problem go away; N weeks/months later, do it all over again)

Grimalkin is there because of a personal connection with Breakdown -- I'm not sure of the details, but I presume Grim and BD both know the score, so it's all good.

Push or Crow are there because... well, I got nothing. Either way, he's Quinn's character, so Quinn can decide why the bloke showed up.

If other players want to join in, no problem; they'll have their own reasons for being here, no doubt.

Yes? No?

[late edit: specified that this is occuring in the Theatre District. a needed change, as i hadn't initially mentioned anything about the location...]

[quotemyname]

Thanks for the option of being able to change things, but honestly, I read Trollbait's bio just now and had to resist cracking up. So no, I have no changes on that.

I've certainly put forward that Eddie "owes some favors" in the past. So that part of the thread is fine. Eddie is also a big proponent of not placing restrictions on kids that are responsible enough to handle themselves. He's got the Fake ID because he knows he can trust himself with it. I would think that K-Jones' outlook is similar. Possibly on the lines of, "They're gonna be drinking anyway. If not here, then where? I'd rather give them a safe place to have fun then force the inevitability that whatever environment they pick isn't safe. I rather them party indoors than in some alley somewhere," etc. He would view what he does as a way of protecting the kids. If that's the case, Eddie would be all for doing the show. However, if K-Jones is the type of guy that just wants to make a few bucks for his bar and doesn't care if the kids aren't old enough, etc. Eddie wouldn't feel so hot about doing the show. That said, he owes a favor, so he will do it, but I wouldn't be surprised if he called a stop to things if he saw things getting out of hand. "We're all just looking to have fun. Let's all make sure that actually happens rather than starting any trouble." sort of thing.

As for club names, anything is fine, but here are some ideas:

K-J's

K House / House K

Klub Jones

or something similar. You don't have to use these, I was just trying to help make some suggestions.

Grim might have called Eddie now that he's back in town based on the sentiment Heritage expressed above. He might have responded, "Hang out? Sure! Actually I'm playing a small show at this place downtown. We should meet up there. We could go out and hit the town afterward or something." Eddie would know she's getting married. It was established pretty well a while ago that the two of them are strictly Platonic. He loves Grim because she's an honest dependable friend, but that's really as far as that goes

Is either Push or Crow in Claremont/High School? Perhaps they know someone who could get him in the door. Perhaps they want to see Eddie in person as they might have heard how he was expelled and wanted to see the man/myth/legend first hand?

[Quinn]

Push isn't, Crow is, but I think I'd be rolling with Push on this one (since it's looking mostly PL10s). As for why he'd be there...

1. He fixed the club owner's car, and the owner paid off part of his bill with free tickets to see Octopus Dropkick.

2. Gabriel Quinn's just out taking in the nightclub scene, and this bar happened to be where he stopped (Trouble Magnet complication!)

3. On patrol and hears the ungodly noise of OD?

EDIT: Also, Push knows Grim from a brief run-in a while back. This could be a chance to establish moar connections!

[Cubist]

Inaugural post of A Star is (re-) Born is up. Enjoy, Quote!

Quinn, I've specified that the club in question exists in a rather dubious neighborhood, so it would make perfect sense for any superhero to be cruising along in that area...

[N/A]

*puts Refhat on*

I'm fine with doing a superhero spin on an obsessed fan story, but I'd really, really rather the villain not be so young. Beating up on a junior highschooler is hardly going to make anyone look heroic.

[quotemyname]

I agree. That's why there will be as little beating up as possible, and more disarming, convincing, restraining, and otherwise not hurting. It wouldn't look very good if Eddie went around beating up fans. Of any age.