I examined the License until it was time for me to get my tickets. This laminated slip of paper allowed us to contact ghosts related to the Throughline. That would explain some things. Why had this story, which did not appear to be related to the plot of the Throughline, come first in the Throughline.

“You think maybe this is the whole reason we were sent here?” I asked.

“I don’t have a guess better than that,” Antoine said. He seemed distracted.

I handed the ticket back to him. While I had been reading the License, he had been reading one of his tropes. It wasn’t equipped so I couldn’t see it on the red wallpaper. I couldn’t say what upset him about it. Carousel was known to reward mocking tickets to those who performed poorly. Perhaps he had gotten one.

I decided not to press the issue.

When it was my turn to press the button, I did so and received one stat ticket, one License identical to Antoine’s, and two tropes.

Cutaway Death

Type: Rule

Archetype: Film Buff

Aspect: Filmmaker

Stat Used: --

The enemy is ready to pounce, their weapon at the ready. Their victim is helpless. Everyone knows what’s about to happen. Right as the death blow is about to be struck, the screen cuts away. The enemy’s true savagery will be shown later, it seems.

Off-Screen Death: The Player’s death can now occur Off-Screen.

When equipped, the scene will cut to Off-Screen in the moments leading up to a character’s apparent death. The enemy will still try to kill the player, however, Off-Screen. If the Player survives, their status will be Written-Off instead of Dead.

Be warned: unless you have a trope or powerful narrative support for your miraculous recovery, you might want to avoid being caught On-Screen during a final take.

Many a bit actor survived because their character’s death ended up on the cutting room floor.

What Doesn’t Kill Them Makes Them Angry

Type: Debuff

Archetype: Any

Aspect: --

Stat Used: Savvy

If you take a swing at a monster, you better kill it because some injuries just make a monster more dangerous. Maybe you can use that to your advantage.

When equipped, this trope increases the likelihood for success of plans of attack that antagonize the enemy, even if they are not enough for the kill. Upon successful activation, the enemy will predictably become enraged and lash out, but their Savvy will be debuffed proportionately.

If used by a Strategist-Scholar, the enemy will reliably be drawn into a preplanned Chase Scene if plausible.

You think you’re smart, huh? Well you had better be right.

Kimberly was drained from getting killed for the second time. Even though her body was healed, she still moved her hand to her throat as if subconsciously assuring herself that a ghostly hand wasn’t grasping it.

When we all circled around and showed off our new tickets, Kimberly had two stat tickets, two tropes, and the same License as the rest of us. She did well with the limited amount of time she had before dying.

Typecast

Type: Buff

Archetype: Eye Candy

Aspect: Celebrity

Stat Used: Moxie

Some actors play the same character over and over again so often that the fans will come just to see them play that same character in a new way. The creepy neighbor, the desperate lover, the guy down on his luck, all of these and more can be expected, nay, demanded when certain actors are cast in a movie.

When using this trope, the Player will be able to get away with certain actions or situations with less set-up than they normally require because the audience has come to expect the performance. Buffs set-ups that the Player has a pattern of doing from storyline to storyline.

Better hope you aren’t typecast for dying.

This was a potentially game saving trope. For storylines like the one we had just completed where there wasn’t much time for organic set-up, it would be useful to use the audience’s expectations to help us. Kimberly played the slain lover. I had a feeling that the audience would see that a lot.

A Lip Cease

Type: Perk/Action

Archetype: Any

Aspect: --

Stat Used: --

In many movies and television shows, characters will have a conversation that only includes a few lines of dialogue, but it appears they are pausing in between those lines to get to a new location before continuing.

When this trope is equipped, the Player will be able to send the entire film Off-Screen during the Party Phase and temporarily prevent continuity from moving forward by simply stopping an expositional conversation and not continuing it until in a different setting. This can create time for collaboration, planning, or rest.

Be warned: Players ought not move the story forward or do non-incidental exploration while Off-Screen or the story will start back up.

Remember, we won’t finish this conversation until we get to school.

This could help stretch the Party Phase out a bit and give us some breathing room. I liked it.

Dina got one stat ticket, but three tropes. Her performance was likely lacking, given that the subplot with her son was just dropped. She also got the License.

They ruined the shot…

Type: Rule/Perk

Archetype: Outsider

Aspect: Stranger

Stat Used: Hustle

It can be difficult to stay out of view of the camera. Sometimes, an entire shot gets ruined because someone who wasn’t supposed to be in frame accidentally was.

When this trope is equipped, if the Player is visible in shot when they are attempting to hide Off-Screen, they will get a notification on the red wallpaper. Once they are out of frame, the original scene will be reshot.

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While characters in the scene will not realize they are repeating the scene, those outside of it will.

