White Cell FAQ
What is the White Cell Saga?
Hey, remember how the old story had this giant, nigh-unstoppable army? The Grand Army? That like, beat the Dark Gods, and giant space ants, and Web-wide conspiracies?
…what if the Grand Army WAS the bad guy? And led by Celiose Cole’s long-lost daughter? (Who, at one point, it was thought we would never hear from again!?)
Remember – the Grand Army was formed to defend and protect the Web. And the Web mostly just fights wars with each other.
Is this a reboot?
More like a relaunch. We should think of this as a continuation of the same story and same continuity, but in a different form.
Who can participate?
Everyone! Although I assume most people participating will be Kupopolis old hands, my hope is that the story will be accessible enough for anyone.
I would love to write – why, I remember back in the day, I wrote SO MANY WORDS!!! But now, I’m not so sure I can write as much.
Join the club! You are surely not alone in this boat.
Um, ok, so…it’s actually been like, ten years or so since I’ve looked at anything Kupopolis-related. I’m a little hazy on certain things.
The short version: many worlds (most loosely based on classic video games) are linked together in a “Web of Worlds.” Several decades ago, there was a Great War between the Light Gods and the Dark Gods of the world. Eventually the nations of the world teamed up to forge a massive, Grand Army to beat the Dark Wrath. Then the Web’s various Great Powers spent the next decades squabbling amongst each other for power or influence.
…it’s worth pointing out that anyone writing in this story should keep in mind that they are effectively re-introducing most of the world and characters. I remember quite a lot about the various minutiae of, say, the Tasnica Republic, but when even a fairly important character like Kenny Brackhaven shows up, I know that I will basically need to introduce a lot of stuff anew.
Also, almost all of the old story posts on the Proper board are still up, and the wiki is actually pretty thorough and complete. That said, the wiki is written more as a reference, and it might be a little daunting.
…and, of course, you can just ask in the story discussion forums if you’re not sure about something. It’s been a long time for all of us.
Where does the story start?
At the beginning! (har, har.) The death of a major political figure threatens to once again plunge the web into a major war between the Great Powers.
However, a faction of the Grand Army –known as White Cell – is determined to end the cycle of pointless wars and violence that have dominated the Web since the Great War. Even if that means peace must be imposed on the Web at the point of a gun.
The existence of White Cell is not known to any of the characters (who are not themselves are part of White Cell, anyway.) As far as most people in the story are concerned, this is just another “next big war.”
When does this take place, compared to everything else?
52 WR. This is about five story years after posting petered out on the old boards. This small allows for any important developments we may want to have happen, but all the old Proper elements are (potentially) still around and kicking.
Ok. So…I’m afraid to ask…but Kupopolis had a lot of countries. Which ones do I need to remember?
Ok, so let’s start with the four “Great Powers.”
Scandian League – Communist dictatorship based in the Dragon Dimension (“the Breath of Fire Dimension”). They have a strong military and have spent the past few years expanding the Communist Protectorate in other nations. Led by Travin Rumanski, a pragmatic tyrant who has had nearly total control of the League for almost twenty-five years. As the story begins, they are contemplating the prospect of a second Leviathan War with…
Kingdom of Guardia – Technologically advanced constitutional monarchy in the Gate Dimension (“the Chrono Trigger Dimension”). Guardia has stridently opposed communist expansion in the Web, including forming an anti-Communist alliance with Eblan. Guardia is led by King Derik (“the Firebrand”), and Prime Minister Khalid Morris.
Esper Union – Based in the Esper Dimension (“the FF6 dimension”), the Esper Union is an authoritarian dictatorship. They have been dealing with internal strife recently – the nation of Doma, formerly part of the EU, has achieved independence. Currently, they are led by a junta of military and business leaders.
Tasnica Republic – Democratic nation based in Mana (“the Secret of Mana Dimension”), but they have territory throughout the Web. The Web’s largest economy. Led by Prime Minister Kenneth Brackhaven, who is about to really regret staying on for a third term.
Additionally, two other countries that are useful to remember:
Eblan – Country in the Crystal Dimension (“the FF4 Dimension”). Eblan has tried to balance the Great Powers against each other. A succession crisis in Eblan kicks off the story, as rival claimants are backed by different powers.
Ticondera – Once the largest and most powerful country in the Web, Ticondera has spent the past fifteen years locked in a brutal civil war between various “successor states.” The Scandian League backs the largest of these, the Federation of Ticonderan Socialist Republics. The Tasnicans own part of Ticondera, but they’ve outsourced security to a mercenary unit of ex-Grand Army soldiers (which turns out to be a White Cell front organization!)
