Which M:EM character would you want in your ______ story? Let's discuss!

We haven't been all that productive in terms of new pieces lately, and I know that I haven't been much in the mood to write a full, involved story. But this thread is not about full, involved stories. This thread is about theoretical stories, stories that we never actually have to write!

The premise of this thread is simple. Think of a kind of story you can imagine, any kind at all! It could be a short story, a movie, a TV show, you name it, and any genre you can think of. In this theoretical work, who would be your main character? What would be the general plot? The setting? You get the picture.

My hope is that this will allow us to craft some hypothetical M:EM stories without having to go through the process of actually writing them. Moreover, I'm hoping that we come up with multiple ideas for the same type of story, as that might prove to be some interesting discussions.

And who knows? Maybe this will lead to a story that somebody will actually write. That would be pretty cool, too.

I will get things start with this:

I would like to see a complicated heist story set in the M:EM. Which characters should we use?

Alessa is the obvious choice... but at the cost of tooting my own horn a bit, I like the sound of Orida and Sharaka having to somehow band together and pull off something crazy. And possibly starting with something pretty straightforward and screwing things into a tangled mess as they go

How are the rounds supposed to work? You call the next question when enough people have replied or I go and ask the next question to make it a sort of chain?

I have no problem with other people proposing projects, though I would like some discussion on the previous ones, first. You could always propose a "project" and we could discuss them contrapuntally if you would like.


Yeah, with what we know of Alessa and with her essentially already taking part in a (sort of) heist in "A Name in a Book," I think Alessa makes a lot of sense. I feel like she might have a bit too easy of a time with it to make it consistently interesting, but Barinellos is really good at keeping Alessa interesting, so I'm sure it would be a fun read.


I like the buddy team, and Orida certainly has a, uh, questionable past. Depending on where the heist is set, it would be interesting to see if Orida has a dead companion whispering in her ear the whole time. Actually, now that I think of it, that would be a hilarious Otacon nod (or any of those games/movies/TV shows where someone is being talked to through an earpiece). I would really dig it.

How would you see Sharaka operating in a heist-like story? Would she be the "slinking around corners" kind, or do you see her as more of a smash-and-grab kind of character?

So, I think the key to telling a good heist story with Alessa is to make sure she's not the viewpoint character. Given her disposition, and flair for the gentleman thief tropes, we'd probably play most interestingly pairing her against a detective/inspector.

Of course, heists these days usually are synonymous with getting a crew together... And in that regard, it's actually probably less likely Alessa would say "you son of a bitch! I'm in!"

I didn't think about this with specific regard to Alessa, but if we did a heist story, I would love to have Donagut involved as one of the people trying to solve/prevent the heist, but maybe throughout the course of the plot he/we learn that the heisters are the "good guys" and when Donagut catches them, he reluctantly lets them go. That would be a fun little moment, I think.


Unless of course it were Alessa assembling the crew, of course. We also don't need to set this theoretical story in our "present," so maybe Alessa is in a bit better headspace when this heist happens, too.

A dog chasing a cat burglar?
Though I could easily see Alessa dipping in to Nuwar fairly frequently. There's probably a story there even without Donagut.

I just don't see Alessa working with someone. Playing with someone, sure, but that girl has some deep trust issues.

Out of my other characters, Maral would probably be second most likely to heist something. Admittedly with substantially less... Finesse, but she trades in the goods after all.

Of course, the shifter had undoubtedly snatched lord's only knows how much, but likely that would make for a rather dull story without just gobs and gobs of preamble and misdirection. The job itself likely boring.

That, and I envisioned a scene along the lines of

Orida: Alright, at least the next **** step is supposed to be a piece of ca... *senses a dozen ghosts in that specific spot* ****. Of **** course. Small-dicked paranoid villains and their **** traps.


She employs the kind of stealth where janitors are gonna find concussed* guards stuffed in closets for days Which is to say, she can be decently silent (and her snout is a great asset for recon) but she opts for the straightest (heh) path when feasible, and being able to explode walls is neat trick for vault-breaking. That said, her power set can also produce some fun diversions. All in all, she's a bit of a jack-of-all-trades in this scenario, as she has some skill to fill most roles but also a bunch of issues (her shattering spells are far from silent, her most optimal takedown techniques are rather... messy, she's way too recognizable and/or uncivilized to fill most con man roles, she's too big to squeeze in tight spots like air vents...)

