Vegas Bay-Bay! Fiori's V9 Pregame Planning thread

[Fiori]

What's up, motherfucker. You know the drill, let's jump straight to it.

Will note that these characters are in varying stages of WIP, with details subject to change in order to adjustment. But - without further ado - here's my lot.

[+] Marcy Valerio

Marcia "Marcy" Valerio - The Dancer

Marcy Valerio 3-portrait 2.jpg (88.87 KiB) Viewed 984 times

Elevator Pitch: Hot-Blooded Italian-American cheerleader who loves dancing, bubblegum and her awesome boyfriend Finn.

Background: Marcy hails from a large and reasonably well off family, who can be best described with three words: Loud, Catholic and aggressively Italian. For most of her life she's been fairly affirmatively part of the popular crowd, especially given her participation in the cheer squad as well as her other athletic/performative pursuits.

Things took a slight downturn roughly two years before pregame however, when her old boyfriend tragically died in a car accident. Understandably this led to an extended depressive episode, and an overall loss of motivation in her usual hobbies. This all changed however when she met her one true love: Finn Cooper, delinquent bad boy who won her heart.

Since hooking up with Finn, she's gone on to become something of an aspiring delinquent herself, even going so far as dying her hair hot pink and getting a bunch of piercings.

Personality/Aesthetic: To call Marcy an extrovert would be something of an understatement. Ever the life of the party, Marcy is loud and impulsive, always craving the spotlight and willing to try new things.

If there's one color people associate with her, it's pink. Whether it's a jacket, tinted sunglasses or whatever, she's always found wearing pink in some form of another. This hasn't changed since she's started experimenting with alt-culture fashion, developing her own style that mixes her love of pink with a more punk-inspired aesthetic.

It's not all laughter and bubblegum with Marcy, however. Whilst she can be a lot of fun to be around, she's also been known to be quite volatile, with a temper few can match. And woe betide anyone who makes moves on her Finn...

Interests

• Dancing: Her greatest passion by a long margin, to the point where she dreams of becoming a professional dancer once she's done with high school. She experiments with a variety of styles, with aerobics and Jazz Dance being amongst her favourites, which has led to her involvement in school musical productions and offering to be a backing dancer for her more musically inclined classmates... For the right price.
• Gymnastics: Another hobby that she's passionate about, moreso when she was younger, but she's still engages in weekly sessions to keep herself fit for cheer squad.
• Cheerleading: Marcy is a longtime member of the cheer squad, which propelled her high in the school pecking order. Despite her new friendship circle she still maintains her role within the cheer squad, now finding herself torn between two very different worlds.
• Alternative Culture: Primarily punk and punk adjacent, but her introduction to alternative culture has led to her experimenting with various styles.
• Parties: Where there's a big high school party, you will almost certainly find Marcy there at the front and centre of it all.
• Bubblegum/Sweets: Marcy's an infamous sweet tooth, with a particular love of bubblegum.

Looking For

• Friends! Primarily split into three different groups/cliques
• The Popular Crowd: Mostly jocks and fellow cheerleaders, but other folk who you'd consider to be part of the popular crowd apply.
• Punks, delinquents and assorted weirdos: Her NEW friends, mostly those associated with her boyfriend Finn, but also folk involved in other alt-culture scenes that she's now started dabbling in.
• Fellow Performers: She's got connections amongst the school's theatre and musical scene, given her talent for dancing.
• Ex-Friends: Folk who used to be friends with her, but have drifted since her recent dalliance with delinquency.
• Enemies: There will absolutely be folk who find her exhausting to be around, and worse... Rivals for her Finn's attention.

Established Relationships

• Finn Cooper: Boyfriend
• BEELZEBUB Smith: Friends - Gangmates
• Bailey Gema: Friends - Gangmates
• Mercedes “Mercy” Myers-Colman: Friends - Exact specifics TBD
• Candy Carter: Friends - Party scene/Sports/Popular crowd
• Bailey Gema: Friends - Gangmate
• Ginger "Gigi" Peck: Friendly Acquaintances - Party scene
• Murray Miller: Friendly Acquaintances - Sports Crowd
• Skyla Monroe: Friendly Acquaintances - Possibly gangmates?
• Kiplyn Kaplan: Acquaintances
• Joanne Martinez: Ex-Friends
• Grace Wills: Doesn't approve of new friends
• Emma Drakenberg-West: Not on good terms
• Heather Klein: Enemies - "Poser?!? ME!?! Why I oughta..."
• Edwin Castellaneta: Enemies - "Dumbass"

[+] Koa Tagaloa

Koa Tagaloa - The Wrestler

Koa Tagaloa-portrait.jpg (74.08 KiB) Viewed 984 times

Elevator Pitch: Big friendly Samoan wrestling fan and overall nerd.

