Story game

[MatthewV]

Once upon a time, we played a game here in which every play was given a few lines in a story and an ending card. Players then crafted these lines to sway the story in their direction. This game works on the same general idea without the requirement to twist the story in any direction.

Each player will be given a set of five (unless players feel this is too few) words that they must match by having someone else use that word. A player would win when all their words were matched. Player may announce winning the game in the thread with the words they had and where they were matched.

So if I had "Stripper, Lonely, stapler" as my words I might lead the story to an office setting, introduce a girl named Peachy and hint a their being a depressed man named Claw.

Players are allowed to use their words but if is too obvious what someone is pushing I would encourage players to boycott that word.

Editing posts to fix grammatical mistakes and spelling errors is fine. Please don't significantly change the content of any post. Basically, normal forum etiquette on this issue.

[comments put in square brackets and italicized will not be considered part of the story. Players are encouraged to give compliments in this fashion.] Making comments like "Matthew must have a stripper" to warn others not to use a stripper are allowed. Also, striking things out removes them from the story

Additions to the story should be about 1 paragraph or so. There is no minimum or maximum but lengthy additions may be cut off by someone else posting an addition.
First come, first served. If a double post occurs the second post should be striked out or removed in other fashions.

Trying excessively hard to avoid a word is not encouraged. Be sure to have fun!

To join the game, add to the story. I will send out a PM with the words you are seeking sometime shortly. Players may join at any time. If you don't wish to join but want to add to the story, just include that as a comment.

Once upon a time, in a Labyrinth not far from here...

[lexprod]

there was a young lad by the name of Sunshine (his parents were hippies you see.) He did very much enjoy living in the labyrinth, as all his family had great sense of direction and found no problem in having to take five left turns, a right, walking five blocks north, and then open up a hidden trap door in order to get to the bathroom. One night however, Sunshine saw something in the maze he had never seen before...

[Lepton*]

...but there's no point in describing it now, since it doesn't really affect the flow of the story until a little bit later, by which time it will have changed slightly in meaning and hue. So Sunshine put the particular object into a bag of unimportant dimensions and took it home. It was a trip whose difficulty need not be described, but suffice it to say that it took a certain period of time whose length is as important to the story at the moment as the size of Sunshine's sack and the nature of the object he discovered. Not far away, however, danger was brewing...

[Amb]

... in the form of a poisoned Chardonnay

[lexprod]

...-flavored bonbons...

[killing time until I get some word cards ]

[raekuul]

...from France...

[Cordelia]

[]...

[Zag]

Sunshine ate the french-made bonbons and drank the Chardonnay. Both were infused with an adequate quantity of deadly poison, and either one on its own would have killed him. However, the two poisons had an incredible interaction in his stomach. Not only did they not kill him, they made him stronger; they transformed him into ...

[Undercover Monk]

Batman. Unfortunately the poisons did a number on his vocal cords which everyone on the Labyrinth agreed made him sound like a cross between Chuck Norris and....
_________________
The Classic Blunders:
1. never get involved in a land war in Asia
2.Never go in against a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line
3. Never release Peyton Manning

[Zag]

... Vanessa Redgrave. So, the newly created Batman felt that he needed a sidekick. In spite of his voice that made him sound like a creepy pedophile, he decided to try to convince a young boy to join him in his caped escapades. Visiting an ice cream parlor, he found a young man drinking a ...

[raekuul]

...stirred martini. He was humming a song by My Black Rabbit, a popular music group that our newly-minted Batman had no knowledge (or interest in), called "Castle Briskly" or something like that. Since there was nobody else inside, he...

[Lepton]

...went up to the young man. "Identify yourself," he commanded, with a voice that combined the gruffness of an NFC linebacker with the melodious tones of the song of a kakapo.

"My designation is Matthew 5," came a scared reply from beneath the counter where once that young man had once stood. "I will join you in your quest."

Hand-in-hand, the two returned to the labyrinth which, with the fading of daylight, had taken on a grey hue.

