The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

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Schrodinger
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#121 Post by Schrodinger »

Not a problem.
What was it the spider said to the fly...

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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#122 Post by WindDragon »

Us fans will happily wait in anticipation until that day finally arrives when a new update appears!!!
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#123 Post by avwolf »

Sorry for the long delays, everybody. As it happens, inspiration to write's been in kinda short supply lately. That said, I wrote most of this over the course of this night, so I really hope it turned out up to expectations. I'm afraid it's another pretty short one this time. Sorry. :(

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By the time Kilroy and I make it back to the flamed-out thread, I'm beginning to regret not going for the painkillers first. I'm starting to believe my face's claims that it was struck by something more substantial than a shovel despite being there for the event. It certainly feels like I was hit with a bus. I shake off the ache. I've got more important things to worry about now than a headache, no matter how splitting.

I survey the ashes before me, carefully picking through them so that my footprints don't muddle the scene any further. I'm struck by the same feeling as I was the first time I cast my eyes on the thread: Something is wrong. It's like the subtle rancid odor of a fish taped under a table, just before it gets really ripe. So I start to sniff around for the proverbial trout. Everything looks straight forward at first glance. I can see where Lupe would have stood, a torch-bearing crowd almost surrounding him completely, ready to put him to the flames. On one side of him, engulfed by the mob, are the clear footprints of the rabble-rousers that had started the mess. They were thrown out of the forum hours ago, and there's no way I'll be able to find them.

Columbo said that to solve a crime, you need to look for the thing that should be there and isn't, and the thing that is there but shouldn't be. So what am I missing? Then it hits me like a brick from a third story window. I'm looking at a spot where something is missing. Why wouldn't the mob have surrounded Lupe completely, so he wouldn't have anywhere to run? The only reason I can think of to leave a gap like that would be if someone was standing there. I stare at the spot where footprints should be. Clean. Pristine. Looking at it again, with this knowledge in my head, the presence of some unknown person is obvious. The history here, what I can see and read, has been subtly altered to make it appear as though some one was never here. But the signs are there, clear as the spots on a snow leopard. "I was a ghost, I was there at the scene. And as the embers rose, my hands smelled like gasoline," I muse. A cover up like this couldn't be done by a couple of outsiders. It'd take some muscle, and some real power. No wonder Spike warned me about this being big. Somebody with a mod license had to be involved. My guts turn to ice water with that realization. If one of us mods is in on this job, or worse, calling the shots, then I'm going to be behind the eight-ball. Well, if I wanted things to be easy, I'd be dating a fox.

"Find something interesting, Avwolf?" The voice is a bit of a surprise. I spin, my fingers on my heater. A lithe, lanky figure lounges on the bus stop bench on the other side of the street. His face is split with a smile like a knife, sly and sharp, though his eyes are closed, as though in repose. I could swear he wasn't there when Kilroy and I arrived, but with Schrodinger, you never know. I pick my way over to the bench.

"Schrodinger. Nice to see you. So, I guess this means the Founder's interested in this little bit of linguistic arson, eh?" He slides up into a sitting position. Between his fedora and his trench coat, you might not notice that he wasn't fully human, but I could just make out his tail curling and uncurling in the shadows.

"It's nice to see you too, Av." Schrodinger grins at me again, and then pointedly turns his attention to polishing his nails on one hand, flipping a quarter across the knuckles of the other. "But you injure me. I'm not the Founder's dog, you know." He casts me an accusing look, his gray eyes the color of concrete in the lamp light. "Maybe I'm just curious for my own benefit." It's possible. Schrodinger tends only to involve himself in things that interest him personally. But he's also got a direct line to the Founder, and isn't adverse to doing him favors.

"Well, you know what they say curiosity did to the catboy."

"I'll just make sure they leave this cat's box closed." He smiles, mostly to himself. With a flick of his wrist, he produces a Polaroid, the words "Most Dangerous Box" written in neat block letters on the bottom. Schrodinger prides himself on having a picture for every occasion. The photo disappears as quickly as he'd summoned it. "But you haven't answered my question. Did you find anything interesting?"

"I'm a wolf, not a songbird. Besides, it's policy not to comment on an ongoing investigation."

"Aw." Schrodinger looks crestfallen. It's a decent act, but I've known him too long to know it for anything but an act. "Not even to...Natani?" Another flick of his wrist and he produces an image of the wolf Keidran, one that isn't in common circulation. My cheek twitches. He knows I've got a soft spot for her. Like I said, a picture for every occasion. "Squeezing the rumble out of Avwolf" counts as an occasion.

"I don't have anything solid. Nothin' right." I mutter. I've always had trouble resisting temptation. "Someone big was involved here and didn't want anybody but God to know. That's all the more I can tell you." Schrodinger nods in satisfaction and hands me the picture, which I carefully file away.

"So you're about where I am then." He stands abruptly, slipping his hands into his coat pockets. "I guess I'll catch you later, Av, when we both know more." He laughs and saunters off casually. I watch him go, and make my way back to Kilroy.

"What was that about?" the weasel asks. I shrug.

"Damned if I know. But this whole thing runs deep. I've gotta do some more asking around. Nobody can just erase their presence without somebody knowing who and why. I'll give you a call, alright?"

"Yeah, all right." Kilroy nods in agreement. "I've gotta catch some winks. You might want to do the same, you do look like Hell. Served cold and in a basket." I laugh, and wave him off, heading down the street myself. I need some coffee and a bucket of aspirin. I know where I can find one of those. And it just so happens to be somewhere that I can get some questions answered.
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#124 Post by AzeNaku »

This is pretty epic, av. Keep up the awesome! :karen:
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#125 Post by Verilidaine »

Eeeeeeeeeeee update!!! :grin: :grin: :grin:

I really love the Polaroids for Schrodinger, those are fantastic.

