Character History

[tuxagon]

In case you're unfamiliar, each of you will define a relationship with the other characters, which will result in each character having 2 relationships with each other character. Through this, we'll build the team's history. There may be some things where the other person should define an aspect of the relationship. In those circumstances, tag the other to indicate who is to answer.

[tuxagon]

@Kavonde I'll have you go first. As a quick reference, here are the relationship options from The Monstrous playbook.

 

Quote

 

Go around the group again. When it’s your turn, pick one for each of the other hunters:

• You lost control one time, and almost killed them. Ask them how they stopped you.
• They tried to slay you, but you proved you’re on the side of good. Ask them what convinced them.
• You are romantically obsessed with them. Ask them if they know, and if they reciprocate.
• Close relations, or a distant descendant. Tell them which.
• You saved them from another of your kind, and prevented reprisals against that individual creature (maybe it’s another good one, or maybe it has a hold over you).
• They are tied to your curse or origin. Tell them how.
• You fought together against the odds, and prevailed.
• They saved you from another hunter who was prepared to kill you. Ask them what happened.

 

[Kavonde]

Roger-roger!

 

Siobhan Cassiday tried to slay me, but I proved I was on the side of good. @DoNotFearToTread, what convinced you?

[DoNotFearToTread]

I am open to changing any of this, but here is what jumped to my mind.

 

"So, it went down like this. I'd been at the studio a couple of weeks working late on software conversions for the camera systems. I was out in the back alley catching a smoke when I saw this guy digging through the dumpster. Just shoveling fistfuls of cold fries into their mouth from a Whataburger bag. Now my monster sense was full on blaring at this point so I set up a little binding circle at the door and sat him down for a chat. Didn't do the whole begging thing or try to chew on my throat. Turns out he just got a raw deal from fate who is trying to get by. In the end, it seemed like there was nothing I could do to him that life hadn't already done worse. We've gone on a few hunts since then, following one lead or another, and the man can scrap proper tough when he needs to. The way I see it, ain't nothing immoral about dumpster diving and if I threw flames at everyone who was different I'd have burned down the city by now. Still, I figure it's best if I keep an eye on him so the show seems like a good choice all around."

 

Did you want to post my list for everyone to reference, @tuxagon, or should I just go ahead and pick from the playbook?

Edited October 2, 2022 by DoNotFearToTread (see edit history)

[tuxagon]

@Kavonde you have 3 more to choose. Feel free to list all of them together to speed up the history process.

 

@DoNotFearToTread whatever is most convenient for you to reference.

[DoNotFearToTread]

Okay, I'll go ahead and lay out all of mine to keep us moving. I figure Siobhan has worked with the Office of Interstate Transport Security with some frequency as part of her immigration agreement to put some of the following questions in perspective.

 

@Kavonde Jack is a comrade-in-arms. You’ve faced the biggest threats together. There is no question here, but we could come up with a couple of things we've hunted together to flesh this out. I edited my question from you above to better reflect this.

 

@KingGoblin Tina acts as your conscience when the power goes to your head. Ask them about the last time this happened.

 

@zazamz12 Ali and you had an old rivalry that has turned into a tight friendship. Tell them what you once fought over. Maybe they got stuck on some assignments together and Ali wasn't happy about being saddled with a witch? Siobhan could have seen Ali as someone to one-up, being the new face in the outfit with something to prove. Siobhan is also very much the 'kick in the door' type when they know danger is afoot, so maybe Ali handles things differently and they clashed over tactics?

Edited October 2, 2022 by DoNotFearToTread (see edit history)

[KingGoblin]

Sounds good to me.

 

@DoNotFearToTread Well, the time you are asking me about was last week, of course.  Siobhan isn't too good at seeing the bigger picture, and somehow acts like the monster surges are all huge organized forces, and she's a guerrilla fighter in the NRA trying to take them down by any means necessary.  Last week, it was a Tasty Freeze franchise location that had been taken over by, admittedly, militant frost pixies, led by the franchise owner, some sort of frost witch from the Winter Court.  Blowing up the store would have fixed the problem, sure, but what about all the kids?  Where would they have gotten their (non-cursed, preferably) ice-cream?

