The Scene - an experimental multi-authored story

[echoes]

Rave Days - 1994

Ok, so I am throwing an idea out there and, should anyone show interest, I will be taking the role of your GM and also, house Dj.

The setting is this:

Its 1994, as the title suggests,; the Rave scene is in full swing and is still mostly underground. Word of mouth and flyers are the only way anyone knows about the next party as the internet  is not even close to the juggernaut it is today.

No, to find out about the next venue you have to know someone or know where to look. But once you find the venue, and break the code for the date and time, you get to hear local, and maybe regional, names that act as gods as they spin records and cd's until the wee hours of the morning.

House, trance, drum and base and so on brings the music of groups like: Opus III, The Prodigy, Utah Saints and the Shamen to life. This is well before names like Aoki, Tiesto and Diplo have climbed to the mountain top.

First you have to find the place and then you have to get in. Are you scene or are you posing? Are you there to dance or to score? You looking for the hook up or the low down?

****

So what I want to do is run one night, from just before sundown to sunrise of an underground rave situated in nameless city "x." I will provide the setting, the atmosphere and the timeline. I would like to get 5-10 writers to create a "one night" story that fits Into this setting.

First the backstories are written on the main, how didyoy get to the party, what adventure brought you here. Was this on purpose? Did you hunt this party down, ess there a need to be here or are you a lucky o e who is part and Parcells of the underground scene? Did you stumble upon thus by accident and now you are you in over your head? Are you the friend if a friend who didn't know what your were getting into when you agreed to go out tonight?

The authors can write together, or they can write solo pieces set in this microcoim. Tell a story of dancing all night,or of a hookups in darkened corners. Someone tripping on club drugs and the possible overdose. I'm open for a lot of ideas though check my o/o's. No assault, no non-con or snuff.


I will flesh this out with more details if any shows interest. I have an idea o. How I want this to try and go and it is less about dice roles and more about a group of stories all intertwined in one night.

Hope to see some interest.

Cheers,

E.

P.s. will edit this later. On a mobile right now.

[azzmeister89]

Interesting idea. Put me down for curiously interested.

[echoes]

Cool to see someone with a bit of interest. For everyone who has checked out the page. Thanks for looking. I will be adding some more in the next day or so. This week has been a bit crazy.

Cheers

E.

[Britwitch]

Are you the friend of a friend who didn't know what you were getting into when you agreed to go out tonight?

Oooh, now that does sound tempting. :D

[shengami]

I remember the nineties! This could be fun. Count me in.

[echoes]

Hi there,

Doing a follow up post so I can put a little more information out there. And we will start with the boring parts first:


Concept:


I am looking to start this after the new year and I will be acting more like a narrator in charge of setting and scene, time progession and most NPC’s that do /NOT/ interact with characters. There are technically no mechaincs for this game; this is not meant to be a PvP or PvNPC unless you work that out in your backstory. If the backstory makes sense and can help enrich the game then I am all in. Also, if you do want a PvP angle, it has to be approved by me and worked out by another author prior to the story beginning. The reason there are no mechanics is that this is a finite game, there is an end in sight, and this is not a game where you can level up or go on to another chapter.

On NPC’s: writers will have one main and then a limited number of NPC’s they should write for. I have sene in other games where writers end up making 3,4,8 characters in a large group game. This is not that kind of story. Have your focus and maybe some supporting NPC’s but do not spread yourself thin. If this works out the way I want it to, most of the stories you all tell will graze along the edges of one another without ever really mixing together.

I guess what I am looking for is a multi-authored story that could be seen as an interlocking series of vignettes all based in one setting, on one night. What you do with this, that is up to you. Hop on a theme if it suits you: coming of age, age of rebellion, first trip, a night you won’t forget.