[lexprod]

They returned to the Batman's home and decided to get to know each other over a nice bottle of pinot noir. One shouldn't trust a complete stranger with their life naturally. However a bit too much wine was passed around and the duo ended up spending the whole night on sporcle.com playing various quizzes. When they awoke the next morning they sported matching hangovers. "I know the cure!" Exclaimed MattV, "It's..."

[Cordelia]

somewhere special, under the house. I'm not going to say it's a cave, but it certainly looks dark and dank like one." Batman gestured for Matman to follow; he tried to find his way to the stairs...

[MNOWAX]

... but instead fell flat on his face. He looked bewildered, as if a raccoon was dazed by the bright lights of a car. He acted as if...
_________________
The Man The Myth The Legend
MNOWAX

[Zag]

... as if he were playing an online story game, but felt that his words were so obscure that he would NEVER get anyone else to type them. He thought, I might as well be on ...

[Undercover Monk]

he had meant to do that and was in fact looking for the secret switch to open the entrance to the unnamed crevice that was not a cave. Suddenly Mattman came up with an idea. "Why don't we name the not-cave something cool like a fortress of solitude or a sub basement. The X-men have one of those and its sweet." "No" said Batman (this time sounding like a terminator with a bad cold) "I hate...
_________________
The Classic Blunders:
1. never get involved in a land war in Asia
2.Never go in against a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line
3. Never release Peyton Manning

[raekuul]

"giving places names. My first girlfriend went and tried to name my mansion "Castle Briskly" for crying out loud! That name doesn't even make sense." Batman sighed.

[First comment! Where are we trying to go with this? I don't really like not going anywhere. Last time I went nowhere with a story, I left someone stranded on a planet not too far away from here, just a couple dimensions over.]

[Cordelia]

being cheesy like that. Hey, Alfred, what's that stink? Have you cleaned up my lair recently? Wow, it's bad. I'm so sorry Matt, but I didn't realize how strong it was going to bed...I mean be. How strong it was going to be. Look at that, I must be drunk. Hehe...hehe..." Batman frowned, trying to walk in a straight line down the stairs...

[Zag]

[Second comment: You followed UM's simulpost instead of mine! ]

[MatthewV]

[if players feel the words i gave are too hard, i will consider resending everyone easier sets]

[Zag]

[have we had any hits at all yet? If not, then I think easier words would be in order.]

[raekuul]

[I've dropped all but two of my words already! But easier words are not unappreciated.

@Zag: Oops. I could have sworn there was a post between the two connecting them when I typed up my extension. Then again, I am known to hallucinate while perfectly clean and sober... now excuse me as I extract this pink elephant from my gingerbread house.]

[Cordelia]

[I didn't realize there was a prescribed order...]

[Zag]

[There isn't. It's just the UM and I responded to the same note, simulposting. In this case, you're supposed to ignore the later one.]

[Cordelia]

[I almost think it would be interesting to win by getting other people's words somehow too...]

[Lepton*]

Batman and Matthew wake up. "Whoa, those were some gnarly dreams," mutters Matthew. "Zag, Cordelia.. who were all those people?"

Batman grimaces. He's evidently had the same dream, as frequently happens during those short, awkward hours between an awesome buzz and waking up to find a redhead, twin dwarfs, and a manatee in your bed. "Yeah, and why were they leaning sideways while speaking?"

The sun lifts above a distant tree, revealing a cold, Alaskan landscape. Alfred is nowhere in sight -- perhaps he's meandered off to polish the batmobile -- so Batman personally pours out half a dozen deep bowls of cereal and spashes a pint of milk onto each. "So, Matthew 5, what do we do today?"

[raekuul]

Matthew 5 looked at him. "The same thing we do every day, Batman: Try not to take over the world!"

[Cue Pinky and the Brain theme song.]

Batman had to suppress a laugh.

[MatthewV]

[1. Maybe it would better if people didn't try to change the direction every post. A suggestion is that people could include a "next step" comment at the end of their post.

