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    The Game at Carousel: A Horror Movie LitRPG

    Book Six, Chapter 25: The Paycheck

    by

    As the storyline ended, Silas, the Mechanical Showman, appeared amongst the rubble of the burnt restaurant.

    “Congratulations, you’ve won a ticket,” he said in his cheerful yet worn-out tone.

    We knew the drill. I walked over and slapped the red button before he could even finish his little greeting.

    I got no stat tickets. I was over ten levels above this storyline by my estimate. I couldn’t really complain. My only concern was whether or not my teammates got rewarded well, which depended on whether or not I had managed to stay a minor character.

    I was satisfied that I had.

    We all got to split the money from the vault. That meant we were eating at the restaurant soon.

    Somehow, I managed to get a rescue trope. Not to mention an enemy collector ticket for none other than Verity Pryce. That made sense on some level. I had beaten her. My team versus hers, we came out on top.

    Verity Pryce

     

    Trickster Demon

     

    There is no bargain at the beginning. Only a string of bad luck. A missed payment. A closed door. Customers who won’t show. Business deals that fall through for reasons unknown. But if you trace it back far enough, you’ll find her there. Verity Pryce. Ink-stained fingers. Smile like a knife behind glass. She does not ask what you want. She already knows. She does not twist your arm. She waits for you to twist it yourself.

    She is the author of overdue notices and layoff slips. The sudden illness. The too-late phone call that might have changed things. Every small misfortune folding in on itself until you are desperate enough to say yes. And when the offer comes scrawled in fine print, tucked into a whisper, you sign without reading. You always do. Her joy is not in owning you. It is in watching you hand yourself over as if you had no choice.

    She wanted your soul, and she didn’t want to take it fairly. She strives to commit such treachery that her creator might cast a glance her way and realize the true price of his abandonment. He won’t. She’ll always be working on that next deal, never realizing that the trick was always on her.

     

    There were a lot of very specific things that happened in this storyline. I was surprised she was just a crossroads demon. She had started her eternal vendetta against the human race in another world, and now she continued it in Carousel. I just hoped I never met up with her in a storyline that would actually let her flex her powers.

    I understood theoretically why I didn’t get a ticket for killing that colossal amalgamation in Hell. True, the entire fight happened Off-Screen, so it would make some sense that I wouldn’t get credit for it.

    But I would be lying if I didn’t say I was a bit miffed.

    Luckily, I could ignore my frustration with that and focus on having won my second rescue ticket. That was a good thing, because my other one wouldn’t reappear in my inventory until I was Plot Armor 50. At this rate, that was a million years away.

    One Last Lesson

    Type: Rescue

    Archetype: Film Buff

    Aspect: Filmmaker

    Stat Used: Savvy

    They were always your best student. You couldn’t help but favor them. They took to your lessons like they were born to it. They left the nest a long time ago, and now they are every bit the master that you were when you trained them.

    Something happened. Something went wrong, and now your former student is in trouble. They’ve been captured, gone dark in enemy territory.

    You will do anything to save them, even in your old age. You may have taught them everything they know, but you still have a few tricks of your own.

    Rescue: When a player enters a compatible storyline with this trope while possessing any missing posters of deceased players who died in that same storyline, the storyline will be changed into a Rescue. Succeeding in the Rescue will revive the dead players. This ticket will indicate on the red wallpaper if a nearby storyline is applicable.

    In a storyline where an ally was playing an expert in some dangerous field, such as spycraft, monster hunting, ghost hunting, or crime solving, the user of this trope will be able to participate in and direct a film about the rescue of that downed ally from a similar situation to the one that killed them. The lead actor will be the closest applicable Paragon, who will play the mentor character. The number of Paragons that can be cast will be proportionate to the danger of the rescue.

    The rescuee and their team will be able to participate in filming both the film and flashbacks as applicable.

    Takeover: This trope will cancel out any story alterations except those inherent to the Archetype or Advanced Archetype associated with this ticket and with the Paragon.