Background: Koa is the son of the Great Tagaloa, a former wrestler who spent his career as a midcarder in promotions like ROH and TNA, who eventually retired and moved from LA to Las Vegas to marry the love of his life. Koa is of mixed Polynesian heritage, with a Samoan father and Hawaiian mother. Unsurprisingly, his father's involvement and passion for the wrestling industry passed down to Koa, who attended many of his father's shows whilst growing up. Nowadays he has a single dream, one he pursues above all others: To continue his family's legacy and become a great wrestler in his own right.

Personality/Aesthetic: Despite his intimidating height and impressive strength, Koa is a big softie, always ready to hang out and have a laugh. He's a geek at heart, with an array of nerdy passions and interests that seep into his obsession with wrestling. He's good natured and optimistic, loyal to his friends and always eager to lend a hand. Curiously though, when it comes to wrestling he always prefers heels over faces, with famous heels like Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens being childhood icons of his.

Interests

• Professional Wrestling: Gee, y'think? He has other hobbies and interests as well, though, wrestling just happens to be his biggest.
• Anime: Particularly shonen fighting anime like Dragonball and One Piece.
• Tabletop Roleplaying Games: Koa loves roleplaying games, Dungeons and Dragons being his favourite, but he's always happy to try new games.
• Boardgames: Not quite as much as TRPGs, but the two often come hand-in-hand so he's likely involved in those circles too.
• Theatre: Reasoning that performing arts will help improve his skills on the mic, Koa is involved in the theatre scene. Unsurprisingly, the roles he gets in school productions often take advantage of his impressive build.
• Football: Given Red Rock's reputation for sports, the Rattlers sought Koa out as a linebacker, a role he performs adequately at. On a personal level, he actually prefers rugby.

Looking For

• Wrassling Buddies You love wrestling too? Hell yeah, brother!
• Fellow weebs: You love anime too? Koa wants you to join his crew and sail to the Grand Line together.
• Tabletop Nerds: Need players for a DnD game? Koa's got a Goblin Moon Druid statted up and ready to rumble.
• Football Squad: Likely more acquaintances than super close, compared to his nerdier passions.
• Wrestling Rivals: He doesn't really have enemies, or even dislike anyone really, but he might look at you funny if you say wrestling's fake or claim WWE is better than AEW.

Established Relationships

• Wade Colter: Wrassle Buddies
• Hope Hynes: Wrassle Buddies
• Artemis Cavallo: DnD Group
• Rezariza Isa: Fellow Weeb
• Vanessa Thibodeaux: Theatre buddies
• Grace Wills: Football Teammates
• Murray Miller: Football Teammates
• Mercedes “Mercy” Myers-Colman: Theatre Aquaintances

[+] Johnny Benowitz

Johnny Benowitz - The Jock

Johnny Benowitz-portrait.jpg (71.64 KiB) Viewed 800 times

Elevator Pitch: Braggadocious baseball jock with an obnoxious pompadour.

Background: Son of a Jewish Elvis impersonator and a Sicilian-American (insert job here, something with a decent income), Johnny's the kind of guy who always acts like he's the coolest cat in the room. A braggart and show-off, he's kind of a douchebag to say the least, albeit one masking some serious existential dread after his father passed away at a relatively young age. Nevertheless he's very much a fixture of the sporty/popular crowd, even if he isn't quite as high on the pecking order as he makes himself out to be.

Personality/Aesthetic: Johnny presents himself as a man of many talents, some more genuine than others, often willing to throw down and prove himself to be a man of his word no matter how often it ends badly for him. Behind this extroverted facade however, he's a deeply insecure figure who is worried about what the future holds, hiding his anxieties behind numerous layers of forced arrogance and pomade.

