[M&M] Pandora’s Door

[Boss Nadar]

A deadline for applications has been set! Get your applications finished and submitted by 23:59, November 24th.

Game Name Pandora’s Door

Game System Mutants and Masterminds

Theme Superhero Sandbox

Flavour High scifi breaching into a 1950’s noir world

Plot Summary ”The offices of Smith and Lewis” So, you wanna know about the Olympus company and the MURD incident? Well, you came to the right place. I’ve been following that beat since the Times’ first article. ‘Olympus Power MURDers thousands’. Bet the chucklehead who wrote that headline thought he was real clever. Now, this information ain't cheap, but I owe your husband, so I’ll give you this one on the house. Let's start with the basics, what everyone knows. Few months back, Olympus Power Corp was unveiling their Multi-Universal Rift Device, or MURD. Said it’d let them open a gateway to another universe, let them tap an entire universe’s worth of electricity. ‘Olympus Power Corp, providing the world with the power of the gods’. Nostra-****ing-damus himself must’ve given them that slogan. Anyways, I’m sure this is all old news to you, so let me summarize. Olympus holds a big party in Chicago, invites half the world, and anyone whose anyone is there. Some bigwig cuts the rope, the engineers do their thing, and the MURD lights up like a Christmas tree in New York Square. Only, it turns out it's not supposed to light up like that, and suddenly it explodes with enough force to tear up the entire harbor. Thousands dead, hundreds missing, and a giant hole in space left floating where the pier used to be. Military rolls in, declares the entire area a military zone, and now even talking about it in public is cause to be dragged in for questioning. Olympus Power stock crashes harder than the third reich, and the CEO and half the board disappear into the wind. Were they picked up by the government, or did they run off with whatever wasn’t bolted down? Nobody knows, and nobody cares. But that’s not what you want to know, is it? You want to hear about what happened after. Reports of people shooting lightning from their fingers, of magic acts becoming bizarrely real. Government’s clamping down on the scoops as hard as they can, but hard to stifle the stories when they involve two-story dames and a bundie that can turn into water. Street’s already got a name for these folk, MURDers. Or MURDerers if you’re feeling dramatic. Every single one of them can be traced back to that fateful day. Whatever happened that day, it changed everyone unlucky enough to survive it. If you’re set on looking for them, best you remember that, at the end of the day, they’re people. They got friends, family, jobs, and bills. Some of them would lay down their lives to protect a stranger, others would slit your throat for a ham and cheese blanket. But it aint just the MURDers you gotta watch out for. Governments made a whole new bureau to investigate and track down these people, and if you thought the red scare was a witch hunt, then these guys are the entire Spanish Inquisition. You so much as do a card trick in front of them, and they’ll lock you up faster than you can say ‘abracadabra’. Now that you know what you’re getting into, you still wanna hear more? Still time for you to change your mind. Might get picked up by a fed for talking to me, but if you don’t know anything, they’ll let you go. This is one hole that can’t be undug once it’s dug. Still with me? Good. Then let me tell you what I know about the MURDers and Pandora’s Door. Summary Welcome to Chicago, the windy city, circa 1957. Elvis is in his prime, Eisenhower is president, and the second red scare has finally begun to die down. While America wasn’t without its problems, things were generally looking up for the average citizen. That is, until Olympus Power Corp invited the world to attend their new unveiling. The streets were packed with street vendors, workers, and onlookers hoping to get a glance of the promised wonder. The wealthy watched from leisure on the back of their boats, and dozens of entrepreneurs lucky enough to own a unit nearby sold admission to their own living rooms to watch from the windows. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to be a part of history in the making. And unfortunately, many of them got their wish. You too were there that day, among the throngs of people, perhaps an onlooker, or a worker, or an investor. When things went wrong, you had front row tickets to the biggest explosion since Hiroshima. Your survival was considered by many to be a miracle, but that was only the beginning of your troubles. The incident began to change you, granting you abilities that seemed impossible to explain. Going to the hospitals for help was a fast track to ending up in the newly formed military base, and you still have bills to pay, family to take care of. Like it or not, you’re either going to have to figure this out yourself, or else find some other like-minded individuals to work with. This campaign will start with a short prologue detailing the events of the MURD explosion, before your powers start manifesting, and will then have a short timeskip to about three months after, long enough for you to start discovering your newfound powers and hear about other MURDers with power. The campaign will be primarily a sandbox, and while there will be several plots going on in the background, how much you interact with them will be mostly up to you. While there will be hooks for you to grab onto, this game will work best if you have an idea for your character’s motivation and desires, and use the plots as complications to your own story, rather than relying on the plot to give your character meaning. Perhaps you’ll become a vigilante, using your powers to stop other criminals, or perhaps you’ll become one of the criminals vigilantes hunt down. Perhaps someone else you care about was killed in the incident, and you’re determined to get to the bottom of the shadowy corporations responsible, or perhaps you were an employee of Olympus Power hoping to earn redemption for your role in the incident. This campaign will be running the gamut in terms of power level-you’ll start only a bit above a regular thug with a gun, but your powers are still maturing. You’ll start at PL 6, but will hit PL 8 quickly (by PBP standards), and can expect to spend the majority of the campaign in the 10-12 range. In theory, I could see the campaign reaching as high as PL 14 before the final encounter, but I wouldn’t be building a character with the expectation of reaching that lofty height. Your application If the above sounds like the kind of world you’d like to play in, then this is what I need from you! Character Name: Feel free to add a “superhero” name as well Age: Given the darker nature of this campaign, very young characters may not be appropriate for the tone of the game. That said, if you have an idea for such a character, feel free to shoot your shot! Gender: *In my best professor Oak voice* Are you a boy or a girl? Nationality: While the campaign primarily takes place in Chicago, you don’t necessarily need to be a Chicagoan. You could have just been visiting family, or perhaps traveled some distance to see the MURD’s unveiling. You should, however, have a reason to return to and/or stay in Chicago if that is the case, as that’s where all the plot is happening. Physical Description: If your character changes visibly in their “super” form, I want a description of your character before and after transformation, even if your character’s transformation was one way. Occupation: What do you do for a living? Powerset: What sort of powers did you get in the incident? I don’t need a full power breakdown here, “electricity manipulation” is enough, as is “telepathy”. If your powers are more complicated than that, you can write a few sentences down, but if you need more than a paragraph to explain it, it's probably too much. Backstory: It doesn’t need to be a novel, but I expect at least a couple of paragraphs-since this is going to be more of a sandbox campaign, your background is going to determine a great deal of how your campaign goes, especially at the beginning. Boons: What does your character like? What do they desire? List at least three things, but there's no limit to how many you can have here. They can be simple things like a favorite food, or intangible concepts like freedom. Ideally, these should be things I as the DM could use to motivate your character. Malus: What does your character hate? What do they fear? As above, please list at least three, and feel free to list as many as you want. Contacts: Everyone knows someone. List a couple of important NPCs here, and a brief description of them. You can list family, coworkers, or the owner of the hotdog stand you visit every day on your way to work, but you should have at least 1 positive NPC (someone who likes you/will go out of their way to help you) and at least 1 negative NPC (someone who dislike you/has some reason to make your life miserable). Complications: List the ways by which I can make your character miserable! Writing Sample: A very attractive woman with long red hair shows up at your door. She knows about your powers, and a fair number of other things about you. She says that she’s putting a crew together for a job, and you have exactly the skillset she needs to finish out the team. She says there’s a lot of money in it for you if you join them, and not so subtly suggests she might leave your information with the authorities if you decline. Write up a mock post of how your character might respond to such a proposition. Note that this is not (necessarily) something that will happen in game, so don’t write the encounter into your backstory (unless you really want to). campaign expectations I plan to be active about 3-4 times a week. Ideally, I’d like to find 4+ players who can match that rate, but realistically I only expect a minimum of twice a week. Life happens, and I’m more than happy to accommodate as much as I can, but that should be the exception, not the norm. Also, as I’ve stated several times now, this is going to be very much a sandbox-that means you’ll have the freedom to make your own story, but that also means that you’ll be more responsible for your own story. There will likely be times where you get dragged into events by happenstance, but more often than not you’ll need to find your own hooks. Much of the plot of this campaign revolves around the MURDers, and how the events of the collapse changed the world. As such, most characters should be affected by the pulse. Of course, the effects of the pulse are nebulous specifically to allow for a wide variety of character concepts. It’s just as likely to give you actual magic powers as it is to make you a super genius capable of inventing crazy devices or raise you from the dead as a ghoul. However, if you have a character concept that’s more a ‘badass normal’, you can do that, though you’ll need to have some other reason to get involved, and I won’t be taking more than one or two such characters. Also, since you won’t have the rapid growth and development of powers, you’ll also gain power points at a slower rate, though I’ll likely have you start at a higher PL and have additional power points to make up for your slower growth. While we’re talking about PL and PP, while I won’t require a character sheet yet, for those of you curious as to how it will be done, you’ll all make PL 6 characters, though you’ll only have a maximum of 60 points to spend and you can’t have any powers-this will represent your “civilian” form. After the prologue, you’ll gain your first set of actual powers, and you’ll have 30 points plus anything you didn’t spend on your initial 60 to spend on powers. Also, since most of your character’s power growth will come from your powers manifesting, at least 1/3rd of your power points that you earn throughout the campaign must be spent on powers. This is important because, as the campaign continues, the government may develop measures to suppress your powers, leaving you in your depowered civilian form. Finally, since each person will be following their own path, it's very possible that two or more players could end up on opposite sides of a battle. PVP is not the focus of the story, but it could happen, and if it does, respect your other players. We’re all here to have a good time, don’t do anything that jeopardizes that for anyone else. Applicant Character Powerset Status BlackDragon0 Oni Kage "Dragon" Paragon Done! EMIW Rudy van Weerd "Rust" Entropic Touch Done! DraconigenaArma Dermot Walsh "Singularity" Gravity Manipulation Done! HexCursed Charity Ann Sellers Phasing Done! Rockerboy Vincent Santoni Steel Form Done! ArcZero Farrah Marshall "Bitter Bombshell" Duplication/Exploding Hair Done! Remorazz Charlie Marton "Myndo" Telepathy Done! AlphaZ Dr. Augustus Holland "Sandman" Psychic Powers/Altered Physiology Done! Ysolde Anne Ritter Bio Manipulation Done! PalladiaMors Maddie Milano Super Genius Done! Lorelei Bri Donnelly Camera Vision Done! Ghrimm Jonny Henry Cobb "Aeolus" Air Form Done! The Rat Queen Rebecca Silber Magic Done! Drachenspirit Aleqasina Smith "Tornādo" Air Control Done! Hound Duncan Mercer "Guardian" Super Soldier Done! Phasmus Michael Oldman Fungi Done! voodoozombie Dr. Kathey DuChane Weather Control Done!

