Shipping itP II: Scourge of the Seven Seas

[TwoBitWriter]

K....

I have filled several positions, it will be a chapter-based thing, so don't expect me to get to your character immediately...

So far:

1) Ghost_Warlock/Gevaar - Main Trenal (Alien) Antagonist
2) Randman22222 - Lead Protagonist, gonna see a lot of you...
3) Haleyintraining - Female friend/wingmate to Lead, tempation while he' away from home...
4) Ganurath - Corrupt Human President
5) Mangosta - Wingleader, occasional bastard
6) Cristo-Meyers - Wingman, horrible death
7) Helgraf - Alasion (thats an alien) Guerrila Fighter
8) FFFanboy - No temptation positions available... interested in anything else? We need a human General...

[Fan]

K....

I have filled several positions, it will be a chapter-based thing, so don't expect me to get to your character immediately...

So far:

1) Ghost_Warlock/Gevaar - Main Trenal (Alien) Antagonist
2) Randman22222 - Lead Protagonist, gonna see a lot of you...
3) Haleyintraining - Female friend/wingmate to Lead, tempation while he' away from home...
4) Ganurath - Corrupt Human President
5) Mangosta - Wingleader, occasional bastard
6) Cristo-Meyers - Wingman, horrible death
7) Helgraf - Alasion (thats an alien) Guerrila Fighter
8) FFFanboy - No temptation positions available... interested in anything else? We need a human General...

Human general it is.

[Cristo Meyers]

1) Ghost_Warlock/Gevaar - Main Trenal (Alien) Antagonist
2) Randman22222 - Lead Protagonist, gonna see a lot of you...
3) Haleyintraining - Female friend/wingmate to Lead, tempation while he' away from home...
4) Ganurath - Corrupt Human President
5) Mangosta - Wingleader, occasional bastard
6) Cristo-Meyers - Wingman, horrible death
7) Helgraf - Alasion (thats an alien) Guerrila Fighter
8) FFFanboy - No temptation positions available... interested in anything else? We need a human General...

*snickers*

Lord knows I've had one of those coming for a long time yet...

[randman22222]

*snickers*

Lord knows I've had one of those coming for a long time yet...

When the day comes, I'll be assigned to investigate your murder (because I've decided that's what it'll be) and justice will come.

[mangosta71]

*snickers*

Lord knows I've had one of those coming for a long time yet...

Show me the friendly fire death!

[TwoBitWriter]

Show me the friendly fire death!

I'm pretty sure that its gonna involved Ghost_Warlock doing something bad. I think Friendly Fire is too Tropey for my tastes.

[Midnight Son]

Do I still get to be the horrible, awful, no good, very bad guy? If not, you can still use me, but I don't go for bad guy roles unless they're truly despicable.

[TwoBitWriter]

Whoops... I meant to make you the President and Ganurath someone else...

Sorry Gannie, I'll find somewhere else to put you. I think MS had dibs first...

[Dallas-Dakota]

Me.........................Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....

[TwoBitWriter]

Me.........................Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....

I'll try to squeeze you in too

[Lyinginbedmon]

Should I write another fic then or are you all just masking your seething hatred of my work with literary sarcasm?

If so, any suggestions?

[Dallas-Dakota]

Should I write another fic then or are you all just masking your seething hatred of my work with literary sarcasm?

If so, any suggestions?

We very much like your work Lying.
In fact, no matter how odd/normal/weird/crazy/sane written, I find myself always enjoying to read a DD/Curly fic.

[TwoBitWriter]

Is it okay if theres a lot of action in a fic?

Because I have some romance-themed scenes, but there is still a lot of people getting blown up...

I just don't want to embarrass myself any further

[happyturtle]

*points to Ship Wars*

Action is just fine! No one will complain. Unless you stop updating. Then they'll complain a lot.

((BTW, the next instalment is 75% typed in now. And I'll be on the train tomorrow, which means I'll start the following instalment, because for some reason I can only write when I'm on the train.))

[Calamity]

Should I write another fic then or are you all just masking your seething hatred of my work with literary sarcasm?

Oh, Lying, us ABRites have known you're a very good writer for a long time. Don't be so modest!

If so, any suggestions?

Me!

[Fan]

Is it okay if theres a lot of action in a fic?