Speaking of which, by far his most distinctive feature (along with his genuinely sick black and red letterman jacket) would be his hair, styled into a shiny black pompadour. He gets very defensive about his hair, so have fun with that.

Interests

• Baseball: Johnny's first and foremost a baseball player, and a fairly decent one at that. Not exactly the team's star player, though he certainly acts like he is whenever his teammates aren't around.
• Automobiles: Johnny loves cars, especially fast ones and convertibles, and has even managed to secure himself a driver's license and his own ride. Thinking this would further cement his status as the coolest guy at school, in reality this has led to him being the eternal designated driver amongst his friends.
• Bowling: Johnny's also a part of the bowling team, because I really wanted one of mine to be on it after noticing it's an option, and he was the best fit. Thinks he's really good at bowling. He isn't.
• Dating: Johnny's a notorious flirt, and he's good looking enough to generally have a reasonable amount of luck with the ladies (and fellas, on occasion), though his relationships tend to be brief and shallow.
• Playing the Guitar: Like his father, Johnny loves a bit of rock 'n' roll, and is trying to learn the acoustic guitar. He isn't very good at it either.
• Hairstyling: Johnny puts a lot of effort into maintaining his signature quiff, and all things considered he's actually very talented at hairstyling, which is ironically one of the few things he doesn't brag about.

Looking For

• Fellow Sports Friends/Popular Crowd: Johnny's a fixture of the popular crowd and party scene, with most of his closest friends being fellow jocks and cheerleaders.
• Exes: Those who have dated or fooled around with Johnny in the past. Johnny swings both ways, though he usually leans more towards the ladies.
• People who have gotten the better of him: Have someone with a particular skill? Johnny's the perfect dude to showcase that skill against, as it doesn't take much to goad him into accepting a challenge.
• Rivals: It'd be cool to have a dedicated rival or two, most likely folk he aspires to outdo, or just anyone whose taken a particular disliking of his arrogant persona.

Established Relationships

• Kiplyn Kaplan: Baseball Bros
• Candy Carter: Baseball (honorary) Bros
• Joanne Martinez: Popular Crowd, maybe dating?
• Ginger "Gigi" Peck: Exes or dating, TBD
• Mercedes “Mercy” Myers-Colman: Exes
• Maggie Wilfred: Maybe dated?
• Hope Hyntes: Acquaintances - one-sided crush that Johnny's unaware of
• Skyla Monroe: Acquaintances - asked her out one time
• Grace Wills: Acquaintances - hit on but it kinda went over her head
• Murray Miller: Sports crowd, but don't particularly get on well
• Heather Klein: Beat Johnny in an arm wrestle once
• Edwin Castellaneta: Rivals!

See the next page for Florida Riley.

[ViolentMedic]

For Marcy:
- Obviously nothing needs to be said relating to Finn. xD
- Probably on decent terms with Candy, just through a mix of popularity, parties and both loving sweets. Maybe not big friends, but friendly acquaintances.

Got nothing for Koa currently, but we’ll see once I craft another couple of kids.

[KamiKaze]

So Marcy might know Ginger! Ginger's deal is that she's a sleazy rich Vegas girl who smokes, drinks, and sneaks into casinos because she's terrible. So, they might have run into each other at parties. I'm thinking that Ginger might have a casual interest in mixology, so I'm going to offer the same thing I did with Candy and suggest she once made her a drink as well (something like this, perhaps?). I don't think they'd be big friends, but they'd probably at least know each other.

[EllisWilson]

Wade Colter

Marcy:
- Wade has an issue with any delinquents on principle. Not enough to go out of his way to cause problems, but it’s noticeable. He’s also on the wrestling team, which makes him a jock, though I don’t know how that might affect anything.

Koa:
- Wade would LOVE this guy. Wades love of wrestling extends to pro wrestling as well, so I can see the two of them getting along based on that. Additionally, Wades not very outgoing, so him meeting someone who is who also has the same interest as him would be like nirvana.

[Fiori]

So Marcy might know Ginger! Ginger's deal is that she's a sleazy rich Vegas girl who smokes, drinks, and sneaks into casinos because she's terrible. So, they might have run into each other at parties. I'm thinking that Ginger might have a casual interest in mixology, so I'm going to offer the same thing I did with Candy and suggest she once made her a drink as well (something like this, perhaps?). I don't think they'd be big friends, but they'd probably at least know each other.