[Kaiya]

Originally Posted by Boss Nadar

...This is important because, as the campaign continues, the government may develop measures to suppress your powers, leaving you in your depowered civilian form.

This part worries me a bit. The government already has a massive advantage over the new supers. They've got thousands of heavily armed soldiers; Intel from massive spy agencies; Widespread media influence; And (presumably) some superpowered employees of their own. Do they really need antimagic technology too? Because to me, that doesn't sound fun.

[HexCursed]

Hey! I'm very interested in the setting and story. It'll take me a bit though to think up a good character hook. What were you thinking in terms of a deadline for applications? And not that I plan to push the boundaries or anything - my characters powerset wouldn't get much more unusual than say... phasing or flight - but what powers and abilities are considered "out of bounds"?

[Boss Nadar]

@Kaiya: That's a difficult concern to answer without giving away too many plot points, but suffice to say the government's ability to suppress your powers isn't something they will have access to at the start of the campaign. When they do eventually get access to it, it will come in the form of restraining gear like handcuffs or the like that dampen your abilities while worn. If you get stuck wearing one, its likely you already lost a fight with your powers, and instead of killing you, they'll put you in the dampening restraints. They will eventually develop the technology a bit more, but I can promise there will never be a time where your powers are taken away suddenly and abruptly-it will either be the consequences of your actions (losing a fight), or a decision you make to enter a zone you know your powers won't work in. There will also come a point where you learn something very important about the nature of your powers, at which point all the government's tools will simply stop working on you. I wish I could say more, but I'm dancing too close to the heart of the plot as it is.

@Hexcursed: Tentatively, I'm looking at thanksgiving weekend, but that's not set in stone yet. Want to test the waters and see how many good apps I get before I set a hard line. As for off limit powers, the only power I can think of that would have to be banned is precognition, unless it has some very interesting flaws to keep it from being abused. I will also probably put some soft limits on things like superspeed and strength, just because the scaling on that can get pretty crazy at higher ranks, but otherwise, brew to your heart's content!

