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Post by James Phoenix on Aug 3, 2020 22:14:25 GMT -5
THE IMAGINEER PROJECT
Helpful Map of Disney World - disneytrippers.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Disney-World-Map-Of-The-Resort.pngNoah Johnson Location : The Imaginarium --> The Magic Kingdom - Main Street USA Noah sat in the Imaginarium sifting through files on his computer, trying to calm his nerves. "It's ok Noah, you planned this down to a T, nothing is going to go wrong. You'll explain what's going on, and then show them the Imaginarium as proof. Then you can start doing something substantial about all this." he said to himself as he reviewed the files of his new recruits. "Turner, Comic Book Artist. That creativity will prove useful. Hardison, Former Hacker and Internet Security Specialist. Should prove helpful in ensuring the systems are locked down tight. Steel, Mechatronic Specialist. I'm still not totally sure what that is, but I'm willing to bet she could make the existing secret entrance network look like a haunted house bookshelf by comparison. Most importantly, they were all chosen like me, which means that somewhere inside them, they have pure hearts and I KNOW the spirits will recognize that." An notification on the computer interrupted Noah's thoughts and he realized it was almost time. He had decided to take advantage of the situation and get to the park before closing just in case he had to change his plan on the fly to accommodate late guests or staff. By his calculations, Noah figured that the park closed at 10pm and it would take about an hour thereafter for all the guests to leave, and another hour for most of the staff to follow suit. The night staff would be around doing maintenance, but they were few and rarely paid attention to anything going on if someone higher up was seen to be involved. Based on this, he had instructed everyone to meet him in front of Cinderella Castle at precisely Midnight, giving them high level passes that would quickly dispel any questions that Cast Members might ask. Luckily he had arranged accommodations for them at the Contemporary, which was nearby so they shouldn't have a hard time finding the place or getting in. Noah doubled checked his Imagiband, left the Imaginarium and boarded the covert submarine that acted as transport to and from the hidden base. Luckily the renovations on Splash Mountain had begun, giving him an easy place to surface away from prying eyes. The submarine hummed slowly and within a few minutes Noah was covertly exiting the popular water attraction through a staff entrance. He headed through Frontierland and used the walkway near Frontier Trading Post to cut through to Adventureland, then followed the path past the Swiss Family Tree House and into the main hub near the Castle, blending in with the crowd waiting for the night show, Happily Ever After. He slipped a little way down Main Street U.S.A and into the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor where he purchased himself a scoop of strawberry on a cone. As he watched the night show kick off through the window, it calmed his nerves and reaffirmed that a Happily Ever After would be coming for everyone once his allies arrived and the forces of good leveled the playing field.
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Post by Marcus Shadow on Sept 2, 2020 0:40:13 GMT -5
Adrian Hardison Location: The Magic Kingdom - From Entrance to Main Street USA
Adrian stepped off the Monorail and walked to the large main entrance to The Magic Kingdom. He stopped in front and looked up, taking in, not only the entrance, but the Magic Kingdom itself, lit up behind. It's been a while since I've been here. I had forgotten how beautiful this place is at night. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangular piece of plastic attached to a security lanyard and stared at it. The letter said this is a High Level Security Pass for the Park. Time to see if Mr. Johnson is on the up and up. He placed the lanyard around his neck and let the Security Pass hang between the open zipper of his hooded jacket. Adrian was dressed simply in a blue t-shirt, khakis, brown comfortable walking shoes, and a gray hooded jacket. Slung over his shoulder was a tan backpack. A pair of Ray Bans protected his eyes from the setting sun and bright lights of The Magic Kingdom.
He followed a small group of people to one of the Security Tables, pulling his backpack off his shoulder. When the Security Person motioned to him, Adrian approached the table and placed his backpack on the table, "Is this really necessary?" The 40-something-year-old Security Man gave Adrian a suspicious look, "Of course. All bags are searched. Why would you be any different?" Adrian took hold of his Security Pass and held it up, "Because I have this." The Man gave the Pass a once over and nodded, "Fair enough. This won't take long then."
Adrian sighed and let go of his Pass, letting it hang, and opened the backpack. The Man began his search and after a moment, he stopped, looking Adrian up and down, "What about the jacket?" Adrian pulled his Ray Bans down to look the man in the eyes, "What about it? I just have standard stuff in my pockets like my wallet, couple pairs of glasses, gum..." The man pulled out a small black case from the backpack, "What about this?" Adrian continued to eye the man over his Ray Bans, "That's my Toolkit. I'm a Computer Technician. It's why I have this." Adrian tapped the Pass hanging around his neck as the Man nodded slowly as he popped the Toolkit open. He gave it a once over and closed it back up, placing it back in the backpack, "Ok you're good."
He then leaned in closer to Adrian, whispering to him, "You say you're a Computer Tech?" Adrian leaned in to meet the Man and returned the whisper, "Yes. Why?" The Man looked around to make sure his compatriots were pre-occupied with other Park Guests before continuing, "Did they tell you why the brought you in?" Now Adrian was intrigued. He lowered his Ray Bans and held them loosely in his right hand as his eyes met the Security Guard's, "No... should I be worried?" The Man shrugged, "Maybe. I've been hearin' things from the Night Shift. Weird stuff going on. Unexplainable. One possible theory being computer related. I thought with you being a computer guy and showin' up at night..." Adrian raised an eyebrow, "Hmmm... and these things only happen at night?" The Security Guard nodded, "Far as I know. I ain't Night Shift though, so I ain't seen any of it myself. Just... if you're gonna be in here after hours workin' on computer stuff... be careful kid." Adrian slid his Ray Bans back over his eyes, zipped up his backpack, and slung it back over his shoulder, "Thanks for the warning."
