The Clutch: The Mad Dash OOC

[MWBailey]

I hope that it's OK that I went ahead and made this; I suppose that if Cornelia or others object, we could always go back to OOCing in the main thread. Whatever works for everybody.

For now, at any rate, please enter any OOC comments, character descriptions (helpful but probably not necessary unless you want to include it), ideas, etc. in this thread.
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My Bit:

I decided to call this thing that Brantley's on The Mad Dash; I gave it a regular title to distinguish it from other The Clutch RPs that might develop. If anybody has a better title, let's hear it.

So, up to this point:
-Brantley entered The Clutch through the front door, but also through a 'tent-flap in time' generated by the 'blackbox' device (that's it's trademark portalization form; the Cigarette Case generates the spherical travelling fields and regularizes the crossover vortices) that was right in front of the front door.

Brantley proceeded to order a drink, inadvertently revealing his tentacle when he retrieves a dropped gold coin; he also is casual about showing or putting away the instruments used for his timetravelling. Brantley also asks what year and what planet it is, is called by his rather irate boss and Fiancee Miss Sally* (its a device that I frequently use to take up otherwise dead space and/or reveal or explain some concepts, and to introduce the next action sequence. other introductions are welcome), and manages to attract and recruit not only several companions but also a pilot/captain with a hovership, on which they all embark and fly to Bath and thence through an inter-dimensional portal.

On the other side of the portal, they encounter 'one of the worlds of glassblowers' and their whimsical Bath Cathedral of blown glass. Brantley warns that the inhabitants of this plane can be 'rather belligerent.' As if to underscore the point, they are suddenly attacked by a crew of (apparently) pirates or privateers, whose captain turns out to be someone that Cornelia knows.

They escape through yet another portal, and the enemy captain is thus separated from his crew, having followed his boarders to the hovership. All of the boarders except himself have been killed by the crew of the hovership. They surround the enemy captain, and Brantley threatens him with his (Brantley's) tentacle, which turns out to be toothed like that of a 'Colossal' (actual species name) squid.
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Current location:
I intended the current location to be a sort of 'between the dimensions' location, where they can look over and repair the ship, neutralize the opposing captain, and in general get a feel for where they are, etc. Ideas for the next world  we cut through are welcome, as are any and all OOC comments.
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About my characters:

Miss Sally:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

What or who is Miss Sally? I've never really explained that. She  sometimes makes wry comments and refers to herself as 'my fine elfin wench' (etc.), but is definitely NOT an elf. She does have pointed ears, shockingly yellow-gold blonde hair, and is fetchingly petite(which serves to make her administrative outbursts all the more shocking), but her ears are naturally adorned pierced with both large and small holes in a fetchingly-logarithmic sequence from large next to the head to small at the tips -- but she only wears understated earrings, and never in the natural openings.

She is all of that, and the one person in charge of an organization that regulates malevolent use of time- and dimension-traversing devices. she and her organization answer only to a body of various beings from throughout the Panmultiverse known only as The Committee, of which she is a member and the chairperson. The whole organization and committee together is known as A.U.N.T.S.A.L.L.I., an acronym which I have never fully defined (a couple or more component words are alien in origin and their meaning is so mind-bendingly alien that to mention them would drive one mad --so no one does)

Her build is slight, but she is definitely built like a woman...

That's as far as I have ever gone in describing her. I prefer to leave the rest to imagination and the occasional nebulous  (PG-13) innuendo.

Brantley:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Full name and Title: Professor Marius (or Malcolm, depending on the dimension or milieu he is in when written) Wendell Brantley, Us Customs, Division 17, Retired.

Hoo-boy. How to explain this... Personality-wise, Brantley was originally basically me with a really serious, yet chilled, case of road rage. No, I'm not joking. I was in a state of rage when I created him. I try to retain that controlled rage withing certain limits whenever I write for him.