 

For my questions...

 

@DoNotFearToTread For Siobhan, I'll pick, You’re a bit suspicious of them (maybe due to their unnatural powers or something like that).

Kind of self-explanatory, but, she does have a habit of blowing things up.

 

@zazamz12 Ali is clearly They’re your hero, exactly the kind of monster hunter you aspire to be. Tell them why you worship them.

I mean, the guy is just so cool, with the tailored suits, and the weird tech gadgets and all.  Practically James Bond, only with monsters.  Even if he's kind of her boss here.

 

@Kavonde Uncle Jack!  You are close relations. Tell them exactly how you’re related.

Your sister Marcy is my mom!  You know this, though.  Hey, Uncle Jack, you aren't looking too good, I think you might want to cut back on the McDonalds, you know?  Anyway, you should ask my mom about the whole getting your legal identity back thing.  It isn't her specialty area, she works in commercial real estate mostly, but she probably knows someone who can help.

[Kavonde]

My bad, I misunderstood! Thought it went kinda round-robin.

 

@KingGoblin Hey, Tina! You are close relations. Tell them exactly how you're related.

It's actually kind of funny; Jack is actually a little closer in age to Tina than his sister, Marcy. He's in his late 20's, while Marcy's in her mid-40's. (He was kind of a surprise to their parents.) So he and Tina have always had (in his opinion) a more sibling-y relationship than he and Marcy actually did. 

 

@zazamz12 Ali saved me from another hunter who was prepared to kill me. Ask them what happened

For some reason, people see a zombie eating fast food out of a dumpster and just assume he's evil. It's rude.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Kavonde (see edit history)

[zazamz12]

@DoNotFearToTread

For Siobhan, I think I'll take They’ve worked with the Agency before, and they’re well regarded - I like the idea of Siobhan having worked with the Office before, and they two have probably butt heads before. Ali's M.O. is more along the lines of extensive planning and scouting, which would prolly put him clashing with Siobhan at first, as well as initial reservations of working with a witch, though it's definitely turned into friendship over time.

 

@KingGoblin

For Tina, I'll pick You got sent to “deal with them” as a hazard to the Agency’s policies one time. Tell them how you resolved this. - after the initial goblin uprising, HQ was worried that several of their assets in the DHS were compromised, and sent Ali in as part of a clean-up team. However, as the situation changed, he realized that "disposing" of Tina and her co-workers was a bad idea, and pulled some strings to have them reassigned - ending with Tina being assigned under his team.

 

@Kavonde

For Jack, I'll take They’re on the Agency’s watch list, and you’ve been keeping an eye on them. - with Jack coming back from the dead and the ensuing ruckus, the Office is making sure to keep an agent on Jack whenever possible. Sure, he only eats fast food for now, but they'd be fools to not be ready if or when his appetites turn more... dangerous.

[tuxagon]

Awesome, I want to recap and will put any questions I have at the bottom of this message. Once everyone gives the thumbs up about the recap, I'll start us off with a prologue.

---

PREPARATION QUESTION

I do have a couple questions first, however.

• For the prologue, which would you prefer?
  1. We do a prologue alongside starting the first mystery scene
  2. We do a prologue before starting the first mystery scene
• Would you all like to have a companion Discord server for non-public, OOC communication?

---

RELATIONSHIP RECAP

• Jack, The Monstrous,
  • was going to be slain by Siobhan, but he ended up being significantly less threatening and there was something about him that caused the two to team up.
  • has Tina as his close niece.
  • was saved by Ali when another Hunter attempted to end Jack's unlife.
• Siobhan, The Spell-Slinger,
  • has Jack as a comrade when it comes to monster hunting.
  • knows Tina is her conscience when she gets a little power hungry.
  • used to have a workplace rivalry with Ali, but it blossomed into a tight friendship over time.
• Tina, The Mundane,
  • is a little suspicious of Siobhan because of her spell-slinging abilities
  • worships Ali because he's awesome.
  • has Jack as her close uncle.
• Ali, The Professional,
  • has a tight friendship with Siobhan, who has worked for the OITS before and is well regarded.
  • was sent to "deal with" Tina, but determined that she'd be more useful on his team.
  • has Jack on a watch list.
• Office of Interstate Transport Safety (OITS), The Agency,
  • employs Ali
  • has Jack on a watch list
  • employs Tina
  • has contracted with Siobhan

Since everyone has this connection with the OITS, they're going to be a major reason this TV show is happening at all and one of the executive producers of the show will be a high-ranking member of the organization.

