Marin Popple and the Rebel's Tome. ———————————————————————————————— July 28th, 1984, London. A rainspeckled torn envelope laid abandoned in a dirty alley, having fluttered there from a bedraggled victorian building not far away. If one looked carefully the dissolving address could still be made out. To Marin Popple. The Lord's Blessing Orphanage, wing number 4. Fleecers Avenue, London, England. There was an unread birthday letter inside, but the money mentioned in the elegant script instead sat pressed into the pocket of a Ms Hedgeworth. The staff at the orphanage had a first come policy when it came to looting the mail goodies, and Ms Hedgeworth was one of the best since she had looked up all of the kids' birthdays. She sometimes even congratulated them. Never that girl Marin Popple though. Something wasn't quite right about Marin Popple, and it wasn't the fact that her left arm was missing, or that she had a long, still faintly glowing scar that ran down her neck to the stump. No, the accident in the phosphor plant that had crippled her had also taken her memories and left her... not quite right in the head. The staff at the orphanage even thought that the little girl ought to be put into a mental asylum, because she kept saying that she saw ghosts, walking skeletons, and talking bats, or "winged mice" as she called them. But with the city's asylums already being full, Marin Popple was best relegated into the category of "kids best left to their own devices, forgotten in some small out-of-the-way room", and so she was. ... ———————————————————————————————— POLITICAL POTTER STORY NOTES - The MC&co are originally oblivious to how the antagonists are pulling strings and even have a vaguely positive view of those factions--a few quibbles notwithstanding. MC&co only discover the extent of the wretchedness 1/3rd into the story and begin to unravel some pretty dark stuff beneath the sparkles and whimsical. ———————————————————————————————— FACTION NAMES - These names are not immediately obvious due to the initial masking. ———————————————————————————————— Tyrrax - This is the false Slytherin--a "dark" faction of activists with a bad rep. MC does not want to end up in this nasty faction but does so anyways. Led by Shu Kilbari. Generally in antihero/reborn-as-a-villain type stories MC doesn't actually do evil but is just direct, no-nonsense and uses the sinister aesthetic. This faction represents that. According to other factions, these guys are basically terrorists who blow things up willy nilly. This view is mostly a product of spinning and false flags. ———————————————————————————————— Sojus Hexia - Portrayed as toothless silly gooses and nuisances that disrupt the smooth operation of things with their constant complaints. Led by Theoron Bisqus. Mainly opposes Boil Corvus and Coinsworth. ———————————————————————————————— Middilzat - a neutral faction that MC wants to join, not wanting to stand out. Led by Leyburan Demeros. They end up compromising with Boil and Coinsworth a lot. ———————————————————————————————— Edigarulah - Edgelords. Very cool kids with trenchcloaks (maybe also katanas and eye tattoos). Comic relief. Wildcards. A possible enemy but probably a saves-the-day goofy ally. Led by Lord Ravenwrath Stormborn. ———————————————————————————————— Dupodregos - useful idiots that often tilt the vote in council / competitions. Led by Nose Bibil. ———————————————————————————————— Boil Corvus - Initial image: Provides a lot of the magic resources that people need, for a price. Fairy wing dust! Wow! Led by Rook Felltree. True image: Big magic extraction corp that destroys the land and its original inhabitants. Escalating land grabs. Tragedy of the commons. Snatchers. And where does "fairy wing dust" come from? How did magic land look back in the old days? The bulk of their resources go to a pointless magical project (of Coinsworth's) which makes everybody's lives worse. ———————————————————————————————— Coinsworth - Initial image: The biggest and richest faction. Innovators and promoters of business. Council leaders. They sponsor the sorcery school and some poverty/aid programs. Led by Thotch Regun. True image: Wallstreet faction. Very capitalism for thee, socialism for us. Captures OSS programs (open source spell research). Spell "IP" owners and snatchers. "Owns" the largest spell library. Will 180 to any image (good/bad) for some profit. Landowners. Deregulators (bribed by Boil) and privatisers of anything public. ———————————————————————————————— MC: Marin Popple - cripple girl who could easily be healed if it wasn't for spell rights management / restricted library access. Parents killed in Boil operation gone awry, she survived crippled. Doesn't know any of this early on. Her memories were wiped. Howiz Latimer - Brilliant kid who gets his spells stolen (via e.g. a BBS or competition (gets no price)) then CnD'd and monetized, which alerts the characters to the exploitation happening. Early drive is to cure/help MC when the healing spell needed is too expensive. This char is needed since MC gang must have an edge over the other factions that are controlling all of the resources. They then develop a secret arsenal. His family runs a mom&pop magic store that's going out of business. Marxine - Insane annoying conspiracy/rumour girl who argues with... False Ron - Centrist boy responsible for a "balanced" view very early on, also tricking the reader. Alienation later. Dark mystery mistress who turns and joins MC's side. AKA sexy Snape. Lyssandra? ———————————————————————————————— Tell/show by inference. Events, Equivalents of: Choosing Hat. Gets to pick one out of three? Or just pick anything. MC is forced though. Staircases, Escher, Spinning plate, Portals. Basement. Dungeon maze. With levels? Guardian beast. Forbidden area. Prison. Threat of expulsion. Pets, also used for fetching and messaging. Winged mice. The big friendly hobo. Make it someone downtrodden, like an exploited ogre or goblin. False legacy, lineage clue. Library, working a bit like sect libraries with limited access, despite being a school. Wands, brooms, and teachers. Don't care about sports. Maybe do dungeon raids? Talkin paintings and other pets. Pets = slavery in some cases? Vehicle options: carpet, sword, flying cauldron, Contests. School is a giant complex. Start off with unusual things in town. foreshadow villain and teachers. Maybe chosen. Who sent those letters? What is MC's golden finger? Will of action brings an opportunity? An organizer? Planner? How well read is MC? Refused the bible indoctrination and read something else really strange and occult. MC is accused of something when it was in fact magic. How much spacing between class recruiting? 4 years to avoid too many kids? Scenic move to magic land. Not a train. Not a narnia closet. What is the rebel's tome? Her parents were involved with it somehow. Reader and chars were lead to believe it was a book of magic. Perhaps it was actually a floppy disk MC was once sent (via mail, dodging a house raid) and managed to keep. It contains incriminating evidence. ———————————————————————————————— "Now kids, don't run into the cellar--that's where we keep the demon core." "The what now?" Harry asked. "Aah, the Demon Core... that's what got me. You should listen." said the irradiated ghost Mr Meltyface, waving a screwdriver around but not really explaining anything. Harry made up his mind. He would sneak down to the cellar at midnight--just before the hallway's laser cutting traps were turned on.