TV as MUSH (aka mocking True Blood)

[tragedyjones]

Based on a fun chat yesterday on Eldritch, I suggest people watch schlocky, trashy TV series as if they were a MU. You get to rewatch things and make hilarious comparisons.

(Spoilers for True Blood Follow)

Situations like:

• Aborted Becomings! (Sorry Jason, we've decided not to implement Werepanthers)

• Minor TS Alts that disappear (Bill's descendant he was banging and then vanished)

• Overly Dramatic Death Scenes (Godric)

• Forced Justification of Spends (Tara becomes an MMA fighter!)

• Killing off unwanted PCs (Tara, again!)

[Misadventure]

This sounds like regular MU* play. Can we at least demand that PBs are one per characters unless they are literally the ghost/clone/twin of the previous character to use the PB?

[3543thrh67]

I believe there is a game that is all those spun into one. Lantern Hill or some such thing.

[Miss Demeanor]

You know... this makes me want to go back and watch the original Buffy, The Vampire Slayer movie (and possibly the series) with that mindset. XD

[Arkandel]

I think sometimes we take game themes too... seriously? I mean, my impression is we gravitate toward gritty-and-realistic where most TV shows are never afraid to break out of their own molded continuity to do weird shit for the sake of doing weird shit. So while we're bound by mechanics and rules ("fetishes can't do that!") a good show introduces elements just on the sake of how well the story is served.

Maybe it's because some bad tropes have poisoned the well, I don't know. But think of the indignation of introducing... dunno, a pregnant Vampire to the average nWoD MU*. There'd be riots. Not saying it'd necessarily make for a good story, just that it wouldn't happen, because we are oddly enough running games with more rigid rules than multi-million dollar productions.

Is that weird?

[Rook]

On that note, @Arkandel, it makes me realize that the great shows I loved, suddenly fell out of favor when shit got stupid. We don't need to waste space with the names of such happenings, but we all know it. You can pretty much point to an episode or moment when a great story turned fucking idiotic, and you lost your happy place.

[il-volpe]

@Arkandel said:

...we are oddly enough running games with more rigid rules than multi-million dollar productions.

Is that weird?

Weird? Just silly. It's probably part about jealousy ("Waaahh, /her/ vampire got to get knocked up! I wanted to do that!") and the idea of "fairness" making GMs think that then they might have to repeat the thing. There's also, mm, that same reason folks don't approve the 'twinky' 19 year old double-PhDs even when they could be played well and that particular app looks like it would be. There will be a knee-jerk reaction about how awful and corny and shark-jumpy it is. Heh. On GoB, somebody bitched about how this 'wizard' character is just sooooo wrong and out of theme, with bitching player failing to interact with wizard enough to realize that he's not a wizard, he's a charlatan. And GoB tends to have less of that sort of bitchery than most games. I expect staff find that sort of bitching unpleasant and try to avoid it happening, even when they think they're not gonna let it control them. Saying, "This storyline is not as dumb as you think it is, investigate it or STFU," probably doesn't help much.

Also, there were magic toe-rings.

[Thenomain]

@icanbeyourmuse said:

I believe there is a game that is all those spun into one. Lantern Hill or some such thing.

URL, please!

[surreality]

@Thenomain said:

@icanbeyourmuse said:

I believe there is a game that is all those spun into one. Lantern Hill or some such thing.

URL, please!

Seconded.

[Three-Eyed Crow]

http://lanternhill.wikidot.com/

I think it's also in the Current Games thread here: http://musoapbox.net/topic/9/current-games

It's more CW-style soapy drama than intentional over-the-top soap, from what I can see. It's not really my thing (this is no complain about the game itself, which I don't play, the genre just doesn't interest me), but it seems to do what it does well enough.

[Bobotron]

@Three-Eyed-Crow
Urgh, every time I see that game I think of the epic failure that The 100 MUSH was, with it's 'oh so pretty people and connected with nature and oh so peaceful and knowledgeable apocalypse survivors'. And it makes me sad.

[3543thrh67]

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[ThatOneDude]

@icanbeyourmuse Typical California community...

[HelloRaptor]

I suggest people watch schlocky, trashy TV series as if they were a MU. You get to rewatch things and make hilarious comparisons.

People who've been MU*ing for a large chunk of their lives don't already do this? >_>

We totally do this.

[surreality]

As generic teen soap opera, meh.

As a hilarious mashup of The Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf, etc.? Oh I would be so there.

[tragedyjones]

@HelloRaptor said:

I suggest people watch schlocky, trashy TV series as if they were a MU. You get to rewatch things and make hilarious comparisons.

People who've been MU*ing for a large chunk of their lives don't already do this? >_>

We totally do this.

I do this. My ex and I used to do it frequently, mostly with the aforementioned True Blood. I do not, however, as a general rule, assume anything I do is "normal".

[Coin]

I told you this before, @surreality, but if that's what you want, make a Monsterhearts MU. XD

[Thenomain]

I don't think you can play Monsterhearts as if it was Supernatural or Charmed. It's more about how much being a teenager absolutely sucks.

I would still be there, mind.

[Cobalt]

You people take things way too seriously.

Following @tragedyjones' lead here's some thoughts on Vampire Diaries as a MUSH

• No want, but one or two, players want to play the old "less attractive but still hot" adults (Alaric and their aunt that I now can't remember the name of).
• Queen Bee has a harem (Elena's love triangles with her mortal boyfriend and her two vampire boyfriends).
• Side characters tired of not being special (friend turns into a witch, friend gets turned into a vampire, friend becomes a werewolf, etc)
• What do you mean we're not supposed to like each other??? Vampires and wolves are fine! (Tyler and Caroline)
• Headstaff loves their Ultimate Evil NPC so much they make a spin-off game to keep playing him/them (The Originals spin off).

Shall I go on? >.>

[Misadventure]

Eh reuse Teenagers From Outerspace, turn it into Teenagers From The Late Late Show.

Then have the Arcane shielding on the place drop, and make it survival horror where you are the horrors, yet you are the ones having to survive.