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.
-[X]Preparing for the Great Caper of...Stuntwork: You are going to be Batman. So time to get everyone else to the level so that you can be batman. DC: 30 Rolled:D100 + 30 => 38
Honestly, they were not up to your standards. But they would have to do.
Reward: The Stunt team you have is not great, but they will do good.
-[X]And So We Begin: You always wanted to know what it was like to work with someone else pushing a deadline… time to see if such a thing can be praised. DC: 0 Rolled:D100 => 3
-[X]The Kathleen Situation: You looked at Kathleen, who was very surprised to see you… and then you saw the several looks that she got. And then, there was the words that followed. DC: 15. Rolled:D100 => 45
-[X]Keeping the Company Men Happy?: You are going to the mandatory meeting and see what the hell they want. DC: ??? Rolled:D100 => 93
Kathleen was waiting at the door. "Bruce, before you enter, you have to promise me something. You cannot kill anyone, or do that thing you do where you destroy people's entire livelihoods because they were mean to me or any one of the cast."
You frowned. "What the hell would make you say that?"
Kathleen crossed her arms. "You know what you did."
"For once I don't." You replied. Though you did know.
But as you entered the board room you looked at the several suits that were there and you could feel the fear and the hatred from them.
"Well, I'm here, despite me wanting to be anywhere else." You replied.
Alan and the stiff and empty suits were watching. But instead, one spoke as if he had been waiting for a long time. "WE have… demands."
You raised an eyebrow. "Okay. And I can go through this door and-"
"Bruce." Kathleen tried her best to keep calm. "Hear them out."
You frowned. You looked at the clock. "You have five minutes."
Alan laughed. "You really think we can go through hundreds of pages of contract to"
"I know you're losing money, and the sooner I get this film done, the sooner we can all get ahead and be through with this, seeing as many of you are openly contemptuous about my vision for Batman." You stated, with Kathleen trying her best to not be utterly shocked at you.
Everyone in the room was shocked. "I have work to do, so if you can't condense it down to five minutes, then what are we doing here?"
At that the empty suit next to Alan was blustering, and clearly… unhappy. Than Alan waved his hand. "Can I have the room for five minutes?"
Everyone got the hint, and they left, leaving only you, and Kathleen. "You really like making enemies, don't you Bruce?"
"Well if people were better, they wouldn't see me as one." You replied.
Alan laughed at that. "Oh I wish I had your confidence to fire everyone here, everyone in this room is a money-grubbing, soul-sucking, untalented hack. Myself included." He then looked out the window. "I'm going to give you an assistant to help you with the film, someone on my payroll that I trust."
"You think someone will sabotage the film?"
Alan chuckled. "Nope. Not you. Her." He pointed to Kathleen. "You got removed from Superman Kat, and I'm sorry about that, nothing I can do-"
"What?" She asked. "I did everything those-"
"Yes, you did, and that wasn't enough, despite my protests, because you are unknown, and frankly naive to think that your work would be appreciated by people who do not understand the first thing about that kind of drive." He stated. "But in doing that, I managed to spread some rumors that should keep you safe from losing another credit."
Kathleen was surprised. "What?"
"Well, I just told them that Bruce was an asshole, to everyone on set." He smiled and you frowned at that. "They think that it's going to be a nightmare production over the next three months."
He then turned to you. "I have a feeling it won't."
Reward: Alan played his entire board like a fiddle and managed to get you three months to get the film done, and thankfully, things are going to be okay after that.
Kathleen was removed from Superman's producer credits due to office politics.
But you also gained two actions for the remainder of the production of Batman.
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-[X]Clint's Caper: You and Clint are looking at the script and he laughs. "Well I don't have to worry about typecasting me as a hero anymore… Everyone will think I'm too good after this script." DC: 30 Rolled:D100 => 100
-[X]John showing off: John has a slingshot and now he's showing off. DC: 10 Rolled:D100 => 84
Clint was smiling as you were back on set, everything was done for a day of shooting. "Well then, seems that most of everyone here thinks that it's a shitty place to work on, and no fun will be had at all." He then gave a hug. "Good work kid."
"Honestly I didn't do anything." You replied.
"Well don't let John know that." He replied. "He's been shooting cards with that sling shot for the last hour, trying to get ready."
"He hurt anyone?"
"Besides a few's pride." He replied. "He's really good, where did he learn to shoot?"
"Don't know, must have done something in the work." You replied. "But hey, is he-"
"He chewed out the armorer for handing him a loaded firearm without telling him, and not being told it was blanks, before he disassembled the pistol and told him off."
"Well that could have been worse, at least no one got hurt." You stated. "How's everyone else doing?"
"Well they are following my lead, it seems, taking the relaxed approach, and being clearly into many things. Giving you an easy time is one of them." He replied. "And giving it their all?"
"Whys that?"
"Well for a few things, you are actually putting the money where the mouth is. And also they really hope to see something cool." Clint said. "They want to see you in the bat costume."
"Well, we have plenty of time for that next month." You replied.
REward: Clint has, basically, given you a steller reputation for everyone, making things a lot easier. And John fired a negligent armorer and got another, far more professional one in his place.
-30 to Production roll.
Clint, John, and everyone in the cast gain a +30 to SP and Chemistry rolls.
All Batman production actions gain a +20.
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-[X]Preparing for the Great Caper of...Stuntwork: You are going to be Batman. So time to get everyone else to the level so that you can be batman. DC: 30 Rolled:D100 + 30 => 38
Honestly, they were not up to your standards. But they would have to do.
Reward: The Stunt team you have is not great, but they will do good.
Well looks like Batman got to as good of a start as it can get without total crit successes. Corpo assholes are put in their place, Kathleen's credit for Batman is protected and she still has a future with Columbia, we vibe with Clint and John and things are looking great production wise with strong bonuses. With the -30 together with the -40, that means we have a -70 to production disaster rolls so as long as we don't get a nat 100 then the production of Batman is going to be very smooth sailing.
Pretty cool that John is such a crack shot and he's taking his Deadshot training so seriously, guess he stopped by the Bruce Lee Gym. I really hope that dumbass we fired was the guy who worked on the Crow and nearly giving John Travolta a loaded gun has him be shunned from Hollywood and out of work so Brandon is protected. Good on John for having such a sharp eye, looking forward to the fight scenes, although the Great Caper should be 48 thanks to our +10 for action directing.
Sad that Hardcore isn't a massive hit, but honestly to be expected considering that it's a very intense crime film that even your casual moviegoer will be a bit put off by, let's hope it's at least got decent reception and will make back its budget with some profit. Also looks like Gundam is going strong. Hopefully it can be near equal to Star Wars and from here we begin the start of the Anime invasion. Magoose, is Gundam this turn just being released in Japan or in both Japan and America?
By the way, I'm guessing from the nat 69 that Char is going to have a lot of fangirls across the Pacific and Sayla, Mirai and Fraw Baw are going to be childhood waifus? lol.
-[X]The Things that Brandon wants: You are going to talk to Brandon, and find out just what he wants. DC: ??? Rolled:D100 => 85
You looked at the young boy as he sat at his table. His mother far away talking to Carrie about the situation that happened.
But you took a breath and sat down next to him, feeling a sense of not only guilt but shame, not only of his actions but of your own. "You're very lucky." You said quietly, as you took a breath. "Your mother didn't punish you as mine or others might have done,"
Brandon said nothing, as he just looked down at his shoes. "I miss him too. He helped me through so much when I first started my career. Helped me hone my strengths and shore up my weaknesses and there is not a day that goes by that I don't miss him too."
Brandon then looked at you and said. "Easy for you to say, you didn't lose your dad."
"I know." You replied. "But that pain won't just go away."
Brandon then spat. "Yeah, that's what everyone keeps saying and I hate the fact that everyone does. So how does it go away?"
You took a breath. "That's for you to decide. Not me or anyone else."
Brandon then sighed as if he realized that he was now talking to a brick wall. "Can you teach me how to fight like my dad?"
There were hundreds of other students that he could have asked, who were far better to train him. But he was asking you. "I'll think about it."
Reward: Brandon is going to begin to heal far more.
Brandon has also asked you to train him.
Linda has punished him appropriately. He's going to be caring for Mary for a few weeks.
Glad to see that all's well that ends well with Brandon, Linda gave him an appropriate punishment and we didn't need to do a full Miyagi training arc with him. Dude seems to be in a lot of pain and it's only right for Bruce to honor his master by training his son, really help Brandon grow as a young man and get some direction.