Because I have some romance-themed scenes, but there is still a lot of people getting blown up...

I just don't want to embarrass myself any further

Action is fine, we have had some entirely romance free fics in this thread.

[Vespe Ratavo]

My name is Vespe Ratavo, and I am here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to write a really, really weird shipfic? No, says the man in the thread, it belongs to cute. No, says the other man in the thread, it belongs to "romance." No, says the girl in the thread, and stop writing ships about Curly and Cthulhu, it's freaking me out.

I rejected those answers. I chose the impossible...I chose...Rapture. A fic where the artist would not fear the censor, where the writer would not be bound by petty "sanity," where the awesome would not be constrained by the normal!

And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your ship as well.

Translation?

Vespe's writing a Bioshock-inspired ship fic. And he's looking for people with no sense of dignity to be in it. It will most likely be longer than my previous efforts, with lots of ships involved. I'll also try and make it enjoyable to those who haven't played the game.

For those of you who haven't played it, all you need to know is that there's this secret underwater city called Rapture filled with the best and brightest from all over the world, which was great, until someone discovered this stuff called ADAM, which, through the power of rubber science, allowed people to genetically modify themselves to do just about anything, up to and including shooting lightning and bees. Unfortunately, it has pretty bad side effects, including paranoia, insanity, facial disfigurement, and death by shotgun to the face. Then there was a civil war over the ADAM and everything went to boop.

It's better than it sounds, really.

[Cristo Meyers]

Dignity? The term is unknown to me!

Just ask the paladin...

[Raistlin1040]

Fun with BioShock! Sign me up!

[Mordokai]

Dignity? The term is unknown to me!

Just ask the paladin...

Always up for it.

But you already knew that, didn't you?

[PhoeKun]

I feel like I should be in by default when people take mass volunteers. Don't I beg enough already? I'm shameless!

[Fan]

*begs on knees*
Come on Vespe you said you would do a Fanboy fic.... and we both know i have no dignity from all the crying I do IC.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I call the Andrew Ryan parody if it's not already taken, otherwise Tenenbaum.

[Lord Magtok]

BLAH BLAH BLAH BIOSHOCK FIC!

I am IN. Extra text

[Saurous]

Eh, stick me in, too, if you want.

[happyturtle]

I want to be the redshirt who dies horribly and pointlessly during a cut scene!

[TwoBitWriter]

BioShock... interesting... If you have a location for me, go for it!

I have started on the first chapter of mine, and I can already tell its gonna be a doozy...

[ghost_warlock]

K....

I have filled several positions, it will be a chapter-based thing, so don't expect me to get to your character immediately...

So far:

1) Ghost_Warlock/Gevaar - Main Trenal (Alien) Antagonist
2) Randman22222 - Lead Protagonist, gonna see a lot of you...
3) Haleyintraining - Female friend/wingmate to Lead, tempation while he' away from home...
4) Ganurath - Corrupt Human President
5) Mangosta - Wingleader, occasional bastard
6) Cristo-Meyers - Wingman, horrible death
7) Helgraf - Alasion (thats an alien) Guerrila Fighter
8) FFFanboy - No temptation positions available... interested in anything else? We need a human General...

Wow, nothing quite like going to bed with the expecation of a Red Shirt part but finding when you wake up that, instead, you've been cast as a major villain. Life is good!

*puts on his puppy-kicking boots, readies his puppy-shooting gun, and goes to rehearse his lines*

"No, Randman2222, I expect you to die!"

[Vespe Ratavo]

Seriously, why do you keep thinking there are ships here? Go away.

[Raistlin1040]

A break from People are Strange, though there will likely be a part three.

When the Music's Over: Vespe/Raistlin/Moff/Rand Friendship! (AKA No Hoyay. Sorry guys.)

Spoiler

Show

Legends. Like The Beatles, Guns N' Roses, The Police, The Stooges, The Ships were a great band that broke up before their time, a great band that had some of their best hits ahead of them. It was a messy breakup, not made easy by the vicious press. They had intended it to be a quiet affair, each member working on solo works, or whatever, and gradually letting the people figure out the truth. But it didn't work like that, unfortunatly.