[Sefer Yetzirah]

Definitely interested, really cool theme. So placeholder here for the character

[BlackDragon0]

app Character Name: Oni Kage (translation: Demon's Death Shadow) Hero Name: Dragon! Age:32 Gender: MALE Nationality: Half Japanese American. Born in Tucson Az. Physical Description: Average toned 6ft tall SOF soldier , likes army fatigues and black clothes. Short hair combed back not much longer than a soldiers haircut of the time period. Brown eyes. After: 6ft4in Arnold Schwarzenegger build tight black clothes. With a black leather trenchcoat. (Super hero mode black Swat/SOF fatigues flackjacket, and black cape attached. Hair down or normal ponytail.) Long black hair top Knott style. Dark angry expression behind sunglasses. Eyes dark brown almost black. Occupation: Former ww2 SOF. ( Drafted at 17, discharged at 22) Now martial artists. Was in Chicago for a meeting to set up and join a kick boxing tournament foundation. Hopefully as big as boxing is already... Powerset: Flight, Superstrength, Chi blast, in creased speed Agility and healing. Think Goku/superman kinda. Backstory: Oni Kage's father was an American soldier in ww1 his units plane was shot down. They crashed off the coast of Japan. Only 2 survived. He was hospitalized for a long time. When he came home it was with a Japanese wife. Not long later Oni Kage was born. There were many complications his mother almost died. Hence his name. Despite this they loved him very much. His mother taught him how to use a katana. His father taught him patriotism. While in high school WW2 began. The day he graduated he came home so happy and proud to tell his parents. Only to find his mother crying. And his father looking at a piece of paper full of pride. He had been drafted. And was to leave for fort Benning in the morning. He did very well in basic. First was infantry then they sent him to airborne, then to the rangers.(While this was going on his parents DIED in a fire. Where no one was there to help them.) He even made Corp. before being shipped over sea. His unit did well in its first few months. A 1 * general came to see him. Said that his captain had lots of good things to say about him. He wanted Oni Kage for his SOF. And offered a promotion to Staff Sgt. He accepted. For a year he was removed from combat and sent around the world to train in many forms of combat. He excelled at hand to hand and infiltration. He met Pvt.fc. Mac. Jonny was his first name. They became friends. Jonny was a sniper. Who before the end of the war had learned to fly choppers. And owed his life several times over to Oni Kage. ( Like the time he stepped on a mine and Oni Kage disarmed it. Or the time he charged a head thinking he'd get a sniper position in a tower. Oni Kage tackled him as the German .30 cal machine gun opened up. He'd have been fulla holes. Oni Kage threw a grenade close enough to wound them and stop the firing so the rest of the unit could over take the position. ) They had a Lt. named Daniels. Oni Kage and Daniels trained together allot. Did lots of hand to hand. And even talked about opening a school for fighting together. But towards the end of the war something changed Daniels. ( Or he started showing his true nature.) He went from the kind Lt. To a murderous physcopath. He even walked into a village with a chain gun and mowed down all the civilians living there. When Oni Kage caught up to him (at a second village starting to shoot) and almost beat him to death. Mac a Sgt now came running up with a radio. The general was ordering Oni Kage to stand down and take the Lt. into custody. Oni Kage was forced to follow those orders and testify at Daniels court-martial. He then spent the last 8 months of the war with a battlefield promotion to captain. Saved some lives killed lots of nazis. And came home with a medal of honor. Because he was drafted and served 5 years instead of just 4. He was allowed an honorable discharge. Even though the General wanted him to continue his service. Oni Kage had his own plan. Martial arts. Teach and compete. ( Hopefully no more war.) Like boxing but with kicking. He's had a bit of success. Mostly small tournaments. Cash prizes and small trophies. The sport hadn't taken off yet like boxing. But this guy in Chicago called. He has a plan. A foundation, a league, a world championship. Like boxing but out of the big city of Chicago. He thinks it will go over well there. So that's where he's heading. They are supposed to talk over lunch at a restaurant on the pier. By the Murd opening. It's kinda a big thing in Chicago right now. Although if not for the call he probably would have taken the general's offer to re-enlist, and run a SOF unit in Korea. Then the explosion. He had covered his contact with his own body. As in a flash lots of people died. He wished he had had the strength and power to save them... Maybe he got his wish. In return for saving his life his new friend Chester Arthur bought a building for the "Dragon dojo" school of combat. And allowed him to live in the apt above the dojo rent free, as long as he teaches and competes in exhibitions. At this time Oni Kage has no family, and few friends. But has hope for a future of teaching compitions, freedom in the country he fought for, and the possibility of building a family. Consider him highly motivated. Boons: What does your character like? What do they desire? Fav foods pizza Chinese, and pasta. Loves women. Fighting competition. Having a family and a good life of freedom. I mean hey it's what he fought for right? Rockinroll or country music while driving (flying if he could take a radio). Malus: What does your character hate? What do they fear? Hates alcohol tobacco & drugs. Hates bullies, and generally all badguys. Hates anyone who judges others like the nazis did, especially when they use that hate to take away people's freedom. Fears: spiders(Arachnophobia), paralyzation.(If he can fight or be himself why live?) Contacts: General Tomas Lane. The guy who recruited him to SOF. Good guy all about freedom, and military life. Good for advice. And had his back once. FFT Oni Kage is a soldier at heart.. He could be convinced, possibly by the general to start a team backed by the General's political associates. Sgt. Jonny Mac soldier he saved a few times when in SOF. Was a friend in the war would do almost anything to repay the debt. Helicopter pilot and sniper. Still active duty. Teaches pilots. LT. Daniels Former SOF officer. Started out as a friend. But near the end of the war he turned phsyco killer. Walked into a town and gunned down everyone, men women children. Oni Kage had to stop him would have killed him if not for the General's order to keep him alive. Daniels got court-martialed. Oni Kage got a promotion to captain. Now Lt Daniels is a fight competitor who gives the sport a bad name. He overly brutal and vicious in the ring. His group also want to set up in Chicago. FFT He's here to start a W.K.A. like thing. While boxing is still the main fight sport he's well known enough to be asked to specifically join and help start it. The Lt. Is also in the sport as the bad guy who will cheat to win. May not only want to rep the sport but may want to control it. Corrupt it. How better to fund and force fixed fights than the mob??? Chester Arthur: the kickboxing administrator who wants Oni Kage to show what the sport is really about. Lives in Chicago. Is alive cause Oni Kage shielded him with his own body. Golden gloves boxing is the current big thing. Chester wants to build off it with a more bloody full contract sport. Maybe 1 or 2 cops locally that served with Oni Kage. Complications: Giant spiders, spiders when his Chi ain't powered up. Giving the Lt. powers. Stop him from saving someone. Kill his lady. Find a cage that will hold him. (Basically take away his freedom). Temporarily paralyze him. Writing Sample: Oni Kage herd a knock at the door to the apt he was painting. He answered to see a very attractive woman with long red hair. Funny he had a crush on red heads back in high school. Her name was Rose Thorne. She knows about his powers, and more. About his military history. And his plans to compete. She says that she’s putting a crew together for a job, and he has exactly the skillset she needs to finish out the team. She says there’s a lot of money in it for him if he joins them, and not so subtly suggests she might leave his information with the authorities if he declines. This wouldn't matter if he didn't just gain powers. There's an agency trying to imprison people just cause they have powers. It's just like Hitlers SS but here. He just fought a war to end that kind of wrong. He jerked Rose inside and gutted her. As her guts began to spill out he laid her down, on the plastic cloth he had out for the painting. She tried to speak he crushed her jaw. Then began to search her. Found her I'd with address and picture of her family. As well as proof of her planned criminal activity. He showed her the picture of her family as she lay dying. "Know I'm going to kill them painfully and slowly. And I'll find your team and end them as well." he told her. Then slit her throat. After dark came he loaded her body in a covered truck. Returned the keys to the apt. He decided it was to much work. And drove the body out to a old fort and dropped her body in acid. Then kept his word and eliminated her family and crew. If there was one thing he learned in war it's to respond to evil , wrongs, threats ect , with 1000xs more monster monsterious action. Totally eliminate all involved. And send a message that he can be worse a nightmare than they can. So don't mess with him. He left the city and found a new one to live in. The authorities told the papers it was a mob hit hence no bodies. And that they believed there never would be. As was the normal with mob cases. THIS IS A WHAT IF NOT HIS ACTUAL WAY. IT'SA POSSIBILITY OF HOW THAT WOULD GO. AND HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO USE HIS POWERS...