2. Players may communicate over PM but with no sharing of their words

3. I will probably send out new sets of words if this doesn't seem to go well.]

[Undercover Monk]

Which he did, thankfully, because the sound of batman laughing is the number one killer of infants in the Gotham area. "We could go trick or treating" said Matthew hopefully. "But Halloween is over" grunted the dark knight. "I know but I didn't get enough Peanut M&Ms!" whined Matthew. "Bah" said the Bat, "I hate peanuts I prefer the original kind"
"Well its either that or I invite all my Labyrinth friends over for a sexy party."
"Fine we will go get your stupid M&Ms! You know how I feel about parties."
So with that the two departed into the dark night.


[ha a pun lol. anyway heres is a clip from my new favorite show "community" that shows exactly how batman feels about parties wanted to get this into the story but it was taking too much effort so I did copped out]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYci5cbZAIA
_________________
The Classic Blunders:
1. never get involved in a land war in Asia
2.Never go in against a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line
3. Never release Peyton Manning

[Cordelia]

[Matt, in regards to your statement #1, this happens in improv all the time. The best improvisational actors adopt the theory of "yes, and..." In other words, if the person you are talking to says "wow, look at that elephant stampeding towards us," the second person DOES NOT say "that's not an elephant, it's a space rover." A more appropriate response would be "Yeah, he's got a laser-ray gun. Maybe we should run before he shoots us."

In other words, diversion is great, but dismissal is not. Of course, even in improv there are times when "no, but..." works. "No, that's not an elephant, that's your mom" is still good fun.]

[lexprod]

[I'm reminded of Tag Wrestling, an ISIHAC game in which both teams were given an end to a story, and since they knew their opponents end, they would do anything possible to make the other end impossible (killing of characters, etc.)]

Since it was so late at night they decided to head to the local 49-121 convenience store, instead of being ridiculed for being old to trick-or-treat. "Hello, I am Batman! I require chocolate M&Ms for my partner!" The clerk, a resident of the GL, raised an eyebrow at the statement, ringing up the candies. "Oh, wait, not like that!" Batman corrected.

Leaving the store Matthew quickly devoured the candied treats, getting a bit of a mess on his face. To wipe off his face he used...

[Undercover Monk]

...A...(pause for dramatic effect)..........napkin.

Meanwhile the clerk picked up his phone and called the evil council known as PALADIN. "Yes they just left.....I see...yes I will....the old crowd....got it."
He hung up and started making calls to further his nefarious schemes.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, Batman and his intrepid sidekick prepare to....
_________________
The Classic Blunders:
1. never get involved in a land war in Asia
2.Never go in against a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line
3. Never release Peyton Manning

[raekuul]

...not notice members of PADIA marching down in a PADIA-Pride Parade.

"Holy Overused Cliche's, Batman!!!" exclaimed MattV, with three times the necessary exclamativeness. "You don't think Senator Boon's Dog'll try and join the parade again, do you?"

Batman, having no clue as to what MattV meant, decided to instead...

[Cordelia]

[I wonder how many of my words I can get without ever saying anything, heh.]

commit to some form of action.

"I'm committing to some form of action," he said.

So he stepped forward and promptly fell into a manhole. Matt jumped down beside him. Or rather, fell unceremoniously in the muck below. He jumped to his feet, muttering something about "mutagenic" properties...

[MatthewV]

I feel if this rests peacefully sooner instead of later. It appears there needed to be more of an invisible hand or more feasible words. Instead of sending players new words, I shall announce...

Undercover Monk as the winner*! He was the only player who used something from his list to get others to use it also. The item was the symbol "&".

Honorable mentions go to Cordelia (Paladin) and Amb (kakapo).

_{*technically an incomplete three-way tie}

[Undercover Monk]

Woo-hoo I won! I won? yes I won! I was suprised how easy the & was but everyone likes M&Ms sad to see this die.

Thanks for boosting my confidence though!
_________________
The Classic Blunders:
1. never get involved in a land war in Asia
2.Never go in against a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line
3. Never release Peyton Manning