LITA Round 5: Secrets, Secrets

### Notable Character Appearances

Andrew O'Rourke, Dr. Anil Jhandir, Rebecca Tyler, Cordelia French, Phinn Atwood, Liz Maximoff, Tristan Curtis, Millie Atwood

## Continuity

### Next Round

NALITA Round 2: Relationships

**Secrets, Secrets** is the fifth round of Battle for London-In-The-Air. The round began on September 29, 2016 and ended on December 10, 2016.

## Synopsis

### ROUND SETUP

Elections are over. The rebellion has new leaders and new bases and new confidence. Most of the old scars left by the attack on the Pi base have healed. The Resistance is getting some distinguished guests from the Manhattan Society of Advanced Agriculture, an American group sympathetic to their cause, as well as reinforcements from the ranks of Low Towners that the Resistance has helped to escape. Government scientist Thaddeus Beck has just defected, faking his death and offering to put his skills and knowledge to use for the Resistance. Most of the government, meanwhile, seems convinced that the rebellion has been squashed for good.

But all is not well.

Slowly but steadily, government surveillance of supposed "former" resistance members have been increasing. Attempts to set up new bases beyond the 5 already established are being consistently thwarted. Mysterious disappearances still occur throughout the city. Whatever the government is planning, it hasn't yet been stopped.

And someone, somewhere, knows everything about everyone - and isn't afraid to share that information with the world unless certain conditions are met.

### THE ARCHIVIST

Mysterious warning letters keep arriving at the base on the Lambda-Nu crossing. All of them are written in Resistance code and are signed by "The Archivist".

Helena Spencer-Curtis has stated the main message of the notes: someone has been watching and noting EVERYTHING in LITA. They know all about the government and about the Resistance. And they have all of that info at their disposal. Some information included in the letters have proven that this mysterious person does indeed know quite a lot. They are a very real threat... and a potential asset.

The Archivist claims that their goal is to root out corruption, whether in the government or in the Resistance. Those who hide nothing needn't fear. But, in any murky underground organization, who really has nothing to hide?

This is all that has been said. No direct threats, no elaboration as to whether the Archivist plans to actually reveal secrets to either the government or the Resistance. No specifics as to when and where any secrets might be revealed.

Just that vague assertion that the Archivist (whoever they are) knows all and can reveal all and might reveal all for reasons and by means no one yet knows.

### SECRET GUESSING

Have some suspicions about what background characters/NPCs are hiding? Need a few tricks up your OCs' sleeve? Searching for some blackmail fodder? Seeking a new plot hook? Want to guess what some of the background characters' secrets are in preparation for the next few rounds?

Check out this set: ~~http://www.polyvore.com/battle\_for\_lita\_round\_guess/set?id=205897630~~ **See below for Secrets**

There's a bonus point opportunity there based on a chance to guess some NPC secrets via PM. If you get them right, your OC learns those secrets and can use them as they please. If five or more people guess one secret right, that secret becomes public at the end of Round 5.

I know I keep encouraging this, but I promise you, guys: this is meant to be a helpful and fun opportunity, and the more guesses people make, the juicier and more conflict-riddled the story will become. You have the power to shape the future of LITA with this! And believe me, no guess is a stupid guess - almost every guess I've gotten so far that was prefaced with something like "I don't know" or "that would be a big plot twist" or "this seems a little out there, but..." was RIGHT haha.

There's crazy stuff going on under the surface. Now is a chance for your OCs to dig it up and use it in their stories :)

#### Secrets

1. Was Mayor Steers' mentor and father figure up through his early rise to power?

2. Is the main mole feeding resistance information to the government?

3. Is not going by their birth name/legal name/real name? (Hint: More than one person has this secret.)

4. Was recently betrayed by their only close friend and now seeks revenge on a massive scale?

5. Is trying to dismantle the government's most recent offshoots of their cyborg experiments from the inside? (Hint: More than one, and NOT Lord Beck.)

6. Who plans to seize control of the government when objectively stronger players have all taken each other out of the game? (Hint: More than one, and they're not in cahoots with each other.)

7. Is in the government but could potentially be swayed to switch sides? (Hint: This is more than one person, and guessing some other secrets correctly might help point you towards who these people are more than their initial bios will.)