Something to remember here, for those friends and writers who live the LGBTQ lifestyle, is that this is a time of amazing evolution. Being gay, bi or lesbian right now, coming out, is getting some serious traction in the early nineties; the stigma is still there but your lifestyle is becoming more noticed, more accepted. its not perfect but there is noticeable change.  For example, Elton John comes out in 1992 and two years later an American Icon of sorts, gold medalist in 2 Olympics, Greg Louganis  comes out 1994. Trust me as someone who was alive at t the time, this made people pause for a moment. Also, the club scene in the nineties had a massive, and I mean huge, wave of androgyny that would pave the way for those who were once known only as ‘drag queens” to come out under the guise of being a club kid to be out and be scene. This is a toehold for the future and this might be something to explore.

So here is what I want: I’m looking for 3 - 10 people to create characters. These players will also be able to create NPC’s to interact with but the focus is on your character and your individual story. You will have the option to also make fluff pieces that drive the narrative. What I mean by fluff pieces is that I encourage everyone to occasionally post general “vibe” or setting pieces to help enrich the story. While I will be doing things like giving the general atmosphere and what is going on, the music, the crowd, I am always open to others and their perceptions. So, in short, I will ask everyone to take ownership and add more than just their own agency as characters.

Those are the bones of the story and I think I want to do this all in one thread if possible.


I may add a bit more but the next post I will try and give some vibe to the idea. There is a bit more here but I am doling it out, Also, if you have posted to this thread I will be reaching to you once the weekend is done.

Cheers,

E.

[The Green One]

This sounds really cool... I might join~

[echoes]

The summer heat wouldn’t quit even as the sun fell and the moon tried to fight through a spate of early evening clouds. The light noise of a major city gave everything a glow that could only be generated by thousands of different bulbs. The air carried an exotic and strange aroma that was a mixture of anticipation, desperation and a small amount of fear. Saturday was the middle-man of the weekend, the follow up to the party that started Friday and the recovery day of Sunday before the weekly routine began again. For some it was school, whether it was high school or a university, where the lectures and studies were broken up by momentary meetings with friends. For others it was a job; the nine to five, or whatever the hours were, grind that’s only purpose was to offer financial gain for soul crushing work. The pattern was the same week in and week out; get to Saturday and find the escape before Sunday told you the weekend was over.

The pattern was the same but this Saturday was going to be a bit different. The first flyers had made their mysterious appearance over a week ago. Bright neon with psychedelic art that promised sound and speed. The date was set for tonight, for Saturday, but that had been it; well, that was it at first. Rumors started, tongues wagged and everyone had heard from someone else about what was going down. It became obvious rather quickly that it was going to be a rave; a party fuelled by techno music and designer drugs. The name of a local promoter started getting tossed around as various new flyers started to list the line up of DJ’s that would supposedly be playing. Talent was local, club favorites and college Dj’s that were true to the scene. Then there was some outside talent, names that those who ran from city to city chasing the next high would recognize. The promise was there, this was going to be real and not just a dream.

Then, on Friday the last series of flyers started to make their rounds, and the hunt was on. It hadn’t happened in a while but back when the scene blew up, and people realized they could make money off an escape hungry youth, promoters would call the cops on one another in an attempt to drive competition out of business. It was a cutthroat time and the fights were as fierce as an amateur gang war with a much smaller body count. This lead to a jilted customer base that got sick of the self-serving asshats fucking one another over. The crowds got tired of spending money and time only to have their parties crashed by the cops and so, for a bit, the underground scene struggled. The clubs, however,  flourished as it was a safer bet to go where the doors would always be open and the music was guaranteed.

Still, there was something about piecing together the code, tracking the party down that was not paired hand in hand with watered down well drinks and those who were not scene. Clubs didn’t care who came in as long as you paid the cover and so the posers, the weekend clubbers, got the same shake as those who lived the life. The flyers promised the space, the sound and the talent that gave hope to a party like the scene hadn’t witnessed in some time. The flyers were out, the first clue led to another, and then another. Finally, after detective work, and some effort, someone broke the code. They told one person, that person told two more, and so one as the word got out; the party was on.