? Blackdragon0 So to clarify, you always go by your full name regardless of who is addressing you? Would it be offensive/improper to simply call you 'Oni', or 'Kage'? Just want to make sure NPCs are using the correct name when addressing you.

answer ONI means demon. On its own its more like calling him a disparaging word. Kage on its own means Death Shadow or plague. So calling him kage is like calling him leper. Only together do they fit. Sorry I normally use Dawie = David, or Kokuryuu= BlackDragon as a first name. But this time the mame just fit the ch type. Cause as a former soldier he's going to fight like a demon and to those he's after its going to feel a Demon's shadow of death (grim reaper) is apon them. Both when he was a SOF and as the hero/anti-hero he's going to be. It's simpler when he's a hero/super he just goes by Dragon. And will after a time add a dragon either red or green to his cape.

addin Food for thought. He's shown the ability to protect others and save people. ( Soldier and more specifically Jonny Mac.) He's used to seeing bad things and being sent to stop them normally by killing the enemy. He's here to start a W.K.A. like thing. While boxing is still the main fight sport he's well known enough to be asked to specifically join and help start it. How better to fund and force fixed fights than the mob??? The exact opposite of who he is. The unseen hook he was away at war when his parents died in a fire. Who started it? Was it meant to kill them was it a mob make a building unliveable scheme so they can buy and put something else there? Was it a group that didn't like race mixing? Oni Kage wouldn't know. But to have it exposed in game to him would be a cool plot twist. And lastly murd thing killed people he really won't need any other reason than that to want to go after them. I mean he went to war to save lives... murd would just wind up being a new at home personal war.

On another note. If you want to know a bit of the kind of stuff I can write and bring to a game I recommend reading C.A.T.S, link below in signature. VVV

?&answers One thing I don't think I saw in your application is what your family situation is like. Are your parents still alive? Do they live in Chicago, or are they still in Arizona? they died that's in the story. And what does his living situation look like? Does he own his own home? Rent? or live in the basement of his own training gym? probably a apt. Unless the Kickboxing association works out. As that would be a in game thing. Speaking of gyms, do you have a name for your kickboxing contact in Chicago? No i didn't name that ch. I'll think of something. I also left some possible cops in the area that he served with. Whither infantry, rangers or SOF. I figured if you had them you'd name them. If you used them. I thinking your first chapter would involve the yet unnamed contact and a few powerful influences, not all of them good...

kickboxing Profesional notes: kickboxing originated in Japan,developed in the late 1950s from karate mixed with boxing, with competitions held since then. September 1974, when the Professional Karate Association (PKA) held the first World Championships. Based on this information. I'd say compitions and exhibitions were more local till it finally made it big. So my guy is getting in on the ground floor of its beginnings in a time and city where golden gloves boxing was the big thing. There'd need to be his dragon dojo , and I'd say 3 others. One run by Daniels. Who will probably try to take control of those using the mob. Also likely to have karate dojos, possibly Kung fu as well. A good example of this would be 'No retreat, No Surrender' staring JCVD.

game? Finally, I'd also like to turn the table around, and ask for some feedback from you. If you make it into the game, what would your expectations be from the game, your character's story, and most importantly, me as your GM? Well first some back and forth before the boom. Then a bit after a space for me to do a time spent doing x to the current time. Then a narrative explaining weather things are going well or bad up to this point. Then several chances for the chs to meet 1 to 1 maybe in civilian life, and superhero/villian ( as i see many looking like villians rather than heroes.) Then a reason for them to group. While using various npcs from everyone. Maybe a option for the ch to form a team protected from the guys hunting MURDers by working with the general, and say a gov spook. To protect the city from the evil ones. With possibly being sent to warzones from time to time, if dm decidesits realivent. BUT MOST OF ALL A FUN GAME.

[EMIW]

Ooo yes! I had the idea for this character many years ago and never got to do anything with them. Maybe now is their time to shine...