---

QUESTIONS

• @DoNotFearToTread, I'm assuming the "Still, I figure it's best if I keep an eye on him so the show seems like a good choice all around." part of the description is more friendly rather than concerned. Is that correct? Due to the comrade-in-arms aspect, I just want to make sure Siobhan trusts Jack enough to consider him a comrade as they work together.
   
• @Kavonde @KingGoblin, I love the relationship angle. There isn't a need to answer necessarily in detail at the moment, but I imagine the fact that Jack died isn't insignificant to their relationship. How has their relationship changed from before the funeral to after bursting out of the coffin? Clearly, since they're working together in the present day, there is some kind of positive trust established or remaining after that incident.
   
• @zazamz12, when Ali saved Jack from the other Hunter trying to kill him, what happened?
   
• @KingGoblin, it might fit a little better to have the "Siobhan's conscience" aspect of Tina be about Siobhan's spell-slinger power. I love the paranoia aspect you gave to Siobhan where she has trouble seeing the forest for the trees when it comes to organized versus chaotic mysteries and monsters. The conscience piece I think could benefit from a little more, though.
   
• @KingGoblin, could you expand on the relationship with Tina a bit more for me? Why was Tina considered a hazard from the compromise? What made "dealing with her" a bad idea?

 

Is anyone else pumped to start?

[Kavonde]

Prologue:  I think I'd prefer to do the prologue alongside the first mystery; starting in media res is a fun idea.

Discord: I have no problem with using Discord for quick OOC stuff.

Relationship With Tina: I'd like to brainstorm together on this. I'm thinking it wasn't anything dramatic; maybe Jack and Tina just hung out and played some NES or something, and that convinced Tina he was still himself? Or maybe watched a movie or something. It's 1990, so gaming wasn't as common a pastime.

[zazamz12]

Prologue: I don't mind either, but alongside does sound cool.

Discord: I don't mind using Discord for OOC stuff as well.

Relationship with Jack: I think that, when Jack first rose from the grave, the Office was just about ready to send a team to kill and incinerate him - can't be too careful with the undead! However, upon realizing that Jack wasn't targeting humans, Ali convinced brass to let him use Jack as part of his team (sort of a 'use monsters to fight monsters' experiment).

 

Thoughts, @Kavonde?

[Kavonde]

I'm good with that. That goes well you you keeping an eye on him, too. Sort of a Suicide Squad thing.

[DoNotFearToTread]

Can You Trust Jack?: Siobhan definitely trusts Jack. They've been in some hellish situations together and he has always come through. But she knows as well as anyone how subtle and manipulative power can be and Jack is all kinds of weird power just waiting to go off. He has things in check but Siobhan is on the lookout for any signs that he might be slipping, much in the way she expects the others are watching her. Better to catch that kind of thing early.

[KingGoblin]

Prologue: I would probably prefer the prologue first, but I'm open to either idea.

Discord: Discord is fine.

Relationship with Siobhan: I don't know, her uncle is a zombie.  I don't know that she really would find a wizard to be that unusual, or scary.  More that she is foreign and possibly a terrorist.  She is probably not concerned with Siobhan using spells instead of guns, as much as she is with worry that Siobhan might use those spells indiscriminately.

Relationship with Jack: That works for me.  He is still older than her, if he is in his late 20s and she is in her early 20s, possibly late teens, being a college kid working her internship, so she probably saw him as a cousin, or much older brother.  Tina is pretty friendly, so I don't know that being zombified is likely to be as big a deal to her as it probably should; he's just got a medical condition, really, and she would be a jerk to discriminate against someone for their disability.