Adrian walked briskly to the Ticket Taker and tapped his Security Pass on the Mickey Scanner before entering The Magic Kingdom. He found the nearest bench and sat down, putting his backpack on the bench next to him. He opened his backpack and pulled out his Surface, powering it up, "Ok Noah Johnson... what's your game...?"
He pulled out his Smart Phone and set it to "Hotspot Mode" before sliding it back into his pocket. Once his Surface connected to his phone's Wifi Hotspot, he activated an App called 'Walkabout.' After a few inputs from Adrian, multiple screens popped up showing various security cameras from around The Magic Kingdom, "Perfect. Let's see... he said to meet in front of Cinderella Castle at precisely Midnight. That's about an hour from now. And I doubt he'd wait until then to actually show up, so..." Adrian moved the camera screens aside and fired up a second App called 'LightScan.' Within LightScan, Adrian loaded a photo he found of Noah and connected LightScan to Walkabout. He pulled the camera screens back and shifted view to cameras only facing the central hub right in front of Cinderella Castle. He then brought up the Master Timeline and set it to show a time lapse of the last ten minutes. Lastly, he set LightScan to Active and hit play on the Walkabout Master Timeline.
After about five minutes, LightScan returned a solid hit. Adrian paused the Security playback and checked LightScan, "85% Match. Good enough for me. So where is he?" He set LightScan to follow that one match across the active Security Screens in Walkabout and hit Play once more. He viewed the visual results through LightScan and smiled as the Facial Recognition App focused on the one person who walking in from the West; from Adventureland. He followed the person's journey East until he disappeared into a corner building and the camera feed switched from Past to Live.
Adrian nodded and pulled his Ray Bans off, pocketing them as he pulled out a second pair of glasses that look a bit more hi-tech then the Ray Bans. He unfolded them and slid them on, briefly touching the right arm, "Ok Glass." A small light appeared on the side of the arm as Adrian stared at his Surface, "Load App LightScan." A visual UI appeared in his eyes that only he could see as his App loaded up, "Synchronize." In a matter of moments, a photo of Noah appeared off to the side and a colored matrix appeared in Adrian's field of vision, "Active Mode." A second, smaller, matrix appeared over Noah's face as the primary matrix began to move ever so slightly. Adrian glanced up at the nearest person as the primary matrix snapped to the person's face and the UI began to display comparison information between the person Adrian was looking at and the photo of Noah in real time. Adrian smiled and touched the right arm of his glasses again before shutting down his Surface and sliding it back into his backpack. He pulled his hood over his head and zipped up his jacket, keeping the Security Pass and lanyard hidden under it as he slung his backpack back over his shoulder, "Ok Noah. Let's see what you're hiding."
He walked down Main Street USA, glancing around to let his App do it's job and coming up empty, as expected. As he approached the corner of Main Street USA, he turned to face the building that 'Noah' disappeared into, "Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. I suppose if you were expecting people to show up at Cinderella Castle and you wanted to keep an eye out for them without them knowing, this would be the optimal location." He walked in to find the Parlor quite busy despite the late hour. He walked up to the counter and ordered a Mint Chocolate Chip Cone. As he took the cone and turned to leave, his eyes fixated on the back of the head of a man with brown hair, clean cut, short, and the unmistakable poking out of glasses arms above his ears. LightScan showed a 33% Match. Adrian began to walk toward this man when he glanced over his shoulder, licking his own Ice Cream Cone. It took LightScan mere seconds to return a 95% Match. This man turned back to looking out the window he was standing near. Adrian smirked, "And there... you... are..." He took a lick of Mint Chocolate Chip and made his way toward Noah, taking up residence near the window next to the one Noah was staring out of. He held his cone in his left hand and reached up with his right to run a finger along the back of the right arm of his glasses, shutting them down. He then took the cone in his right hand and turned his back to the window, leaning against the railing as he pulled his backpack off his shoulder and held it by a strap in his left hand. With his hood still up, Adrian continued to enjoy his Ice Cream Cone as he kept an eye on Noah.
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Post by sweettooth on Sept 4, 2020 20:35:03 GMT -5
"What the hell am I doing here?" He asked himself for the umpteenth time. Three weeks ago, he was quite happily chilling in his apartment working on an outline for a new comic book, ignoring the missed phone calls from his editor as he skirted over deadlines for art projects and occasionally took the time to strum a few notes on his guitar or go for a walk to stretch his legs and of course trying to remember to actually eat when he actually remembered to do so.
And then he hit the insufferable thing that every artist dreaded, feared and utterly despised: He hit a slump. Nothing that he usually did to get himself out of it was working and sure enough the chronic procrastination overwhelmed him. The longer that he fobbed it off, the harder it was to properly get in the mood. In the wake of his ever increasing frustration and foul mood, there had been a knock on the door in the early hours of the morning.
He stamped out of bed at the continued knocking ready to punch, kick and whack seven bells of shit out of the poor unfortunate soul that dared to darken his day before 1pm. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" He barked brusquely as the knocking got louder and louder. Grabbing his key, he jammed it in the door, twisting and turning it round to unlock the door and as he violently swung the door open.
"What?!" He gnashed savagely. Pleasantries of any sort on a morning could fuck right off before he had at least three cups of coffee in him.
The young man stared at him, likely taken back by his rough and unkempt appearance and the rougher manners to match. Eliot's eyes just barely squinted open to get a good look at him, glaring daggers at him. The bespectacled brunette standing in front of him was immaculately well dressed and groomed with a crisp white collar look and a tie to match. Eliot's scowling face darkened significantly.
"Hi... Are you Eliot Turner?" Pleasant enough.