Even without the alien augmentations, he's the meanest, toughest customs agent ever attached to the AUNTSALLI organization. (That's how they field their agents, by the way; as special-agent customs officers who have retired -- like Brantley -- so that they can claim that the individual agents are acting on their own but under AUNTSALLI's auspices, much like a privateer or tenured bounty hunter).

His actual history (within the game dimension, of course) is a tortuously convoluted story. HE was raised in the Old West of the Extended Steam Salon RP, and was a (criminally ingenious) member of the James Gang. When they robbed the Glendale train, he 'ported them into and off of the train while it was in motion, using a device which he invented and built (not the cigarette case, just yet). HE and they escaped for a time using the device, but then one day when the Law got too close, he left his share of the loot on the front porch of a local girl whose mother was the local sooth-sayer (some say 'witch'), and hightailed it Northwards on the girl's prized Roan. HE still insists that he paid the money left on the porch for the horse.

In the North, he put himself through college and then the new MIT, finally culminating his academic and professional careers as their Professor of Para-Multitranstemporal Transduction.

When building a larger form of his original Chronojammer device, he was severely (some say fatally) injured in an accident involved in the initial test of the device. unknown to him, several of the components of the device, purportedly invented by his fellow researchers in the P-MTT department were actually Martian-made and built devices, which clashed with the terrestrially-made devices when the collective device was activated. Brantley's injuries were repaired on-site by what later was revealed to be a team composed of sympathizers to the Martian initiative to subjugate the human race via a trans-temporal attempt to re-write history.

The 'Repair' of Brantley's body consisted of augmenting his brain and replacing or augmenting several of his internal organs and adding others; all augmentations were performed with Cthuloid Martian Tissue, and for a time, their influence held him in thrall and forced him to work for the Martians and their human collaborators.

That all changed when teh Pinkerton agency finally caught up with Brantley and carried him off to prison, where his bodily abnormalities were recognized by an AUNTSALLI operative who came to interview him regarding his use of his invention to rob teh Glendale Train so many years before.

HE was ultimately recruited and ever since has fought on the side of Customs and AUNTSALLI against those who enslave or destroy law-abiding beings via transtemporal devices.

That's Brantley's history in a nutshell. There's a lot more to him, but I'll leave that for later....

[The Corsair]

If i may, I'd like to recommend we find ourselves in a somewhat 'floating' world whereby most cities and trade is air based (a-la bioshock infinite I guess) and if an explanation is necessary I'd say that this is because of some sort of cataclysm on the ground (perhaps something caused the soil to become un-arable and a combination of hydroponics, areoponics and aquaponics are now used to grow crops)

Also it would be nice to visit the far east and see some Japanese and Chinese style steampunk


Also
Arthur E. Gatterweld

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Full name: Arthur Edward Gatterweld
Ethnicity: European
Place of birth: Belfast, Ireland
Occupation: Uncertified mechanic

Gained some acclaim after making emergency repairs of Dr Fu Manchu's flagship, saving Mr Manchu. As word spread of his fast and effective repairs he began to get more work and was finally about to leave the slums of Belfast and work in London.

He spent time travelling by airship to The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and late-Ottoman Turkey. He widened his knowledge og aircraft designs so as to better repair said craft.

He has plenty of enemies both on mainland Europe and in Belfast and is known to have unsolved disputes with various gang leaders despite generally honest work.

That's all I'll give for now 

[MWBailey]

Sounds good! Next stop, perhaps?

[Alexis Voltaire]

The far east and the 'floating' civilization both sound like good options to me.

[MWBailey]

If that last scene was too graphic, I'll try to rewrite it. it was my intention to introduce a short-lived moment of humor that segued into a moment of horror, but perhaps i went too far...

We can proceed now to either the airborne, or tp the far east world now, if everyone is OK with that...

[The Corsair]

I'm fine with that
Airborne first? Seeing as Cornelia isn't on all that frequently I think this decision should default to one of you guys.

[MWBailey]

Pardon my absence today and part of yesterday; we're getting ready for an out-of-town relative to come and stay over next week. Also been re-stringing, rebuilding and testing a basket-case kiddie electric guitar, converting it to 'banjo style' (long story).