Although I gotta say, Bruce and Carrie sure have an odd way of caring for Mary by leaving her in the care of a coke addict and a teenager who broke into their house, lol. Well, Mary did wonders for Robin so maybe she can work some of her magic on Brandon.
How's Shannon doing? Presumably better.
Also have we met Chuck Norris and what does he think of us? I guess by training Brandon we proved ourselves decisively as Bruce's prime disciple.
AWWWW!!!! Made my eyes tear up from the sweet wholesomeness. Really happy to have Bruce dedicate an action every turn to Mary, she definitely deserves a great father and it's nice to see Bruce always being there for his daughter and forming loving memories with her. Did Mary say the same thing to Carrie later?
We could maybe try getting Bruce to learn Parkour? If I have my history correct it was invented around this time or at least the early version of it when it was (or is) used by some military and firefighters in France.
Good on you for getting into One Piece but I would strongly advise against blindly purchasing Starfield Day one. This is Bethesda the king of lies we are talking about and even though all the footage looks amazing, Cyberpunk 2077 followed a similar pattern and look how that turned out. So far there's contradictory videos and articles from people who played it on it being great or shit so there's no guarantee it's gonna be amazing from launch like a Nintendo game. At least wait a couple of days and watch some footage before moving through so you don't get ripped off.
Although in saying all of this, I unironically want for LucasArts to hire Todd Howard. The chess nerd seems like a decent fit and could thrive in a non-toxic environment with oversight. The brilliance of Todd also is that no matter how his games turn out, he'll always convince millions of gamers to buy his next game through sheer force of charisma.
Although in saying all of this, I unironically want for LucasArts to hire Todd Howard. The chess nerd seems like a decent fit and could thrive in a non-toxic environment with oversight. The brilliance of Todd also is that no matter how his games turn out, he'll always convince millions of gamers to buy his next game through sheer force of charisma.
If we can redeem Mike Eisner and Kathleen Kennedy, who don't have the pretenatural charisma the legendary Hodd Toward has, we can redeem him as well. Especially if Mike can cultivate Hodd's advertising and PR skills: we'd be way ahead of the curve by then. And of course, we need to bring on the legendary Reanu Keeves as well if we're bringing Hodd on as well.
Also, yeah, I never trusted Starfield or Bethesda as well. Although, the drama about Starfield's opening menu was absolutely stupid.
Huzzah! Allow me to be the first to contribute, if you wouldn't mind me doing so.
Spider-Man Noir Season I
Issue #8: Before Your Eyes
GENRE: Superhero/Noir
SUBGENRE: Drama/Gangster
FORMAT: TV Show/Comic Run (Animation/Possible Franchise)
Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Katherine "Kitty" Pryde
Elizabeth "Liz" Allan
Mark Allan
Bennett "Ben" Urich
Gustav Fiers
Norman Osborn / Goblin
Introduced This Episode:
Dmitri Smyerdakov / Frederick Noyes / Guy Thierrault / "Mark Allan" / The Chameleon
Spencer Smythe
Josef Petkus
Grady Scraps
Roger Harrington
We open to an assembly of factory workers late at night where many have gathered to hear outspoken Communist Frederick Noyes, a slender man with swarthy black hair and jagged stubble wearing a cheap suit and newsboy cap, speak. As the crowd chatters and talks among themselves, Noyes clears his throat before calling for his fellow workers to lend him their ears. Once the crowd has settled down, he then addresses his audience before launching into a fiery speech about how all these big businesses like Smythe Forges and Oscorp have slowly but surely shackled the people into lives of abject poverty to keep the common man reliant on them for sustenance. As the crowd murmurs in angered agreement, Noyes continues and says that this deep injustice, however, is not at all insurmountable. "For a man is only enslaved if he believes that he is enslaved," Noyes confidently states, slowly growing more and more energetic as he enraptures the audience with his speech, "but if he knows that he is free, then he is free! No more will he tolerate the platitudes of the soulless corporate vampires that feast upon the misery of the people, no more will he live the lie that he is only worth the sinks or gears that he makes! The power belongs in the hands of you, the people! Take it! Take it for your wives, your husbands, and your children!"
As the workers explode into raucous cheer and applaud the speech, with the security there struggling to keep things under control, Noyes quietly slips away in all the commotion and makes his way into a dark and narrow alleyway. Cautiously looking around for a second or two, he then pulls off his glasses before quickly grabbing a nearby suitcase and opening it. He rifles through it for a few seconds as he takes off his hat and pulls off his cheap suit. We then cut to the back of Noyes's head as he ducks down and, after unclipping something at his neck, gently pulls off the full-head disguise that he had been wearing, revealing an inhumanly smooth and featureless head. We then cut to the entrance of the alleyway as the unassuming banker Guy Thierrault, a balding man with a thin pencil mustache wearing square glasses and an expensive necktie and coat, steps out from the shadows. He wipes some dust off of his shoulder and fixes his tie before casually walking back home after a long day of work.
We then cut to the opening credits and theme song playing, before the Title Card drops.
Before Your Eyes
We cut to Peter in class as his history teacher Roger Harrington begins to assign partners for a project. "Mr. Parker, you will be partnered with Mr. Vogel," he drones as Peter nods in acknowledgment, "Miss Fisher, you will be partnered with Mr. McKeever. And Miss Pryde, your partner will be Miss Allan." Peter visibly winces at the mention of the last partnership before turning to look at Kitty, who looks like a toddler who's just been told that Santa isn't real. As Liz Allan tsks uninterestedly in front of them, Peter tries to reach out to Kitty only to swiftly backtrack when his friend snaps a pencil that she'd been holding in two. "This'll be interesting at the very least," he quietly mutters to himself before jotting down some notes to distract himself.
We smash cut to the school bell ringing as Peter and Kitty make their way next to the class, with Peter nodding along as Kitty angrily rants about how she'll be stuck doing most of the work while Liz Allan polishes her nails and makes kissy face at the next jock that catches her eye. Kitty eventually stops her long-winded rant to catch her breath, after which Peter stays silent for a few seconds before saying that at least she won't have to work with Dash. Kitty deadpans that she'd phase herself into the center of the earth before letting herself be subjected to Dash's everything, which causes Peter to chuckle in amusement before replying that he'd probably look into doing that too if he were in the same position. He then gives her a soft smile and, not noticing the slight panic on Kitty's face, more seriously says that while Kitty doesn't have to like working with Liz, she will have to suck up her dislike for the girl for the time being. "You can loathe her all you want after the project," Peter advises, "but unless you're interested in failing this assignment, you'll have to shove that hatred down the drain for now." Kitty takes in a calming breath before letting another one out, smiling a little as she thanks Peter for the advice. Peter good-naturedly tells her to not sweat it as they enter their next class.
We transition to Peter in costume later that day as he parkours his way around NYC, conserving his web-fluid for the time, all the while thinking about the school project and what he needs to do to complete his part. He's stopped dead in his tracks, however, when he overhears a commotion from nearby. Turning to look at where the noise is coming from, he sees many angry workers in a Smythe Forges factory, led by Frederick Noyes, going on strike, with the few security guards there trying their best to keep the situation under control. Outside the factory, a small crowd has gathered to watch the strike, with one or two jeering at the protestors for being "Dirty Commies". Quickly making his way over there, Peter perches on top of a nearby building and watches the situation unfold, preparing himself to intervene should it become necessary. Down below, the increasingly restless strikers demand for better wages and workplace safety, chanting, "The power's in our hands! The power's in our hands!" As the guards tense and slowly reach for their weapons, Noyes asks a man beside him, Grady Scraps, to momentarily lead the strike while he goes to the washroom before quietly slipping off. As the tension in the air grows more and more restless, the strikers start pushing and shoving the guards around, who respond likewise as a full-scale brawl threatens to erupt between the two sides.
Then...
KABOOM
An explosion rattles the factory and the surrounding area as both strikers and guards are sent to the ground in shock, with Peter watching in horror as every window within a close radius shatters and a portion of the factory's roof collapses as a fire starts raging inside. As people start to desperately flee the scene, with some helping those hurt in the explosion, Peter doesn't stop to think. He moves.