That cocktail looks horrifically garish. Marcy would probably love it, so can definitely see them operating within the same social circles.

Wade Colter

Marcy:
- Wade has an issue with any delinquents on principle. Not enough to go out of his way to cause problems, but it’s noticeable. He’s also on the wrestling team, which makes him a jock, though I don’t know how that might affect anything.

Koa:
- Wade would LOVE this guy. Wades love of wrestling extends to pro wrestling as well, so I can see the two of them getting along based on that. Additionally, Wades not very outgoing, so him meeting someone who is who also has the same interest as him would be like nirvana.

I don't think Marcy would think much of Wade unless he was more direct about his disapproval.

Koa and Wade could be wrassle buddies, for sure. Koa's more into the theatrical side of wrestling than the technical side of things, though if there's an amateur wrestling program he's sure to be involved in that.

[Fiori]

Have decided to update this thread with the dude I'm currently planning to run as my third: Johnny Benowitz

Subject to change, obviously, but I'm about 80% sure at this point that I want to run Johnny in V9.

[Deblod100]

Johnny can get himself Joanne to gold dig him as a girlfriend.

[Fiori]

Johnny can get himself Joanne to gold dig him as a girlfriend.

Will give that idea some thought. There's potential for a funny dynamic there, for sure.

[AnimeNerd]

With Johnny here now, I can comment here for something new!

Johnny and Kip are two guys on the baseball team that aren't the most pleasant people...which means they're probably buddies. Kip probably gives him shit whenever his bragging doesn't fit with reality, but more along the lines of friendly-ish banter than genuine malice. Add to that the possibility of Johnny giving him hairstyling advice/tips (he wants partially pink hair, but he also wants to do more with it you know?) and this is probably one his healthiest relationships.

Also Kip is still trying to figure out his sexuality and everything, so I would be up for the two of them to have had a thing for a bit.

[Fiori]

With Johnny here now, I can comment here for something new!

Johnny and Kip are two guys on the baseball team that aren't the most pleasant people...which means they're probably buddies. Kip probably gives him shit whenever his bragging doesn't fit with reality, but more along the lines of friendly-ish banter than genuine malice. Add to that the possibility of Johnny giving him hairstyling advice/tips (he wants partially pink hair, but he also wants to do more with it you know?) and this is probably one his healthiest relationships.

Also Kip is still trying to figure out his sexuality and everything, so I would be up for the two of them to have had a thing for a bit.

I'm down for that, sounds like a fun dynamic. Johnny would be down to help a bro out with perfecting his own do, in a way that's definitely not brimming with homoerotic undertones.

[KamiKaze]

Dating: Johnny's a notorious flirt, and he's good looking enough to generally have a reasonable amount of luck with the ladies (and fellas, on occasion), though his relationships tend to be brief and shallow.

Well, if he ever wants a rich gambling party girlfriend... Ginger is right there.

[Dr Adjective]

Hello this is overdue!

Marcy!
The Marcy-Mercy double act is already confirmed but remind me to hash out details. It’s now in writing so I have no excuse.

We also know that Heather thinks she’s fake as hell.

Cheer squad? Grace certainly has some negative thoughts about Marcy’s trajectory… keeps them to herself, but it’s probably kind of obvious anyway.

Koa!
We’ve established Hope and Artemis, but consider perhaps that:
Mercy is involved in theatre. Could maybe be convinced to get involved in costume for him outside of that too?

And Grace is a football teammate, who’s ended up a bit less of a genderflipped-jock than I initially envisioned, more of a “dork with an obsession that she happens to be physically capable for”… she might be interested in D&D if he asked nicely. Would he be down for fantasy football? It’s like an RPG for sports people!

And Johnny the Hair!
Hope likes baseball a whole lot. She’s also nowhere near cool or hot enough to talk to him about it, or anything else. Potential for some one-sided feelings where she knows him mostly from the school team and by reputation, she actually buys into his hype somewhat? Wishes he could actually see her?

