Monday Mashup #34: Madonna (April 05, 2004)
Our mashup subject today comes to us care of Ginger, whose own gaming meme I have shamefully neglected. She put forth the divine M — not Bette Midler, but Madonna. You can use any incarnation, or you can use her ever-changing nature to concoct a rich gaming stew.
Don’t think too hard about that last metaphor.
Alas, I did think too hard about my unfortunate turn of phrase, leaving me with no alternative but to use All Flesh Must Be Eaten.
So it turns out that the only way to get real longevity out of a pop star is to remove all their independent thought. Oh, sure; you’d think that there are some trite artists out there who’d never rebel against their label, but no; before you know it even ex-Menudo members are getting all avant garde. There’s really no good alternative other than eating the pop star’s brain. (Tastes good with milk.)
Once you do that, aging doesn’t matter quite so much — ask Dick Clark. Madonna underwent the process some time ago, which is one reason why she’s been able to reinvent herself all the time. She’s the perfect blank slate on which to write the trend of the moment.
Or is she? The plot starts in the easy place — the PCs are friends of a would-be pop star who’s getting sucked into the high priced world of zombie-making. It’s kind of like haute couture; you want the really good zombie creators for your potential star. The PCs must save said pop star, even if he resists.
The twist comes when Madonna contacts them to ask for help. She’s somehow managed to maintain her individuality throughout the zombification process… hm, or maybe she’s just gotten it back somehow? Not sure. Either way, though, the initial plot transmutes into the Zombie Pop Star Freedom Revolution. Starchildren crossovers are optional.
Comments
That qualifies as Wednesday Weird, too.
:)
This one really begs for Fading Suns. Seriously.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/xiombarg/495491.html
Though that zombie thing is really, really strange.
Here's a take for Amber:
Madonna, obviously, is a Shadow of Flora. In fact, she's a whole series of Shadows of Flora, which are gradually sliding in a slightly different direction from the rest of Earth, resulting in the perceived series of personae.
Why should the players be concerned? Well, at a minimum, it's peculiar and represents a phenomenon that hasn't been observed before; those are always worth looking into (says Aunt Fiona). At worst, Earth's reality could rip apart at the Madonna Intersection.
The twist: the players deal with the Madonna problem, but Earth's Shadow continues to destabilize. Soon enough, they discover that Madonna has been a diversion all along--she's just some pop star. The real problem is David Bowie, Shadow of Mandor...
My belated response attached.
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Madonna in Three Hundred Thirty-Three Persons: An Unknown Armies Mashup:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/mgrasso/360139.html