Quickly shooting out a line of webbing, he swings over to the factory and smoothly swings inside through a shattered window, landing feet first on a raised platform. Coughing and hurriedly waving the darkening smoke away, Peter looks around and sees a few people either too injured to flee or trapped under pieces of debris, the fire slowly inching its way toward them. Springing into action, Spider-Man hastily drops down to the floor and begins to push debris off of people. Gently picking up an unconscious man off the ground, he turns to one of the less injured workers and asks him to get him out of here, which the guy does with little hesitation. Spider-Man then quickly works to free the rest of the trapped workers while also webbing up falling debris, the last one being an old, frail worker whose knee had been broken by a falling brick. Quickly scooping the moaning man into a bridal carry, he then rushes for the exit as bits and chunks of the roof fall behind him and flames seemingly race after him.
Spider-Man makes his way out just as the building is consumed by flames, triggering a small cascade of muted cheers to ring out as he hands the old man over to one of the other workers to be looked over. As he pauses to take a breather, Grady approaches and, offering a bottle of beer, thanks him for saving their hides earlier. Spider-Man kindly welcomes him but politely declines the beer before asking how everyone is doing. "Poor Larry's going to have to use crutches for the rest of his life, and Big Joe's gonna be out for a few weeks," Grady answers as he runs his hand through his hair, "Other than that, though, we should be good." Spider-Man nods in relief at that before asking if he knows what could have caused the explosion. Grady's face sours at that, and he answers in mild frustration that he has no idea and that they'd been just fine the last time he checked. He then tells Spider-Man he should go before the police get there; he needs to go figure out where the hell Noyes went off to. As Grady walks off, all the while muttering about how Noyes had better not leave him to do all the work, Peter stands there silently as the gears slowly turn in his head.
We smash cut to Kitty and Liz in the library as Kitty attempts to work on the history project while Liz, completely uninterested in doing any work, leafs through a fashion magazine. Seeing that Liz isn't helping, Kitty sucks in a sharp breath before asking Liz as politely as she can to please help her work on the project so that they'll get a passing grade. Liz, not bothering to look up from her magazine, condescendingly asks Kitty why she can't do most of the work herself if she's so smart. Unable to control herself, Kitty sarcastically bites back that maybe she can't do it because she becomes dumber the longer she's around Liz's stupid face. Initial shock at the insult turning into fury, Liz glares at Kitty and tells her to repeat that again, which Kitty obliges a little too eagerly. The project is forgotten as the two then begin to throw barbs and insults at each other, with Kitty calling Liz a talentless idiot who's only popular because she looks and acts like she's auditioning for that Hefner magazine while Liz fires back that Kitty is an unlikable nerd who's only kept around by her "friends" because she helps them get good grades. The argument then escalates into a shouting match as the two begin to-
We smash cut to the two being kicked out of the library by one of the employees, who nasally tells them to only come back once they're fixed those horrible manners of theirs. As the library doors close in front of them, an awkward silence fills the air as they stand there. "...Your fault," they suddenly hiss at the same time as they turn to glare at each other.
We then cut to Peter in costume as he knocks on Urich's window two days later, clinging to the wall beside it as he patiently waits for a response. After a few seconds, a grumpy and tired Urich, who's wearing a fluffy blue bathrobe, groggily opens the window before doing a double-take when he sees Spider-Man. When asked just what the heck is he doing, Spider-Man quickly replies that he needs help investigating a guy called Frederick Noyes, to which Urich hurriedly tells him to come in before someone spots them.
As Spider-Man quickly jumps in, he asks if Urich knows of the man, to which Urich quickly responds that he's been investigating the bastard ever since he heard about the explosion at Smythe Forges. "You can't trust the damn Commies with even a dollhouse without it bursting into flames," Urich remarks as he rifles through a cardboard box, with Peter rolling his eyes under his mask. Urich finds the cut out article he's been looking for and pins it to his conspiracy corkboard before inviting Spider-Man to take a gander at it all. The corkboard is now halfway filled with pictures of and articles about Frederick Noyes, apparently a former tailor who closed down his shop and became a traveling speaker and advocate for Communism. Urich grabs a cookie from a nearby cookie jar and comments that plenty of people lose their minds once they hit middle age, but the situation with Fredrick Noyes smells of something far more suspicious. Spider-Man seems to follow along but asks Urich to elaborate and clarify.
Urich, taking a bite of the cookie, states that everywhere Fredrick Noyes has shown up since he became a Communist speaker has had a series of accidents happen to nearby companies. Urich says that though he doesn't have a full picture of what's going on, he currently believes that Frederick Noyes is actually a professional saboteur who was hired by a large and powerful company to sabotage their competitors, with the whole Communism thing being an act to distract people from what's really going on. Spider-Man thinks over it before nodding and admits that it is a solid theory and that it would explain why Noyes seemingly left the protest out of the blue, though they'll need to do some more investigating before that's proven to be true. He then turns to the cookie jar and asks if he can have some, and Urich bluntly replies that he can have just the one cookie.
We cut to Osborn in his office as a furious Spencer Smythe, the aging CEO of Smythe Forges, accuses him over the phone of having been the one riling his workers into striking and causing the fire at the factory. Osborn coldly denies that he had anything to do with the fire and says that what happened that day was merely an unfortunate accident that could have happened to anyone. "An unfortunate accident?!?!" Smythe exclaims in irate astonishment before adding, "I would sooner believe that the death of Julius Caesar was an unfortunate accident than this farce!" He then pauses to clear his throat before stating that he has spoken with Mr. Manfredi and that they have both decided that business with Osborn and his associates will cease until recompense has been paid for this transgression. Osborn's eyes narrow as he retorts in a dangerous tone that Smythe has no proof that he was behind this, to which Smythe somewhat smugly replies that Osborn has no proof that he is innocent of the matter either. He then curtly bids a good day to Osborn before hanging up on him.
Osborn snarls at the slight and slams the receiver down. Taking a moment to calm himself, he then presses a button on his desk and, speaking into a microphone, calls for Gustav Fiers to come to his office immediately. A few seconds later, Gustav quickly appears and, closing the door behind him, asks, "You wished to see me, sir?" Osborn curtly nods and tells Gustav that he is to conduct a thorough investigation and interrogation of every pickpocket, enforcer, and lieutenant who answers to the Goblin regarding the fire at the Smythe Forges factory. "If I find that someone, anyone, did this behind my back, I shall drag the perpetrators into hell myself," Osborn remarks with cool anger before dismissing Gustav.
We then cut to the next day in Liz's living room, her home a small mansion filled with many gaudy decorations and furniture, as Kitty and Liz continue to struggle with working on the project, with not much progress being made as the two are not able to work without ribbing at the other every few seconds. After a while, Liz threatens to kick Kitty out of the house if she keeps running her mouth like that, to which Kitty sardonically retorts that they'll both fail the project but only one of them will bounce back from it. Liz's face subtly falters for just a second, but she quickly shakes it off and begins to return her own scathing insult. A sudden ring from the nearby telephone interrupts her, however. Rolling her eyes, she condescendingly tells Kitty that she has more important people to talk to before strutting over to the phone, with Kitty childishly sticking her tongue out behind Liz's back before continuing to work on her part of the project.
As Liz picks up and answers the phone, the scene splits in two as her step-brother Mark shows up on the right side of the screen at a payphone and playfully greets her as his favorite little sister in the whole world. Liz giggles and jokingly replies that she's his only little sister, to which her brother chuckles lightly and says that that doesn't change what he said. Liz smiles a little before asking Mark when he'll be back from work, to which Mark responds that he'll be back in about two to three hours due to having finished work early. He then asks her how she's doing on that school project due for tomorrow, which causes Liz to frown as she hesitantly says that they're working on it.
Mark, picking up on Liz's hesitation, pointedly asks her how much work they've been able to do, sighing disappointedly when Liz mumbles back that they're halfway to finishing half. "I know you hate history, I really do," Mark sympathetically states, "but you can't afford to fail it just because you dislike your partner. Besides, you know how Mom and Dad will react if you get a bad grade." Liz unhappily mutters that they only care when she makes them look bad, to which Mark sighs and asks her to at least try to get a good grade for him if she won't try for them. Liz, a small turmoil of emotions present on her face, slowly nods before saying that she'll try. Mark smiles faintly and says that that's all he asks. He then says goodbye and that he loves her, with her doing the same before he hangs up and Liz takes up the whole scene again.
Taking in a deep breath, Liz then slowly walks over to where Kitty is, who turns to Liz and curtly asks what she wants now. Liz begrudgingly answers that although Kitty is about as likable as a drunk hobo, she is willing to tolerate Kitty's presence and not insult her if only so that she won't fail this project. Kitty, a little stunned, silently absorbs what Liz just said for a few seconds before asking if they can go back to hating each other after they're done with the project, to which Liz emphatically replies yes. Letting out a disappointed groan, Kitty begrudgingly agrees to tolerate Liz as well, and the two finally begin to work on the project.