The content of the scene cannot be changed, however, those outside of it can act differently than they originally did.

Carousel gets a better shot, you get a Mulligan. Everyone wins. Just don’t take advantage, Okay?

When Dina showed us this trope, I could see a flash of embarrassment on her face. She had accidentally slipped up and found herself in a shot. She didn’t say much about it, but later as I watch the storyline over again on the red wallpaper, I noticed that in the scene where Isaac was getting his scalp almost ripped off, Dina was casually leaning against a tree in the background watching.

Her “character” was supposed to have been lost in the woods at that moment.

Dark Secret

Type: Rule/Insight

Archetype: Outsider

Aspect: Stranger

Stat Used: Moxie

Some characters have a connection to the story that isn’t clear at first. As the story unfolds, the sinister nature of that connection will come back to bite them.

With this trope equipped, the Player will be given a backstory that ties them into the conflict of the storyline, often having a pivotal role in the evil or having unspoken incentives. The Player will get a very limited peak at their character’s involvement on the script, but they must discover along with the audience exactly how dark their involvement is.

Once the secret is revealed, the Player’s Plot Armor drops to zero until the protagonists have played out the shock and reconciliation beats of their arcs and resolve to work together.

The odds on reconciliation happening before the Player is pushing up daisies are not high.

This was the same trope the Stranger had equipped. It was useful, but repetitive. It would also involve Dina taking a more hands-on role. We would have to experiment with it.

Light Fingers

Type: Buff

Archetype: Outsider

Aspect: Criminal

Stat Used: Hustle

Some characters have a light touch that enables them to take things that don’t belong to them without getting caught. With hands aided in speed by movie magic, the character can take just about anything into their possession if it’s just laying there for the taking.

When equipped, this trope Buffs the Player’s attempts to steal objects On-Screen without even the audience noticing. Better reconsider doing this too often.

For when you just can’t wait until the storyline is over to pilfer from the set.

P.S. Have fun listening to the tape.

Dina passed around this ticket and watched as we got to that last line. I spent the whole time wondering what it was that Dina had stolen. What tape had she taken?

And it hit me right as she pulled it out of her purse.

It was the tape from the cassette player in the black carriage that brought us to town. I had noticed the tape was missing, but this was Carousel. For all I knew, there was no tape to begin with. No. There was a tape. Dina had taken it without anyone but Carousel itself noticing.

She held it out to us. “I thought it was worth a shot,” she said sheepishly.

I reached into my hoodie pocket and retrieved my tape player.

Constance started laughing when she saw what was going on.

“I don’t recall seeing a player do that,” she said.

“Will it work?” Dina asked.

Constance shrugged. “It just might,” she said.

Dina was living up to her Outsider Archetype. Now she could break out of handcuffs and steal things for us.

We continued showing off our new tropes.

Bobby had been to the resort kitchens again and raided them. We were all equal parts tired and hungry. We devoured the entire room service menu, most of which was deep fried or microwaved, but it didn’t bother us.

“The cooks are already here to start breakfast,” Bobby said. “If you want something made by actual… cooks.”

He showed us his winnings. Three tropes and two stat tickets. He did far more than he was required to.

Actually, I'm a Veterinarian

Type: Background

Archetype: --

Aspect: --

Stat Used: --

The Player has a collection of skills gathered from their training as an animal doctor. In a medical emergency, you could do far worse.

The Player may equip the following tropes:

· Fluent in Medical Jargon (Doctor)

· Animal Whisperer (Adventurer)

· If you can't see it, it Won't Bleed (Soldier)

· This is for the Pain... (Doctor)

· Always the Right Dose (Doctor)

This was the same background trope that Valorie had on The Grotesque storyline. It was pretty good stuff if you needed a healer.

Bobby was interested in a different aspect though. He immediately realized that this background might allow him to one day get his dogs from back at the Bed and Breakfast. If he incorporated his animal background into stories, he might be able to get whatever tickets it was that allowed animal companions (assuming, as he did, that such things exist).

It was nice to see him excited about something. It was nice to see him distracted.

If you Can't see it, it Won't Bleed

Type: Healing

Archetype: Soldier

Aspect: GI

Stat Used: Moxie

Battle triage in movies is an inexact science. Just wrap the wound like you know what you’re doing and carry on. Does anyone have a sulfur pack?

When equipped, the player will be able to temporarily ease the debilitation of an injury by dressing the wound and covering the audience’s view of it. The injury will resurface constantly until real medical care is given. At some point, the injured get left behind.

Temporarily treats the Hobbled, Mutilated, and Incapacitated statuses. Does not work if the audience has seen the extent of the injuries.

Counter-intuitively, wounds often bleeds so badly it’s hard to tell how severe they are.