The final destination was an old roller skating rink in an industrial area that was just outside of the nearest suburb. Whoever had secured the spot had done their work; no one close for a noise violation and just far enough away that the chances of a casual passerby were not that high. The building was still sound, still intact, and in hopes of being sold it still had working facilities. The building had enough space to hold hundreds of people and was a single story which meant that those trying to run off and hide were short on spaces to do so. The location was spread and the time, while never confirmed, would be once the sun went down. The Kingdom was made and now it needed it's court, and its people to arrive.

And Arrive they did in cars and on bike, the carpooling and solo acts all started to congregate before the sun completed its fall. Baggy JNCO jeans and parachute pants complimented mesh tops and babydoll tees. Neon everywhere with dangling straps and bits that acted as belts and suspenders replaced work and school attire. Platform Mary Janes and Doc Martens covered the feet as dangling bracelets and shook from wrists. Make up was everywhere and glitter rained from skin as friends met up and complemented one another. Pacifiers hung from lanyards and glow sticks were passed about as the growing throng waited for the doors to open. The smell of cigarettes and cloves mostly hid the smell of pot as the atmosphere grew with an organic charge.

The first sound of music, a muted thump of a bass bin live caught everyone’s attention as the walls of the building seemed to vibrate. Soon the doors would open, admittance fees would be paid and the party would start in earnest.



More Fluff soon and a PM to everyone who has replied.

[ticl]

YES

[shengami]

Getting jazzed. Just trying to decide who I'll bring to the party.

[The Green One]

Yesssss

[echoes]

(Keep in mind this is 1994 when you read this. This statement will become apparent once you get into the meat of this fluff piece.)


Ed wasn’t exactly the kind of guy that would ever be called imposing. At just over five six, and weighing in around a hundred and forty pounds, Ed was never going to be the first pick in a game of basketball or football and with slim boyish features, that didn’t quite border effeminate, Ed had that preternaturally youthful look that never aged. His smile was infectious, his stance casual, and very few people could rock the razor thin Erol Flynn mustache like he did. Ed didn’t so much as stand out as he didn’t quite blend in and that was his style. He had a baseball cap on rally style, normally he wore a knitted beanie, backwards and covering his not quite shaved head. His jeans were not the phat-pant bass stompers that some kids wore but they were just big enough to cover the majority of his dark Chuck Taylor’s. A loose logo'd tee of some record label was draped atop his thin frame and seemed to be held in place by one strap from the backpack riding his right shoulder. He was scene enough to hang, normal enough to pass, and his only concessions to showing off was the simple silver chain necklace and a pair of silver hoop earrings.

His voice, with a tone that sounded like he wasn’t finished changing from boy to man, had a slightly nasal quality without being obnoxious. Add to that a bit of an unrecognized accent, something less city and more country, and one might think that Ed would suffer from a bit of “look at me” syndrome. Not hardly; soft spoken and easy to laugh, Ed wasn’t one who got annoyingly boisterous just to get attention. The man, and he was a man, was a bit of a chameleon when out in public and that was just part of his charm. Even now, as he was navigating his way around a six foot chain link fence, he was blending in with a small, but steadily growing crowd. Ed recognized the players and his acceptance among them was confirmed with the occasional upnod or knucklebump before he found an empty spot along the fence that he would call his own.

The backpack Ed had been toting on his shoulder slid off and came to rest between his feet even as his free hand fished out a pack of Marlborough Lights from the front pocket of his jeans. He did a quick three count tap against the back of his free hand to pack the smokes before he opened the box and selected one. The cancer stick up, and between his lips,  as the pack vanished back inside a pocket and he began a search for a source of fire. Ed did the smokers pantomime of checking every pocket for a lighter when a voice caught him by surprise.

“Need some help there, Ed?”

“Hey babe,” Ed’s lips grew into a huge smile and he pulled the unlit cigarette from his lips as he turned to face the speaker. Without a pause Ed leaned forward and pecked a quick kiss on the side of his boyfriend’s face before asking for help. “Yeah, I can’t find my lighter.”