Rudolf 'Rudy' van Weerd Character Name: Rudolf 'Rudy' van Weerd - aka "Rust" Age: 35 Gender: Male, he/him Nationality: American, family is Dutch. Physical Description: Rudy has the wiry look of a naturally small man who has done a lot of manual work. Occupation: Porter - lifting, carrying, basic maintenance Powerset: At his touch metal rusts or corrodes, organic matter decays. The root ability that allows this is very localised time dilation, causing time to massively speed up. Later in the campaign, once Rudy understands more about his powers, this could allow for healing of himself and others from wounds Backstory: Rudy is a simple man, and never had any great aspirations for his life. The Chicago Dutch did the city's dirty work - garbage, haulage etc. - and Rudy was no different. He'd found work at the Olympus company, and although some of the high-flying ideas of the company filtered down to him he was mostly concerned with his day-to-day - move this box here, drive this equipment there, fix this thing. Of course, there wasn't much money in it, and a man has bills to pay, especially with a wife and kids, and a man like Rudy who can move through the company unseen is a useful person to those less salubrious characters in Chicago life. The Chicago Outfit, the mafia, found in him a useful go-between, doing what he did for the Company anyways, moving things from here to there. He never knew what he was moving, or exactly what the Mob wanted with it, but he always got a small cut, something to help with the bills. That's how he found himself at the harbour that fateful day. His usual contact, a scientist called Kit Green, was twitchy, nervous, looking over their shoulder. They handed Rudy a metal case, about a foot on each side. "Get it out of here," they said. "I need to get back." Looking over at the pier, just a short stretch of water away, a light started to flicker from Olympus's new machine. "Should it be doing that?" asked Rudy. His contact, eyes wide, muttered "No... no it shouldn't..." And then the world turned white. Boons: Rudy loves a hotdog, drowning in mustard. What he wants most is to get rid of his powers, but has no idea how. The reason he wants rid of them is so he can return to his family without fearing for their safety. Malus: Rudy hates pickles. He's afraid of heights. He is afraid of what people might try to use him for if they discover his abilities. Contacts: Kit Green - Olympus scientist - contact in Olympus who would provide him with tech/equipment requested by the Mafia, though Rudy never knew what any of it did. He doesn't know if Kit survived the blast at the pier. Giana (wife, 33), Anneke (daughter, 7), and Gio (son, 4). Rudy's wife is Italian, and they gave their children alternately Dutch and Italian names. 'Anneke' was Rudy's grandmother who made the trip from Europe in the 1880s. After an incident before Rudy gained control over his powers he injured Anneke, Rudy left, fearing for their safety around him. He can't stop himself from stopping by to see how they are, though always keeping out of sight. Adamo Campanelli - Mafia contact, and cousin to Rudy's wife Giana. The one who first suggested that Rudy could be of use to the Outfit through his job at Olympus, though he has never been happy that Giana married a poor non-Italian, and not-so-subtly resents Rudy's presence in her life. Player Connections: Vincent "Vinny" Santoni - Rudy and Vinny met after the incident with the MURD. Vinny was on the outs with the Outfit after losing them a whole bunch of moolah, and while they tried to decide what to do with him he was sent out to shake down people like him, people in trouble with the mob. Rudy was one of them, the mob insisting that he has the item they were expecting him to deliver the day of the incident. In their meeting, one (or both) of them started exhibiting signs of their new abilities, and they realised they had more in common than just having the Outfit gunning for them. Dermot Walsh - They both drive for Olympus, and might well have met making deliveries, though unlike Dermot, Rudy doesn't own his own van/truck. From Rudy's point of view back then, Dermot was kinda living the dream - own your own truck, yeah, that's the good stuff. A man could really go places with his own truck. Charles "Myndo" Marton - As with Vinny, Rudy might have been hauled in front of Myndo to check whether he was telling the truth about not having the missing item. That's when they both figure out there's more to the other than meets the eye... Dr Augustus Holland - I don't actually think they would know each other, I just think it would be funny if they met. Rudy is Dutch... Dr Holland... Dr Anne Ritter - When the accident happened with his daughter, if Rudy didn't immediately freak out and run away, it's possible he would have taken her to the hospital to be seen, and met Dr Ritter there. He would have claimed the dead tissue on her arm was a bad scald, she'd tipped a pan of water onto herself, but I expect Dr Ritter knows the difference between a burn and necrotised tissue, and the pattern is remarkably like a handprint... Maddie Milano - Rudy tries to fix his piece of c*** car whenever possible, professional work is expensive. But sometimes it just can't be helped. So maybe he's had to take it to Milano's a few times, quibbled with Maddie about the cost of repairs and replacement parts. Rebecca Silber - Rudy met Rebecca by chance, some time before the MURD incident, just doing his job dropping off supplies ordered for her and her team's projects. Chances are they weren't close, but they got on, more than he did with the other scientists who looked down on him. Perhaps that's what they had in common - let's face it, they didn't have much else in common. But they accepted each other, and had a kind of friendship. Rebecca also worked with Kit Green, who Rudy had to pretend not to know whenever he found himself in their lab. Complications: Putting his family in danger Mafia trying to pull him back in Authorities finding out about his powers Authorities finding out his role in helping rob Olympus Losing control of his powers (stress/anger/boosted) His car is small, old and cheap, and liable to c**p out at any point. Motivation/Plan His plan right now, as alluded to in the below non-canon writing sample, is that he wants to get rid of his powers. To do that he'll probably be trying to find his Olympus contact Kit Green, the only person he knows personally who might have an idea of what actually happened to the MURD and to him. If me and The Rat Queen are both chosen to play, his options expand to include Rebecca Silber. If his only contact is Kit, and Kit turns out to have died in the incident, then Rudy will start trying to track down any of the other scientists involved, likely putting himself in far more danger. He might even try to break into Olympus to find records or some other answers. His motivation is "What I can do now is dangerous, I don't want it, I need to find a way to get rid of it." Writing Sample: Rudy shook in anger and fear. How could she know? He'd been so careful. Well, lately he'd been careful. When his powers had first started showing he hadn't known what was happening - food had rotted away in his hands, his tools had turned to rust. The final straw was a black, necrotised handprint on his daughter's arm. After that he couldn't stay, couldn't risk them. So this woman spoke to him from the doorway of a tiny, dingy rented apartment. Finally he was able to pull together a sentence. "I ain't joining your crew. I won't be used, not any more." "Well... think on it," she responds with a perfect, white smile, handing him a small card bearing just a single telephone number. "Call us if you change your mind." As she walked away, he called out "Hey!" When she turned back he held up the card. In his fingers it withered, curling up on itself, until he threw it on the floor, just a smear of grey sludge. "Tell anyone about me, and that'll be you." She just smiled again, almost pityingly. Rudy watched as she walked away down the corridor and turned into the stairwell. Stepping back into his apartment he looked around at the unmade single bed, the small, dirty kitchen area, cupboards which he knew were almost empty, the bare lightbulb which didn't work. Mostly he looked at the space where his family wasn't. He couldn't keep living like this, just waiting for something to happen to change his situation. Rust roest, as his grandmother would say. Running his hand over his eyes with a groan he turned again and jogged down the stairs. Exiting his building he glanced about, but couldn't see the woman anywhere. His heart sunk. She was gone. But as he turned back to the door she was just standing to one side, smoking a long, thin cigarette. She had waited for him. She knew he would follow. He steeled himself, and walked over. "Before I agree to anything, I got one question for you. You and your people... can you fix me?"

