I realize that you might not know what a Toreador is, or even why boons are scary. There are online resources available, if you're really interested. If you're not interested, you should maybe stop reading now.
***
I'm just sort of killing time right now. Very soon, I'm going to completely get my geek on, in ways I never even dreamed possible, but I have to wait for Kel to show up online before I can do that.

I'm in this LARP, see. I came up with a really clever plan, and told the storytellers what my character wanted to do. Kel, one of the ST's, agreed that it was indeed a clever plan, far far too clever for him just to say, "Yeah, OK, that happens now." He told me to find him online, and I could roleplay out the initial encounter in real time.

So, yeah. I am so committed to this imaginary world where I pretend to be a vampire that I am actively seeking out opportunities to make it better on my own time. And I used to be such a nice girl...
***
I'm torn now. I'd like to tell you all about my clever plan, but I know there are LARP people who read this. Can I trust them not to get all Meta about knowing all of Ellen's plans? They seem like good people. I bet I can. If you're reading this, please consider it OOC knowledge.
***
There's this party coming up. All the Princes from all over the state will be there. Ellen was put in charge of organizing it.

(Ellen has basically nothing. She has a small apartment somewhere, and gets an allowance from her Sire. Her disciplines are also a LOT less than you'd expect. Techinally, she's still only about eight years dead, and it always seemed very important for me to preserve that, because I am a moron. This is kind of her Concept. Just a mousy little artiste, watching all the big boys slap each other around with their vampiric penises, but with no desire at all to get involved.)

(This is admittedly kind of a stupid Concept. I've spent three years of game time trying not to let her get too powerful, while all around me, newer characters are rapidly turning into Naughty Vampire Gods. Stupid.)

So. The Prince of the Valley said, "Hey, Miss Artsy-Fartsy. I want a party." and Ellen was all, "Um....ok..." and I was all "D'oh!"

Ellen posted a general plea for help on the message boards. All kinds of important people are more than willing to help, for payment to be arranged later.

Ellen is all, "Wow. That's really nice of them. I am fortunate indeed to live in such a caring community," while I'm all, "Crap crap CRAP. No good can come of this. I'm going to end up in Boon-debt to my eyeballs, and blood bound to absolutely everyone in town. Ellen, WHY are you not better prepared for this? I hate you."

The party is Apr. 30. The first step is finding a location. Ellen is currently pursuing three different avenues.

1) There used to be a Toreador named Paine. Paine had an art gallery. (Oshkosh natives in the hizzouse! Technically, the game is set in Fox Valley, which is loosely based on the real Oshkosh/Appleton area, because that's where most of the players are from. Sometimes, this leads to in-jokes about real places.) Paine died.

Another Toreador, named Guthrie, assumed control of the Gallery. Guthrie disguised himself as Paine, and made himself seen by all the local mortals, loudly talking about a planned trip to France, or possibly Germany, leaving for six months, or maybe a year. So. As far as anyone mortal knows, Paine is still in charge of the Gallery, but no one knows exactly where he is, or when he's coming back. Then, Guthrie died. The Gallery is still there, but the mortal caretaker hasn't even turned the lights on in four months, because he's waiting to hear from Paine again.

This plan involves Ellen convincing this caretaker that Paine wants her to be in charge of the gallery now. It might involve Ellen asking one of her powerful friends to impersonate Paine, at least on the phone, because she certainly can't do that sort of thing, because she's kind of a putz.

It's probably the easiest plan. Present a letter from Paine, saying he's decided to stay in Europe permanently, and he wants to sell his Gallery to his good friend Ellen. She's already mailed a check, so just give her the deed. And then Ellen says of course I still require your services Mr. Caretaker, let me buy you a drink, and we'll talk about the details.

It's not the best of plans, because back when Paine's was a known vampire hangout, it was KNOWN. Everyone who knew anything about Valley vampires knew that they hung out at Paine's. There were all kinds of Hunter issues, and it's maybe still too soon to have a huge attention-drawing party there.

2) On the message boards, someone said he had heard something about the local Masonic temple being for sale. Ellen has sent a letter to the Local Grand High Poohbah on behalf of the Escher Historical Society, asking if this was true.

Oh, it was a masterful letter. The Escher Society is a statewide organization, concerned with buying and restoring historical buildings. I hear you have a building, Mr. Poohbah. If your building isn't for sale, the EHS also holds a yearly charity ball in somewhere historical. Might we rent your building for an evening, Mr. Poohbah?

Either way, Ellen wants to meet with the Poohbah, be eight different kinds of charming at him, buy him a drink, etc etc etc.

This is where the ST decided that no, Masons are fairly powerful allies, and Ellen can't just pick one up and put him in her pocket. Kel said the STs have plot meetings every Wednesday, so either today or tomorrow, I could find him online, and he'll know what direction this conversation needs to go. He also mentioned a conversation with Paine's Caretaker, so I can get that option going.

Hmm. Maybe I could use the Escher Society to rent Paine's. It's also a historical site, and I could use that as my introduction to the Caretaker. Once Ellen starts getting her teeth into him, later developments are of course much easier. Paine decides to sell his gallery to this charitable organization, instead of to a private individual. Hmm.

Note to self: Ellen needs to print up some EHS brochures and financial statements. Find a few public historical sites around the state that were paid for anonymously, and claim that the EHS did it. If anyone tries to check up, all they'll learn is is that someone anoymous paid for it, which backs up Ellen's story.

(This is no longer a D-land entry at all, but just me sort of thinking at you. Sorry about that.)

3) Since both of these options involve conversing with Kel, which is proving to be harder than it sounds, Ellen has also opened negotiations with the Nosferatu. The Nos think the fabulous party to impress all the visiting princes should be held in the sewers.

This is maybe not as ludicrous as it sounds. Back in the day, there was a Nosferatu Prince, and he had a formal receiving chamber down there. Ellen was never there, but it seems to her that if other people used to go there all the time, it's perhaps not quite as stinky as the rest of the sewers. Ellen has already asked the Valley's resident obsessive compulsive to help her sanitize a bit before the party.

A few of the Nos players actually live within blocks of me. I spoke with one the other night, and he said he's waiting for ST conformation that Prince Simon's courtroom is still accessable.

Dammit. It ALL comes down to the storytellers. If I were really doing this, it would have all been done weeks ago. You wanna contact the Masons? They're listed in your local phone book. If Kel actually contacts me today, Ellen has TWO WEEKS to get decorations, and a band, and an ice sculpture or two. Grr.


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