[CorneliaCarton]

I'm fine with that
Airborne first? Seeing as Cornelia isn't on all that frequently I think this decision should default to one of you guys.

Ahem.
I have work, remember. I cannot be online all of the time as I am trying to make a living, thank you very much.
I say airbourne.
It sounds fun 

[The Corsair]

Fair enough

Sorry if the whole 'great war' setting was pushing the GM boundaries a little, the idea just kinda hit me and I figured it would be a cool thing to do

[MWBailey]

No problem on my end. I'll just go ahead and play the city's incidental denizens (the publican -barkeep, etc. as they occur, plus there's some one with whom I 'd like for Brantley to have an 'encounter,' so to speak, after the current scenario runs for a few more posts. Everybody/anybody go ahead with whatever and I'll try to play along, but some warning or layout in advance might be a good idea if it's a major plot element, so I don't make a horrendous 'blooper' or whatever..

Sorry for my relative absence, had a gig (banjo etc.) and an outing, plus folks caught the flu and I almost did. So far as I know, everything's more or less copacetic at the moment...

[The Corsair]

I was planning of having a decent pint so unless that's a major plot point I have no real developments to happen.

When we hit the far east I might drop a message to Fu Manchu and ask him to make an angry appearance due to something in my past seeing as I have used him in my fluff.

[MWBailey]

I'm not  sure whether he'll come back or not, but we'll see. Sounds like fun!

[Alexis Voltaire]

Sorry I've been absent lately, been trying to get my sleep schedule (or lack thereof) back to normal.

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I thought I'd try to introduce something...

The assassin was a time traveler, not really sure yet who he was working for. However, his main target may not have been exactly what it seems. If no one minds I'd like to tie this in with going to the Far East later...

(the bio-clockwork trilobite is a tracking/monitoring device of sorts, so it might be 'detectable' in some way.)

[MWBailey]

Here's hoping it's OK that Brantley found and captured the red-shirted fellow, only to get sprayed and lose him (I hate invulnerable characters).
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Now that we've gotten a ways along and people are introducing Non-Player or Incidental Characters, I'd like to set the rule for what some have in the past called 'character shields'; basically the rule that characters can only be killed or overtly influenced by their creator's decision to have them do so or be so affected. In other words, lets not kill each others' characters unless permission is given by that character's creator to do so.
Maybe this goes without saying for most of us, but it's a good rule to have in my opinion, just in case of flaring tempers, for example.
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Hmmm...not to put too fine a point on it, buuut... ... I'd prefer to have the A.U.N.T.S.A.L.L.Y. organization and its various subsidiaries to be unassailable except by Brantley or Miss Sally or the committee members (in other words, by me). There's a reason they're in a far-off dimension and hold themselves so aloof.

I'd also prefer that no one gets to infiltrate the Committee or A.U.N.T.S.A.L.L.Y. or their various subsidiaries without my permission (not likely), as they are characters in their own right and belong to me. They are not a masonic  organization, nor are their members masons secretly or publicly or members of other secret societies outside of the organization itself, mainly because of past plots involving previous organizations and a desire to do their jobs without such impediments.

Now, if you feel you just absolutely have to do a plot with the Committee or AUNTSALLY, PM me and lets talk about it. I'll be flexible to a point, but I will not allow them to be negated (they already are very 'hands off' about the whole thing to begin with) or killed off, or to be changed beyond a certain point. Brantley would  cease to be Brantley without Sally, the organization and the Committee to be at odds with.

No, that does not mean you can just invent a Committee member and go amok and kill them all off, or do a Chinese Mind Control bit and make them all your mind-slaves, or have Lloyds or some other organization do dirty work to them. Neither Lloyds nor any other insurance company or stock or other organization can influence them. Nope, not even 'lf'. (sorry Jim ).  they're MINE, MWA HA -- *ahem*. Well, you get the point. . It's essential to the plot, in any case.