[HexCursed]

Thanks, Boss.

Also, I am wondering about something else: Since characters can be criminals, then is player vs. player allowed? If so, can I opt out?

I'm thinking of embracing the fact that the game takes place in 1957 and centering my character's struggles around the social norms of the times. She hates kids and does not want to be a wife and mother, but options are limiting and her family especially expects her to live in a very traditional way. I figure that her new abilities gives her that extra push to help her believe in herself and strive to stand on her own, despite the pressure to conform.

Any thoughts on whether this theme is appropriate?

[Boss Nadar]

Ho boy, I was not expecting full completed apps this quickly! Time to dive in!

BlackDragon0 Your writing sample caught me off guard! Is Oni Kage going for more of a 'punisher' or a 'azrael' vibe? What I mean by that is, obviously he's going to extreme length to kill criminals, does he still prioritize defending innocent lives when he can, or is the eradication of evil more important than the preservation of good? Also, I struggled a bit to read through it. If you have time, I'd appreciate making a once-over to clean it up a bit, maybe start by bolding the category name at the start of each segment to make it easier to see where one section ends and the next begins. Lastly, your app said you were in Chicago, but not how you were at the MURD incident-was your gym near the pier, and you happened to be training when it went off? Were you just checking it out of curiosity? If you want powers, you'll need to find an excuse for Oni to get his socks blasted off .

EMIW Interesting! I just have a few questions. Is this a "Midas touch" sort of situation, where his entropic abilities are always on? Or is it more of a case of learning to control his powers? Either is fine, though the former will come with its own host of complications. For your contacts, while its fine if you want to leave room for another PC to have a relationship of some sort with you at the campaign start, but I also want everyone to have a few NPC I can use to tie into the story as well. To that end, I'd like you to flesh out the contacts a bit more-give them names, and at least a 1 or 2 sentence description.

@HexCursed PvP is not the focus of this campaign, but it is entirely possible for players to end up on opposite sides of a conflict-one player might join the government while another joins a brotherhood style band of MURDers. If you want to opt out of even the possibility of PvP, I can make sure you don't have any incidental encounters with other players that could lead to PvP, but I can't, and won't, stop players from seeking you out if you make too much noise. You try to do a bank heist in the middle of the day, it'll make front page newspapers for sure and another play may come sniffing you out to either recruit or arrest you, for example. If you want to avoid even that, you'll need to make in character decisions to keep a lower profile, and probably avoid committing to any given faction. I will, however, repeat that PvP is not the focus, and even if you play normally, the odds of it happening are low, just nonzero. As for your character idea, that definitely fits with the era, so I say go for it!

[BlackDragon0]

Your writing sample caught me off guard!
yes!

Is Oni Kage going for more of a 'punisher' or a 'azrael' vibe? A bit more wolverine. A former soldier ready to kill the bads. But isn't out to kill them. Unless a situation like the red head where she came to his home to threaten him. If only she had left that last part out. But thats only one possibility.
And you did say the game was dark. My sample shows i can get really dark.

What I mean by that is, obviously he's going to extreme length to kill criminals, does he still prioritize defending innocent lives when he can, or is the eradication of evil more important than the preservation of good? He's a soldier first a hero second. In his mind as he is starting out. But yes he's very much out to help people. Especially with how his family died. And the way he will see the government goons as just another Hitler hit squad. He is very happy to show he can be more monsterious than the badguys if he needs be. But truthfully he would have never went after her family. Only the others who were with her. That was just a what if senerio.
Unlike superman he's willing to kill. As a former soldier. Un like Goku he doesn't believe everyone can be good if given the chance, he's seen to much evil for evil's sake.

Also, I struggled a bit to read through it. If you have time, I'd appreciate making a once-over to clean it up a bit, maybe start by bolding the category name at the start of each segment to make it easier to see where one section ends and the next begins.
Sorry everything on here is by phone it looked good but I'll go back and spoof it up.

Lastly, your app said you were in Chicago, but not how you were at the MURD incident-was your gym near the pier, and you happened to be training when it went off? Were you just checking it out of curiosity? If you want powers, you'll need to find an excuse for Oni to get his socks blasted off .
Yes i read how you had to be there for a reason.
I just didn't know you wanted special details on that. I'll write a add in. Although i kinda liked the lead off of he was going to be in Chicago.... it felt right. Ohh well I'll add more... he he he!

[EMIW]

Originally Posted by Boss Nadar

I thought it would cause far too many problems for his power to be always-on. He could never touch anything at all, couldn't cover his hands with gloves because they would rot away etc. However, if Rudy is chosen for the game you could rule that under stressful conditions he has to roll to not lose control of his powers. Perhaps under his control it is limited to Touch range, but when not in control the power has a greater range, things 5-10ft away start corroding. Just an idea.

You'll note that I've actually edited into my application some possible reasons for his powers, what actually causes them, which might help frame his story as the narrative moves forward. He wouldn't know about any of the scientific side of things - he's not stupid, but he's hardly a genius.

As for the contacts, I'll get on that ASAP and fill them out some more

[Boss Nadar]

BlackDragon0 Oh, I have no problems with dark, I just want to clarify what level of darkness you'll be descending to . Wolverine level sounds good to me! And the lead into Chicago doesn't need to be big, but when I begin the campaign, its going to start mere minutes before the incident, and I need to know where you'll be to write your introduction.