We transition to Spider-Man and Urich as they quietly observe the home of Frederick Noyes from behind some bushes, waiting for some construction workers at a nearby house to leave. While they wait, Spider-Man quickly goes over their plan of attack once again before Urich interrupts him, saying that he already got it last time and the three other times before that. Spider-Man initially tries to defend himself but stops when he sees the construction workers leave, hurriedly telling Urich that now's their chance. The two rush over to a window connected to the living room and, swiftly prying it open, infiltrate the house. Spider-Man crawls through the window with the stealthy grace of a ninja; Urich, on the other hand, strugglingly wriggles like a slug before unceremoniously plopping face-first onto the floor. Letting out a curse and rubbing his nose, Urich staggers up to his feet as Spider-Man looks around the house and mutters that it seems a bit bourgeoise for a professed Communist. Urich retorts that of course a fake Communist wouldn't exactly be a paragon of Communist virtues before saying that they should split up so that they can cover more ground. Spider-Man nods and readily agrees that it's a good idea, and the two split up, with Spider-Man checking the kitchen and living room and Urich checking the other rooms.
Although Spider-Man doesn't find that much of interest in the living room, he does note that the place doesn't seem to have been dusted in weeks as he runs a gloved finger across a desk, collecting an ungodly amount of dust on it. Shaking his head in mild disdain, he then heads over to the kitchen where he's immediately struck by a rather bad stench. Pinching his nose and gagging at how utterly putrid the smell is, Spider-Man checks the cupboards and fridge to find that most, if not all, of the food has gone rotten. "Something's real fishy about this situation right now," he sardonically comments, "and it ain't the spoiled sardines in the room." As Spider-Man walks out of the kitchen so that he can actually breathe, however, he's startled out of his wits by a sudden cry of shock and horror from across the house. Realizing that it was Urich who screamed, he dashes over and calls out to Urich if he's safe. Turning a corner, he finds an ashen-faced Urich hunched over and leaning against a wall, the hardened reporter struggling not to hurl as he sucks in sharp breaths. When Spider-Man asks what's wrong, Urich can only shake his head and point at the bathroom behind him, the door open just a crack. Spider-Man rushes into the room and, slamming the door wide open, is greeted with the rotting corpse of the real Frederick Noyes lying in the bathtub, its feet stiffly sticking out in the air as the rest is mercifully hidden by some bathtub curtains. A putrid smell wafts in the air as seemingly hundreds of flies buzz around the room, a rat or two scurrying away at the sight of a human.
Utterly horrified and disgusted, Peter clamps his hand over his mouth and nose and hurriedly stumbles back, tripping over himself and falling flat on the floor. A short and tense silence then fills the air as Spider-Man, pulling his mask up to his nose, tries to process what he just saw, heavy breathing being the only sound that is made. After a few seconds of this, Urich takes the opportunity to note that judging by the smell and look of the body, Noyes has been dead for two weeks at the very least. Spider-Man, stammering a little, incredulously asks how the hell he can be rotting away in the bathroom while also starting strikes and sabotaging factories.
Urich sighs a long and deep sigh before asking if Spider-Man has ever heard of the Chameleon Killings before. Spider-Man merely stares at Urich in confusion, which Urich takes as a "no" and says that that's understandable. He then explains that back around the spring of '37, a series of killings targeting prominent Fascists and Anti-Communists shocked the British political landscape. A full-scale manhunt was launched that would turn up the name, or rather codename, of the killer: The Chameleon—an infamous KGB agent and master of disguise wanted by every free nation of the West. If you could imagine a person, the Chameleon could become that person to a tee.
"...If the Chameleon was infamous, then surely that'd make him a shite spy, right?" Spider-Man pointedly asks when Urich finishes his explanation, to which Urich shrugs and says that it's less applicable when the spy in question can turn from an Irish sailor into a Negro porter in the blink of an eye. Spider-Man slowly nods in agreement before saying that, to get things back on track, if their "Noyes" truly is the Chameleon, then that makes things just a little more complicated since every big business is now a potential victim instead of perpetrator. Urich smiles a little and states that it doesn't actually complicate things that much, stating that the Smythe Forges factory fire was probably a test or a distraction before going for the bigger prizes. When Spider-Man, who lights up under his mask, asks who the next targets might be, Urich answers that it can only be two: Fortress Inc. or Oscorp. The two quickly hash out a plan and agree to split up once again, with Urich investigating Fortress Inc. while Spider-Man snoops around Oscorp. As they get ready to leave, however, Spider-Man tells Urich to try to not get kicked out of Fortress Inc. yet again, to which Urich responds that he can't promise anything. "Oh, grand," Spider-Man quietly mutters under his breath.
We smash cut to Liz and Kitty as they finally manage to finish the history project after an excruciating period of having to put up with each other. As the girls slump into their chairs and let out sighs of overwhelming relief, the front door opens as a tired, but happy, Mark struts inside. Closing the door behind him, he happily greets Liz and envelops her in a massive bear hug, which causes her to blush in somewhat mortified embarrassment as she whines and tries to get him to stop. He eventually acquiesces, ruffling her hair just a little, before smiling and introducing himself to a subtly amused Kitty, who introduces herself as well. Mark then turns to the finished school project and, taking a quick look, complements their fine work on covering the Korean War, boasting that they'll certainly get an A+ now. He then tells Liz that he's gonna go take a long shower now and that he bought some brownies if she wants a snack. As he walks upstairs, a beet-red Liz turns to pointedly stare at Kitty, who rolls her eyes and promises to never mention or speak of this to anyone ever. "Good," Liz replies, "I'd have to waste my precious time destroying your social life if you did."
We then cut to Peter out of costume as he walks through Oscorp Tower, ostensible there to visit Harry but really there to look around for any suspicious activity. Running into a secretary, he politely asks if she can tell him where he can find Harry Osborn. She replies that she last saw him at a nearby break room and gives him directions to said break room, after which Peter thanks her before walking off in that direction. As he walks, he quietly mumbles that Oscorp really needs to make its buildings less confusing to navigate. It feels like a labyrinth than a-
He stops dead in his tracks, having overheard a faint noise from a nearby office. Subtly craning his head, he sees an office door that is just barely cracked open, from which suspicious rustling noises can be heard. Peter's eyes widen slightly before quickly narrowing, and he clenches his fists as he carefully looks around to make sure no one is around. No one on the left, and no one on the right.
Taking in a deep breath, he then barges in... and sees a startled Mark Allan stashing some files into a briefcase. His face turning tomato red at his very embarrassing mistake, Peter stammeringly apologizes for his impoliteness and goes to leave, but Mark, after quickly closing the briefcase, tells him to please stay; the two of them need to have a private chat. Wincing, Peter turns back around and closes the door behind him, a guilty expression on his face. Mark stares at Peter for a moment before asking him what his name is, which Peter then promptly provides. "Peter," Mark says while continuing to stare at him, "though I do accept your apology, I feel obligated to warn you to not pull another stunt like this again. Snooping around in places you shouldn't be in isn't a habit you should get used to." Peter nods contritely and again apologizes for barging in on him like that, saying that he'd thought something suspicious was happening in the office and that he'd just wanted to help. Mark's face softens a little, but not that much, and the older boy sighs as he picks his briefcase up. Slowly approaching Peter, he then clasps Peter's shoulder a little roughly and says that he appreciates Peter trying to help but that he shouldn't have tried to play hero. Peter replies that, with all due respect, if no one steps up to be a hero, then bad people will be able to get away with doing evil things. Mark, his face turning contemplative, and responds that while that is a good point, Peter is still a kid with his entire life ahead of him. "You're about the same age as my little sister, kid," Mark sadly intones, "You should be worrying about pretty girls and exams, not risking your life to catch petty burglars. It's the duty of the old and wizened to protect the next generation, Peter, so let them handle their duty themselves. Now, if you may excuse me, I need to get these files to my boss." Peter, after thinking over the words silently, slowly nods his head and thanks Mark for saying that, even if he doesn't fully agree with all of it. He then turns around and opens the door for Mark, saying that it's the least he can do, which Mark thanks him for before walking out of the office. Peter quickly follows suit, closing the door behind him as he walks out.