No offense is intended toward anyone, masonic or otherwise. I do have my reasons (mainly in terms of plot support and continuity with other projects) both for the rule(s) and for stating it (them) in advance.
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[The Corsair]

I totally agree. I won't be introducing any non-member characters and will instead ask people to join for a few posts or whatever.
Later I may bring in the odd non-player character.

[Alexis Voltaire]

Sounds good.

Sorry if I overstepped having the assassin know about Brantley and his connections. Whoever he's working for likely knows very little about the AUNTSALLY organization, other than name and a few of the 'operatives'. (Knowing about Brantley specifically might have to do with other things.)

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A short character description, might be added to/updated later on.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Horatio Bellingham
Place of Birth: Weston, Virginia

Appearance: Tall, looks to be in his late thirties. Has short, light brown hair. His right eye is blue gray, his left is covered by a brass-rimmed monogoggle with a dark-tinted lens. Wears a dark brown jacket with a fur collar and an old aviator's cap. Has a few scars on his right hand, and one at the corner of his left eye. Also has a tattoo above his heart of a right-facing Egyptian eye inside a pyramid*

Carries a .44 revolver in a crossdraw shoulder holster at his right side, and shoots it left-handed most times. Also carries a (newly-acquired) bowie knife with a silver and iron guard and a dark wood handle, at his right side.

History: Was involved in stopping a plot to subvert several governments and set up a martian takeover. Has never time traveled knowingly before this, but might have traveled dimensions on accident (and unknowingly) at one point.

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*The Egyptian eye design is the mark of a widespread but small (and relatively modern) secret society called the Order of Ra, that keeps watch over supernatural and otherworldly happenings. They don't often take direct action in things, however, and they don't get involved in time-travel. (The group is similar to Masons, but are not part of them, and do not answer to them.) They are generally seen as a force for good, but there are many groups and factions seeking to gain access to and control what they do, and some within the group are not to be trusted.

How Horatio got the mark, and it's significance, is something I'll try to write later on.

[MWBailey]

I have no qualms about people knowing about Brantley, A.U.N.T.S.A.L.L.Y., Miss Sally, or the Committee; they're bound to have made more than a few impressions and countless enemies over the centuries, much the same as other such organizations in literature and SF/Fantasy et al.

As I have said several times here and elsewhere, there are other trans-temporal regulative organizations. Thus, of course there would be others whose aims would conflict with and/or work in concert with those of the Committee and A.U.N.T.S.A.L.L.Y. If you want to come up with a competing organization and competing operatives, by all means do so -- just please be sure you enter it in here so the rest of use are aware of it.

Any scorn or respect shown by Brantley or AUNTSALLY or the Committee will be strictly in character (much like the Iscariots' disdain for Hellsing, for example or Hellsing's reverence for the Queen), likewise I would expect the same from others organizations and/or operatives.

[MWBailey]

A chtuloid creature has been 'enslaved,' much the same as the creature from the HMAS Badger RP. He has asked Brantley to free him. Brantley will be given instructions for how this is to be done. I thought it might be fun if the group got together on this (sort of a mini treasure hunt, so to speak. Of course, this would necessarily have to be tied in with whatever other plotlines are in play. Any takers?

[Alexis Voltaire]

Sounds like fun!

[The Corsair]

Sure

[MWBailey]

BNrantley's not through explaining yet; he's trying to boil down the entire history of time travel, AUNTSALLY, Teh Committee, and the Pan-Temporal Martian Wars into a short talk. Feel free to post in between and around, I don't want to hog dialogue. I'll try to keep it brief and navigable...

[The Corsair]

Drop me a message with what the Chinese script needs to translate to and I can get in touch with Manchu.

[Alexis Voltaire]

Alright, I'll try to get a translation written soon...

Thought I'd write in a 'backup plan' of sorts, just in case you aren't able to contact him.

[The Corsair]

The backup plan sounds like a smart idea
If we decide to use the 'man in Macau' I'll just double-character him (as in, play him myself) if it's alright with you guys.

[MWBailey]

fine with me