Mercy’s probably been associated with him at some point, romantically and/or musically. She’s not very good at guitar either, would be down to give what pointers she can anyway assuming he’s not insecure about that kind of thing? Not like he needs to be genuinely good to be in a high school tribute band anyway!

Speaking of one-sided: he definitely knows of Grace, strong chance she either turned him down or didn’t even realise she was being flirted with. Is Johnny the type to want the one that got away? Or to consider her an athletic rival? Rival thing might be a bit tenuous since they’re in different sports.

Heather… honestly probably doesn’t have that much of a problem with him? They move in opposed circles but from what I’m reading he’s an asshole in the self-aggrandising sense, not the being actively unkind sense? Plus she sympathises with his losing his dad. Doubt they’re friends but she doesn’t hate him. Why am I bringing all this neutrality up? Because she’s also a potential rival figure for him, I think. Maybe she beat him at arm wrestling once and he never got over it. I dunno.

[Fiori]

Dating: Johnny's a notorious flirt, and he's good looking enough to generally have a reasonable amount of luck with the ladies (and fellas, on occasion), though his relationships tend to be brief and shallow.

Well, if he ever wants a rich gambling party girlfriend... Ginger is right there.

Coolcool. Currently thinking of holding off until pregame is underway and concepts are finalized before deciding whether Johnny has an ongoing relationship, but can see him and Ginger getting along like peas in a pod.

Hello this is overdue!

Marcy!
The Marcy-Mercy double act is already confirmed but remind me to hash out details. It’s now in writing so I have no excuse.

We also know that Heather thinks she’s fake as hell.

Cheer squad? Grace certainly has some negative thoughts about Marcy’s trajectory… keeps them to herself, but it’s probably kind of obvious anyway.

Koa!
We’ve established Hope and Artemis, but consider perhaps that:
Mercy is involved in theatre. Could maybe be convinced to get involved in costume for him outside of that too?

And Grace is a football teammate, who’s ended up a bit less of a genderflipped-jock than I initially envisioned, more of a “dork with an obsession that she happens to be physically capable for”… she might be interested in D&D if he asked nicely. Would he be down for fantasy football? It’s like an RPG for sports people!

And Johnny the Hair!
Hope likes baseball a whole lot. She’s also nowhere near cool or hot enough to talk to him about it, or anything else. Potential for some one-sided feelings where she knows him mostly from the school team and by reputation, she actually buys into his hype somewhat? Wishes he could actually see her?

Mercy’s probably been associated with him at some point, romantically and/or musically. She’s not very good at guitar either, would be down to give what pointers she can anyway assuming he’s not insecure about that kind of thing? Not like he needs to be genuinely good to be in a high school tribute band anyway!

Speaking of one-sided: he definitely knows of Grace, strong chance she either turned him down or didn’t even realise she was being flirted with. Is Johnny the type to want the one that got away? Or to consider her an athletic rival? Rival thing might be a bit tenuous since they’re in different sports.

Heather… honestly probably doesn’t have that much of a problem with him? They move in opposed circles but from what I’m reading he’s an asshole in the self-aggrandising sense, not the being actively unkind sense? Plus she sympathises with his losing his dad. Doubt they’re friends but she doesn’t hate him. Why am I bringing all this neutrality up? Because she’s also a potential rival figure for him, I think. Maybe she beat him at arm wrestling once and he never got over it. I dunno.

Marcy: Definitely need to hash out the details about Marcy-Mercy some point, and can see Grace getting irked by Marcy's dalliance with delinquency.

As a brief aside, I'm kinda noticing an overall Jocks vs Punks dynamic across a lot of the concepts I've seen thus far. Whether or not that remains a thing once pregame proper starts is up in the air, but could be fun to lean into that a little? Clique rivalries and such?

Koa: Could see Koa asking Mercy for advice on how to make sick ring gear, yeah. And with the football teams being unisex he and Grace would be on the same team, which is neat. Would probably have to look into how fantasy football actually works, but can imagine him being into that kind of thing. (Hell, he'd almost certainly suggest World Wide Wrestling at some point)

Johnny: All those suggestions sound good to me. Can picture him being blissfully unaware of Hope's existence, having dated Mercy one time, been turned down/ignored when hitting on Grace and get absolutely thrashed in an arm wrestling contest with Heather before claiming he was totally going easy on her.

