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    The Game at Carousel: A Horror Movie LitRPG

    Book Six, Chapter 92: The Savings

    by

    Carousel must have really liked my plan because, in part due to this being a rescue, I earned four stat tickets. I was thrilled because it made me feel like I was slingshotting past the doldrums at Level Forty.

    I got two tropes, and that was about it, other than the money that everyone got. It wasn’t a big rewards session for me, but the tropes I got, well, they were nothing to complain about.

    Props Department Requisition

    Type: Action/Perk

    Archetype: Film Buff

    Aspect: —

    Stat Used: Savvy

    In the Props Department, they read the script like a to-do list. Every scene needs to be filled, every object or plot device needs to be worked up to spec. It can be hard work, but that touch of authenticity really makes a movie shine.

    Allows the user to Improvise custom props that the user’s character could reasonably have assembled or built in the narrative without the normal amount of build-up or support required. Even allows research to be compiled. Only works during periods of low tension before Second Blood.

    And you’ll love it more because you did it yourself.

     

    This was a very powerful trope. Being able to collect research, build props, or even just fabricate set decorations with little to no setup was like a superpower. I could think of a dozen tropes that could only do a fraction of what this trope was capable of.

    That time skip really was worth it.

    Intermission

    Type: Action/Insight

    Archetype: Film Buff

    Aspect: —

    Stat Used: Savvy

    The movie has been going on for a while. You could use a break. When is intermission again?

    Grants Deathwatch as defined by the user’s Aspect Trope.

    While on Deathwatch, the user can pause the movie to explore the theater, greet other viewers, or even get refreshments. When the viewing resumes, the storyline will pick up a few moments (determined by Savvy) before the trope is used, to make sure you didn’t miss anything. Other Deathwatch tropes will still be usable during this time.

    We won’t bite.

     

    This trope appeared to be an upgrade to Director’s Monitor with the added benefit of having to deal with the Manifest Consortium while in the theater. Had I earned this, or were they just going to charge some guests for face time with me?

    But that ability to essentially rewind a few moments on Deathwatch and still use tropes was tremendously powerful, even with how limited my current Deathwatch tropes were.

    It was strange. I hadn’t used Deathwatch in this storyline, but I had used the Insert Shot in my final moments. Maybe that was the reason I got the trope.

    ~

    Kimberly had also managed to make out well, given the fact that she was not only the main fighter in the story, but that it was her subplot that resolved in the end to earn us the win. She also got four stat tickets and two tropes, as well as an Enemy Collector ticket.

    The Collector tickets were probably the most depressing ones we had gotten yet.

    Not a Dry Eye

    Type: Rule

    Archetype: Eye Candy

    Aspect: Celebrity

    Stat Used: Moxie

    The fans came to watch their favorite actor kick butt and survive, not to watch them die, but that might be when death hits the hardest.

    The user’s Dying Acts will be buffed in effectiveness.

    Who’s cutting onions?

     

    That was a hell of a parachute cord to be able to pull. Death was powerful in Carousel. The Vets always said it was the most important strategic decision you could make in a storyline.

    No kidding.

     

    Passing the Torch

    Type: Buff

    Archetype: Eye Candy

    Aspect: Celebrity

    Stat Used: Moxie

    Watching a legacy character or genre actor mentor new actors on the big screen can show real growth, even if they are training their replacement.

    The user can pass buffs and trope-given skills onto protégés within the film using a training montage. The user will get more money than usual.

    Passing the torch. More like putting you on an ice floe.

     

    It was kind of funny that Kimberly got this because of her character’s relationship with Kelsey, seeing as Kelsey was not only older than us but had also been in Carousel years longer.

     

    Burke, Deli Manager

    Clearance Sale Cultist

    They say he came to Carousel looking for work, and he found it at the Eternal Savers Club, where the linoleum hums and the pallets shift on their own after dark. But Burke wasn’t hired for his efficiency. He was chosen. Deep beneath the bulk aisles and bargain rotisserie, a god sleeps, dreaming of cleaner slates. And Burke, hollowed by grief, chants along with the others in back rooms that smell of ammonia and incense, offering what’s left of the world to whatever wakes.

    He does not want power. He does not want revenge. He wants to see his children again. To hold them in a world without sirens, without loss, without the woman whose negligence took them away. He’s willing to burn everything else away to make that world real. And when the shelves collapse and the lights go out, when the ground splits open to let something through, he’ll still be reaching out with open arms, hoping that whatever crawls out of the pit wears their faces.

     

    How sad. And his wasn’t even the worst. I didn’t know if these were real people or if they were just written to be extra depressing after we had crushed their dreams.

    ~

    Antoine pulled in a respectable three stat tickets, which really meant something, as he didn’t get as much to do in this storyline. But he was important to Kimberly’s storyline, and he was also the bait.

    He also got two tropes, but no Enemy Collector ticket because, apparently, his sole attack against a cultist was not fatal.

    The Fatted Calf


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Type: Rule

    Archetype: Athlete

    Aspect: Health Nut

    Stat Used: Grit

    When a victim in a horror movie is full of life, their death can hit even harder. Their sacrifice can inspire tremendous things.

    When the user is killed, especially in First or Second Blood or in a ritualistic or carnivorous manner, the narrative weight of that death will be heavier. The death might be enough in itself to satisfy Second Blood, even for a storyline with an otherwise high death count.

    He was in the Grade A Prime of his life.

     

    For stories that were heavily plotted, the Fatted Calf could actually be remarkably potent. Making one character’s death worth multiple was quite meaningful, although I doubted that Antoine wanted to make that a regular thing.

    Still, it was nice to have it in his back pocket, even if I expected it to stay there.

    Captive’s Best Resort & Spa

    Type: Perk/Buff

    Archetype: Athlete

    Aspect: Health Nut

    Stat Used: Grit

    In some movies, captivity serves as nothing more than a training ground. The heroes leave stronger than they came in.

    While the user is Captured, they will not be harmed until the enemy reaches their end goal for the capture. A longer captivity will provide opportunities for exercise and healing. Co-Captives will be able to provide wisdom that propels the character when they leave. The user will be buffed depending on what happens during captivity.

    There’s probably someone on the internet who would pay good money for this experience.

     

    That was a classic ticket. I had seen it everywhere, from The Dark Knight Rises to The Count of Monte Cristo. It could be a game-changer in a storyline, but again, it relied on Antoine getting captured, which was a pretty tricky situation to engineer without further support tropes.

    Bad guys tend to kill fighters unless they’re pretty blondes.

    ~

    Dina turned in a competent performance and got three stat tickets for it. It probably helped that she was the most under-leveled player in the storyline. She also got two tropes.

    Unfinished Business

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