We cut to Kitty at her place, a small but homely apartment, as she and her mother prepare some kreplach in the kitchen. The phone then rings, and Kitty's mother kindly asks her to please answer it for her as she has her hands full right now. Quickly rinsing and drying her hands, Kitty hurries over to the phone and picks it up, greeting whoever is calling and asking how she can help them. The scene then splits in two as Peter, calling from a payphone, slides onto the right side and happily greets Kitty back before asking how her day went. Kitty smiles as she answers that it went okay; at least, as okay as it could've gone with Liz Allan involved. Peter chuckles at that before asking if she completed the school project stuff, to which she responds with audible relief that she and Liz are finally done and that they can go back to hating each other now. She then slightly boasts that even Liz's older brother Mark thought that their project was amazing.
Peter's brain screeches to a halt as his eyes widen and his jaw slowly drops. "...M-Mark?" He hesitantly asks, to which Kitty, a little confused by Peter's tone, responds, "Yeah. Remember him from our class trip to our Oscorp, the friendly and enthusiastic tour guide? He's a pretty nice guy, which makes Liz's... everything even more unbearable." As Kitty continues to speak, however, Peter spaces out and inwardly panics as he remembers his conversation with "Mark" just a few minutes ago. Returning to reality, Peter quickly interrupts Kitty and says that he's really sorry but something important just came up and he needs to go immediately. He wishes her a quick goodbye before hanging up and rushing off, the scene turning whole again as a now very confused Kitty calls out his name. She slowly puts the phone away before going off-screen to continue helping her mother with the kreplach.
We then cut to Peter in costume as he hastily puts his mask on and runs up a fire escape to the top of a building, stumbling once before quickly getting back up. Once he makes his way to the top, he then parkous and swings his way back toward Oscorp Tower as fast as he can, anxiously muttering to himself as he runs. Quickly smash cutting to "Mark", we see him impatiently look at his watch as he waits at a bus stop. We smash cut back to Peter as he pauses to catch his breath, bending over as he does. Once he's done, he then begins to scan the surrounding area for the Chameleon akin to a hawk watching for its prey. After a few seconds, he spots the Chameleon right as he's boarding a bus a few blocks away, the bus doors closing behind him as it drives off. Panicking, Peter springs into action and begins to chase after the bus, racing to catch the Chameleon before he puts on a new disguise and escapes.
As Peter chases after the bus, with the scene occasionally cutting to an unsuspecting Chameleon riding the bus, he tries his best to conserve his webbing for when he eventually confronts the Chameleon. As Peter is in the middle of swinging, however, one of his web-shooters suddenly malfunctions out of the blue, blindsiding Peter and distracting him long enough that he crashes into an apartment complex. Dazed and tumbling to the ground, Peter quickly regains his senses and manages to grab onto a nearby balcony with both hands. Taking the time to groan in pain and catch his breath, Peter turns to the left to see the bus growing smaller and smaller in the distance. "Oh crap," he mumbles in horror as he shoots off a line of webbing with his good web-shooter and slings onto a nearby rooftop, after which he begins to parkour and leap his way toward the Chameleon.
We smash cut to the bus as it comes to a halt at a bus stop and the Chameleon gets off, though not before gifting the bus driver a few dollars. He casually makes his way through a busy crowd before walking off into a nearby alleyway. Navigating through some tight and dark backstreets, he emerges next to a small, abandoned junkyard. As he's about to leave, however, he slowly pauses as his eyes tensely narrow and his breathing quickens slightly. Slowly reaching his right hand into his trenchcoat, he then walks as nonchalantly as he can into the abandoned junkyard as the shot slowly pans to Peter watching the Chameleon from a nearby rooftop. Quietly dropping onto the street below, Peter stealthily makes his way toward the junkyard and hides behind the outer wall. He peers his head into the entrance and, after not seeing the Chameleon anywhere, slowly walks in as quietly as a mouse. The junkyard is a rundown and dilapidated ruin infested with rats and roaches and all other pests. Piles of various wreckage and junk litter the place as Peter nervously and cautiously stalks around, gulping to himself as he keeps a keen eye out for-
DODGE DODGE DODGE
His Spider-Sense suddenly rings out, and he dives for cover behind a heap of scrap just in time to avoid a bullet to the heart. A short distance away, the Chameleon, smoking silenced pistol in hand, growls to himself at the missed shot as he swiftly moves to find a better angle to shoot from. Back with Peter, he raggedly breathes in and out as he barely peers out to see where the shot came from, but is unable to locate the Chameleon. Getting back into cover, he quickly comes up with a plan to get as close as he can to the Chameleon without getting shot before rushing the Soviet spy once he runs out of ammo. It's not the best plan, but he doesn't have any better ideas at the moment.
Taking in a deep, calming breath, Peter then rushes to a nearby pile of junk, yelping a little as he jumps to dodge another bullet and lands on his face behind said junk. Slowly getting up, he mockingly yells out, "I might as well stand out in the open if that's the best shot you've got!", before rushing off to hide behind another pile of scrap. "And yet you're cowering like a roach from an exterminator instead," Chameleon casually retorts as he stealthily stalks his way toward where Spider-Man is. He then decides to try to get Spider-Man to reveal where he currently is by loudly saying that he should have kept his nose out of this whole business and that he's now going to have to suffer the consequences of playing hero. Peter scoffs and replies that that's a rich statement coming from the Chameleon of all people; after all, isn't it the guy's job to stick his nose where it doesn't belong? Chameleon's face darkens at the mention of his codename, and he coldly, and almost predatorily, replies that that's some dangerous knowledge to have as he sneaks toward Spider-Man's position.
Peter, however, barely notices the Chameleon turning the corner on his cover and promptly leaps out of the way of the first shot, his Spider-Sense going off as he dodges. His Spider-Sense still ringing, he then nimbly dodges the follow-up shot before shooting out a line of webbing at the Chameleon. Chameleon swiftly shields himself from the webbing with his briefcase before firing another shot at Spider-Man, forcing him to abandon the web line and flee for better cover. Smirking to himself just a little, Chameleon calmly and slowly moves through the junkyard with his pistol at the ready. He then taunts Spider-Man and asks where all the little spider's bravado went as he carefully makes his way up to higher ground, with Spider-Man replying that he's a bit busy trying to not get shot at the moment.
Chameleon peers over the gigantic pile of scrap he's climbed up, scanning the area for where Spider-Man could be. After a few tense seconds of searching, he spots the vigilante's reflection in a nearby mirror before turning to look at where he's actually hiding, a small pile of scrap close to where Chameleon is. Chameleon smirks as he slowly walks back down a few steps and places his stuff down before rolling up his sleeves. Taking in a deep breath, Chameleon then pushes the junk forward and triggers a scrap avalanche as it tumbles toward Spider-Man. His Spider-Sense going off like klaxons, Peter's eyes widen when he sees the mountain of rubbish crashing toward him, and he desperately scrambles out of the way before he's turned into a bloody pancake. Shielding himself from the follow-up shot from the Chameleon with a large piece of metal, Peter then hurls it at the Chameleon, the spy's eyes widening as he just barely dodges the metal flying towards him. As Peter runs back into cover to take a breather, he quietly counts how many shots the Chameleon has fired at him and realizes that the Chameleon must be low on ammo now. Looking around, he spots a metal pipe nearby and quickly grabs it, swinging it around a little before wielding it as a makeshift club.
Peter, with the metal pipe in hand, now patiently and intensely waits for the Chameleon to make his move, his breathing steady yet shaky as seconds excruciatingly pass by. Suddenly, a noise clatters to Peter's left, and he springs into action, rushing over to the pile where he heard the noise come from. With the metal pipe raised above his head, Peter turns the corner... and finds the briefcase innocuously lying on the ground.
As he realizes that he's been duped, Peter's Spider-Sense suddenly rings out as the Chameleon comes out of hiding to fire one last shot. Peter, thinking quickly, grabs the suitcase with a line of webbing and uses it to block the bullet. He manages to shield himself in the nick of time, but his sudden movement causes him to lose his footing and slip to the ground unceremoniously, with the Chameleon taking advantage of this slipup to cut his losses and run for the entrance. Hurriedly picking himself up, Peter rushes after the Chameleon in a mad dash to catch him before he escapes.
But he's too late, as he instead finds an abandoned mask at the entrance and crowds of people nearly flooding the streets as they go about their day. Peter takes a few steps back before unleashing a strangled cry of frustration as he slams the metal pipe onto the ground and buries his head in his hands. Ranting a little about the Chameleon playing him like a fiddle, he then drags his hand over his face, loudly sighs, and walks over to where the suitcase is. Picking it up, he mutters to himself that he might as well return these to Oscorp if only to make this entire fiasco worth something as he grabs the abandoned mask as well.