"Yup. Look dude, whatever you're selling, I'm not interested," he replied, hastily trying his best to shut the door and go back to bed.
"No, no, no. Please don't get the wrong idea, I'm not a salesman! I came to talk to you about something. It's very important!" The young man prevented him from outright shutting him out.
Don't punch him in the face. Don't punch him in the face. Go for the throat! Much more effective! Actually, go for the eyes and then the balls! His mind was more than happy to offer several violent suggestions of how to deal with the whole nine yards of this god awful thing.
"It's 9 o'clock in the morning. Whatever it is, come back later," he remarked
"You were in the Mousekeeters, right?"
"Ugh..." He cringed and groaned like a bratty kid at the mere mention of that like it was an old shame. Rightfully so. "Most people don't know that crap about me." he grumbled and as he stepped back into his apartment with the door still open, Noah, bless him, thought that was an invitation to come inside. "No, no, no, no. You can stay over there you rude little shit," he scolded rapidly.
"You think I'm letting a total stranger into my house at 9am think again,"
"So then, where are we-"
"There's a diner a couple blocks down from here. You are treatin' me to breakfast! I want at least a bagel, three cups of coffee and a shit ton of bacon!"
That was a few weeks ago.
Sure enough, when the Boy Scout gave him the sales pitch it was safe to say that Noah Johnson was an odd fellow to say the least and the case that he made was not particularly compelling and in all honesty, Eliot was under the firm belief that the kid needed to be carted off into a straightjacket to the nearest asylum. And the more he thought about it and tried to make sense of his own reasons, the more that the answer seemed to allude him.
He eventually rolled out of bed and after a quick shower, he was freshly cleaned and threw his clothes on, a run down pair of black jeans, combat boots combined with a t-shirt and waistcoat and topped off with a fashionable navy blue fur rimmed peacoat. Everything about him painted a messy and slovenly picture. "Let's see what this is about," he thought, tucking his hands inside his pockets as he and made his way off to the rendezvous point.
He walked over, taking the time to admire the scenery and enjoy the fresh air. "Wow. Bigger than I thought," he said to himself as he clocked eyes on the Magic Kingdom and slinked through after showing his pass to a guard or two to get on by. All that was left now was to see if Noah would show up.
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Risa
Jobber
Signatures hate me.
Posts: 9
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Post by Risa on Sept 13, 2020 23:22:29 GMT -5
"What! Cancelled?"
The sound of Jillian's shrieking sent the birds outside the window of her penthouse office suite flying as if they were under attack. A shivering little girl's voice could be heard on the other end of the call.
"Yes, mother. I don't know why. I'm so sorry."
"Sorry doesn't cut it for me, Cameron! This was MY moment," Jillian paused mid-sentence, correcting herself, "I mean, OUR moment, to have the fame we always wanted. Now I am nothing! What will everyone say? And after all that practice...That's it isn't it?"
Jillian's tone now turned dark and accusatory. "You got your lines wrong, didn't you, you worthless little sh--", and at that moment her boss entered the room.
"I'll call you back darling," she said sweetly, then slammed the phone down.
Cameron's father, Sean, had heard every word.
"This is the last straw with this crazy woman! I understand there's a lot to be upset about here, but it's not YOUR fault Disney cancelled the show. I won't let your mom be a monster to you anymore. We're leaving tonight. You'll go to the best schools and you won't want for anything." Sean, stormed off to his room to pack his luggage.
Little did Cameron's father know she already wanted for a mother's love. Feeling like a failure for not living up to everyone's expectations, before they moved out, Cameron stood in front of a mirror and chopped her hair long, flowing jet-black hair to shoulder length. She vowed she would no longer be controlled by anyone, and she no longer wanted a part of the happy-go-lucky, magical world of Disney. She'd create her own happiness - no - she'd engineer the best damn life she could imagine.
A few years later, Jillian Baker-Steel was declared a mental health risk to herself and others. It started with death threats to Sean, now her ex husband, and threats to take Cameron far away where they'd never find her. She became obsessed with expensive trinkets, jewelry, and clothing and maxed out all of her credit cards. Then she paraded down the street, called herself Madonna and went to random peoples' cars to sign autographs. After being arrested and in the news several times earning the nickname 'Crazy Rich Cougar', she eventually spiraled out of control and attempted suicide. Her remaining family member, a cousin, staged an intervention and she was committed, and hasn't been seen by Cameron or her father since.
Years passed, and Cameron deep-dove into her studies. Technology boomed and she was enthralled by the newest trends and captivated by the abundance of gadgets and gizmos and how they all functioned.
Damnit, not again, she thought. Although the Mousketeers was a long time ago, she still quoted Disney all day in her head. It's as if there was unfinished business - a feeling that wouldn't subside as if she was meant for much more than a TV show. She got a good start after moving to the Silicon Valley with her father, but he was older and eventually bought a house in a nice little place in the Orlando outskirts.
At first, Cameron stayed in CA to finish her degree, but quickly realized the job market was fierce and she couldn't compete. Something - her mom's voice, perhaps - always held her back from taking the leap and trying new things. She decided she'd move in with her dad for a while until she got back on her feet.
Immediately upon arriving at MCO airport, she grabbed a bite to eat at one of the restaurants. She made her way down the long corridor with cute shops. Of course it wouldn't be Orlando airport without a Disney store, where a man who'd been standing against the adjacent wall, hidden, jumped out from the shadows. She gasped.
"Hey Miss - Cameron Steel, yes?" A uniformed store employee greeted her.
"And who the hell are you, Jiminy Cricket?" She gave herself a mental facepalm for doing it again. Her green eyes peered at the man sternly, but he had a sincere look to him.
