Post by Catsmate on Apr 15, 2023 21:22:46 GMT
The Awful Book
A quick idea inspired by this cartoon and some ideas on recurrence of past characters (thanks@ soultaker666212)
The PCs should be Earthbound, perhaps Torchwood or UNIT. The Misfit Mob would fit well, as would an unofficial investigating group such as LINDA¹ or the Silver Cloak². Alternatively perhaps someone (Sally Sparrow comes to mind for some reason) gets involved. Overhearing Ms. Fernandez making a complaint to the police is one way to connect her to the PCs. Maybe they were arrested for some reason³ (like trespass for Sally, with Larry waiting to collect her)
Christine Fernandez is a young writer. Of sorts. She won a short story competition, had a couple of pieces published online or in magazines and writes on a couple of web fora and her blog. But she has a novel in her, she’s sure of that.
And she’s correct. Unfortunately.
When it’s published the book will rapidly bomb. The subject of reviews that go beyond scornful. A financial disaster for the publisher. It’ll ruin Christine’s relationship and cause her to turn to substance abuse to cope with reactive depression. A few years later it’ll be “rediscovered” and become somewhat profitable, but she’ll blame the book for her misery and always regret writing it.
More than forty years in the future a chance encounter with someone will give her the chance to, she believes, fix her life. She steals a time machine and returns to the present, to convince her past self to give up on the book.
Last night Christineᶠ travelled back to talk to her past self but thanks to the effect of the time travel, mutual inebriation and shock she was unable to get her point across. After Christineᶠ returned to her own time, Christineᵖ
Dismissed the encounter as a hallucination and slept off the evening’s over-indulgence.
This morning she woke up and thought it was a dream, until she saw the damage to her back door, and elsewhere, caused by Christineᶠ. So she went to the police to report her encounter
It didn’t go well; they dismissed her as a drunk.
Enter the PCs.
The Misfit Mob are tasked with investigating an Artron energy pulse, indicative of primitive (and dangerous) time travel. After poking around they find the police report and put two and two together. Or they are out patrolling when
Christineᶠ makes a second (or third) attempt.
Sally or Larry, talk to Christineᵖ. Sally will worm out of Christineᵖ the detail, which didn't help her credibility with the police, that the mad woman who broke into her house (actually she remembered where the spare key was hidden) claimed to be her future self. And Sally believes her.
So they stake out Christineᵖ's house. Only to find there are several time travellers, with different origins, technologies, personalities and motivations, trying to meddle. So what do they do?
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
¹ Does anyone else remember their origin on Why Don’t You?
² Another Who group that deserves to reappear.
³ Lots of possibilities for the usual PC group. Likewise the Doctor or another time traveller could be present.
A quick idea inspired by this cartoon and some ideas on recurrence of past characters (thanks@ soultaker666212)
The PCs should be Earthbound, perhaps Torchwood or UNIT. The Misfit Mob would fit well, as would an unofficial investigating group such as LINDA¹ or the Silver Cloak². Alternatively perhaps someone (Sally Sparrow comes to mind for some reason) gets involved. Overhearing Ms. Fernandez making a complaint to the police is one way to connect her to the PCs. Maybe they were arrested for some reason³ (like trespass for Sally, with Larry waiting to collect her)
Christine Fernandez is a young writer. Of sorts. She won a short story competition, had a couple of pieces published online or in magazines and writes on a couple of web fora and her blog. But she has a novel in her, she’s sure of that.
And she’s correct. Unfortunately.
When it’s published the book will rapidly bomb. The subject of reviews that go beyond scornful. A financial disaster for the publisher. It’ll ruin Christine’s relationship and cause her to turn to substance abuse to cope with reactive depression. A few years later it’ll be “rediscovered” and become somewhat profitable, but she’ll blame the book for her misery and always regret writing it.
More than forty years in the future a chance encounter with someone will give her the chance to, she believes, fix her life. She steals a time machine and returns to the present, to convince her past self to give up on the book.
- Or kill her, Christineᶠ is more than a bit mad. And she’s armed.
Last night Christineᶠ travelled back to talk to her past self but thanks to the effect of the time travel, mutual inebriation and shock she was unable to get her point across. After Christineᶠ returned to her own time, Christineᵖ
Dismissed the encounter as a hallucination and slept off the evening’s over-indulgence.
This morning she woke up and thought it was a dream, until she saw the damage to her back door, and elsewhere, caused by Christineᶠ. So she went to the police to report her encounter
It didn’t go well; they dismissed her as a drunk.
Enter the PCs.
The Misfit Mob are tasked with investigating an Artron energy pulse, indicative of primitive (and dangerous) time travel. After poking around they find the police report and put two and two together. Or they are out patrolling when
Christineᶠ makes a second (or third) attempt.
- The unshielded time travel is driving her mad. Or rather, madder.
Sally or Larry, talk to Christineᵖ. Sally will worm out of Christineᵖ the detail, which didn't help her credibility with the police, that the mad woman who broke into her house (actually she remembered where the spare key was hidden) claimed to be her future self. And Sally believes her.
So they stake out Christineᵖ's house. Only to find there are several time travellers, with different origins, technologies, personalities and motivations, trying to meddle. So what do they do?
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
¹ Does anyone else remember their origin on Why Don’t You?
² Another Who group that deserves to reappear.
³ Lots of possibilities for the usual PC group. Likewise the Doctor or another time traveller could be present.