We then cut to a calmly irate Gustav as he berates the Oscorp Tower security for their negligence and incompetence in letting a thief slip away with important documents, coldly asking if they have circus clowns for security guards. The guards stammeringly try to defend themselves, but Gustav interrupts them and coldly states that failure of this scale will not tolerated by either Oscorp or Mr. Osborn, who will most assuredly be hearing about this. As the guards pale at the certainty of losing their jobs, however, an intern hurriedly rushes over and, through tired panting, tells Gustav that something urgent has happened at the tower entrance and that he needs to follow him immediately. Smash cutting to the entrance where a group of surprised and somewhat excited Oscorp employees have gathered, Gustav, the intern, and the guards quickly rush over. Pushing his way through the group, Gustav stops dead in his tracks as his eyes widen and his jaw slightly drops at the sight before him. Innocently hanging from a line of webbing attached to the entrance ceiling is the Chameleon's suitcase, with a piece of paper taped onto the side.
"Retrieved this from a very naughty thief and thought you should have it back, Oscorp. You're all very welcome."
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
We then cut to Midtown High as Kitty and Liz finish giving their presentation to a small round of applause, their smiles fake and their hands subtly twitching. Mr. Harrington monotonously congratulates the two on a good project and rewards their project an A+ before telling them to return to their seats, which the girls do with a bit too much enthusiasm. As Kitty plops into her seat and lets out a long sigh, a cheekily grinning Peter whisperingly asks if she's changed her mind on Liz at all. Kitty turns to him and deadpans that she no longer hates Liz anymore: she now utterly loathes her mere existence. Peter sniggers a little before smiling and saying that for what it's worth, that was a really great project. Kitty smiles back in thanks as the teacher then calls Peter and Vogel up to share their project, with Peter grabbing his notes and standing up as Kitty wishes him good luck.
We then transition to a small, dimly lit washroom in a little house as a single fly slowly and quietly buzzes through the air. The shot slowly follows the fly as it flies through the air, with a phone beginning to monotonously ring from elsewhere in the house. As the fly temporarily lands on some bathtub curtains, the phone is eventually answered as a resonant voice in a Russian accent speaks over the phone a line from the poem "Wait For Me", with a raspy voice belonging to the Chameleon responding with the next line from the poem. The fly then buzzes off of the curtain and lands on a pale hand sticking out of the bathtub, with more flies gathering around the bathtub as Chameleon says, "The Oscorp operation was a failure, and we have a new threat to worry about: the Spider-Man."
We transition to a public park in Moscow, Russia, where a shaggy-bearded and barrel-chested man wearing a red cardigan, brown overcoat, and velvet scarf is happily feeding some pigeons. Reaching into a paper bag but finding nothing inside, the man pouts a little as he turns to the pigeons and apologetically says that he has no more crumbs to give them. Standing up and tossing the paper bag into a trash bin, he dons a fedora and leisurely strolls away with a subtle spring to his step. Making his way to the Kremlin, he's checked over by the guards before being let through. Entering a small office, with a small nameplate on the desk labeled "Josef Petkus" in Cyrillic, Josef hangs his hat and overcoat on a coat rack just as a phone on his desk begins to ring. Picking it up, Jozef politely greets the caller, only to be greeted by the raspy voice of the Chameleon, who recites a line from the poem "Wait For Me". Joesf's face grows serious as he replies with the next line of the poem, to which Chameleon then quickly replies, "Comrade, we have a problem.
We cut to closing credits.
Author's Notes:
This might just be the darkest and most intense episode since the first two, and I might accidentally cause moral panic with how dark this can get. Ah, well; no risks taken, no successes either.
Once again, a big thanks to @King crimson for being my beta reader and great advisor for these pitches. I wouldn't be able to do this without them.
This time, I really want to hear feeback from you all as I have two potential endings for this and I want to know which one you all prefer.
Mary was a good girl and rather clever. Daddy was busy with his toys playing something called Ex cer sise. Mummy liked it when Daddy played exercise. Mummy giggled a bit when she watched him do it like when she watched Mary play with her toys. Mary was going to be a good girl and sleep in her crib until Mummy came home and let Daddy do his Exercise thing. Then Mary could hug Mummy and have her laugh when Mary ate Mummy's hair. It still tasted weird. So Mary settled into her Blanket and Pillow and closed her eyes. She must have been asleep for a bit because she heard Mummy singing. There were some musical instruments as well but Mary heard Mummy singing so she must be back.
So Mary opened her eyes and pulled herself up to the side of the crib and looked at the door. The shadows had not moved much from when she had laid down and the funny thumping noise Daddy made when he was "exercising" that Mummy liked to watch and sometimes join in on was still happening.
The problem was that Mummy wasn't here. Mary could hear Mummy and when Mummy came home she would always come and give Marry a hug and kiss even if she would then put Mary back to bed if Mary was still tired. So if Mummy wasn't here and Mary could hear Mummy then Mary would have to go to Mummy so Mummy would give her a hug and a kiss. Then Mary could sleep.
So Mary pulled herself up and on the side of the crib went armed over arm to her teething ring and grasped it in one fist. Then she crawled over to the side of the crib with the pretty sticker. The words on the sicker said childproof but all it was to Mary was a pretty color and a mark that told her if she she pushed her teething ring between the bars and up two fists across from the sticker push it into the catch and twist like so…
The side of the crib dropped out of Mary's way and now she could go and find Mummy. Carefully climbing down she crawled over to the door following the sound of her mothers singing. The door handle itself was sorted by standing up tall using the frame as support and flicking the blanket just so and having it caught on the long lever arm of the door opening it.
Mary was now out of her room and in the hallway. She could hear her Mummys voice from the Jim that Daddy used. She didn't know anyone Called Jim and the room had Daddy's toys not Jims. They were clearly toys because Daddy spent as much time doing things that required a lot of focus with them as Mary did with her shape blocks and Ball. Things like lifting them up and down.
It might be like Robins room. Robin did not stay there very often but he had a bed and some cupboards. Mary had learned that they where Robins and not for anyone else the one time she had gone in there and robin had subsequently got very panicky. He needed extra long time of Mary playing with his fingers to get him to calm down after that. Mummy kept some of her music things in Robins Room because Robin wasn't here and the longer Robin wasn't her the more music things the room gained.
Jim must have been away a very long time for there to be so many of Daddys ex cer sise toys in his room and for the bed to be taken out. Like maybe months or something. A very long time indeed. But what would mummy be doing in Jims room without seeing Mary first?
Mary could hear the sound of instruments as well as Mummy singing but she was on a quest to get a hug and a kiss then she could sleep. So she set off down the corridor. Peering into Jims room. Daddy was facing away from the door lifting a bar with wheels on the ends. So she crawled in further. No Mummy. But there was Mummy's singing coming from a slivery box with two black circles on the ends and buttons and switches in the middle. The box was high on a shelf on the wall. Was mommy in the box?
Mary needed to investigate. She was getting even more tired she needed the hug and the kiss so she could sleep. Daddy was busy with his toys so she would have to investigate herself. Coming across the box she stood herself up and could almost reach the box. A black cord ran from the box to the wall. So she reached out and started to pull. Mummy's singing stuttered and the box leaned out above Mary but didn't come down. She pulled a bit harder, and the box tiled a bit more. Soon she would have Mummy out of the box and she would be happy to see Mary and give Mary a kiss. She might even pick Mary up and let Mary chew on her hair. That would be really nice
The box with Mummy's singing voice tiled even more and then… Mary was in the air and in Daddy's arms. She saw the box with Mummy singing fall and hit the ground. And then bent, crumpled and went silent.
There was a mess of parts on the floor but no Mummy. Where did Mummy go? She wasn't in the box and Mummy's singing had stopped. More importantly, Mary had not gotten her kiss yet. She was frustrated and grumpy. She screwed up her fists in rage and let it out in the nastiest meanest word she knew, worse than the one that Robin had taught her and Mommy had told her not to say again. She knew it was the worst because when she said it everyone around her was quiet for a moment and looked at her like they couldn't believe they were hearing it. So with all of her rage and disappointment she let out that terrible word "bothr".
The word did its dark business. Daddy paused and looked at her. Really looked at her and then tuned her around so he could see her face clearly.
" I just put you down to sleep. How did you get here?"