EMIW Yes, having it always on would cause a ton of issues, and I was about to point some of those out if you said that was the way you wanted to go. As for losing control over your powers, I don't like taking narrative license with my players in that way without either permission or a very good plot reason, like something boosting your powers beyond your ability to control them. If you want to have a complication that stress makes you lose control of your powers, go ahead and add that to your complications. If that doesn't sound like something you'd want for your character, leave it off, and I'll refrain. Looking forward to your contacts!

[BlackDragon0]

OK hope that's better.

[EMIW]

Originally Posted by Boss Nadar

You have my permission to mess with Rudy's powers however you like, should he be picked for the game.
Contacts are completed, please let me know if you need a change or more info.

[DraconigenaArma]

Character Name: Dermot Walsh, “The Singularity”
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Nationality: American, full Irish descent

Physical Description
Dermot is an unassuming man of average height with brown hair but green eyes. He keeps his narrow face clean shaven and his hair cut short, with a low fade. His smile is broad and his teeth are clean, but slightly spaced apart. He has to wear glasses, but only to read, and they are black half horn rimmed style. Though unremarkable in height or build, he is athletic and maintains reasonable physique through regular running, calisthenics, and time spent at the boxing gym.

Occupation
Delivery truck driver, primarily in town, though he takes over the road jobs as they come, especially since they tend to pay more.

Powerset
The manipulation of time and space through controlling gravity.

Backstory
Born of full Irish descent in the South Side Irish part of Chicago, he grew up as close to being in Ireland as you can be while still living in the US. His mother was full Irish and his father was first generation American, serving during the war while Dermot was still in middle school. His community was working class, and he had a factory job at Olympus Corporation from the day his dad shipped out, working mostly evening shifts after school. Though he did finish high school, he had no reason to go into college.
He did what most of his peers did and married his high school sweetheart Catriona. To their credit, they genuinely love each other and have continued to do so. Since then they’ve moved up from a small apartment to a modest townhouse just down the road from where his parents Sean and Jennifer live, in the same neighborhood where they both grew up. His oldest son is six now, and they have a two year old girl as well. After high school he started doing almost exclusively over the road trucking, taking deliveries out of the factory he worked in, but he has moved down to regional driving as much as he can to spend more time at home. Still, he pulls a bulk of his deliveries through Olympus, even if he is technically freelance. He wants to coach little league once Kevin’s old enough to play, and since Catriona took those cooking classes down at the community hall it’s been worth it being home for supper more.
He owns his own truck now, too. Nothing new or fancy, an old ’38 GMC T-Series, but he can keep it running himself and has a flatbed he can roll onto the back for non-container jobs. Once he went independent, and stopped delivering as a driver for Olympus, he joined the Teamsters, as it’s a hard enough life not having that pay slip from the big corporation, and the union was a no-brainer move. Dermot is fairly certain he has probably hauled shady cargo, for the mob or someone else, especially based on some of the clientele he’s met for pickup or drop off. Dermot’s opinion is, he doesn’t look in the boxes when he pulls trailers from anywhere else, which is enough plausible deniability for him now, especially with the Teamsters at his back.
His father, a mason by trade, is getting old enough he needs Dermot’s help more often than he used to on jobs, and having his own truck now means he can help his father with hauling materials, as well as porting them. Though he tried for the Golden Gloves a few years back, he was not at a competitive level in his skill as a boxer and now does it for health and recreation, even helps coach a few of the newer kids at the gym when he has time. Catriona’s pregnant again, but neither of them know it yet as she’s only a little late right now, not enough to raise any suspicion anyway.
Dermot just so happened to be making emergency deliveries for the big party the day of the explosion, as they had already exceeded what they had ordered in regards to beer and liquor, and had started to tap out the local liquor stores. So he, among other local truckers, ran far afield to bring back enough drink to slake the appetites of the attendees. He was far enough away from the blast, and on the opposite side of the truck, that he was little more than knocked to the ground. It busted most of the bottles still left strapped to the flat bed, and debris busted a tire as well as doing a number on the paint job, as well as pitting the side of the truck all up and down with scratches and dents. It also fried his radio, which was worse than losing the tire (at least he had a spare.) The whole ordeal left him so shook up he popped the lid off one of the surviving bottles of suds and downed it to calm his nerves, never noticing it glowed faintly before he chugged it.

Boons
Dermot likes his family, coming from not just a tight knit, dense, urban, ethnically proud community where family and neighbors are so involved in each other’s lives it’s difficult to truly distinguish which is which, family is everything. He enjoys the freedom and autonomy of his delivery jobs, and the alone time being on the road. There is a peace to the monotony of driving that he did not experience in the monotony of the assembly line. He’s an avid cubs fan and goes to games whenever he can afford to, and if there’s a game it’s on the radio (this is indisputable.) A guilty pleasure, both he and Catriona adore pulp fiction novels and they always buy two copies to read the book at the same time, and then talk about it. It is actually a semi-secret pastime of Dermot’s to swing by the library now and again to peek at some of the newer titles, getting an idea of which one is going to be good before buying a brace of copies to bringing home. He actually enjoys his honey-do list, and fixing things around the house, maintaining the truck, and building things, mostly things Catriona wants, provides him satisfaction. As far as he can tell he’s never taken advantage of that kind of devotion from him, and rarely asks him to do something he really doesn’t want to do, or is outside of his abilities.

Malus:
The Cardinals, come on. As Chicago continues to build up around them, he worries about the city growing bigger than they can afford to live in. They are not poor by any stretch, but he wants to take Catriona on vacations, and maybe send his kids to college if they want to go. But he worries where he’s at now, driving truck, is as far as he’ll ever get and while it’s good for now while they’re young – he wonders what life will be like when he’s his Dad’s age, watching the man in constant pain stacking bricks with no relief in sight. He can’t stand ketchup, but will put mustard on about anything. He also really hates his doorbell and kinds of wishes Catriona never talked him into installing one. The honey-do list is very important to him, and will go to great strides to keep it empty, because he genuinely reviles having an unhappy wife – not because she’s a scold but because he’s still very (self-induced and happily) wrapped around her finger. So he will go to great lengths to make sure that she’s happy.

