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Lights... Camera... ACTION!!: A Hollywood Quest

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    • Magoose said:
    Hi Magoose here one of the guys helping Duke.

    So we have some bad news.

    The quest has been canceled as duke does not want to write it anymore.

    I'm going to ask if I can take over for it, because I like this quest, and it would be a shame to kill it
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    TBF, Mags, you have been doing a lot of the heavylifting for the quest, so this will be in good hands. :)

    To be clear to everyone, this is just me burning out on imagination of the quest, since my muse has been hitting me over the head a lot with so many different ideas that I just can't find myself too interested in this.

    I'll still hang out here, though, since this still does have a sepcial place in my heart.

    I'd like to thank you all for making this a wonderful experience while it lasted.

    I'd also like to thank @Magoose, @Fluffy_serpent, and @Martin Noctis for doing so much to help prepare and write this quest. I couldn't have done it without you all. :D

    I'll see you all around.

    With so many regards, Duke William Of.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • And add to the fact that Chris Lee is directly related to Charlemagne himself?

    Well, it just adds to the awesomeness.
     
    As Gary Brennan so succinctly put it:

    "You know when you're at home and you think to yourself, 'How is my life going?' Do you ever hear articles like this(talking about Julie D'Aubigny) and think, 'I have not achieved enough in life'?"
     
    Magoose said:
    []Its not About Religion, its about Love (Autopass Carrie's religious choice option)
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    Glad you like it, my Mom was actually in a similar situation when she married my Dad, so it was definitely nice to write this and show the transition. From here as a baptized Methodist, Carrie would already be considered Catholic, but still need to go through RCIA with Bruce for education and then get confirmed and receive Communion at the Easter vigil, although if Star Wars filming conflicts with that, then I think for baptized converts it can take place at another mass in the year.

    By the way, in reference to the bodies that Cat has as Blackmail, is this something that the studios actually are covering up and some heinous shit they did in the 20's and 30's, or something made up for the Quest and just a general reference to their scummy shit? Because I can totally see the former but I don't remember ever reading something like that.
     
    Kaiser Chris said:
    By the way, in reference to the bodies that Cat has as Blackmail, is this something that the studios actually are covering up and some heinous shit they did in the 20's and 30's, or something made up for the Quest and just a general reference to their scummy shit? Because I can totally see the former but I don't remember ever reading something like that.
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    A little bit of column A, a little bit of column B.

    And add in a little bit of anti-catholic rhetoric...

    And a little bit of fiction thrown in just to show that, just because history is the same, doesn't mean I'm not going to have fun with this little... idea.

    Edit: But I am going to say this:

    George Reeves was involved in it, somewhat.
     
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    Pitch: Sleepless In Miami
  • Apocrypha
    • Pitch: Sleepless In Miami by Dave Alistair (Satirical Comedy)

    Our protagonist, Jack, is a struggling writer in the midst of the Great Depression who is having trouble sleeping. After trying everything to no avail, he turns to his neighbor, a bootlegger named Tommy, for help. Tommy provides Jack with an illegal drink he claims will help him sleep, and Jack finally sleeps like a baby. But, when he wakes up, he finds himself outside in the streets, in his pajamas, surrounded by chaos.

    Jack soon realizes that the drink Tommy gave him was not for sleeping but instead a hallucinogenic cocktail, causing him to sleepwalk and see things that aren't there. As he continues to drink the concoction, Jack's sleepwalking adventures become more and more outrageous, leading him into speakeasies, police stations, and even on a high-speed chase with Al Capone.

    Along the way, Jack meets other sleepwalkers who are addicted to these new mind-altering substances being sold by Tommy and other bootleggers. Jack becomes horrified as he observes the growing addiction and sees people's lives falling apart, including his own. He decides to take a stand and leads a group of society's outcasts, including other struggling writers and artists, to fight against the corrupt system and get Tommy and the others arrested.

    Overall, the film's a commentary on addiction, drugs, and how society has viewed different drugs through the decades, the different cocktails and criminals being stand-ins for different illicit substances and politicians, respectively.
     