"Please, take this envelope. It's an invitation to your destiny. You have no idea what's at stake."
"Right. And why should I not be calling the cops?"
"Because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain." Upset at his correct assumption that she had nothing to say for herself besides some robotics awards, she stormed out of the airport. However, she grew curiouser and curiouser so she inspected the contents - a free resort stay, high-security clearance, and getting to chill in the park after hours. Nice. Her dad would be happy she was finally getting out to enjoy life a bit.
With the park closing soon, just for funzies Cameron rode the monorail's Resort Line around to see the architecture of the other resorts and revel in the comfort that concrete tracks and electricity could bring. Her backpack of odds and ends lay beside her as she reached the Magic Kingdom.
No one gave her trouble when she flashed her pass and green eyes at the security guards, tired from a long day's work and wanting more than the medicine to go down. Looking around she saw some people who weren't leaving with the crowd. There was one well-dressed man extremely preoccupied with an ice cream cone, and someone who could very well be from the sketchy parts of Orlando, she wasn't sure. All she knew is she took her first chance and this could very well be her last.
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Post by James Phoenix on Sept 19, 2020 4:11:57 GMT -5
Noah Johnson Location: The Magic Kingdom - Main Street USA --> Liberty Square
As Noah ate his ice cream, his Imagiband beeped lightly. He slid the screen out to check the notifications. but quickly closed it again a few minutes later when he realized a man in a hood who had just entered the parlor seemed to be watching him. He chose to maintain position for now and began to people watch out the window as the fireworks ended and the crowd began filing out of the park.
After about 20 minutes, a Cast Member stepped from behind the parlor and approached the man in the hood. "Excuse me sir. You're welcome to take your time leaving the park, but I'm afraid we need to close the Parlor down for night cleaning." she explained politely. "It's alright, he's with me" Noah interrupted over his shoulder.
Adrian seemed stunned that Noah had spotted him. "Adrian I presume? For the record, that pass I gave you works better when its visible. Anyway, as you...uh...probably already know, I'm Noah Johnson. Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!" he said waving his hands dramatically, ice cream cone and all. "Also, to answer the question you probably have, we're a multi-billion dollar corporation that was building advanced animatronics when the rest of the world was just figuring out color television. By comparison its pretty easy to detect an unauthorized feed on our cameras. Oh, and if I may paraphrase a superhero movie we more successfully rebooted: 'If you're gonna be a computer hacker, don't DRESS like a computer hacker." he added.
Noah walked toward the door and opened it. "If you'll follow me, I have a feeling the others might have arrived a bit early as well. Given that circumstance, I'm gonna move our meeting to somewhere we'll have a little more privacy while the park fully clears." Noah headed out the door and across the courtyard and began moving toward the front of the Castle.
Before he got very far, Adrian stepped closer. "On your left, young woman, staring us down." Noah paused and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, good." He took a few steps back in the young woman's direction, close enough for her to hear him. "Glad to see you made it Cameron. If you'll please follow us, I'll explain everything".
The young woman seemed hesitant but fell in line and followed the other two. As they passed through the courtyard, Noah headed up toward the castle where a man in black jeans and a navy blue peacoat stood near the castle stage. "Eliot, glad you found your way. I trust the hotel was to your liking?" he chuckled. "Please come with us. Given you're all early I'll be filling everyone in elsewhere, for privacy's sake."
Noah led the group not toward the castle, but down the path to Liberty Square. He then took a right and the group approached the building known as the Hall of Presidents. Spoke to a Cast Member still outside and the group was escorted in, Noah finishing his ice cream cone as they entered. Most of the building was empty having already been cleaned for the night, so they were not disturbed as they passed the exhibits and entered the theater area. Noah gestured for everyone to take a seat. "Ok, so as I mentioned, this part is not quite as I planned, so you'll have to give me a few minutes to set something up. While I'm gone, feel free to introduce yourselves to each other. We were all selected to be Mouseketeers so you have that in common, and with any luck we'll be working together for a while." In the name of Walt please let us be working together. Noah thought to himself. He then exited the room through a side door and left the other three in the theater alone.
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Post by sweettooth on Sept 19, 2020 21:21:35 GMT -5
At long last, Noah had finally shown up and greeted him cordially. "Nice to see you too. Room service could've been a bit cheaper but other than that, not too shabby. Not too shabby at all!" He replied back, maintaining an even tone and pleasant manner to match as he followed languidly behind them. As they were into the theatre, Eliot whistled loudly as he looked around, impressed with the view before squatting down into a chair, crossing his left leg over the right and slinging his left arm on the arm of the chair he was sat on while his right stayed on his lap.
The comic book artist looked at the other two people. The hooded youth was a handsome chap albeit he had a face like a smacked arse and needed to crack a smile a bit more. There was something shifty about him, a feat that showed itself in his body language. There was a twitchiness to him and an overall nervous disposition, like he was constantly expecting something horrible to happen at any given moment. Rather than judge harshly or dish out premature disdain, he emphasized with him and understood that wholeheartedly given his own checkered past. The young woman had a bit of a geeky wallflower nature to her and had an overall pleasant look and feel to her.
With the three of them left to their own devices while Noah set up shop, Eliot Turner opened up the floor with a wave and a smile. "Nice to meet you both. Name's Eliot Turner. I'm a comic book artist. Just call me El. Rolls off the tongue faster. Sooo, how about you guys? What's your names?" He looked around for a few seconds at the theatre again before clapping eyes on Noah who was busy doing... Something. "Yo No! You err, you got anything to eat in here?" Noah briefly stopped what he was doing and shot him an exasperated look that just screamed "Really dude?!" and brushed it off with a wave of the hand to get him to shut up while he concentrated on his wheelings and dealings at getting the ball rolling.