As such, in a big team she'd probably end up as a support, helping specialists in specific steps of the plan or when they bump in unexpected obstacles. Example: She sneaks in with the stealthy guy, getting caught on purpose by the con man to cement their credibility and possibly lull security into complacence. She's dragged away by security for interrogation, at which point she busts free and starts wrecking stuff as a diversion for the safecracker, ready to blast open a getaway path if/when everything goes to hell.

*if she can safely assume guards are decent people. If the target only employs criminals or nasty people "dismembered" would be a more likely descriptor.

What would be YOUR choice, Raven?

hehe


Now I'm just imagining Sharaka going through a Metal Gear Solid level, with all those "What was that?!?" guards who are only suspecious about the broken light bulbs and missing coworkers for a few seconds before casually returning to their rounds.




There are a couple of ways I would want to go with it. Obviously, it would be great to see Jackie and her gang do another Jakkard heist, probably set in the past at some point. Although, on the other hand, seeing the kids at the ranch get together to run a heist would be a lot of fun, too!

Elsewhere in the Multiverse, though, my imagination sort of jumps back to the Arbagoth Eight and go full Ocean's Eleven with it. Obviously, with his "mouseomancy," Antine would be the reluctant infiltrator, much as he was near the end of The War of the Wheel. Lukas would be in charge of surveillance, summoning his imps to watch everything that was going on. Morgezka and Kahr, naturally, are the muscle, and depending on what they were stealing, maybe Morgezka will literally just lift the vault and carry it away. Denner would be in charge of locating the loot, of course, and Daneera is coordinating. Fisco bankrolls the job, and Penelophine's the one who charms the guards.

As for characters that aren't mine, let me throw this team together to see what people think: Kimberley Talon, Aerik, Pendulum, Lia Xin, and Ygraine. It would be fun to see Kimberley drawn into a complicated heist scheme separate from her stuff with the Lotus. I think Aerik has the attitude for a good heist story, and his ice powers should prove useful for blocking off or delaying pursuit. Pendulum being able to evolve necessary adaptations on demand would be invaluable, as would Ygraine's size and fearless personality. Lia's appearance in Tevish's "Louder than Words" makes me think that she would be a good addition to the team, as well.

Oh yeah, I thought about a few of them. Knowing who Kimberley is supposed to become seeing her in the context of a heist could be very interesting. Pendulum... could be very happy to know enough people to pull off such a big heist? The last time a scheme of this scale involved Pendulum it ended up never... have... it had never hap... it retroactively never happened. There.

I admit with great shame I didn't seriously considered Ygraine

Yes, Pendulum in that story really showed his...VITALity...




Well, don't look down on her or sell her short. She's got a lot of upside.

It occurs to me that Nasperge would fit well into a heist story, too. He'd be the perfect "face" character for a swindle of some kind.

I could imagine a lot of instances where Aerik would have talents that would come in handy. Blowing a chill breath over cameras to frost them over, a rolling fog revealing laser beams, etc.

Theoretically Antony could be a good front man too, between his empathic manipulation and convincing storytelling, he could con someone good.

Of course, I feel like it basically goes without statement that Jackie knows a good heist.

Here's a question: What would be the McGuffin for these various teams? And who are they hitting?

Barinellos, you mentioned that Maral might be likely to heist something, but what if she's the one being heisted? What if there's something in the vault that "somebody" needs?

There are some major mojo wards loaded into the vault. It's enough that even the magically uninitiated would feel the kind of nastiness Maral laid in.
And that's providing they get that deep considering she has a factory full of golems, a dragon, and a big ass Jade statue to get through before you even reach the nasty stuff.
And honestly, the last line of defense is... Well, the items themselves. If the point was just to free the contents, that's one thing, but the second any of those items no longer need the thief, they become imminently expendable in a bad way.

Sure, but doesn't that basically make her the Fort Knox of the M:EM? If we're going with the epic heist, that sounds perfect!