  • Apocrypha
    • How to Train Your Cat
  • Apocrypha
    • How to Train Your Cat

    While you had absolutely no regrets about adopting Ginger, you had to admit that when you took her into your home, you were incredibly naïve about the demands and work that needed to be done for raising a kitten. While Ginger was a rather fun compansion to play with and keep company, if she was going to live with you as your pet, then she needed to be thoroughly trained to follow basic rules and become a civilized feline instead of a wild stray. Fortunately, her young age and seeming lack of ownership made Ginger a blank slate to educate, but it also meant that she had no formal training or foundation to work with. As an Emmy award winning Director, at the very least you had experience and made a partial living on directing and training humans, so Ginger shouldn't have been too difficult, right?

    Step 1. Pick a Name

    Once you realized that the stray you found had no possible owner and was on the verge of abandonment, you without hesitation decided to adopt the cat, but in doing so you needed a name. You spent nearly an hour staring at the young kitten as it cuddled and muzzled into your lap and chest, happy for the constant companionship. You cycled through every possible female Irish name, but nothing really spoke strongly and at the end of the day, she was a Scotswoman and not Irish. One thought that kept on being pervasive was how beautiful her fluffy ginger coat was, and for the past few days you referred to her to others as the ginger kitten.

    A lightbulb popped in your head. "Ginger O'Brian?" You tested out.

    As if answering to the suggestion, Ginger climbed up your body and happily licked your face in a loving ambush of kisses, the sandpaper-like tongue feeling both abrasive and sweet.

    You gave your newly christened pet a kiss on the top of her head, "Alright, welcome to the O'Brian family Ginger."

    Step 2. Sit

    At the end of the day, the two most fundamental commands to cats and dogs were sit and stay, two words that might have been as foreign to Ginger as Chinese. With a couple bags of treats as arsenal, you began to kitty boot camp with Ginger. You commanded Ginger to sit, and then after, gently pushed her rear downward so she would be sitting on all fours. After each time Ginger successfully did so, you gave her a little treat. After continuous repetition, Ginger's early muscle memory was getting the hang of sitting as a reward, and once you had to forego treats every time she sat, you gave her high praise and affection, which seemed to be more rewarding than a snack. Although, for a good couple of weeks, everytime you petted Ginger's rear she would automatically get into a sitting position, so it took you a bit longer to make sit a verbal command instead of a physical one.

    Step 3. Stay

    Out of all of the training, this one was probably the most physically exhaustive and emotionally difficult. As you would come to later find out, Scottish Folds were an exceptionally empathic and affectionate cat. No matter what you did, Ginger always loved to be in your company and simply seeing you in her peripheral vision seemed to light up her life and joy as if it were Christmas. Having perhaps heavily over indulged in loving affection and attention in her first few days, whenever you trained her to stay, Ginger could not understand the concept of seperation and rushed immediately to you, at best sitting still only to break her statue stance whenever you started to go out of vision, with her rushing in a frenzy to follow. Not having the energy to go into a war of attrition with a cat, you decided to simply train her by leaving your apartment or room, and whenever Ginger didn't keep up or stayed in her spot, reward her with treats. However, if you were gone too long, Ginger started to whine and cry, feeling as if she was being abandoned. Thus you had to take multiple short trips outside of your home to get Ginger used to the idea that staying and being alone wasn't a bad thing and you would always return, and once Sit was drilled in she at the very least learned to stay in one spot and was comfortable doing so when you were in the room. Hopefully having Natalie around and lots of toys would distract from any isolation or feelings of absence.

    Step 4. Food

    After discussing with your new veterinarian and the cat owning employees of Lucasfilms, you started Ginger's meals with some wet kitten food, and as she grew older, took to introducing her to small smacks of fish, cut meat and eggs and sippy cups of broth to get her used to natural food to help her grow strong muscles and bones. It was very easy to get her to associate her meals and bowls with food, though keeping her off the table and away from kitchen food proved to be a troublesome task. It also came as a very great shock to learn that milk in heavy contrast to Warner Bros cartoons, was actually very bad for cats and made their stomachs upset. You couldn't believe that the Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry would spend decades propping such dangerous propaganda. What's next, Beagles weren't black and white like Snoopy?