Ed was out, everyone who knew him, or of him, knew that he was gay. He was a “safe” gay in this day and age and to most that meant he was queer but not threatening, out but not flamboyant. He wasn’t going to convert your son or spurn your daughter, he was socially acceptable “proper” gay; whatever the fuck that meant. But Ed was a player and he didn’t shake the tree, didn’t haze the straights, but he didn’t pull punches either. He had his share of ass-beatings and long since faded bruises under one hateful fist or another and he was estranged from a good portion of his family but he paid that price willingly to be out. He had done that growing up and now, out of college and in the world, he felt no obligation to tote the line and the lie. He had been out for five years and was in an industry that accepted him as he was, for who he was.

“You would lose your head if it wasn’t for me,” Ed’s boyfriend replied as he produced a lighter and handed it over to Ed. Ed accepted the token with a nod and replaced the cigarette back between his lips. A quick striking sound and the faint smell of butane lasted only long enough to be replaced by the acidic smoke smell. Ed handed the lighter back with a nod of thanks before taking a longer drag. His boyfriend pocketed the lighter before giving a head nod towards the closed doors of the building in front of them. “Have they announced the lineup yet?”

“Not yet but it should be any time now.” Ed exhaled and answered the question while looking at the closed doors. The general crowd was on the other side of the parking lot at the main entrance while the soon to be staff and entertainers were gathering here. Ed recognized fellow Dj’s  Daisy and Elroy, Lollipop and SheBop, and when they made eye contact each one gave the other a head nod or a wave.”We got a good crew here tonight so it will be interesting how they line us up. I’m hoping to go after Elroy, his sets usually pack the floor and transition into my sound pretty smoothly.”

As Ed said that he nudged his backpack with his foot. Unlike most of the other Dj’s, who were turntable jockey’s, Ed’s medium of choice were Cd’s. Other DJ’s were toting milk crates full of records, some had only one and a few had two. Elroy was a hybrid with a half full crate of vinyl and then one of those soft cases that carried a hundred cd’s. He had two fifty count hardshell cases in the backpack and that was more than enough firepower to bring to this bash. It wasn’t like when he was on air with the local college radio doing a four hour deep dive into techno; this gig was an hour, hour and a half, at the most. Ed mused on that as the doors opened and a couple of people came out. One looked vaguely suit-ish, a little more business ready than what he was used to at one of these events, while the other dripped scene fiend. A modern day Mutt and Jeff that seemed to have their act together.

“Alright everyone, gather round and let’s get this started,” the Mutt of the pair, rocking a Wax Trax! Shirt and pants so baggy you couldn't even see his shoes, called out. “We are doing something different tonight so check it out.” Ed’s eyebrow arched and everyone started to murmur a bit with whoever they were with as they gathered their gear and headed over to see what was about to go down. Ed grabbed his backpack and threw it over his shoulder before checking with his boyfriend to see if he was ready to join the herd. With a confirmation nod Ed and his man moved away from the fence and towards the throng; the night was about to begin.

[JD]

I once made $12k slinging E, G, K, and LSD in a night, wearing a dinosaur suit and thrift store Members Only jacket. They called me Alphabet. I’ll be with you shortly.

[echoes]

“Cool, cool,” Mutt began as he looked at those gathering about him and the suit. Mutt gave a nod and the other man magically produced a small stack of envelopes and wordlessly began handing them out to the assembled throng. The suit had to be psychic, or he had been briefed, because Ed noticed writing on each of the envelopes and, when he was handed his, it was his name written in a pretty decent style. Ed peered into the envelope as Mutt continued to speak. “Everyone is getting partial payment upfront, and yeah, I know that is different. We are doing that for a couple of reasons. One, bouncers, be legit, be cool but if you gotta be firm have a reason. Support one another and let me or this guy,” and Mutt side nodded to the guy finishing up with the last of the envelopes. ”Know what is going down and why. We will provide you all with walkies, I think we have enough to have one walkie per team of two. Be seen, be visible and be cool. Let’s keep everyone safe. We paid to have an EMT team here tonight, they will be here in a few and will be parked back here so as not to scare anyone.”