    Retrieve the Prisoner is the only Win Condition. No others may be added to the Rescue.

    You’ve been looking for a chance to prove yourself. Here is your first real project. Let’s see what you can do.

     

    I could see why I got that rescue trope. It was on point thematically and was a very clear reference to what I had done in this storyline.

    Directing a movie starring one of the paragons. I had never thought about doing something like that, but as I contemplated it, I couldn’t deny a certain nervous excitement.

    I read through the ticket a couple of times and then tucked it in my pocket, where it disappeared.

    Avery was the next to press Silas’s button. She got two trope tickets and two stat tickets.

    She didn’t even look at the tropes at first.

    “Two levels,” she said in disbelief. “You know how long it’s been since I’ve won two stat tickets at the same time?”

    She continued whispering to herself as she walked away.

    My understanding was that their team had spent many months playing storylines that were either at their level or much lower. Not everyone on the team was comfortable with entering a storyline that was too difficult.

    Who could blame them? They were trained by the vets at Camp Dyer. Those folks went a whole lot longer than months struggling level by level.

    We didn’t have that choice. We would gain levels quickly, or we would die full of regret.

    We had beaten By the Slice without extreme difficulty.

    Winning or losing would come down to whether or not you fell for Miss Pryce’s trick. Had we not been so meta and so prepared, we could easily have been distracted by the Hell subplot for so long that we never learned the information we needed to save Gus Junior.

    An easy storyline could have been a death sentence just like that. That was the gamble she took and now she was left with pizza on her face.

     

    Trace Memory

    Type: Insight

    Archetype: Eye Candy

    Aspect: Beauty

    Stat Used: Moxie

    They say scent is the strongest trigger for memory. In film, triggering memories can be a tricky thing. It might just happen On-Screen.

    After separation (by death, distance, or plot), another player who encounters the Eye Candy’s scent (perfume, cologne, hair spray, aftershave, etc.) on an object may trigger a shared flashback. Both players replay a moment from their past in which they can exchange information, uncover forgotten clues, or deepen their bond. If the scene is particularly riveting, the flashbacks might continue.

    Every moment leaves a trace.

     

    I was amazed when I saw that trope. At the fullest extent of its power, it could almost be time travel. Heck, depending on how much you could manipulate the past, it might as well have been time travel.

     

    Don’t Mind Me

    Type: Action

    Archetype: —

    Aspect: —

    Stat Used: —

    In horror and action films, escape never comes from brute force; it comes from timing. While the villain’s attention is elsewhere, someone slips the cuffs, shimmies through the air vent, or vanishes from frame entirely.

    When another player is clearly drawing the enemy’s focus especially by being dramatic, loud, or otherwise hogging the camera, the user’s attempts to escape from captivity or restraint will be more likely to succeed.

    The only thing stronger than rope is screen time.

     

    A trope to help escape captivity was something that Avery could always use, given her build.

    Cassie was rewarded well in this storyline. She only got two stat tickets, but she got three tropes. She had been a reliable ally and a solid character for the story. She definitely came in clutch when Isaac was likely mortally wounded Off-Screen. I didn’t see most of her work. She was important for Isaac’s success.

    That would have been a messy one to explain had she not cured him with that touching prayer. Maybe engaging with religion wasn’t so bad after all.

    Still, I got the feeling that Carousel had a soft spot for Psychics. But who was I to complain? Carousel’s softest spot was for Film Buffs.

    It Is Written

    Type: Insight/Rule

    Archetype: Psychic

    Aspect: Occultist

    Stat Used: Savvy

    In cult horror and folk horror films, someone always finds the text. Maybe it’s buried in the chapel cellar, maybe it’s inked in blood behind drywall, but the sacred writings always surface, and someone always reads them.