    Step 5. Litter Box

    Ginger's first couple of days were very accident prone and you had to dedicate a good deal of time to scrubbing the foul odor of urine and poop from the floors and carpets. After you purchased a litter box and kept it in the living room corner, Ginger could now conduct her business in peace, but for the first couple of weeks you had to be vigilant and whenever Ginger was antsy, rush and quickly carry her to the box. Eventually Ginger was able to understand what the litter box was and went to the restroom on her own, especially with treats as a positive reinforcement. Unfortunately, after you moved to your new house, you let Ginger go to the bathroom in your extensive yard, and while she was able to take the hint and started vocally requesting to head back, her markings seemed to offend Natalie as an intrusion over her territory, and for a good week or two the Dalmatian and Fold engaged in a war of the toilet to claim your yard.

    Step 6. Bed/Boundaries

    For the most part you were pretty content with Ginger having free range of the home, though you did have to have a few clear boundaries set up. This issue mainly concerned with the kitchen which had an array of sharp knives, feline-poisonous food, and other hazards you didn't want Ginger to come into contact with, and the bedroom as while you didn't mind Ginger sleeping or laying on the bed, you didn't want any intimacy with Carrie to be interrupted with Ginger's presence. Fortunately the solutions were easy enough. Placing double sided tape over the kitchen counters and island between meals forced Ginger to associate the kitchen with uncomfortable stickyness, and you were able to find a large pillow bed for ginger which when sprinkled with some light catnip and toys, became one of Ginger's favorite places to lay and sleep. Fortunately, Carrie was able to provide a rather humurous and easy solution to keeping Ginger distracted when she was unpacking her body pillows in the new home, and Ginger happily pounced on the Radar pillow and gave it heavy love and affection with endless cuddles, scratches and licks.

    Step 7. Carrier Box

    To help Ginger get ready for travel, you had to get her used to the idea of a carrier box. Covering the box in soft blankets and small fluffy pillows along with some toys, you were able to bribe ginger with treats to get in, and then every now and then, would take small drives around LA so she could get used to moving around in the box. Fortunately it was a rather simple task with Ginger simply napping or playing with her toys inside of the box, although she would grow so comfortable that she started to use it as a napping sight.

    Step 8. Walk

    With walks with Natalie being a rather happy and simple occasion, you hoped to apply the same with Ginger so that you could take her to the park and the two of you could have a happy time. Unfortunately, you learned intimately why people walked with dogs and not cats, as while dogs were obedient and happy to travel in straight lines, Ginger was a frenzy explorer and climber, never staying on the path and always doing her best to zoom off and search for something fun. After her leashed collar prove to be essentially useless in keeping her in-line, you had to buy Ginger a harness and play tug of war with your red adventurer. After a few trips to the park, you decided to postpone walking until Ginger was older due to the hot California summer pavement not being good for her paws, and the constant rush of children or dogs making the trips a nervous wreck of an affair. If anything, this served as one of the main reasons for buying Coldwater Canyon, as the quick transition to a house with three acres of yard space would give Ginger plenty of space to run around and play in private peace and comfort.

    Of course the next time you went shopping at the grocery store, you found yourself faced with a tabloid article while in line that revealed in bold headlines how the badass Bruce O'Brian was a cat person with a kitten for a pet instead of a lethal Pitbull or German Shephard.

    Step 9. Scratch Post

    With Ginger's claws starting to come in and her kitten curiosity causing her to test them out whenever she could, you had to rush to the pet store and buy some scratch posts or else you'd have to replace all the leather in your house. Despite the scratch post being a staple of the modern domestic cat, when you plopped the post in your room, Ginger looked at it in fear and intimidation like it was a intruder, refusing to stay near it without your prodding. No matter how many times you tried to push Ginger to the post and use her paws to scratch on the post, Ginger refused to budge, even with the bribing of treats.

    Finding yourself in a losing battle no matter how many ways you approached the issue, you decided to best teach by example. "Come on Ginger, there's nothing to be afraid of, even Daddy uses the scratch post see?" You then crawled on your arms and legs, and comedically scratched the post all while doing your best impression of a cat.

    "Meow, meow, meow!" You cried out, happily scratching on the block while Ginger looked at you like a lunatic.

