The Cutting Room Floor

With the tournament over and our RP'ing shenanigans brought to a brief hiatus, I thought I'd might like to share some of my secret, never-before-seen RP stuff that never got used, instead of using this post to blub about how awesome you all were (no, seriously, you are :D). So with that in mind, allow me to present a whole bunch of daft shit that will probably be consigned to the dusty shelves of forgetfulness.

Edward Bruin Esq.

Edward Bruin was one of two possible characters I could have brought in after Shuma-Gorath's defeat in the Big Bar Brawl, instead of Eddie. Here is his character bio as I wrote it up.

Origin: Original character based off illustration. (Author's Note: A.A. Milne's drawing of Winnie-The-Pooh. :D)

Text Color: Brown.

Abilities/Skills: A keen sense for business deals, unflappable demeanour, has picked up various skills and talents from previous owners, chairman of Bruin Motors.

Props: “Bruin-case” which is near-bottomless and has various items in it, ranging from guns to drink ingredients to demons.

Edward Bruin was once no more than a heritage teddy bear, passed down between members of the Roberto family as a priceless heirloom. Although he enjoyed the games he played in the Thousand Trees with the children, Edward secretly longed to be a part of something bigger. His chance came when Caroline Roberto took him to university come the 1980’s – he rapidly absorbed the lectures on business studies like a sponge. This would be where he formed his rivalry with Jacque Tigris, who also aspired to become a successful businessman.

At the apex of his learning, Edward was among those caught in an unfortunate malfunction of a hydrogen generator. The explosion killed many, including Caroline, but briefly opened a portal to the heart of the world, the sight of which shocked Edward into sapience. Determined not to let his fraying stitches get the better of him, Edward quickly applied for his own motor car business – Bruin Motors – and began to make a name for himself. Shock and horror was his when it transpired that his rival Jacque was also altered by the explosion, and had founded Tigris Auto in response.

So basically, he is Gentleman Draco, except kinder, British and a teddy bear.

Among his skills include various talents picked up from his previous owners, including line dancing, embroidery, car driving, marksmanship and more. This is partly due to some spiritualism bullcrap I wanted to pull, but mostly because I wanted to enter him in the King of Beats so he could sing this song, and so I could get Jumpropeman to probably type this.

"And then he starts yodelling.

The bear starts yodelling.

THE FUCKING TEDDY BEAR STARTS FUCKING YODELLING.

WHAT THE HELL."

Michael
Michael (last name not decided) was an idea I had been juggling around the middle/end of the tourney season, as a means of introducing an original character for once. I hadn't planned much of his character until I decided "sod it, Rain is now Nicky-poo", so his origins and personality are rather vague.

The only solid thing about Michael was that he had an alter-ego known as Captain Howdy, either through demonic possession, a parasitic worm or split personality disorder. Whatever the cause, Michael would switch to the Captain Howdy persona in periods of high stress, either when upset or enraged. In this state, a normally polite, reserved and quiet boy would become a foul-mouthed, whiskey-drinking bastard that hated absolutely everyone and often made rash, spur-of-the-moment desicions. This was designed in order for me to create a character who could have an excuse to swing between meek shyness and gun-toting badassery at the drop of a hat, as well as creating a problem that could not be solved by direct pummelling, the bargoer's favourite tactic.

I had orignally considered the concept of Michael harbouring a violent "guardian angel" - in reality a japanese demon - who controlled the boy's daily life with bueraucratic callousness in exchange for protection from mobsters. This was ditched after I found it too trite and boring. Then the whole character had to be ditched because it was much too late in the tournament to do anything.

Killing off Rain
Yes, I planned to do this. I had concieved a minor plot arc with the intention of removing Rain to bring Shuma-Gorath back, or introduce a new character. Quan Chi possessing him would have lead to him demanding that he be killed to stop the sorcerer returning in physical form and challenging Zephyrus to a re-match. But there was already too much plot happening, so I killed the necromancer with a glass of Happy Ending.

It... was awesome, somehow.

Probably more to come later!