    If the storyline centers on a deity, faith, or supernatural figure with written doctrine, the Occultist is guaranteed eventual access to a portion of that text, scripture, liturgy, diary, or transmission. When this occurs, the user will see all of the information their character would logically know about the text presented on the red wallpaper.

    Carousel makes sure the faithful get their pages eventually.

     

    Of course, in this story, the sacred text was as common as the bible and could be found everywhere. Still, it could be very useful.

     

    Deja Vu F.M.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Type: Insight

    Archetype: Psychic

    Aspect: Seer

    Stat Used: Moxie

    The radio sometimes plays the wrong thing at the right time. The signals get crossed. Sometimes you can hardly understand what they’re saying. Sometimes, that’s because you’re hearing it before it was ever said.

    When near an active or dormant piece of consumer electronics (radio, PA system, static TV, etc.), the user may hear a short conversation before it occurs. The dialogue arrives fragmented or distorted, but emotionally clear. Only the player hears it.

    Imagine figuring out the perfect comeback before it’s time to use it.

     

    Standard fare. Good for the audience. It could be useful if Cassie decided she wanted to engage in the social part of storylines more often.

     

    Wards of Affection

    Type: Buff

    Archetype: Psychic

    Aspect: Exorcist

    Stat Used: Moxie

    A gift from a loved one can hold power in real life. In film, it holds all the more power as a visual representation of something intangible.

    The user may craft a personal ward, a handmade object imbued with care, such as a bracelet, charm, or letter, and gift it to an ally. When the ally is later confronted with spiritual turbulence (possession, haunting, incursion), the ally is buffed to aid in the confrontation.

    The Carousel craft fair is the safest place in town.

     

    I was going to ask for one of those paper tulips they taught us to make in grade school. I wondered how she’d feel about that.

    I wasn’t sure how Anna was going to do in this storyline simply because I had been absent for much of what she had done. Her efforts were primarily social. She assisted with research, too. I had divided up the team and assigned her to that role, but I had no idea how much less cinematic her role might end up being.

    She got two stat tickets and two tropes. That was a respectable haul.

    Library Card

    Type: Rule/Insight

    Archetype: Final Girl

    Aspect: Girl Next Door

    Stat Used: Moxie

    If the information you need is in the archives at City Hall, your next scene needs to be in City Hall. Never mind how you get there.

    The user’s attempts to gain access to secure information using seemingly innocent cover stories will have a higher rate of success. If she can only get in alone, she may temporarily use her nearby ally’s research tropes while snooping.

    Red tape and bureaucratic resistance can be cut through with the right smile.

     

    It usually took a lot of Moxie, tons of narrative momentum, and multiple attempts to get access like that. Sweet.

    Are You Okay in There?

    Type: Insight

    Archetype: Final Girl

    Aspect: Girl Next Door

    Stat Used: Moxie

    Genuine concern for others is a hallmark of a Final Girl. It usually won’t save them.

    The user will be able to see all allies’ emotional states on the red wallpaper, including sentiments like the desire to be saved or the desire not to be.

    Sometimes a big heart needs help with directions.

     

    Simple. Useful. Hopefully effective.

    Camden’s research was what made it possible for us to find the letter from Dante, and without it, we would never have known how to square off with that particular brand of demon. He got two stat tickets for his efforts and two tropes to go with them. I feel like he would have done better had he been more cinematic or endearing.

    So far, I was the only person who hadn’t gotten two stat tickets. I was starting to feel like the odd one out.

    Bury the Lede

    Type: Insight/Rule

    Archetype: Scholar

    Aspect: Sleuth

    Stat Used: Savvy

    Sometimes the evidence of a bad guys guilt just doesn’t translate that well to a visual medium. That’s why in old mystery shows, the culprit would confess when faced with the evidence. There needed to be a solid conclusion.

     

    If the user compiles a volume of evidence sufficient to prove the truth of the mystery, but the evidence is not easy to explain in a quick speech, something will happen to confirm the user’s theory in a cinematic way. A piece of evidence will drop, a real smoking gun.

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