    You continued scratching along with eliciting a number of meows and soft purrs for the next few minutes to try and coax Ginger into it, and surprisingly found the activity to be rather soothing.

    "Bruce?"

    You froze in a state of fear and eerily cocked your head towards the source of the disturbance. your eyes locked with a mortified Debbie who must have arrived unnoticed while you were engrossed in your practical instruction. At her side, Todd broke out into hysterics and was rolling on the floor and busting his gut laughing.

    Of course it was only after being caught in one of the most embarrassing moments of your life by your in-laws that Ginger actually tried out the post and took a liking to it. You became convinced that letting her tear up the furniture would have been the better outcome.

    Step 10. Living with a Dog

    Lastly and the final step you were working on, getting Ginger and Natalie to live together as sisters of sorts. Thankfully due to a lack of history with cats, Natalie was never hostile or viscious towards Ginger from the beginning, but the two's clashing personalities tended to make some conflict which would push you or Carrie to intervene. Ginger as a happy and curious kitten with an endless bundle of energy had no sense of boundaries and frequently attempted to coerce Natalie into play when the elder doggo often wanted to relax or take a nap. Ginger would often steal Natalie's toys or see the Dalmatian as one giant toy for her to have fun with, her favorite activity being "Catch the Spots" where she would try to capture Natalie's black spots for herself, which created a game where Ginger's soft paws swiped at Natalie. Natalie on the other hand had a difficult time understanding Ginger's size and temperament, treating her as a puppy and getting a bit annoyed when the free spirited Ginger wouldn't follow her lead like one. There was also some visible feelings of jealousy with the baby Ginger loving Carrie deeply as her mother and vice versa. Finding the loss of her affection monopoly to be a rather intimidating experience, the once easy going and calm Natalie became a rather clingy puppy, constantly shadowing you and Carrie and demanding to be babied and showered with endless love.

    Entering the living room and finding the two O'Brian "Daughters" to have an ongoing staring contest with Natalie observing in a pouncing lion's position and Ginger gazing back from the armrest of the couch, you exhaled a strong sigh as you did your best to plan on how to best raise your blended family.
     
  • Apocrypha
    • Magoose said:
    []It's Easy once you get the Hang of It (Auto passes the Training of the PEts Arc)
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    Very tempted to go for the Tabloid option for the Funnies, but I do want to ensure that the start of the family is smooth and neither Bruce nor Carrie have to part with one of their beloved pets. Maybe if the roll passes the DC I would go for it or the Ginger trait.
     
    Two Friends Had An Idea
  • Apocrypha
    • Two Friends Had An Idea...

    September 4, 1974: Lucasfilm Studios.

    "Ike! Ike!"

    Isaac Cullen, known by friends as "Ike", sighed goodnaturedly as he turned to see his friend Felix Graves excitedly running and bumbling towards him. In one hand was a cup of half-finished coffee while the other clutched a pile of paper as thick as an encyclopedia.

    "What is it, Felix?" Isaac asked as his friend ran up beside him as they walked toward the Lucasfilms' office building, as they usually did.

    "Right! So, I was on a movie and novel binge Sunday night, and I saw a Dracula movie and I got inspired to do something big, something huge!"

    Yep. That was his frenetic friend Felix, alright. His friend would bounce back and forth between movie and show ideas like a cat desperately avoiding water splashing on it.

    "Sorry, mate," he promptly replied, "but Dracula's already been done to death by several B-Movies, so unless you've got something truly amazing up your sleeve, I don't see it."

    Felix grinned at him as they walked into the office, seemingly expecting Ike to have said that. "Ah-Ha! That's where I have you, for I'm not thinking of something so simple as that. I'm thinking of something greater, something truly groundbreaking."

    Felix then cheekily paused for greater dramatic effect.

    "...Sherlock Holmes meets Urban Fantasy."

    "Go on." It wasn't quite as groundbreaking as Felix implied it was, but the concept definitely had a lot of potential.

    "Alright, so I've been doing some research on some British and Irish folklore and fairytales, as well as influential novels whose authors I'm pretty sure are dead..."


    "So the entire reason you're making the movie take place in Ireland and involve leprechauns is because you want to, what, bribe Bruce O'Brian into endorsing it?"

