Tropetown: Escape from Sitcom (RP)

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The sun rises on another day in Tropetown. Tropetown is a town just like you or I… well, except for the fact that many crazy creatures live. Don’t worry, they’re just like you or me. They go to work, they pay their bills… but most importantly… they get into wacky situations!

Some people have had breakfast and have come out of their houses to greet their friends and neighbors.

Edited by AlmightyTallestSmall on Dec 7th 2023 at 5:39:59 AM

As if through the whole neighborhood, the sound of a synthesized orchestra plays during their morning routine. No one minds it though, because it has always been there.

In one of these houses, a big man named Stuart Chunder walks down from his upstairs bedroom. “Good morning, everyone, how have you been?”

Edited by CanuckMcDuck1 on Dec 9th 2023 at 5:38:29 AM

Stuart’s family had just been watching the news.

“And it seems we’ll have a nice sunny day, perfect for going outside and meeting your neighbors!” The weatherman says.

Patty and Dalton are having a small breakfast next to their nest kitschy kitchen. The house itself is covered in greens and dark browns all around. “I’m wonderful dear. The mailman was nice enough to deliver the mail directly.”

Stuart smirks at the thought. “Still feeling bad about the ice incident?” Cue a mysterious laughter that echoes throughout the house, yet isn’t even noticed. “Let’s see here, junk, junk, jury duty, junk, alimony,” He’s almost about to throw out the last letter before Patty patiently puts her hand on his shoulder. The two share a glance as laughter continues.

Edited by CanuckMcDuck1 on Dec 11th 2023 at 8:12:25 AM

SHATTER!

A newspaper flies through one of the windows, almost hitting Patty, who ducks. The paperboy peeks in sheepishly.

“Sorry, Chunder family. Don’t know my own strength nowadays.”

Laughter echoes as the paperboy cycles away.

Edited by AlmightyTallestSmall on Dec 11th 2023 at 6:43:28 AM

Patty states out at her broken window while Stuart checks the newspaper “Hmm look at that.” “What is it?” She hovers over. “Local boy becomes star pitcher.” He sarcastically replies. “Say Dalt, why don’t you make your pops proud and do that for a living?” The audience laughter continues for a few seconds before suddenly vanishing, as if it’s looking at something else. No one notices as they carry out their everyday routine, Patty cleaning up the shards of broken glass and Stuart getting on the couch. The audience cheers return along with a musical sting.

Edited by CanuckMcDuck1 on Dec 11th 2023 at 9:26:43 AM

The doors of the Windemere-Albin mansion swing open, and Savannah steps out, surveying the meticulously-kept grounds with a satisfied smile. "Good morning, Tropetown!" she calls out cheerily, taking everything in. "It's a beautiful day... especially now that I'm part of it."

"It is indeed, Miss Savannah," the butler Milo adds in agreement, as he stands behind Savannah. Appearing to be a handsome, well-groomed man of indeterminate age, the headphone-like modules over his ears reveal his true nature as an android created by Win Tech, Savannah's mother's company. "I hope you enjoy your walk," he adds with a bow.

Savannah strides elegantly down the front path, the gate opening before her. "Now then, let's see what's happening today," she muses as she takes her phone from her bag and starts checking it over for anything that might give her a good idea of how she should spend her time. It doesn't seem to be a school day, so the possibilities are... well, not endless, but certainly numerous.

SHATTER!

A newspaper flies through one of the top windows of Savannah’s house.

The paperboy looks at Savannah, then at the window.

“Ooh… sorry about that. Hey, look on the bright side… at least it seems you’ll be able to pay for the damages.. heheh.”

Laughter echoes without no-one hearing.

Edited by AlmightyTallestSmall on Dec 11th 2023 at 8:16:05 AM

As Savannah gapes in shock at the broken window, Milo turns and heads back inside, clearly heading to deal with the mess.

"Well... Dad's going to have some very strong words for the newspaper company," Savannah finally comments. "Words like... 'hostile takeover', perhaps."

Soon, a cheerful ringtone plays from Savannah's phone. The caller ID reads "Milo."

"Finished already?" Savannah asks, pleased with the butler's performance.

"Yes, Miss Savannah," Milo replies. "Would you like to see the newspaper now?"

"I suppose so," Savannah answers. She'd almost forgotten to look at it before leaving. At Savannah's words, Milo appears at the broken window and tosses the newspaper in Savannah's direction. Fortunately, her athleticism kicks in and she's able to make the catch. "You're always so efficient, Milo," Savannah quips, before putting away her phone and taking a look in the newspaper.

She looks at the paper.

"LOCAL PAPERBOY FIRED FOR WRECKING WINDOWS. PAPERBOY CONSIDERS LITTLE LEAGUE CAREER AT TROPESTOWN LAMPSHADES."

"Very interesting." a voice says from behind Savannah. A man in dark shades, black business suit, and with an ear piece in his ear was standing behind Savannah, reading the newspaper over her shoulder.