Daddy was usually good at fixing things or at least finding Mummy who more often fixed things by working out that Mary was hungry or needed her Nappy changed. Mummy was more clever than Daddy like thar.. Daddy would need to be helped to find the answer he didn't just know things like Mummy seemed to. So Mary needed to use her best words to explain her problem.
"Daddy where Mummy? Mummy singing stop when box crash. Mary sleep. Need Mummy hug and kiss"
a look of enlightenment crossed Daddy face as he stated walking, carrying Mary in her arms .
"Mary Mummy is still out. I just put you down for a nap. what you herd was a record of your mothers singing."
"Record?" Mary asked.
"Didn't you want to sleep?" Daddy asked
"What is Record now. Then sleep." Mary declared she would get to the bottom of this.
Daddy paused and then started walking towards the lounge.
"Let me show you Mary."
He walked over to another box and the box that had Kermit the Frog and his friends at certain times of the day. "Kermit?" she asked. What did Kerit have to do with Mary hearing mummy singing while she wasn't here? Kermit was a taking toy. She Knew because she could see his fur. Most of Kermit's friends where talking toys too.
Mary knew how talking toys worked. It was another game. Mummy or Daddy or sometimes Robin would hold the toy and wiggle it like it was the toy making the words and not Mummy or Daddy. They would also try to hide and pretend that it was the toy and not Mummy or Daddy doing the talking and the wiggling. Then Mary would laugh when mummy or daddy made the toy say or do funny things. The person who did it best was Robin because he could to all sorts of voices and different toy wiggles.
When they had finished doing that and Mary was finished holding the toy the toy got put back in the toybox. Thing is Kermit when he was in the Kermit Box did the best wiggles and she NEVER saw who did the wiggling and voices. Whoever they were, they played the game the best. Was this recording thing related to the toy wiggling game?
Dady laughed "Not quite. Your uncle George and I made a movie with your Mummy in it. Mummy isn't here but I can make her appear on the box. Where did that laserdisc of Star Wars." Daddy rummaged for a bit and then found a very big shiny thing which he put into another box.
Then there was some loud music and some yellow words on the screen. Then there was a big spaceship followed by an even bigger spaceship.
Mary was getting impatient as people she didn't know and flashing things appeared on screen Finally there was "Mummy" Mary yelled
Mummy was in the Kermit Box! Mummy was not a toy. Mammy had been very clear that people were not allowed in toy boxes. Even if it was soft and comfortable inside because mary might get stuck. Was mummy stuck? Mary had to get her out.
Mary crawled over as fast as she could and pushed herself up to the screen. Mummy was just there but here was glass in way and no matter how hard she pushed Mummy was still in the Kermit box.
So she tuned to Daddy to help
"Daddy. Mummy in Kermit box"
Daddy didn't help he just Laughed. And then some white clad meanies on screen shot Mummy with blue rings and she collapsed.
"Mummy" Mary shrieked
"Easy Mary. Easy Mummy's alright. it's just a recording." Daddy did something and Mummy jumped backwards waking funny. "Look just like pages on a book turning backwards" the scene played out again and then Daddy rewound again.
It was like those toys she didn't like that Uncle George had brought. Things that looked like Mummy or Daddy but were not. The lying things. They never picked Maty up and gave her a kiss so they couldn't be Mommy or Daddy. They just pretended to be.
The recording thing must be the same. The singing must be something that pretended to be Mummy singing. It wasn't Mommy so it was WRONG.
Mary understood but was tired and grumpy and still hadn't had her Mummy kiss. So she turned to Daddy and said in her most strait look "Recording bad. Silver box bad. No Mummy sing. Not Mummy. Where Mummy?"
"Out. She will be back soon, but you need a Nap.
"Noo" came Mary's reply "Need Mummy kiss." Mummy Kiss not recording Kiss"
"Would a Daddy kiss do?"
Mary considered as she got carried back to her room and Daddy pulled the side of the bed up
"Two Daddy kiss" she demanded.
If that nasty recording thing was going to pretend to be Mummy, she needed proper recompense. And while Daddy's kisses were not the same as Mummy kisses they were still good.
She smiled and giggled as Daddy did two kisses and she closed her eyes. Tomorrow she would find all of these recordings and stop them pretending to be Mummy. Be they silver wall boxes or Kermit Boxes.
Two days Later at Lucas film.
"It's the strangest thing Mary goes ballistic any time she hears any of Carries recordings when she isn't visible to Mary. She has broken three boomboxes so far."
"Sounds like she prefers the real thing. Don't frown like that, you know you do too."
"But I like working out to my wife's singing I don't want to stop."
"Soundproof the gym?'
"and have it be taken over as a recording studio the next time Queen Michael Jackson or Elvis come to visit? I would never get it back."
"Then don't. Get some headphones and use them instead."
"How? it's not like I can carry around a boombox while I go for a jog?"
A pensive look passed George face. "How much of the boombox do you Use what features."
"Just the tape deck, I think. Why?"
"I have an idea. I was talking with some people at Phillips recently. Give me a few weeks."
Bonus short one
Mary finds Jim
Mary wasn't sure what to think of the new person she was meeting.
She was hiding in mummy's arm as this was a strange person she didn't know. He was tall skinny had shaggy brown hair and a beard and was introduced as Jim Henson but he seemed familiar like she had herd him before. The he pulled out a Green Frog and suddenly it all made sense.
"Kermit Wriggler" she called excited; this wasn't a stranger this was a known person. She all but launched herself at him aiming for his hand and ignoring the offer Kermit.
If his name was Jim then she had finally solved a big puzzle. Why there was room in the house for Jim. The person who did the Kermit wiggle was Jim and obviously a good friend like Robin was. he was quick on the uptake too catching her and holding safely while she got to find out about his beard.
Jim looked bemused that she was more interested in him , a person that he had never met than the far more famous frog which was now lying on the floor. Mummy and daddy looked very surprised too. Sure she usually took some time to figure out people she didn't know but this was Jim the Kermit wriggler. He had been playing with her for Months.
Then Looking up at him she decided she had some very important things to tell him. "You best fuzzy toy wriggler ever."
Have a tired little girl wanting Mommy to put her to bed and these fake things not pretend to be Mommy and later finding a friend she already knew.
AWWW!!!! That was simply adorable and a really stellar work. Mary seems to be shaping up to be a fun little explorer and I love how you gave her a distinct personality that fits with her age and worldview. Pretty funny how Mary is smart but still sees things as a baby where she can get out of her crib and recognize that "Wiggle Toys" are a game and not real, but she still believes that her mom was trapped in a music box and kermit box instead of understanding recordings. Also laughed really hard at Mary's strong dislike of Star Wars toys for being "Lying Things" when Mark Hamill's firstborn son's first word was "Kenner" and he played with them all the time. Ending was also pretty sweet to, Mary meeting Jim and being really happy to see Kermit's toy wriggler, bet that made Jim's day.
Also I don't know if this was intentional, but it's a nice little continuity nod where Carrie gives Mary a hug and a kiss every night and whenever she returns home because she was never tucked in bed by Debbie growing up and Carrie would always want to make sure Mary can sleep knowing her parent's love.
A Classical Tale Created By: Dave Allister
Directed By: John Musker and Ron Clements
Stuidio: Dreamworks
Distribution: Public Broadcasting System
Original Release: June-September 1978
When you founded Dreamworks you had a lot of ambitions for what it's standout debut would be, what you did not expect for the firstborn child of the studio to be was a PBS cartoon dedicated to educating general audiences about ancient mythology. The whole project had been the brainchild of Dave Allister, as he had pitched it to mere days after the announcement of Dreamworks' creation was shared across the public. Apparently, classical history was a real passion of Dave's from college and he wanted to share stories of the myths with his daughter Julia, but didn't know how to do it in a child-friendly way. So just as you supported The Muppet Movie so Mary could see her favorite characters go from the "Kermit Box" to the "Kermit Screen", Dave wanted to make a fun cartoon to share his passion with Julia. It was a very noble goal you could agree upon, and since Dave shared this with you right as you started trying to conceive with Carrie, you supported him fully and promised to get the show off the ground in a couple of years. What you expected was for Classical Tale to be made after a few movies and once the Lucasfilms TV division was truly up and running. What you did not expect was for Dave to take your support as unofficial greenlight to start pitching to networks, and from there somehow manage to secure a $10 million contract with PBS.