Contacts
Positive contacts: Catriona, his wife, Kevin, his son, and Jennifer (named for his mother) his daughter. Sean, his father, Jennifer, his mother, and twelve aunts and uncles between his parents (some of whom live close, many elsewhere including in Ireland.) He has three older brothers (one died in the war, the other two are still in town,) and one younger brother who went to New York to work for a newspaper. There’s Lena Myers, the young dispatcher at his regular delivery station who always seems to have just enough coffee to top off his thermos after his morning cup at home. She has a crush on him and dreamily fantasizes about a laundromat bodice-ripper affair and is always sorely disappointed at his lack of romantic interest. Gilbert Wilson, an old beat cop who appreciates that Dermot is all over the city getting into and out of places, and meeting all sorts of people, and will buy him a hot dog now and again to hear what he’s seen and heard. Dermot knows he’s not Ofc. Wilson’s only source of intel, and doesn’t make much of it.

Player contact: Farrah Marshal, though he doesn’t actually know her last name, she’s a fairly new, if particularly helpful, librarian who’s always able to help him find just the right book for the next read with Catriona. Rudy van Weerd, a familiar face from among the gang of laborers at Olympus, likely still bumped into him periodically even after moving off on his own.

Negative contacts: A handful of rival drivers, especially from competing companies that are always fighting for routes and contracts, namely Kit Phillips who isn’t above resorting to dirty tactics. There are rumors of cut brake lines or thug tactics against suppliers to change business decisions or eliminate competition. Julia Ross, hates Catriona for bitterness going back to when they were kids in school, and thus hates him too. Frank Diaz, runs a local shop, through a miscommunication believes Dermot tried to swindle him, and since then hasn’t let him in the shop and pesters him if he parks near the store. For all that they are tight knit community, Ray Parker next door hates that Dermot parks a whole truck, and all the space it takes up, in the space-at-a-premium townhome community.

Complications
Messing with / threatening his family is an easy way to push his buttons. And not just his wife and kids, but also his extended family, and the family that are the people living on his block, and in his neighborhood, etc. This also includes disrupting his lifestyle, not necessarily threatening them directly – as due to his long haul routes and odd-hour deliveries, and weekend routes, etc. he misses mass and Saturday dinner at his parents house, and block parties, etc. enough as is. By extension, his living is based on his truck, which I have kind of already messed with in my own background. He’s old fashioned (this is the 1950s, so current fashioned?) and without leaning too heavily into the Captain America vibe traditional things like not hitting a woman would make crime fighting/supervillain defeating more complicated. Also, he’s got a humility streak, in a homogenous community it isn’t necessarily a good thing to stand out too much, so as his powers manifest he won’t want to be outed for it or really have anyone know.

Writing Sample
Dermot wrenches the door open, halfway through a tirade about the ills of the doorbell. “Get your finger off that goddamn bell before you wake up the baby!” he growls, before getting a good look who is actually behind the door. “Ah, beg your pardon ma’am.” he apologizes, pulling the pipe out of his mouth and holding it behind his back. “You must be looking for my wife. She’s not in, can I take a message?”
”No,” she corrects him, “I’m here to talk to you Dermot. We need to talk.”
”Sorry, but I don’t think I know you.” He tells her. Normally he’d be on the road today, but he traded routes so Catty could go to the salon after she got Jennifer down for a nap. There was no reason she should know him, or know that he’d be home right now.
”You don’t,” she assures him, “but I know you. And I know what you can do, if you know what I mean.”
”I don’t think I do.” But Dermot had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something about the way she looked, the suggestive way in which she was talking. It made him nervous.
”The floating. The light things you make heavy, the heavy things you can make light. Shaving minutes off your route for no… good reason. Do I need to be more specific?” As she spoke the scowl spreads deeper into the lines of Dermot’s face, his eyes locking on her’s with a mixture of indignant rage and fear. He licks his lips, then he licks his thumb and shoves it into the pipe to quench and tamp it, shoving it into his front shirt pocket.
”Uhm.” He stammers, then turns his head to speak back into the house, “Kevin, go play in the back. Now. Because I told you to, now go.” They both wait in tense silence, listening to the sound of footsteps and then the sound of the back door opening and closing. Then Dermot takes a step forward, closing the front door behind him.
”Listen lady, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but this isn’t the type of place you go –“ She cuts him off.
”Listen, Dermot, I need you. I you’re not the only one. With powers, I mean. I’m putting together a crew, we have some special work that people with special talents can help with. What you can do, you probably haven’t even scratched the surface of what you’re capable. You could be so much more, and there’s a lot of reward in it for you if you help me.” She continues, in the same suggestive manner she’s carried the entire conversation.
”Eh, flattered, but I’m married.” Dermot deflects.
”I’m talking about money you cabbage head.” She chastises him in return. Then, bringing it back to the conversation he is avoiding, “And listen, before you tell me how comfortable you are making chump wages and living in an apartment with delusions of grandeur, if I know what you can do… so can others. You heard about the arrests yet? How are you going to provide for them when they black bag you some night, eh?” He glowers at her, unsure what to say.
”You can’t come in, we can’t talk here.” Tilting his head he listens, “I think you woke the girl. I have to go back inside.”
”Can’t talk here, but we can talk?”
”Just talk.” He concedes. “But, just don’t come round the house again. People will talk. If you know what you say you do, you’ll know what time I’ll be getting a slice at Little Joe’s. We can talk there. I’m not promising you anything, but I’ll listen if you’ll leave the house alone.” This strange woman, who has never given up her name, regards him closely. The sound of the two year old crying is loud enough they both can hear it. After another moment of tense silence, he tilts her chin up.
“Fine. It’s a date.” Dermot rolls his eyes and slips back into the house as she turns and takes the few steps down off his porch back onto the sidewalk.

Addendum tie-ins and thoughts
As I mentioned earlier, the idyllic home life is a place to begin, and following the format of many origin stories, is something a hero will cling to though ultimately have to accept no longer exists. Dermot is the proverbial baby bird, and the MURD incident is what knocked him out of the nest, and while he will be in denial for a while, he will come to grips with the fact that he now has a larger part to play in the world than he anticipated. I’m also really eager to tie in his honey-do list, because to me it is amusing to think of him doing something super-hero-y because it’s what Catriona wants (either unwittingly, or even post-reveal of his powers) and the out of context “Because it’s on the list!” statement to why he chooses to participate in some particularly heroic endeavor. I also really want to play out, after she finds out about his powers, her sewing and assembling him a costume influenced painfully by the pulp fiction novels they both read. Again, as the story evolves I think there may even be opportunity for them to weaponized the neighborhood watch so to speak, with a network of nosy nannies and housewives somehow being influential in Dermot’s interaction with the story.