$Insert_Title, Episode 10
"Aired" on: 2018-05-19
Cast: Madoka, Hueco, Mr. Fahrenheit
Previously On...
The screen stays dark for a moment as we hear the unmistakable sound of creaking stairs. We fade in on an establishing shot of a grey apartment building hallway. At the end of the hallway a figure steps into view from a stairwell and the camera cuts much close to them as they walk.
Manifest is wearing some torn jeans and some band t-shirt, and carrying a plain black backpack and a six-pack of beer. Her shoulders are slumped and her movement slows several times so she can sigh. She stops at a door, numbered 623, and sighs once more. She hoists the backpack onto one shoulder and raises her hand to knock, hesitates, and then knocks.
After a couple moments the door opens. In the doorway stands the woman from the end of Episode 6, Erika Ibott, naked. Her eyes are distant, and vaguely distressed. There is a moment of quiet as Ibott seems at a loss of what to say.
Manifest is frozen in place. Her eyes drop to the floor and her cheeks visibly redden. We can see tenseness in her muscles. After a moment she raises the six pack and speaks, eyes never raising from the floor.
Manifest: I have beer.
A woman's voice breaks into the awkward quiet from off-screen: Booze for the booze gods! Is that Riley I hear? Get that slut in here!
The scene fades out as Manifest shuffles past Ibott.
The title card fades in. Freeze Frame, record scratch.
Producer: That girl looks familiar, Tom. The naked one. Oh! OH! So this is going to tie into our show. I'm excited, Tom. I'm excited.
Tom's muffled voice can be heard, subtitles show: I am too, Sir.
Summary
The show opens in the now-familiar Arcade with Madoka and Hueco talking about whether they actually want to pitch in to fix up the Arcade. Mr. Fahrenheit wanders in, smelling of smoke and covered in flour. When asked what happened Fahrenheit is only able to say, "Pizzas are actually very hard to make."
Hueco and Madoka fill Fahrenheit in on what the current plan is. Mr. Fahrenheit asks why they went to the gala event and a short sepia-tone flashback occurs...
Hueco: So, are we here to kill the guy or what?
Mr. Fahrenheit: No, no of course not. We're here to identify people who may hold a grudge against the target, confirm information we already have, and get a read of his personal life.
When the flashback ends, Hueco repeats what Mr. Fahrenheit had told him the night of the gala event. Mr. Fahrenheit is clearly frazzled. In the background a news broadcast reporting a building being set on fire somewhere in Seattle.
Mr. Fahrenheit attempts to think of a plan, but cannot think of a good costume to base the plan off. After finding his bearings somewhat, the team discusses several plans involving a puppet show and Mr. Fahrenheit explains the plot of Hamlet.
Hueco fills Fahrenheit on the plan they came up with without him: Break into Jean-Paul Dubois's building and hack his commlink. With some helpful additions from Mr. Fahrenheit (inspired by both Hamlet and Pattern Recognition) the new plan is:
- Purchase a puppet in the likeness of Erika Ibott, embroidered with the Wuxing, Inc. logo. Implant the doll with a Sensor Tag equipped with a Bug Scanner to locate and identify Jean-Paul's commlink.
- Disguise Madoka as janitorial staff to get her into the building.
- Hang the puppet from Jean-Paul's door and have Madoka hide somewhere nearby in the building.
- Jean-Paul will see the puppet, and according to Mr. Fahrenheit recognize the symbolism associated to it, as well as the Wuxing, Inc. logo and will contact someone associated with either plot (or both).
- Hack into his commlink when the doll identifies his device and snoop the traffic.
A short montage occurs as the plan is put into effect. The beginning of the montage is Hueco leaning on various counters in the exact same position as the background changes. First is a bar, then another bar, then some dark back room with some tough biker-looking guys, and finally in an house out of the 90s with a pastel floral vibe.
Hueco sips tea out of a fine tea cup, then speaks: All of this has to be kept off the record. Nothing can be traced back to us.
An old woman sits down at the table next to him with a sewing kit. She responds: Granny Stitch ain't no snitch, boy. Now be quiet and let me work.
Hueco returns to the group and hands the doll to Madoka. Mr. Fahrenheit casts Physical Mask to disguise Madoka as janitorial staff for Jean-Paul's building. Madoka walks into the building and tells security that she lost her key. The guard gives her a janitorial key that gives her access to all the floors.
The episode ends with Madoka getting the pop-up that Jean-Paul's device has been located. The rest of the team is in the van outside the building.
Post-Session Notes
Still in the process of moving stuff over to Roll20. I am itching to give Hueco and Engie some combat encounters where they get to show off their characters. With the current plan I can be in a good position to throw some combat at them in a situation where they are going to have to deal with it.
The pre-show scenes are intentional and they will get further context next week or the week after. The players had context for this week due to things happening in game right now. The reason why none of the scenes directly involve any of the players is because it allows me to set things up on-screen for off-screen events. This prevents players from being completely blindsided by things. In Dungeon World this would be a series of very long "Show Signs of Approaching Danger" moves. The world is moving without the players' interaction and eventually that is going to affect them. I would be more specific about how but my players do use these during the session to remember what went down.