Eliot shrugged it off, un-offended albeit still peckish. "Cheapskate!" He joked as Noah left. Eliot's eyes suddenly lit up and a broad grin settled into his expression as he fumbled around his pockets and whipped out a packet of cookies and creme Hershey's chocolate, ripping the packet open and offering them to his newfound co-workers. "So here's a fun question: What did you guys do for your auditions?" If nothing else, it was an ice breaker and lord have mercy on his sweet little soul, it was clearly needed.
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Post by Marcus Shadow on Sept 20, 2020 1:37:58 GMT -5
Adrian Hardison Location: The Magic Kingdom - Main Street USA --> The Hall of Presidents
"Excuse me sir. You're welcome to take your time leaving the park, but I'm afraid we need to close the Parlor down for night cleaning." Adrian was caught off-guard as he had been focusing on Noah. He turned back to face the Cast Member, "Oh uh..." He was about to reach for his pass when Noah intervened. "It's alright, he's with me" Adrian whirled, nearly dropping his ice cream cone.
Wait WHAT?!
"Adrian I presume? For the record, that pass I gave you works better when its visible. Anyway, as you...uh...probably already know, I'm Noah Johnson. Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!" he said waving his hands dramatically, ice cream cone and all. "Also, to answer the question you probably have, we're a multi-billion dollar corporation that was building advanced animatronics when the rest of the world was just figuring out color television. By comparison its pretty easy to detect an unauthorized feed on our cameras. Oh, and if I may paraphrase a superhero movie we more successfully rebooted: 'If you're gonna be a computer hacker, don't DRESS like a computer hacker." he added.
Adrian gulped and took a big lick of his ice cream and sighed. How the HELL?! Has it really been THAT long since I've been 'in the field?'
Noah walked toward the door and opened it, "If you'll follow me, I have a feeling the others might have arrived a bit early as well. Given that circumstance, I'm gonna move our meeting to somewhere we'll have a little more privacy while the park fully clears." Noah headed out the door and across the courtyard and began moving toward the front of the Castle.
Adrian pulled his hood back and pulled his glasses off, sliding them back into the interior security pocket of his jacket. He then followed Noah out the door. As he was about to exit the parlor, he noticed a young woman standing outside staring at the two of them through a window to the left of the door. She quickly averted her gaze when she realized Adrian had spotted her, but it was too late. Adrian knew focused observation when saw it. After all, he had been doing it himself just minutes ago. He stepped outside and gently grabbed Noah by the right arm to stop him as he leaned in, "On your left, young woman, staring us down." Noah paused and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, good."
Adrian continued to work on his ice cream cone as Noah collected the young woman and the trio made their way toward Cinderella's Castle. As they approached, they saw a young man in black jeans and a navy blue peacoat. Noah collected him as well and led the motley crew to The Hall of Presidents. I thought we were meeting at the Castle?
Then Noah brought them insides, mentioned that they had messed up his plans, they were all Mouseketeers, and that they should make with the small talk while he attended business. So he's improvising. He's good. Really good. After Noah left, Adrian looked the other two over. The girl was pretty with sparkling green eyes. But behind those eyes, he saw something else. He wasn't sure what, but it was something those eyes were not. She was hiding something and hiding it well. Then there was the guy. Emo on the outside, fluffy on the inside. At least that's the impression Adrian got, but he had this nagging feeling that both sides of the coin were a façade to hide a third side. Again, an exterior that did not match the interior. It was then that Adrian realized that they all had something to hide. It would appear Noah has done his research.
Adrian wandered off back to the foyer after Noah left them in the auditorium. He finished his ice cream cone and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he perused the Presidential Portraits Display. He eventually stopped in front of the current President: Donald J. Trump. Adrian's face, mostly involuntarily, curled into a sneer, "Fuck You Orange Man."
It was then the guy, Eliot, introduced himself and Adrian could hear him through the doors to the auditorium, "Nice to meet you both. Name's Eliot Turner. I'm a comic book artist. Just call me El. Rolls off the tongue faster. Sooo, how about you guys? What's your names?"
Well he's certainly chipper.
Adrian turned and began to walk back to the auditorium when he heard Eliot ask Noah for food and was promptly denied. Adrian smirked. Well, if anything, this Eliot should be good for a laugh or two.
He walked back into the auditorium and stopped in front of Eliot, speaking to him without turning to look at him, "Adrian Hardison. Freelance Internet Security Specialist."
He made to walk down the auditorium steps toward the front when Eliot asked the question that caused him to freeze in his tracks, "So here's a fun question: What did you guys do for your auditions?"
He felt a lump catch in his throat as memories from a past life, memories he had tried to suppress, began to emerge. The faintest of tears began to well in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them and shook it off. NO! That was a child's dream! It was then the flash of a projector caught Adrian's eye and he looked up at the large screens covering the curtains on the stage of the auditorium. On the screen, a portrait of Walt Disney appeared in black and white. Adrian stared at the photo as the tears began to well again and, again, Adrian wiped them away, this time with conviction as he mumbled under his breath, not sure nor caring if anyone actually heard him, "Happiest Place On Earth, My Ass. I wish you could see what your Empire has become. Then again, maybe it's better this way. I mean, at least YOU don't have to suffer like the rest of us."
As quickly as the photo appeared, it disappeared as the projector shut off. Adrian pulled his Google Glass out of the security pocket and activated a reflective overlay on the lenses so he could inspect his eyes. Through the reflection he saw Eliot and the girl had also looked up at the screen. Then he heard some less-than-child-friendly vernacular coming from the projector booth at the back of the auditorium. Ignoring that, he finished wiping his eyes and once he was satisfied that there was no evidence of the tears, he returned Glass to default and put them back in his security pocket.