It had been happening for a while. Randy and Vespe had been all for keeping with the straight up rock music the band played, no pretentions or egos. Moff and Raist were different. Moff wanted elaborate setups, lots of synths, a third guitarist, orchestral backing, crazy effects, very prog. Raistlin went in the opposite direction, much more arty. He had so many ideas, he wanted more glam imagery, a rock opera/concept album based on Alice in Wonderland, maybe work on some acting, both as a band and by himself.

After a while, even the other two were drawn into the conflict. Moff made a few comments to a magazine about how if he went solo, he'd like better backing musicians, and Vespe went on a tirade to a newspaper journalist about how Randy's playing didn't sync well with his own. After the little interview war, the tour dates were uncomfortable, awkward, and devoid of energy.

The final straw came on the last gig of the tour. Randy was fed up with being underappreciated by the band, and had his personal roadie pull the plug on the guitars in the middle of the show, giving him a incedental drum solo. After realizing what had happened, Raistlin threw his guitar onto the ground and walked offstage, getting in his limo and leaving. He officially confirmed a breakup a few days later, announcing his intent to work on solo projects.

Even without their singer, The Ships decided to continue working on a new album, Vespe taking on the vocals. Without Raistlin, the album shifted more towards Moff's vision, and the resulting release, Whirlpools, was met with mixed reviews. Positive reviews gave it points for having a breath of fresh air, different singer, moving the band in new directions. Critics slammed it as a cheap copy of Yes and Pink Floyd, and the lack of Raistlin's voice made the usually intense songs sound subdued.

Even though the album sold well enough, it was obvious that the band was over. They split up, not even touring for the album. Moff and Vespe immediatly began working on solo albums, Randy began to drum with the guitarist and bass player from Alchemist's Fire, forming a strictly touring supergroup, The Flaming Ships.

Due to working on a basic rock sound, instead of a grand sweeping epic, Vespe's album was the first to come out. Dubbed simply Vespe, the band and album were greated with warm reviews. The players Vespe had brought in had a very bluesy feel, and the album was reminiscent of an early Stones record. Moff's record, The Bottom of the Universe, by Tarkin was given equally good reviews, praised as bridging the gap between spacey progressive music and epic metal. Randy was still touring with his new band, but Raistlin was nowhere to be seen.

Still no news on any album or guest appearances, Raistlin remained an reclusive figure. Rumors circulated about his death, or self-imposed exile, or other such silly nonsense. However, one day, the front cover of a magazine had his face splashed on the cover, wearing thick silver eyeshadow, ruby red lipstick, looking waif-like. The contents inside regarding him were cryptic, telling readers only to look for him in places not expected.

The answers were found a few months later, when a new movie, The Maiden and the Minstrel King was released. Raistlin, in his first film role, played the titular Minstrel King, an enigmatic figure, who left his solitary confinement only to give messiah-esque speeches to hordes of young teenagers, urging them to action to save themselves and their world from destruction. However, he was killed by an angry man, who felt his lunatic ramblings would destroy the safety and confinement of the world, and hid the King's works. The major part of the plot focused on the Maiden, a young woman who found the Minstrel King's Diary over 20 years later, and began to embrace his teachings, eventually causing a riot when the King's teachings are promoted as foolish ramblings and heresy in one of her university classes.

Though not the main character, Raistlin was praised for his portrayal of the Minstrel King, especially for the flashbacks that occured whenever his journal was read from. The movie went on to become the highest grossing movie of the year, and Raistlin was back in the spotlight, his former bandmates forgotten by nearly everyone. Album rumors circulated, talk about his new image was excessive, he was analyzed from every angle. Just as he was regaining his fame however, he disappeared again.

Nearly no word from him for nearly three years, amounting to his manager claiming that he was working on an album. In the years, Vespe and Moff each released follow-ups to their debuts, and Randy's supergroup even released a live album of a memorable concert at Madison Square Gardens. And then, one day, Raistlin's record was released. No music videos, no singles, no promotion. Just quietly delivered to the record stores. Down the Rabbit Hole had been a little ideaette in The Ships, a dream, but while solo, he'd had almost four years to make it as perfect as he could.

The time was well spent. The album was hailed as brilliant, the finest album released in the last decade. It became 2012's Frampton Comes Alive! There was no one who didn't own the album. It was called one of the greatest concept albums ever made, right up there with Ziggy Stardust and Tommy. However, in an interview, Raistlin expressed distaste at the album's popularity.