Also, he's a twist to our hypothetical story. What if Maral is the one bankrolling the heist of her own vault? Testing the defenses, you know? That would be a pretty fun twist, I think. And obviously, she would very carefully choose the McGuffin as one that wouldn't go nuclear when it gets free.

I mean, you can generally separate the contents of the vault into two super categories, things kept to protect others from them and things kept to protect them from others. So, strictly speaking, not everything in the vault is going to be the same level of 'oh dear God no'. The catch to that still remains that even the most benign of the items in there would be whispering and tempting like the one ring.
Except maybe the Coin. I think she's still asleep.

And I have a feeling she wouldn't at all be above that dairy of test, but I don't think a large scale crew would benefit any run at the vault. Probably only need a small team of three and no more. Any more and they'd probably start getting in the way of each other.

The entire thing almost makes me want to do a verbal diagram of her mountain.

What could bring Nasperge to act directly like this? Because I thought he has a fitting skill set but no relevant motivation. A bit like Kalit, who has infiltration skills and gear (some may remember the "cursecatcher fuses" in his introduction) but is **** at teamwork and is only motivated by murder.

(Not bringing Jack into this because he doesn't work teams anymore, he has pretty focused motivation - planar threats - and he'd be utterly anticlimactic for all but the highest-tier targets)

From the way the conversation is going it sounds like the most likely item for Maral's test would be the coin. That said, if you get a greedy team they could go for more they can chew... aside from that, from the sheer space Maral needs to navigate her own mountain I don't think mutual hindrance is a literal issue; there is a limited use for certain skillsets, however, as it sounds like an EUMATE dungeon crawl (Italian acronym meaning Enter-Kill Monster-Grab Treasure-Leave) and as such you mostly need a combination of combat prowess, stealth and serious cursebreaking. I mean, you MAY be able to con the dragon, but... golems? We saw they remember a few password for friends and they probably just smoosh the rest. So IMO you need high-level specialists in said areas that are able to work in a team, at which point logistics would be a problem only around, say, a dozen adventurers? Supposing they can work together well, I can see a team composed by couple of curse/wardbreakers to bounce off ideas and tag team the nastiest stuff, one or two stealth specialists able to cloak the whole team and/or lead them around threats (and maybe pick locks?) and two to five dedicated combat/firepower guys to take defenders down.

Post-Paid in Full Fisco could need a hand to liberate his own old resources from scavengers, or to locate and destroy certain items like "obedience aids" sold in the past; the rewards would obviously be everything that doesn't need to be disenchanted with utmost prejudice. I can see a scene where the team is staring wide-eyed at piles of gold and jewels while Fisco covertly destroys the detonator of a fantasy nuke and possibly picks a pretty painting or something to pretend it was the sentimental reason the heist existed for. (supposing he needs to lie like that)

Oh Serra. A pretty painting.

A portrait of Cosette.

There are also the purely mechanical traps to account for, some of which are... Disturbingly brutal from Maral. (There's this one with lava that.... Blugh)
That all said, if Maral is setting up the job, she wouldn't Target the coin. She's strangely protective of the Coin. I'd say the most likely targets would be either the Divinity or the Soul stone.

Nasperge certainly usually prefers to work on the fringes, but I think if somebody he cared about enough needed his help with something more direct, he would probably help. And of course, if it were on a plane he doesn't frequent, and if he were working against a planebound foe who couldn't come after him, he'd probably be more inclined. He's not a coward, exactly, but he is pragmatic when it comes to these things.


Yeah, I think most of our upper-power level characters wouldn't work so well for a heist for that very reason. Raiker also comes to mind here. If he really wants something, I imagine he would just take it.



Yeah, that would certainly be something.


I mean, it wouldn't have to be one of the actual artifacts in the Vault, either. It could be something Maral whipped up and placed in the Vault for the sole purpose of being stolen (or, you know, attempted to be stolen). It would be fantastic if, for instance, she constructed her own Null Rod specifically for this purpose.

So, spinning onto a new topic, a story I'd like to see is a Memento/Bourne Identity style amnesia story where one of our characters had to piece together what happened.