It was then he turned and marched back up to Eliot, looking him dead in the eyes, "It doesn't matter what we did for our auditions. Does it? Those were the naive dreams of children. And we're not kids anymore." Before Eliot could respond, Adrien turned and headed down the auditorium steps to grab a seat in the front row for Noah's presentation.
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Post by sweettooth on Sept 20, 2020 19:51:09 GMT -5
“Pleased to meet you Hardison," Eliot responded in kind, appreciating the returned formality. At the job description provided, Eliot arched an eyebrow and twisted his face in confusion. "Sooooo like a hacker for the good guys?" He asked. Bless his heart, he may have been good at a fair few things but anything to do with computers, he was completely and utterly screwed with.
As Hardison took a seat, he seemed troubled in some way, a hunch that quickly confirmed itself to be a reality by the next choice of words from the computer specialist in regards to the auditions from so long ago.
Reading between the lines a little bit, it was crystal clear that Hardison hadn't exactly had the easiest life.
“Maybe, maybe not but at the end of the day whether or not it was something as simple and clean as a kids dream doesn't make it any less of a reality or any less meaningful," he answered earnestly. He understood where he was coming from with the cynicism and the chip on his shoulder and knew all too well how much of a slippery slope that was to go down and especially once you fell down it, it almost seemed impossible to climb back up. Then again, he wasn't going to pry into the gory details. If Hardison wanted to open up then that was his call and if he didn't, that was perfectly acceptable. However, he'd make sure to leave the olive branch up for grabs at any time in case he changed his mind and needed someone to listen or just to be there in general. Eliot munched on a couple more of his Hershey's and offered him some. "Eat you skinny jackass," he quipped to Hardison as he practically thrust the sweets in his face and had zero intention of letting him refuse sweet, sugary goodness!
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Risa
Jobber
Signatures hate me.
Posts: 9
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Post by Risa on Sept 27, 2020 19:08:32 GMT -5
Cameron Steel Location: The Hall of Presidents, Magic Kingdom
Melody. That's what the stage manager and Cameron's mother decided her name would be - never mind that when she sang it sounded like childhood dreams shattering. They wanted to dye her hair a shade of dark red, too, but reconsidered after she nearly had a meltdown. Poked and prodded until she reached a level of perfection that existed in their minds, Cameron was sent to audition, and nailed it. She got it because they changed everything about who she was. She remembered her mom saying how it was necessary and she'd have never gotten cast looking looking like, "that".
El's's question lingered for a moment before this mysterious Adrian fellow delivered an unexpectedly brash response that left Cameron shocked and perplexed. El turned toward her, giving her a hopeful glance for a semblance of comeraderie, something she wasn't sure she could provide to this boisterous and friendly stranger. In fact, she half despised how carefree and nonchalant his gait was when he walked - a sign of someone with the ability to let his troubles wash away in the colors of the wind.
"I'm Cameron, and my part in the mousketeers was to be Melody, a singer. I was to be trained to be the token singer of the group." She didn't bother explaining her profession - she was bad enough at making friends let alone trying to explain something no one tended to understand. Although Adrian might get it; the man seemed to have an appreciation for tech she hadn't seen many people share.
She spied some food wrappers barely visible from El's pocket, but kept a very cool demeanor and pretended she didn't. Instead, she grabbed a seat and awaited to be bored to death on the trio's forthcoming - PowerPoint presentation - or whatever. What have I gotten myself into? She thought. Some weirdo Disney megafan who hooked them up with some sweet accommodations and had some high-level authority here wanted them to just trust him to explain why he'd whisked 3 people here. Was he going to interview the participants and try making a profit on his next book? She thought about the fiery passion for the biz she originally had, and how it died with her dream - but at least from what Adrian told El, he seemed to still have it burning strongly. And where did El fit in? Who was that Noah and what was this all about?
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Post by Marcus Shadow on Oct 2, 2020 6:19:47 GMT -5
Adrian Hardison Location: The Hall of Presidents - Auditorium
Adrian grumbled inwardly as he heard footstep follow him down the stairs. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes as the accompanying voice confirmed his suspicions. He heard Eliot, but continued keeping his eyes closed and arms crossed, pretending to ignore him. A moment later, he heard the girl answer Eliot's question. Cameron, huh? Token Singer? If she had talent, that sounds on-brand for 90's Disney. I wonder what she does now? If what the guard told me has any shred of truth, a professional singer would be pretty useless. Before he could continue his thought process, Adrian heard Eliot insist on him eating followed by the rattle of a plastic bag. Adrian opened his eyes and turned to look up Eliot. He smirked and chuckled before unfolding his arms and taking a couple of Kisses out of the bag, "Fine." He unwrapped a Kiss and tossed it into his mouth as he turned back to face the screen, "Thanks."
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Post by James Phoenix on Oct 3, 2020 22:37:59 GMT -5
Noah Johnson Location : The Hall of Presidents
Noah reentered the theater from the projection room and overheard the group discussing their Mouseketeer roles that never were. Good, hopefully that mindset will make them more receptive to this whole thing.Adrian was sitting near the front and looked like the least comfortable at the moment, while Eliot and Cameron were further back, the former seemingly relaxed and the latter guarded but calm. "Amazing how people from such different walks of life can have something that unites them, isn't it? Drawing them together, almost as if destiny itself were at work."
He moved to the front of the room and took up position near the three connected screens in front of the curtains. "Oh, and for the record, my initial audition was giving my best impression of the Genie from Aladdin. They liked my energy I guess, and my parents said they were considering me to be one of the group who did those little skits between songs, plus the speaking parts of the opening and closing numbers. You know, 'C ya real soon' and all that". At any rate, its another unknown aspect of those auditions that I've brought you here to discuss."