This trope was useful as I recalled, but it was largely supported by the other tropes Valorie had. Those pain-relieving M&Ms were a lifesaver. I wondered what this trope was like when your pain wasn’t blocked.

Remember Me!

Type: Action

Archetype: Wallflower

Aspect: Recast

Stat Used: Moxie

Even bit characters can inject themselves into a narrative and make a memorable interaction if they can establish a shared history with the main character.

With this trope equipped, the Player can promote themselves from a nameless background character to a proper part of the main cast before Second Blood. If successful, the Player can be treated as more significant by the story even if they have been recast into a less significant role.

Be warned, this will inhibit many useful Wallflower tropes that rely on being ignored by the narrative in exchange for greater agency within the plot.

Remember me?

…

From Carousel High? We sat next to each other in biology class?

…

In case we needed Bobby to be more than some guy who happens to show up, he could now be a full player even when cast as a background character. I needed to read up on what the nuances were of how different character classifications were treated in the story.

Isaac was hesitant to press the big red button. He probably regretted pushing it the first time, as we all did.

When he pressed it, he got two stat tickets, two tropes, and, of course, the License. His first storyline was way over leveled for him. He didn’t do much but get injured and dragged to the world of the dead, but his contribution was enough.

Blood Loss Delirium

Type: Perk

Archetype: Comedian

Aspect: Stooge

Stat Used: Moxie

It can be hard to lighten the mood when people start dying. You just can’t make jokes when people are dying… But maybe if the character is a little woozy, a little lightheaded from blood loss, that could give them the cover they need to cut through the tension.

When this trope is equipped, the Player will feel the positive effects of blood loss (the drunken-like stupor and lightheadedness) instead of pain. This trope also provides cover to allow jokes in scenes that might otherwise not allow them because of the seriousness of the situation.

The symptoms will get more severe the closer the Player is to death.

“Oh god, he’s lost a lot of blood.”

“No… he’s always like this.”

He sure earned this one.

Gallows Humor

Type: Perk/Healing

Archetype: Comedian

Aspect: Cynic

Stat Used: Savvy

Sometimes it is difficult to deal with dark subjects. Making light of it may be the only way through.

When equipped, the Player can make dark jokes to ease their own mental pain after a terrible event and clear their head so they can think. If done well, they can ease the mental pain of present allies as well. This trope can also temporarily ease physical pain or even heal unseen injuries, but effects will vary. The cleverness of the joke will determine effectiveness.

They say laughter is the best medicine. How good of medicine is an inappropriate chuckle?

If we could get him comfortable doing his job as Comedian, he might do us a lot of good.

Cassie was in bad shape from her first death, but with encouragement from Isaac, she pushed the button and reaped her rewards. She got three stat tickets and two tropes. Not bad at all. Helping Kimberly debuff Strander Blake was no small feat.

Reflective Jump Scare

Type: Insight

Archetype: Psychic

Aspect: Seer

Stat Used: Moxie

The character walks into the bathroom and glances up at the mirror. Ah! Someone is in the reflection, but when they turn to look, no one is there. Spooky!

With this trope equipped, the Player will be able to get a quick glimpse of the enemy when they glance into a mirror or other reflective surface. They will not have identities revealed but can still see important information. Be prepared because it will be gone in a flash. In non-supernatural stories, this ability might manifest in less useful ways.

He’s standing right behind you.

Useful. I hoped Cassie was okay with jump scares.

Foreboding Signs

Type: Insight

Archetype: Psychic

Aspect: Occultist

Stat Used: Savvy

Death leaves its fingerprints that can only be seen by characters who look closely.

The player will be alerted to supernatural signs of who will be the next target in the storyline with hints of how the attack will happen. Drawing attention to these signs On-Screen will seal the target’s fate in a supernatural storyline. Pointing these signs out can create great narrative footing for character arcs for highly skilled characters.

“You’re just superstitious, reading into things.”

Psychics really did bring the hits.

Finally, it was Antoine’s turn to show us what he had earned. One stat ticket, the License, and two tropes.

He held one trope in his hand for a moment before Kimberly took it from him and read it to herself. She handed it back to him and said, “It’s a trope to help him suppress his fear and stress.”

He quickly pocketed it.

His other trope wasn’t as controversial.

Off the Bench

Type: Perk/Buff

Archetype: Athlete

Aspect: Sport

Stat Used: Grit

When a character has missed scenes that involved trauma or injury, they can enter future scenes untarnished by what came before.

When equipped, the Player will feel rested for every consecutive scene that they are not in. If they are Off-Screen long enough while the film continues elsewhere, they can even get Buffed in Hustle and Moxie.

The enemy just chewed through the other characters. Now it’s your turn.

It looked like Antoine was getting lots of perks.

And what else?