With the blessing of TV Tropes, the Snarkology is pleased to host a blog series based on the Periodic Table of Storytelling.
Enjoy!
OPEN WORLD C.O.V.E.N.
Casey Moss
Hi everyone! I’m happy to be here today, sharing in the Elemental Storytelling event. A big thanks to Melissa for putting all this together!
The story I’m using for my molecule is my erotic urban fantasy, Open World – C.O.V.E.N..
I’m starting off with the elements Lr: Like Reality Unless Noted and Sus: Willing Suspension of Disbelief. I chose these two due to the sci-fi/fantasy bent of the story. As per tvtropes.org, Like Reality Unless Noted is, “The general assumption that all of the unstated details of the setting of a work of fiction that remotely resembles Real Life can be filled in by the audience's knowledge of the world in which they live, except in areas where the fictional world explicitly or by necessary implication deviates from Real Life.” The story takes place in current day Las Vegas with all the same locations and descriptions as one would see if they visited the city. But after something magical happens, in which one has to suspend their beliefs and accept what’s going on (Sus), the city remains the same except for the time displacement and noted descriptions.
Speaking of magical happenings, that’s where the next element Phl: Applied Phlebotinum comes in. Tvtropes mentions ‘magic crystal emanations’ and “It's science, it's magic, it's strange things unknown to science or magic.” I thought the phrases were quite fitting since the crystals in the story (along with all the electronics and a huge storm) gets the magic going. How it all culminates? No one quite knows.
All this leads to the protagonist characters (5ma: Five Man Band), who are involved in romantic dealings amongst themselves (Rar: Romance Arc). Den and Hope are a pair as are Faith and Tavis and Cassandra has some page time, too. They all have to fight a manipulative bastard (Mgb) named Buzz. Buzz is all charm, deviousness and has a goal. He follows his own agenda, using whichever side he feels will advance his goal. All of the characters have to interact within, and find a way to save themselves from, the Darker and Edgier (Dae) world (as per tvtropes.org: a work of fiction "more adult". Usually, this is interpreted as "add more sex, profanity, violence, and controversial content" at its most extreme) of C.O.V.E.N..
For full definitions of the terms I’ve used here, please visit http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage and to see more elements, visit http://designthroughstorytelling.net/periodic/
Thanks for stopping by!
Casey
Casey
The world has broken out in wars. Las Vegas has been ravaged by chemical warfare and is now home to several clans and creatures.
Welcome to I-D-8 Entertainment’s newest game: Clans of Vegas—Endless Night.
Friends and family have gathered for a crunch time playtest of C.O.V.E.N.. When a horrible thunderstorm hits, everyone’s sucked into the game for real. In the MMORPG, Hope Collins is kidnapped by Buzz and forced to submit to his whims. Her boyfriend, Alden, has to delay his quest of defeating a clan’s prince to save her, but time and circumstance don’t seem to be on his side. Faith Collins is bombarded by strange dreams brought on by Buzz. Her boyfriend, Tavis, learns to dream walk, but can he help break the spell she’s under and save her before she’s lost to him?
C.O.V.E.N. is more than just a game. It’s a whole other world.
Hope appeared in the middle of what looked to be a homeless shelter. It wasn’t what she’d pictured back at…
She shook her head and scratched it. Where’d she come from? Where was it that she wanted to go? Her mind acted like a blank chalkboard being looked at through a fisheye lens. Writing appeared hazy and indecipherable on the outer edges of the sphere, but the blackness in the middle was clean.
Her body tensed, reacted as if she should run. With wide eyes, she surveyed the area. People on chairs and benches were scattered through the large room. Broken windows and shattered glass doors at the entrance looked out upon a gray day. The other way revealed an opening to a courtyard type parking lot with long carports on the perimeter.
A young, Goth-looking cashier with black hair, white makeup and piercings in her lips, eyebrows and ears, gaped at her as if she had grown a pair of horns and sprouted a third eye in the middle of her forehead.
Hope wavered, trying to reconcile what was happening. She knew her name, knew that she had a family and wanted to be a dancer? But anything else? “Where am I? How’d…how’d I get here?” Her voice faltered over the questions. She stared at the teen.
“You in the ol’ bus term.” The goth snapped the gum in her mouth. “How ya got ‘ere is beyon’ me. Ya jist kinda appeared outta nothing.”
Another teen in his goth phase came up to them. “Yeah. Poof. There you be. Totes mcgotes cray-cray.”
“But I don’t want to be here.” Tears of frustration pooled in Hope’s eyes. She swiped at them. She was tired. She was hungry. She was dirty and hot. In the time she’d been in the bus station, dry, oven-like air had sapped all the moisture from her skin. She believed she was a walking piece of water-depleted, brittle clay, which would crumble into dust and blow away with the slightest touch.
“Then flash on outta ‘ere like ya did to git ‘ere.” The goth’s voice was monotone with no vestige of sympathy.
Hope closed her eyes, did her best to picture a place to go to, but none came to mind. Try as she might to ‘flash on out,’ she continued to stand amongst a bunch of uncaring strangers.
The goth shook her head and ran her black-nailed fingers through her hair. “Guess ya usin’ the door like the rest o’ us.” She chomped on her gum a few times, then tilted her head toward the exit.
~ Buy Links ~
Casey will be awarding a $25.00 Gift Certificate to Amazon or B&N to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
AUTHOR Bio:
Casey Moss delves into the darker aspects of life in her writing, sometimes basing the stories on reality, sometimes on myth. No matter the path, her stories will take you on a journey from the light-hearted paranormal to dark things unspeakable. What waits around the corner? Come explore…
A clever concept.
ReplyDeleteEeek! Las Vegas in ruins... my hometown. :( Still, sounds like a good story. Love the concept.
ReplyDeleteCasey,
ReplyDeleteThank you for much for visiting with us today and sharing your story with my readers! :-)
The story sounds very intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa for putting this together. I really liked the concept of the molecule. And, thanks for hosting me and my story. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone who have stopped by so far. Glad to know you're finding the story interesting.
Casey
Las Vegas is the perfect city for your plot. Everyone always uses LA or NY. Nice to see something different. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou’re a new-to-me author so I’ll enjoy following your tour and getting to know you and your work.
ReplyDelete