-space reserved for Savannah's reaction and laugh track for however Agent Johnson ends up on the ground-

The man hastily checks to make sure his sunglasses are in place before pulling out a white handkerchief and holding it to his bleeding nose. Looking up at Savannah from where he is now sprawled on the ground, he says "Excuse me for star'ling you, miff... muh name is Agent 'ohnson from the Bureau. I'm here on an invest'ation."

His words are distorted and muffled by the fact he's pinching his own nose. With his free hand, he pulls out a leather walled that has a photo government ID and a golden badge with the letters "BSWM" stamped on it.

Agent Johnson puts the badge away and gets to his feet, then asks. "Have you noticed anything... unusual... going on?" he asks, trying to make air quote with his free hand when he says 'unusual'. His left hand remains keeping the handkerchief in place, careful not to keep any blood from landing on the ground.

Edited by Nodrog on Dec 12th 2023 at 9:21:58 AM

An unseen audience goes "Oooh!" in response to this development.

Agent Johnson is still a bit startled from the fall, so he doesn't hear it.

Savannah doesn't notice it too.

Out on his morning stroll, Stuart stumbles on the two staring confused into the distance, which he assumes to be them noticing him. “Morning Savannah, how you doing? Me personally, I’m only jogging because the doctor says it’ll stop [air quotes] ‘palpitations’. Whatever those are. The laugh track once again plays unbeknownst to Stuart. “You’re new here, Mr. secret agent man? What are you here to do, apprehend communists?”

Edited by CanuckMcDuck1 on Dec 16th 2023 at 9:04:00 AM

"I'm here investigating." snaps Agent Johnson. He points at the newspaper. "For example, in that headline, did you notice the 'L's in Local are clearly aligned differently, as if hand-set instead of by machine?"

Stuart curiously looks over where the Agent is and sees him pointing at the page’s headline. For a moment, he does notice how the L’s are more blocky and don’t fit with the page. He almost sees what the Agent is talking about before chalking it up as clearly just an error. “Well even machines can make mistakes!”

Laugh track plays once more, but somehow quieter.

"Kyaaaa!" Savannah screams as the agent makes his presence known. She reflexively tosses the newspaper backwards into his face, probably making him scramble around with some Hanna-Barbera-esque sound effects before falling over.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she says apologetically once she's calmed down a bit and Agent Johnson informs her of the situation. "I hadn't realized... I'll help however I can! But as for anything unusual... well, my friend Charlotte's been wearing an unusually ugly hat recently," she notes. "I've tried to tell her she's too good for it, but..."

Stuart arrives before Savannah can get too far into the details. "Oh, good morning, Mr. Chunder," she says with a wave. "I was about to go for a little walk myself, but distractions seem to be everywhere today."

"I hear you there. First, the paperboy plays like an Atari game, now the Ice Cream trucks have run out! What has this cul-de-sac come to?" Stuart sits down on the sidewalk. "Gotta wonder why I even moved here besides what Patty wanted."

Agent Johnson pulls out a notepad. "Ugly... Hat" he mutters, writing it down carefully. "Thank you for the information, miss. Your government thanks you." He pauses, then clears his throat. "This hat... it wouldn't be happened to be an old silk hat she found? Either in the style of a top hat or cone shaped?"

Edited by Nodrog on Dec 22nd 2023 at 2:04:14 PM

" Are you two busy or something? Because I can leave. I have all the time and then some in the world!" Stuart says with a cheeky face.

"Well, thank you for your time." says Agent Johnson. "Hopefully I can find some other people to talk with."

Agent Johnson turns, trips over Stuart, and face plants. He gets to his feet, brushing himself off with no sign that he's aware of Stuart's presence.

As Agent Johnson leaves, we fade over to Tropetown Middle School, one of the town’s many institutions for learning.

The sign at the school says “Spelling Tutors are Kneeded”.

Inside the school, eighth grade student Lina Caddel is typing away at her laptop, correcting the infuriating spelling error that somehow made it onto the public sign. This kid was very smart, despite having never made honor roll since the 5th grade. She just simply didn't try, and was too focused on video games to listen to the lessons. This was her detention activity for today. She hadn't done anything serious, just the usual inattentiveness.

The paperboy from earlier comes by and sits next to her.

"Hey, Lina! Y'know, you might be the only kid I've known to spend more time in this school on detention than actual learning."

(Laugh track plays)

"I can bust ya out if you want."

Edited by AlmightyTallestSmall on Jan 8th 2024 at 7:02:08 AM

"Bust me out? What are you going to do, break a window? I could escape in my sleep. Watch me," Lina said as she fiddled with something in her pocket. Suddenly an orchestral ringtone blared from the same pocket. Lina drew her cell phone, seemingly answering it and waited a few seconds to say, "Okay, Mom. I'm coming home." She put her phone away and told the detention monitor, "My mom wants me home." He gestured to the door and Lina walked out, winking at nobody in particular. (laugh track plays again)

Edited by TheLimaBean on Jan 9th 2024 at 9:03:00 AM

"Hmm... Clever girl." The paperboy says, before he and his chair suddenly fall down a sinkhole.

"Damien! I told you to start digging the hole *after* I gave the signal!"

(Laugh track plays)