8. Are secretly a pair of siblings (though only one of them knows it)?

9. Has the most military experience of any LITA NPC? (Hint: It's not Captain Scarborough.)

10. Is considering resigning from their current position out of sheer terror of their boss?

11. Has been told by multiple doctors that they are expected to live about a year longer, maybe less?

12. Are currently having an affair with each other?

13. Is the person Elmira Hazard would actually like to marry?

14. Is secretly an agent of the Prime Minister tasked with monitoring the developing situation in LITA?

15. Was born a b.astard child?

16. Is deathly allergic to bees?

17. Murdered someone in cold blood for their money (Hint: More than one person has this secret)?

18. Had parents who were victims of numerous hate crimes, culminating in their father's death?

19. Is the best fighter of all the non-assassin, non-military government NPCs?

20. Abandoned a wealthy background and left their homeland after killing their best friend in a duel?

21. Struggles to sleep without having the tiny stuffed toy their mother made for them as a child under their pillow?

22. Is dyslexic and was considered "stupid" as a child?

23. Are the closest things the resistance has to professional assassins? (Hint: More than one person has this secret.)

24. Is the secret benefactor of several orphanages and a hospital for the poor, and without any intentional ulterior motives?

25. Once ran off to join the circus but was found by their family and dragged home after only a few months?

26. Went through a "masked crime fighting vigilante" phase in their younger years?

27. Is deeply in love with Chauncey Spencer?

28. Is the most powerful and influential scientist in LITA, and the driving force behind the current cyborg zombie program?

29. Is insanely superstitious and holds regular privates seances in an attempt to contact their dead loved ones? (Hint: More than one character has this secret.)

30. Recently aborted an attempt to assassinate Mayor Steers at the last possible second?

31. Has attempted an assassination of Chairman Hazard (and was dang near successful, at that)?

32. Has attempted an assassination of Charlotte, Lady Sterling?

33. Was a founding member of the rebellion but returned to the government early on?

34. Is planning to assassinate Dr. Massey for purely personal reasons?

35. -----

36. Is the child of a Hazard?

37. Is the child of Vernon Massey?

38. Will assassinate Mayor Steers (unless stopped for some reason) within a week of the chronological end of Contest 5?

39. Have been bitter arch-rivals in their field since youth (two characters)?

40. Saw a parent of theirs killed by Ambrose Lynch but was spared themselves (likely against official orders)?

41. Has a memory so good that they are practically a walking back-up system for key resistance files and info, but does not widely share this so as to avoid becoming a major target?

42. Rejected romantic advances from a young Everett Steers?

43. Abandoned their career after their partner at work was tortured for information and then killed by government agents for discovering what had happened to said partner's own family members?

44. Is semi-closely related to Chairman Hazard and Charlotte, Lady Sterling and thus is invited to many of the Hazards' and Sterlings' events without having to pull any strings at all - but is considered just enough of a black sheep that the familial connection isn't explicitly publically acknowledged?

45. Is a personal friend of the current Prime Minister?

46. Is part of a continent-spanning secret society?

47. Writes scandalous, weighty, world-questioning poetry widely published in more radical papers and journals, but under a pseudonym?

48. Was born in the Low Town but escaped? (Hint: Multiple characters have this secret.)

49. Has been being sporadically blackmailed by someone they considered a good friend, and for almost two years at that?

50. Once saved young Everett Steers from being beaten up by a group of older boys when they were in school together?

51. Is the Archivist?

## Round Requirements

### SET:

[] 1+ Pictures of your OC (+4)

[] 1+ Pictures of one of the NPCs arriving this round (meaning either Lord Beck, or one of the NPCs listed here: http://www.polyvore.com/battle\_for\_lita\_round\_info/set?id=207079322) (+4)

[] 1+ Pictures that either come up when you search "steampunk" on Polyvore or that you found in a steampunk collection on Polyvore (+4)

[] This item: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/thing?id=98302557 (+4)

[] A silhouette, outline, or shadow of a person (+4)

Set Total: [ /20 ]

### BONUS:

[] An image of a book, journal, or library (+1)

[] A text filler (+1)

[] The word "secrets" (+3)

Bonus Total: [ /5 ]

### STORY

[] Who in the Resistance does your OC trust the most? Who do they trust the least? The characters mentioned here can be either other members OCs or background characters/NPCs. (+3)

[] Write about your OC meeting one of the newcomers to the Resistance (either Lord Beck, or one of the NPCs listed here http://www.polyvore.com/battle\_for\_lita\_round\_info/set?id=207079322). How does your OC feel about the resistance's growing numbers, and do they look forward to working with new people? (+5)

[] How does your OC react to the Archivist's vague threats to reveal random secrets about both LITA's government and the Resistance? What do they personally think the Archivist wants and/or is going to do? Are they afraid, curious, nervous, or something else? (+7)

[] OOC: Of the secrets listed in the Secret Guessing set for this round (http://www.polyvore.com/battle\_for\_lita\_round\_guess/set?id=205897630) except for #51, which 5 would you most like to see revealed at the end of this round? List the numbers of the 5 secrets in order, starting with the one you want to know the most and ending with the one you want to know the least, (+5)

Story Total: [ /20 ]

Tag mods: @decoder13, @trulydear, and @sakuuya

Group Link: http://www.polyvore.com/battle\_for\_london-in-the\_air\_steampunk/group.show?id=199474

FINAL TOTAL: [ /45 ]