Noah paused and let this sink in. "Before I go any further, I want to make clear that I'm fully aware that what I'm about to say will probably make you all question my sanity. Believe me, I did the same thing at first." Noah extended the screen from his Imagiband and, with a few button presses, the lights in the theater dimmed and the center screen lit up with an image of Walt Disney.
"Walt Disney. Everyone has heard of him, though not all opinions are good. However, if there is one thing people agree on its that he understood how to connect with the hearts of the people, and brought a magic to his productions that no one else could seem to match. This is because Walt...actually studied magic....or at least the idea of it. Not the metapor we as a company often throw around, but actual ancient knowledge. Walt was the last remaining member of a group known as the Order of the Truest Heart. And yes, I'm aware of how corny that name is. This group, tracing back as long as anyone can tell, tasked themselves with studying and understanding the idea that spirits of incredible magical power inhabit our world, and always have. If this sounds familiar, you may be remembering the Will-o-the-Wisps from our Pixar film Brave. The ideas Walt studied have always permeated his creations, even long after his passing."
Noah paused here as a brief clip from the aforementioned film played, showing an old woman explaining the idea of the Will-o-the-Wisps. "The big difference between Walt and his predecessors, however, is that he proved his studies were NOT just ideas. The spirits actually revealed themselves to him, sensing both his kind heart and his incredible foresight into events yet to be, and asked for his help. He discovered that the spirits were powered by hope and belief in magic, but were weakening as the world turned toward technology and away from the old ways. Walt began creating his masterpieces and brought magic to the masses, filling hearts with hope and joy. The spirits not only regained their power with each film he made, but began taking the forms of some of his creations."
All was well...until Disney realized a fatal mistake. You see, not all of the spirits are benevolent. As with anything in the world, there is a balance between good... and evil. Dark spirits also inhabit the world, and they also gained power with the creation of villainous characters who promoted belief in them too. While the benevolent spirits were simply happy to exist, those of darkness sought revenge for their near destruction. When Disney realized what he had done, he sought to correct his mistake and built a vault to contain the evil spirits to prevent them from destroying the world and ensured that all of his productions would see even the greatest villains defeated to help keep their power in check. To hide the idea of the vault, Walt began using the term to describe his practice of hiding films away and then re-releasing them every few years, which was later adapted into a home video strategy by his successors." Images flashed on the screen as Noah spoke, providing visuals for the various aspects of the company that he mentioned.
"And that brings us... to you. Walt knew that the vault was not a permanent solution to the problem of the dark spirits and as such began searching for others whom he could recruit as a new generation of the Order of the Truest Heart. He disguised this program as... The Mouseketeers. He intended to recruit a group of children (far more likely to believe the truth than an adult) and use their light to fight off the darkness. Walt chose to use what had weakened the spirits to give them strength, and began developing technology that would allow these chosen ones to harness the power of the benevolent spirits to defeat the darkness once and for all. As these groups aged, Walt replaced them with new ones in the hopes of having one at the ready once the tech was built. Unfortunately, time caught up with Walt before the needed technological advancements did, and he passed away with the project unfinished."
"He left a few loyal workers with knowledge of the truth and they kept the project in development in secret until the late 90's, when they had a breakthrough and began recruiting a new team of Mousketeers to finally bring Walt's plan to fruition. However, as you well know, that little endeavor was abruptly shut down. What you don't know is that the reason for the shut down is because those trusted few disappeared without a trace." Noah let these words linger in the air a moment.
"After we were cancelled, I refused to give up on my dream. I worked my way through school and eventually into the company itself and up to the level of an Imagineer. Once I had needed access, I was able to research why our program was cancelled and subsequently dug up the remains of the project, and seemingly not a moment too soon. As you might have noticed, in recent years our company has gotten into the habit of outright celebrating our villain characters : The live action Maleficent films, the Descendants TV movies, book series, merchandise, and much more. The dark spirits have been empowered by this...and the Vault is beginning to crack. Spirits have begun freeing themselves and wreaking havok on the park, though luckily only at night thus far. Eventually, the vault will no longer hold at all and they will be unleashed as a group with the full power of a cold world that has lost much of its hope... and embraced darkness."
"So...the reason I have called you here is because we were the last group of Mousketeers to be properly vetted based upon Walt's original plans, and at the rate the spirits are escaping I don't have time to recruit and vet another. I need your help to avert a catastrophe. The technology is finished and waiting and the benevolent spirits are willing to aid us. If those hopeful kids you once were are still inside you, then I ask you please... believe one more time...and help me save the world."
Noah turned off the screens, raised the lights, and walked to the back of the theater before turning. "I know this is an incredible amount to take in, especially on nothing but my word. To show you all I'm not just cuckoo for cocoa puffs, I ask if you don't believe that you please humor me a bit longer. Follow me to one more stop in the park and give me a chance to prove what I say. After that, if this is all too much, you are free to go. I'll even let you keep those passes for a few days and enjoy a nice Disney vacation if you like. So... will you at least give me a chance?"
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Post by sweettooth on Oct 3, 2020 23:22:08 GMT -5
Noah showed up and dished out the goods as to why he'd brought them together in the unusual way that he had. The explanation and the reasoning behind it all having to do with the Mousekeeters Project and some supposed higher calling of magic and mystery was completely and utterly ridiculous. Eliot listened patiently to everything and regarded it with an open mind. The very notion of a performing arts project for kids was in fact a grandiose spectacle that involved unlocking magical secrets was something straight out of a... "Comic book," he finished his thought internally with a wry note. He went over it in his head again and again and then once more with feeling.