Ed, so far, was impressed with the planning. To get a partial payment upfront was different and ed noticed it was fully half of what he agreed to play for tonight. He took a moment to check the others out and he saw some head nodding and smiles as people fingered through the bills in their respective envelopes. Ed turned his head back to listen as Mutt continued.

“Everyone here has been burned before because the cops come and crash our joint. We took the step of have two off duty, but in uniform, officers to hang out front. Hopefully that will help keep people cool but they are not the first line of offense, they are there to make it easier for you guys,” and Mutt waved his hand towards the largest group of men and women to his side.” to do your jobs. Ok, that said, concessions, you don’t spike shit, you just serve what we got and don’t make any homebrews, cool?”

A small group of people opposite the crowd of bouncers kinda chuckled along with everyone else and gave thumbs up to Mutt as he gave them the shortest part of the speech. Ed was amused how everyone seemed dressed for their roles, which made him think they were told what to look like. The bouncers were all in black pants and most had a flashlight in hand or hanging from their belts. They had solid colored T-shirts, mostly red and blues, and they all seemed to be wearing heavy shoes or boots. They contrasted sharply with the handful of “kids” who looked just like the patrons in their raver gear. The concessions were a mix of men and women, boys ands girls, compared to the uniformly male dominated bouncing crew. The kids, compared to the adults, were in baggy pants and tees, shoes better for running or dancing, and had a variety of dangling baubles and bobs hanging from their wrists and belts.

“Talent,” Mutt looked over to the small group of Dj’s,” You got half up front, push it tonight, have fun. Lollipop is up first and then Ed followed by Elroy and then Daisy. We may have another name or two for fillers and clean up but that is how it is stacked for right now. Lollipop, you got an hour load the floor best you can. Elroy, no Industrial tonight, we want a consistent groove. Everyone else,” Mutt Paused. “Let’s throw a party.”


There were head nods and a couple of “shit yeahs” as everyone started to head into the building. Ed didn’t worry that he was before Elroy instead of after, obviously the people running the show had some type of plan on how things were to be run. Truth be told, this was more organization for one of these parties than he had seen in a long time and that made him feel better about the night. A year ago the scene was a war zone as promoters called raids on one another’s parties in an effort to bleed competition dry with monetary losses. That this crew was well funded, and with a plan that seemed to already have a lead in with the police and other first responders, meant that the show may actually start and stop as planned.

“Showtime Bitches!”

Lollipop, real name Anne, had the same energy as a squirrel on speed and normally had about the same attention span. She was a giant, topping in at five foot two but tonight she was so very extra and was sporting three inch platform converse street shoes in a garish shade of pink. Her solid white stovepipes almost covered her shoes but not quite and they were highlighted in the same shade of pinks as the shoes. The skin tight t-shirt, a moonshine records baby tee, was painted across her chest which displayed the obvious lack of a bra covering her petite lady bits. While her arms didn’t really have sleaves they had rings of tape around her triceps and a dozen bracelets around each wrist. She was damn near bouncing in place as she picked up her crate and made her way towards the back door into the building. Around her neck was a set of ski goggles that would no doubt be on later when she was dancing.

Despite her having no attention span she was a solid crowd pleaser when it came to the scene She knew the music and her laser focus during mixes, when it was needed the most, was enough to secure herself a spot in tonight’s line up. It didn’t hurt that she was a strange combination of eye candy and scenester didn't hurt. She had blonde hair up in two buns, one on the right and the other on the left of the back of her head that had trailing strands that made it down to the middle of her back. She was doused in pink glitter makeup and rocking a pair of star-shaped pink hued glasses and she vanished into the building. Ed chuckled as the pixie disappeared from view and crabbed his own record crate. He followed in Lollipop's wake, listening as he heard the first cracks of a PA system being warmed up. She wasn’t wrong, it was indeed showtime.

[shengami]

Hey hey. I got my character pretty firmly in mind, but struggling to find an in. Working on drafting an opening post for the communal thread. Will open a solo thread when I feel it is appropriate. I just struggle in sandbox stuff and I haven't decided on my final beats for his solo plot.