[JacobAllTradez]

Marcy Valerio

Edwin feels like the person that got beaten up by the gang before and now hates their guts. Edwin especially feels disappointed with Marcy, with him knowing her past and her ties with the popular crowd. Unfortunately for Edwin, he's a complete toad and should not be taken seriously.

Murray has, unintentionally, helped the gang out with distractions in the past, usually when it's time to stir up some chaos. Secretly, Murray does find Marcy cute, but recognizes that she has a boyfriend and prefers not to have his head taken off neck.

Skyla would express actual interest in the gang, if only to get rid of the notion of perfection permeating around her. With that said, Skyla would probably also remind Marcy to stay true to her roots and not stray too far from them. The last thing she'd want is for Marcy to alienate everyone in her circle for the gang.

Koa Tagaloa

Murray and Koa are on the football team which means you're a friend of Murray's by default. They're also jocks so that's another point in their favor. I can see them being pretty good bros with Koa trying to get Murray into pro wrestling.

Johnny Benowitz

I feel like Skyla has been hit on by Johnny before, only to be turned down. Given he's potentially now with Joanne, it may have been for the best.

Maggie and Johnny might have had a date arranged by their parents. It was...fine? i guess, but nothing Johnny would want to revisit. Maggie might still have a soft spot for him based on that one date, but it doesn't go beyond that.

You want a rival? Edwin's got you covered. Two arrogant dickheads in different fields is usually a recipe for disaster, especially when Edwin tries to show off his own skills. Incredibly, Edwin has beaten Johnny in a race once. It was the proudest moment of Edwin's high-school career and one of the only times people took him seriously.

Murray is...interesting. On one hand, they're both jocks, Murray on the football team, Johnny on the baseball team. They've most likely seen each other at parties before. Despite this, I don't think Murray would take too kindly to him because of his ego. Sports are usually team games, and when your head starts to swell up, that's where things go wrong. They haven't had a skirmish yet, but I feel that could be built up over time.

[Fiori]

Marcy Valerio

Edwin feels like the person that got beaten up by the gang before and now hates their guts. Edwin especially feels disappointed with Marcy, with him knowing her past and her ties with the popular crowd. Unfortunately for Edwin, he's a complete toad and should not be taken seriously.

Murray has, unintentionally, helped the gang out with distractions in the past, usually when it's time to stir up some chaos. Secretly, Murray does find Marcy cute, but recognizes that she has a boyfriend and prefers not to have his head taken off neck.

Skyla would express actual interest in the gang, if only to get rid of the notion of perfection permeating around her. With that said, Skyla would probably also remind Marcy to stay true to her roots and not stray too far from them. The last thing she'd want is for Marcy to alienate everyone in her circle for the gang.

Koa Tagaloa

Murray and Koa are on the football team which means you're a friend of Murray's by default. They're also jocks so that's another point in their favor. I can see them being pretty good bros with Koa trying to get Murray into pro wrestling.

Johnny Benowitz

I feel like Skyla has been hit on by Johnny before, only to be turned down. Given he's potentially now with Joanne, it may have been for the best.

Maggie and Johnny might have had a date arranged by their parents. It was...fine? i guess, but nothing Johnny would want to revisit. Maggie might still have a soft spot for him based on that one date, but it doesn't go beyond that.

You want a rival? Edwin's got you covered. Two arrogant dickheads in different fields is usually a recipe for disaster, especially when Edwin tries to show off his own skills. Incredibly, Edwin has beaten Johnny in a race once. It was the proudest moment of Edwin's high-school career and one of the only times people took him seriously.

Murray is...interesting. On one hand, they're both jocks, Murray on the football team, Johnny on the baseball team. They've most likely seen each other at parties before. Despite this, I don't think Murray would take too kindly to him because of his ego. Sports are usually team games, and when your head starts to swell up, that's where things go wrong. They haven't had a skirmish yet, but I feel that could be built up over time.

Marcy: All sounds good to me, chief.

Koa: Knuckleheads unite!

Johnny: Mostly good here, Johnny's parents (well, mom to be specific) isn't really the date arranging type, but that doesn't exclude the possibility he and Maggie may have dated nevertheless. Him and Edwin being arrogant douchbro rivals sounds fun in particular.