    "That's a bit of an oversimplification, but yes."

    "...I do hope, for your sake, that he won't see this as a jab at the Irish people and culture given the whole leprechaun thing."

    "Oh, it's not just leprechauns I'm putting in, but clurichauns, fae, giants, hobs..."


    "Wendy's the leader of the Lost Boys now instead of Peter Pan?"

    "I figured that since Wendy helped raise the Lost Boys and taught them manners and stuff like that, I figured that she's basically the caring and stern matron of an orphanage."

    "That does fit her personality."

    "And let's be honest, mate, Peter Pan would hate any of the responsibilites of leadership that didn't involve playing, commanding, or fighting."


    "And for America, I'm thinking that we could-"

    "Felix."

    "Yeah?"

    "You came up with all of this since Sunday night?"

    "Of course!"

    "...I'm in. But first, I want to shoot some of my own ideas. First, I have some ideas regarding other Peter Pan characters. Starting with the crocodile, Tick-Tock."


    A/N: This is a short omake I made to both get us some more bonuses and to promote my upcoming pitch Devil's Hour: Dead Man's Gold, as well as a possible franchise starting with it.

    It's a collaboration between me and @King crimson, with me doing the writing, Crimson beta reading and providing constructive criticism, and the both of us throwing ideas out there for possible characters and plots. So shoutout and endless thanks to Crimson for enduring my endless ideas that are fueled by ADHD. :p

    Felix and Isaac are stand-ins for me and Crimson, with Felix being me and Ike being Crimson.
     
  • Apocrypha
    • Duke William of said:
    "Wendy's the leader of the Lost Boys now instead of Peter Pan?"

    "I figured that since Wendy helped raise the Lost Boys and taught them manners and stuff like that, I figured that she's basically the caring and stern matron of an orphanage."

    "That does fit her personality."

    "And let's be honest, mate, Peter Pan would hate any of the responsibilites of leadership that didn't involve playing, commanding, or fighting."
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    This actually makes too much sense like Peter doesn't look to me he wants to be leader
     
    Duke William of said:
    "Wendy's the leader of the Lost Boys now instead of Peter Pan?"

    "I figured that since Wendy helped raise the Lost Boys and taught them manners and stuff like that, I figured that she's basically the caring and stern matron of an orphanage."

    "That does fit her personality."

    "And let's be honest, mate, Peter Pan would hate any of the responsibilites of leadership that didn't involve playing, commanding, or fighting."
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    This makes so much sense. There's only been one version of Peter Pan that I've found held the responsibility of the Lost Boys and that's The Child Thief by Brom. Even then he mostly cares about their survival in order to use them against the forces of Neverland.

    Duke William of said:
    This is a short omake I made to both get us some more bonuses and to promote my upcoming pitch Devil's Hour: Dead Man's Gold, as well as a possible franchise starting with it.
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    I'm exited to see what you guys come up with.
     
    BuKoG said:
    This actually makes too much sense like Peter doesn't look to me he wants to be leader
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    Redeyesinferno said:
    This makes so much sense. There's only been one version of Peter Pan that I've found held the responsibility of the Lost Boys and that's The Child Thief by Brom. Even then he mostly cares about their survival in order to use them against the forces of Neverland.
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    Yeah, it was a simple change that didn't really require much effort, but it's still an effective twist due to it making sense. Though, I will note that Peter Pan and Wendy won't be appearing in the movie, it's just Felix(a.k.a. me) throwing out various ideas that could also appear in the Devil's Hour franchise.

    I'd love to see something like this happen in a real movie, and I hope Dis-

    *Remembers the soulless, dull-looking live-action adaptation of Peter Pan that Disney is making.*

    ...Oh, right. Forgot that they'll never do anything original because money. :V
     
    Moon said:
    Anyone remember Fox Kid's Peter Pan cartoon? That rocked.
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    Just saw a bit of it. I can see that being a responsible Peter Pan. But I just can't see him as responsible for the Lost Boys in the type of setting they're coming up with. I'm getting a Dresden Files feel from their pitch, while a responsible Peter only works as a cartoon in my head.
     
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