Tara Johannsen: So, Raistlin, tell us about the album.
Raistlin Rós: It's exactly what I keep telling everyone it is. It's a glam album, a 70s record, that basically retells Alice in Wonderland in music. The book is really image-heavy, so I tried to reflect that in the music, so there's some psychedelic style in there as well.
TJ: Obviously, the album is very successful. How do you feel about that?
RR: Honestly, not too happy. I don't think enough people get the album. I mean, vanity here, it's a great album. I know that. But I didn't make it to be popular. I made it to try and incorporate concepts into the songs, a story, a plot. And I don't think everyone who's bought it, all three billion or whatever ridiculous number it is, really get that. I think it's wasted on some people. I mean, did The Who write Tommy to make money? I don't think so. It was about the story.
TJ: Will you be releasing a follow-up to the album, and if so, what will it be like?
RR: I don't know. Definatly not another concept album, as I've finished with Alice, and doing something else seemes gimmicky. There's a lot of people I want to work with, so I think I might try and do some guest vocals or guest guitar, and then get the other guys to maybe let me make an album out of it.

Ever the recluse, Raistlin disappeared for a third time, guesting on a Motley Crue song, singing harmony with David Bowie on one of his songs, and doing a couple of tunes with Oasis. Vespe quit after a third album, deciding to go into producing albums, and Randy's supergroup broke up, and he decided to play as a session musician. Moff's band had been doing well, making a lot of money and fans.

Meanwhile, Raist recorded a few covers of old rock hits, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, and The Ramones, and put those on an album with the Bowie song, the Crue song, the pair of Oasis songs, and two more songs he had done with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Coldplay. The album, called Sythesis of the Cemetery was given good acclaim, though many reviews were unhappy with the lack of groundbreaking sounds that were present on his first solo effort.

After the 2nd album, Raist decided to quit playing, like Vespe and Randy before him, and retired to Barcelona, making occasional film appearances for fun.

The year was 2020. The Ships had been broken up for 12 years, and their five albums before then were mostly forgotten. Vespe and The Flaming Ships were remembered fondly by adults. Raistlin was remembered as artistic, and his albums were considered interesting at the time, though largly redundant by now. Tarkin still played regularly, though they were considered "old-school", and uncool.

The reunion had happened completely by accident. Tarkin was recording in a studio, and their scheduled producer had quit, and their manager had had to hire a new one, Vespe. Randy was playing session for a jazz group next door, and the three ex-Ships members met again for the first time in years. They decided to play one show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, as The Ships, just for fun. They called Raistlin, but he never returned the calls.

They went to the show anyway, to play for whatever fans wanted to come, and they sat in their dressing room, preparing. There came a knock on the door.

Come in! Vespe called, tuning his bass. Their tour manager was at the door. "Sorry to bother you guys, but there's someone here to see you." He stepped aside, and a familiar figure stood behind him, blond hair to his shoulders, lipstick applied perfectly, sparking eyeshadow, and a low-cut shimmering outfit showing off the tip of a rabbit tatoo on his chest.

Hey. He said, real cool. Moff blinked in suprise. Raistlin? Raistlin nodded. Randy looked over. Why are you here? You never answered the calls. Raistlin shrugged. Friday night, nothing to do, figured I'd go out and play for some fans, make some dough, you know, usual. A somewhat uncomfortable silence followed. So...what're we playing? The old hits, you know. He nodded. No solo stuff? No solo stuff. Even if they're shouting for Down the Rabbit Hole? Especially. I always hated that album.

Raistlin nudged Randy's ribs. Only because it kicked ass, and you weren't a part of it. You're so delusional. Vespe said for Randy. Raistlin shrugged, smirking. Whatever guys. Grab your crap, can't keep the fans waiting. He grabbed his guitar and left the room.

The other three band members looked at the door, still in slight shock. After all, they hadn't seen this guy in a dozen years. After a few minutes, they shrugged and followed him out to the stage. It wasn't a reunion, not in the traditional sense. Just a bunch of friends hanging out, playing some tunes. You know, usual.

I believe that's 4 song titles from Strange Days I've used.