With the recent success of Schoolhouse Rock, PBS was aiming to secure some educational cartoons to supplement their morning lineup of kids shows with Dave coming in at just the perfect time when the station had a big boost to funding and was hungry for some shows. Additionally, Dave had approached just weeks after Star Wars' release and being credited as one of the writers for the greatest movie of all time certainly enhanced his bargaining power with the show. You had mixed feelings when you found out as you wanted to keep your promise but wanted something grander for Dreamworks' debut, and in addition Mike was very opposed as he saw a PBS show as a money drain. Fortunately, the scheduling worked out with Tomino only needing half of the Dreamworks staff to work on Gundam thanks to the Sunrise cooperation and John and Ron had nominated themselves as Classical Tale directors, both being very passionate about the subject and viewing it as a fun way to stick it to Hanna-Barbera's stagnant hold on tv animation. Thus you gave the greenlight with Classical Tale to hopefully serve as a nice round of experience for the animators before moving onto to more ambitious projects.
Having known nothing but Scooby-Doo ripoffs for the past decade, you were completely amazed by the high quality of Classical Tale. It wasn't anywhere near the quality of Gundam, but it was still leagues above every cartoon currently airing in terms of writing and animation, if not better than many live action shows. It was a very simple premise, each episode an elderly nararrator in a library would greet the viewer and take them on a journey through his books through a tale of mythology in ancient Greece. Then the show would shift to show PG versions of many myths both classic and unknown throughout Greece's many different time periods and regional cultures. In addition to education the kids about the tale they were reading with easy to digest storytelling, the writing was very intellegent and hillarious with lots of zany subtle humor to keep parents and other older viewers engaged along with lots of hidden jokes both visually and in dialogue that prompted viewers to come back and watch reruns to catch everything they missed the first time. A lot of the comedy was derived from the hilarious and well-timed narration but the characters also had some fun dynamics poking fun at some of the absurdities of ancient Greece and grounding the dark and high stakes stories in a fantastical and adventurous light.
The art style could be described simply as a combination of Disney fairy tales and newspaper comics. For the most part it had that elegant and magical look that was in a film like Snow White or Sleeping Beuaty, but when moments of comedy and action called the characters could break out into zany cartoon physics and reactions that walked a nice line between realism and wacky, helping to serve whatever tone or educational purpose the scene was calling for. While not close to Tomino's cinematic art with Gundam's animation, Classical Tale was undoubtedly the best quality animation of anything on television period, or at least before Gundam came along. It's greatest strength was not in the speed or color and line quality, but simply how detailed and diverse in imagery and color the background and character designs were. Instead of simply relying on simple colors and shapes and repeating background art of generic settings in laziness, almost every shot seemed to be something original and everything from the great and grand temples and cities to the small details of the trees and animals seemed to be unique from another like snowflakes and really making the viewer feel like they were in ancient Greece. It was the type of background work one would expect from a movie, and somehow John and Ron managed to mostly keep within budget and they finished well before Tomino and Gundam, although 20 episodes in comparison to 52 tended to allow that.
When John and Ron presented you with the show, you were completely blown away as you were just expecting an animated textbook with some fun cartoon adventures and instead were given a piece of art worthy of the Dreamworks brand. Overall happy with the results, you gave your approval and after voice acting and post-production was wrapped up, Classical Tale would be released in June, the first Dreamworks product and the first television for Lucasfilms period. You knew that you wouldn't have close to the success of MASH, but you were hoping for a relatively popular release. Instead what you got was unfortunately muted success.
By all accounts Classical Tale was a ratings success. It regularly got between 3-4 million viewers nationally for each new episode, reruns could count on hundreds of thousands of TVs watching, and both parents and kids seemed to approve and enjoy the time. However, it was lacking in the universal acclamation and fanfare that usually came with a Lucasfilms product and it was definitely nowhere near beloved as Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street. The general consensus was that it was a nice, pleasant show with good education but it wasn't amazing or as iconic as say Peanuts, Scooby-Doo or Schoolhouse Rock. Critics on the other hand were heavily in love with the show, praising it rightfully as the best children's series currently on the air thanks to its high quality animation, intelligent writing and great family value. The word was around town that Classical Tale was due for lots of Daytime Emmy Nods and a shoe-in for Outstanding Children's Series. Hopefully Gundam could generate greater hype and acclaim so you could have two cartoons dominate the awards.
But if it was so beloved, why then was the reaction nearly lukewarm? Mike is convinced that the issue was it being a PBS show. Unless the show was a ratings wonder like Mr. Rogers or Sesame Street, then PBS wasn't going to spend much of its limited budget on advertisement nor would families be drawn in unless they already watched PBS. Plus unlike Gundam which was going to be marketed as all-ages and Star Wars Mecha, there was only so much you could do to get general audiences to watch a show aimed at lower elementary kids unless they were parents or babysitting. You think Mike is mostly right as there's no reason that Classical Tale should have failed on its own quality, although the fact that the first season was Greece might have been a double edged sword since with Greek mythology being common-ish knowledge then there's no motivation to learn or a strong pull than if it were exotic.
So, that just leaves the question of where to go from here? PBS is overall happy with the show and signaled they're willing to renew a contract for a second season, but they want to negotiate the price tag and you don't feel like they're too passionate to fight for it. Mike is only interested if PBS gives a greater price tag, if the show gets a merch line, or they syndicate it to cable TV but Dave is adamant that it remain a PBS show. John and Ron said they wouldn't mind directing a second season, but right now they're doing their best to aid Don with Hiawatha and are not so subtly requesting to direct their own movie. Dave really wants to give another go and give Norse mythology a proper outlet besides the Thor comics, but he said he understands if it's not a priority and until then will keep writing movie scripts.
That just leaves the most important question, how did your most important fan, your beloved daughter Mary like the show? Well...to be honest since she's not even a year old yet it was unlikely Mary knew what was going on even with her high intelligence. But whenever it popped up on the Kermit Box, she got all excited, smiling and laughing, having a fun time watching it in yours or Carrie's laps. So you made Mary happy with a Dreamworks cartoon, and in the end that's all that matters.
On the one hand, Marvel could go even bugger. On the other hand, healthy competition never hurt anybody. Decisions, decisions...
I have a feeling that we might get a repeat of the 90s edginess in comics if the companies learn the wrong lessons from the success of Spider-Man Noir. Which, let's be honest, is very likely.
So, I was re-reading Spy x Family, because it's very cute, and I realized that maybe someday Mary might be inspired to get into the family business, if she gets over her distrust of the Kermit Box.
So...
Spy and Family Genre: Comedy, Thriller, Romance
Subgenre: Spies, Crime, Action
Format: TV Series
Pitch: The story follows a man known only by his codename: Midnight. Considered the top agent of his organization, and one of his country's most priced assets, this agent threw away his birth name and all connections in the name of mantaining world peace.
After fulfilling his latest mission, he relocates into an enemy nation that has been in a cold war with his own for years. His mission is to make contact and gain as much information as possible with a high-ranking politician of a pro-war faction. The problem is that he is intensely reclusive and paranoid. His only weakness is his family, namely, his son, who studies at a prestigious private academy.
Said academy sometimes holds parties where high-ranking students and their parents meet up.
So, Midnight must acquire a wife and child to infiltrate the school.
Cue spittake.
What follows is his efforts to juggle his identity as Loid Forger, family-man and therapist, and Midnight, man of action and spy. We see him quickly become more and more fond of his family, while running himself ragged trying to keep everything secret and stable.
Midnight/Loid Forger: International Man of Mystery, competence embodied, clumsy father and fake psychiatrist.
Anya Forger: Precocious tomboy orphan. Possibly a psychic.
Yor Forger (née Toogood): Elegant single lady that enters a marriage of convenience with Loid after a meet-cute. Possibly an assassin.
Yuri Toogood: Yor's brother. Secretly a member of the secret police. Extremely annoying in-law.
Chancellor Ivan Lockheart: Midnight's target, a dangerous and paranoid member of government.
Damian Lockheart: Ivan's snobby son. Develops a crush on Anya after she knocks him on his ass with one punch.
Franky "Scruffy" Dimestone: Midnight's intelligence contact. Provider of gadgets, babysitting duties and comic relief.
Spy X Family also has the detail of the "wife" being a trained assassin of the enemy nation, and the daughter being a psychic. I didn't add that detail in because I wanted it to be distinct, but that could be added in if people thought it amusing. Maybe a foreshadowed reveal for the end of Season 1.
This should probably have some details sandpapered down, since the cold war is still going on, unless it gets made after that point in the story. Unless we wanna go all-in on making Russia hate us.
