✎ the_watched [Aftermath]

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=====The Watched=====

//"Reality TV is getting more real, people. We already live in a world where you live and die by your own edited footage of yourself - that is, what other people see of you. Isn't this just a short sidestep over from what we knew before?//

//You are, and always were, your own directors, your own editors; you act in the grand narrative which is your self and your life story! Don't waste this opportunity to be something great. Don't be scared of the cameras in the sky. They give you power and strength. Just remember - of all the people in all the world, they have chosen to prostrate themselves at your feet for the sake of their own thirty minutes of entertainment. They are watching **you**."//

- Lola Cross

=====Overview=====

The apocalypse is a plot device in many, many good stories. What's a better inciting incident for a hero's journey, after all, than overturning everything they once knew and loved? 

After the... whatever the hell it was that happened, some pioneers discovered some old movies, playable on the few screens they could find. As it happened, they were stories about people stranded or locked in one place together, and being observed by cameras for the purpose of public viewing. Immediately they compared it to their current situation, and for many it was a revelatory moment. 

The Watched believe that they themselves are part of a great story - one whose finishing touches are being put on by those in the editing room, of course, but that's mostly immaterial. What matters is that there is a public, on the other side of their screens, watching their every move. They don't know what their objective is, nor have they been told exactly how they should behave in order to dazzle and divert their audience. But they know they've been put on this stage for one reason and one reason only: to perform. 

There are numerous potential ways this performance could occur; most tacitly assume the show is some kind of game, of which there can be a winner. Perhaps the way to win is by surviving the longest, or making the audience like you the best, or even just acquiring social power among the other survivors. After all, what's a good story without a little conflict, right?

====Notable Members====

  * **Lola Cross:** Believing, based on the tatters of her memory, that she was a former HR executive for an important television company, she's well known as being one of the first - and is still the most prominent - proponent of the idea that this is all a game screened for the entertainment of others. 

  * **Merribel Meyer:** Gleefully nasty, snobbish and petty, this young lady will take positive pride in ruining your day. She has, however, got a not-insignificant amount of wit and humour on her side. Considered a strong contender among The Watched to win whatever game it is they're playing (though few will mention it to Lola's face). 

  * **Alexander Saint:** One of the few who doesn't believe the show has anything to do with competition, and instead aims to survive by making as many friends as possible. So far, he's succeeding, probably due in part to his striking good looks. 

=====GM Notes=====

Three broad-strokes endgame objectives:

**1. 'WIN' the game,** so far as it can be 'won'. Will likely mean players make power grabs and compete with __Lola__ for leadership of the faction.

**2. STOP the show.** This can be done by exposing the truth, which could be effected roughly mid-game if players can get enough faction members on their side. __Merribel__ will help with this. __Alexander__ can aid the players in either the WIN or STOP options, depending on how they treat him, whether the players believe the reality-show theory about how the apocalypse happened, and if so, how they think the show is run.

**3. KILL/DESTROY the faction.** If players decide that the show needs to end with perhaps more drastic action. 

I'd like an opportunity for the players to play about with investigation and/or political machination, in particular looking at the ways this connects with acting and playing a part IC as well as OC.

Some character notes:

**Lola** thinks that the way to win the game is by killing everyone, because her background in TV has convinced her that people are horrible and will be entertained by death and terror. She hasn't executed her plan yet - she wants to establish herself to the imagined audience first, and she's secretly terrified - but she's coming close at game start. 

**Merribel** is not actually horrible. In fact, she's really rather nice (albeit with a bit of a deadpan streak). She just plays the role for entertainment value, believing that audiences pay attention to reality shows with good villains, and it's starting to take a toll on her mental health. 

**Alexander** doesn't think this is a competition, and just wants to survive; he, unfortunately, doesn't have many survival skills so relies on others to do jobs for him. He's not a bad person, though, and will probably be the first to be convinced that it isn't real.
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