The long haired artist finished his chocolate off and tapped his fingers repeatedly on the arm of the chair, the repetitive motion resembling typing away on a computer keyboard. With clear eyes and a calm head, he examined the data presented. After a while, he spoke up.
"Not the weirdest thing I've heard." He stated honestly with a good humoured tone. "Screw it, why not!"
His cavalier attitude warranted an understandable look of surprise that positively screamed "Get this man a straight jacket" from the others and Eliot patiently took the time to explain why he was down for it. "The whole Chosen Ones Let's Save The World thing is a little bit of a hard pill to swallow and a played out trope but there's nothing wrong with the classics. And besides, if there really is some magic out there in the big wide world and not the cheap magician in a Vegas strip club shit but the real deal then fuck it, it would be a waste not to get to see it with my own eyes at least once. When do we begin?"
While Eliot was completely game and up for this road trip of mayhem and madness, the same likely couldn't be said for his cohorts. Then again, he was quite eager to see how they'd respond.
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Post by Marcus Shadow on Oct 7, 2020 20:01:44 GMT -5
Adrian Hardison Location: The Hall of Presidents - Auditorium
Adrian kept his eyes fixed on the screen and his ears on Noah's words as he weathered a huge exposition dump. Only once did his eyes shift during the entire presentation and it was when Noah pulled his sleeve back to access his Imagiband. From that point on, Adrian's eyes constantly shifted between Noah's arm and the screen. After Noah finished his presentation, Adrian kept his eyes on Noah's arm and the Imagiband. It would take Eliot to break him out of his tech-induced trance, "Screw it, why not!"
Adrian stood up and turned around to face the group from the front of the auditorium as he listened to Eliot talk about what Noah had just presented them. After Eliot was finished, Adrian's eyes drifted back to Noah's Imagiband, then slowly up to meet Noah's eyes, "For the record, I think you're full of shit, Noah Johnson. You say we were chosen for the Mouseketeer Program because of our purity of soul, our hope, our light. Yet you recruit a Convicted Felon who lost that light... that hope... that purity of soul many, many years ago." Adrian paused to let that sink in, unintentionally allowing Noah enough time to get a full scope of his eyes and perhaps a glimpse into what lay behind them. Adrian quickly averted his gaze realizing he was about to give away too much, "I say again... you're full of shit. Magic doesn't exist. It's a machination of fairytales and fantasy. And saving the world doesn't really interest me as this world rejected me long ago. I exist to manipulate the world and make it my plaything, so why would I want to save it? Your presentation was good. Well thought out and well organized. In the end, though, nothing in it interests me. But there is one thing that does. One thing that gives me pause. One thing that tells me there is a very remote possibility you're telling the truth."
Adrian's eyes rose once again to fixate on Noah's Imagiband as he raised his right arm and pointed at it, "That band on your arm. I've never seen tech like it. And I've seen Top Secret Level Military Tech. Experimental Science you would swear exists only in the movies and comic books. But that..." Adrian shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, "I'm assuming that is more than just a fancy remote control for a Disney Theme Park Auditorium." Adrian walked up the stairs to Eliot and stopped next to him as he turned around to stand side-by-side with him, facing Noah, "For that alone, I give you one last chance."
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Risa
Jobber
Signatures hate me.
Posts: 9
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Post by Risa on Oct 15, 2020 17:29:25 GMT -5
Cameron Steel Location: Hall of the Presidents
Her father sported his best navy blue business suit and gave Cameron a hug before she entered the waiting room. They could both hear someone entertaining a small group - the panel that would judge her fate to appear on the new rendition of the Mickey Mouse Club. Her nerves made her sick to her stomach, and she would have thrown up had her mother not warned her previously, "If you do ANYthing to ruin this for me, you will shame your whole family." The only thing that calmed her was the quiet ticking of the wall clock, it's gears moving in harmonious perfection. Her heartbeat calmed to match it. She entered the circular parlor, gleaming from end to end with Disney memorabilia and fully stocked with mirrors, hair styling equipment, snacks, and a place for every child to practice their lines. Cameron looked in the mirror at the facade of a girl she was plastered together to be. Her heart sank. The only hope she had was to ace this so that she could be the perfect child her mother always knew she was, or at least, that's what she told Cameron.
Now once again, the circular enclosure of the room choked her while images of Walt Disney and his seemingly impossible secrets were revealed to the selected individuals. She gasped for air that didn't seem to exist. Gears turned, and for a moment the wall clock came into view and coalesced into the film machine's dramatic closure. Her mind suddenly went clear for what seemed the first time in a long time. She had an answer for Walt Jr. and these other pathetic strangers.
"Of course!" she exclaimed. The shocked trio stared at her, not expecting such a jubilant response from the girl who had been so quietly taking in everything that was to be seen. "Let's go see what needs to be done to save the world!" Adrian was definitely perplexed and El turned to follow Noah, who was clearly very pleased with this outcome, and lead the way. Cameron thought to herself, 'I'll save the world indeed.'
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Post by sweettooth on Oct 17, 2020 19:00:49 GMT -5
The answers from the others were varied but accepting and his brief surprise regarding Cameron's energetic response aside, he was delighted. Hardison was still holding the cynic card tightly but the weird bracelet that Noah had seemed to get his attention enough to give him a fair chance. The artist applauded them loudly like a circus ring master and fist pumped the air. "Looks like we got a team together," he quipped, playfully winking at Noah knowingly as though he'd just hit the jackpot at a hand of poker. He ran his hands through his hair, brushing the bangs out from his eyes out of habit more than anything else as he asked the question that was on everyone's minds as he was perhaps a little too eager to get the ball rolling. "Alright Big Guy, what's the next step?"
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