Also, eek, a mod's in on it? :shock:

For writing this, are you using the mods that were current when you started writing the story, or the current cast? Because I think that those are different groups, yeah?
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Sto

#126 Post by Schrodinger »

avwolf wrote:
Schrodinger wrote:Aaaaaaaah~ Anticipation, anticipation! What will happen next I wonder.
Oh, you'll be excited, I'm sure. ;)
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#127 Post by aj »

Now I'm going "How did I miss this? Oh my god HOW did I miss this!?!?" (Something tells me the answer to that lies in spending some time outside of the Tech board. =P )

Seriously... I like this. Words are failing me right now.

Time to add another topic to my list of subscribed topics. :mrgreen:
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#128 Post by avwolf »

Verilidaine wrote:For writing this, are you using the mods that were current when you started writing the story, or the current cast? Because I think that those are different groups, yeah?
I'm really using the mods that are current when the chapter featuring them is written, so it's a little ever-changing. I wasn't a mod when I started writing the story. This has forced me to rethink parts that I had scripted out (like I'd planned a scene with Nanaki that will not be able to be done the way I'd originally intended). So it's the current cast of moderators, though if changes are made to that cast after it's written in the story, obviously those changes won't properly be reflected.

I realized a long time ago that I'd need a moderator involved in the cover up, but that doesn't mean that they're necessarily in charge. ;) (I say because I still haven't decided how it's all going to end.)
aj wrote:Now I'm going "How did I miss this? Oh my god HOW did I miss this!?!?"
Well, it probably helps that my signature now features my active story rather than my inactive one. :P
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#129 Post by JediGuy »

Wow, Av, another great chapter. I'm impressed, you really (really) capture the Noir spirit in your writing. I've said it before, but can't help but play this out in my head in black and white. Great job, mi amigo.


Small side note, was wondering if you would be willing to read over Twisted Reality and give me some critiquing, I'd really appreciate it. You and Fast are (in my eyes, anyway) much better writers than I.
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#130 Post by Keaoden, The hidden »

I wonder how many people are making bets on the mod-yet-to-be-named.
avwolf wrote:I realized a long time ago that I'd need a moderator involved in the cover up, but that doesn't mean that they're necessarily in charge. ;) (I say because I still haven't decided how it's all going to end.)
Hmm, for some reason I kinda like that you said that.
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#131 Post by AzeNaku »

Keaoden, The hidden wrote:I wonder how many people are making bets on the mod-yet-to-be-named.
I think a bet of how many TKF members end being mentioned by this story's end would make an interesting bet as well. :karen:
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#132 Post by aj »

avwolf wrote:
aj wrote:Now I'm going "How did I miss this? Oh my god HOW did I miss this!?!?"
Well, it probably helps that my signature now features my active story rather than my inactive one. :P
True, true. :P
AzeNaku wrote:I think a bet of how many TKF members end being mentioned by this story's end would make an interesting bet as well. :karen:
Heh heh. Shall we start doing polls then? :P
Also, on a similar note, wasn't there an option to write our own 'intro', and is it still open? There was something like that is the earlier pages I think... Reading it at 11pm isn't conducive to remembering details like that. :roll:

Also, 2nd last paragraph, "I'll give you call, alright?"" Should probably read I'll give you a call. ;)
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#133 Post by FoobyKamikaze »

I keep waiting for the nighttime rain for some reason. :roll:
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#134 Post by avwolf »

aj wrote:Also, on a similar note, wasn't there an option to write our own 'intro', and is it still open? There was something like that is the earlier pages I think... Reading it at 11pm isn't conducive to remembering details like that. :roll:
The challenge I gave was to write your own vignettes, but one must take what one gets, eh? ;) I consider the "world" to be as much all of yours as it is mine, so I think it'd be fun to see other people's interpretations.
aj wrote:Also, 2nd last paragraph, "I'll give you call, alright?"" Should probably read I'll give you a call. ;)
Noted and corrected, thank you, aj. In my defense, I wrote that at 2:45 am. :P
FoobyKamikaze wrote:I keep waiting for the nighttime rain for some reason. :roll:
But it just stopped raining!
JediGuy1490 wrote:Small side note, was wondering if you would be willing to read over Twisted Reality and give me some critiquing, I'd really appreciate it. You and Fast are (in my eyes, anyway) much better writers than I.
I'd be happy to. I'm not sure if I'm going to be all that much better a writer. My word choice in the first chapter is terrible. Though I've been meaning to read Twisted Reality anyway, so I'll help however I can. :)

Fun fact: my form of "proofreading" for this is to read it outloud in a gravelly voice to make sure I have the monologue right. :P
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Re: The Bleak Streets of Twokinds: A Twokinds Forum Noir Story

#135 Post by aj »

avwolf wrote:
aj wrote:Also, on a similar note, wasn't there an option to write our own 'intro', and is it still open? There was something like that is the earlier pages I think... Reading it at 11pm isn't conducive to remembering details like that. :roll:
The challenge I gave was to write your own vignettes, but one must take what one gets, eh? ;) I consider the "world" to be as much all of yours as it is mine, so I think it'd be fun to see other people's interpretations.
Interpretations of themselves in this world, hmm? (Or interpretation of the world itself?)

Sounds like fun. :mrgreen:
I'll just, uh, be over here. Don't mind me playing around with stuff for a bit. =P
avwolf wrote:
aj wrote:Also, 2nd last paragraph, "I'll give you call, alright?"" Should probably read I'll give you a call. ;)
Noted and corrected, thank you, aj. In my defense, I wrote that at 2:45 am. :P
No defense needed. I know how those evil errors like to creep in. >.>
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