Of course, many of the other countries of the Web may become involved in the course of the story – these are just the important players to know at the beginning.
Ok. So how will this be structured? Will we have threads for every dimension like we did back then?
The threads of the story will be built around “chapters,” the major events of the war.
Rough outline is something like this:
Chapter I. The Match is Struck – Edge, King of Eblan, dies with no heir, Eblan erupts into civil war between Guardian-backed Kurita and Scandian-backed Mitsuhama claimants. Scande invades Eblan. Appears to be the opening salvo of a Second Leviathan War – until White Cell shows up and crushes both of them.
Chapter II. The Day the Web Turned Upside Down - The Battle of Albrook – White Cell against the Grand Army. Celiose vs. Erdeny. All of the Old Breed, turned against each other.
Chapter III. Republikdammerung - The Quadfront. Lots of big fighting over Tasnica’s cities, including valuable economic real estate and the Void Bridge. Various heroes and volunteer forces flock to defend this critical front, which could decide the war.
Chapter IV. Foopocalypse Now. A team of heroes must infiltrate the White Cell hidden base and destabilize dark matter to cut them off from their Infinite Resources Bitch. (I think of this as Mass Effect 2, with Praxer Riose as The Illusive Man.)
Chapter V. The Dragon Roars. The Scandians lead a major counter-offensive, inflicting heavy losses on White Cell forces.
Chapter VI. The Firefight. Enraged by recent White Cell defeats, Erdeny starts laying waste to Dragon, and the rest of the Web must ride to the rescue of the dimension in the huge space battle.
Are these chapters set in stone?!?!? I have a great idea I want to add!
Then get in touch with Travis and see about developing it further! The above is a rough outline, and it’s already been changed a few times. I think a general plan is useful, but it doesn’t need to be set in stone.
What about a new dimension, or a totally new country?
Well…the White Cell Saga is the conclusion for many, many elements of Proper. If there was an existing corner of the Web that you felt was underexplored or would like to revisit, or has undergone significant change, it is worth it to include it.
I do not think it is appropriate to add new dimensions during the White Cell Saga. After White Cell, though, comes Kupopolis Reborn, which is another matter – and hopefully the interested parties will be able to come up with a Reborn Web that honors continuity while allowing for creative freedom.
Hey, speaking of Kupopolis Reborn, what’s up with that? Why aren’t we doing that?
Well, because we talked a little bit about relaunching the story set after White Cell. But in planning for Reborn, it became clear: people really wanted to do a huge war! And also, it’s such a huge story, and such an important moment for the Kupopolis universe, it’s a shame to have it all happen “off camera.” (“Oh, hey, Celiose, one of the story’s central characters since like 1995? He’s gone now. It was awesome. Honest.”)
We are still planning on doing Reborn once White Cell finishes. Reborn will have the full scope of the Kupopolis universe, unlike White Cell which is mainly focused around one (really big) plotline. Our very own Mike is also coding a new Web structure for use in Reborn.
I want to write a story, but I want to revisit an older time in Proper/Neo/Legends/The Great War/Sahl Endeberg/Some Other time.
We have a separate forum for that, Kupopolis Gaiden.
Didn’t people already post their notes about White Cell and Reborn? What’s the point of doing this story if we know everything that happens?
Well…posted notes are not necessarily set in stone. They mostly represented brainstorming and the feeling that we had these notes kicking around, we might as well post them. As I’m sure everyone here knows, the preliminary notes are often very different from the finished product.
And plus…don’t you want to see how it happens?
There have been lots of attempts to make Kupopolis great again. How is this different?
Well, after being on hiatus for many years, a funny thing happened – a bunch of Kupopolis writers found each other, and it turns out, almost all of us were still carrying a special place in our heart for the story.
That’s actually pretty mind-blowing. That’s the kind of thing that deserves to be celebrated. While it’s probably unlikely we’ll be churning out hundreds of thousands of words like the good old days, it’s worth getting everyone together for a reunion.
Speaking for myself, although I am excited for Reborn, I see this as a chance to bring many of the plot threads of Proper to a fitting end. I don’t want the end of so much creative output of my youth to be, “I got busy and I couldn’t do it as much anymore.” This is the chance to finish the story with the grace and dignity it deserves, while laying the foundation for the next story.