geniuswithasmartphone (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
geniuswithasmartphone) wrote2018-04-15 10:49 am
geniuswithasmartphone) wrote2018-04-15 10:49 am
Entry tags:
75 Godiva Street, Sunday Afternoon
"So, our client," Hardison said, clicking on the multiscreen display that made up the wall of the study specifically for this purpose, "is a little amusement park y'all might have heard about called Cupcake Kingdom?" He snorted. "It's only the first an' oldest privately-owned theme park in the country, based off them old Cuphead an' Mugman shorts from the 20s an' 30s." He clicked over to one of the more well-known cartoons, where Cuphead and Mugman were fighting off Cala Maria. Little Alec had had nightmares about that mermaid. "Which were, in turn, based off a vaudeville act back in the late 1800s--now, I ain't gonna show any of the ye old-timey footage of some of their acts, mostly cause they kinda get racist an' they ain't important anyway."
The next click of a button brought up footage of an amusement park, a compilation of generations of news stories, amateur video footage, even bits and pieces of movies that were shot on-location there. "So, Cuphead Kingdom was opened by Studio MDHR back in the late twenties right before the stock market crashed. There were other amusement parks open by then, but the Kingdom was the first one dedicated to a specific media property, rather than just a park with rides an' stuff. They weathered the Crash pretty well, managed to be one of the county's biggest employers durin' the Great Depression, an' even did okay durin' wartime because of the Cuphead cartoons that would play before the movies an' stuff. Bad times came in the 60s an' 70's after some other folks started gettin' the same idea." He flashed to pictures of Mickey Mouse and Mooby the Golden Calf. Cuphead did good enough to stay open through the end of World War II, but didn't really thrive. An' then when it started getting its feet back under 'em, competition came in swingin'. They kinda limped along through the 80s an' 90s, nearly closed for good after the dot.com bust in the early aughts. They closed down for about a decade, openin' only durin' the two weeks of the Fourth of July so it could keep its distinction of bein' the oldest theme park in America. Then, in 2014, it was bought out by a private investor, Mr. Harry Doonlogger of Doonlogger Entertainment."
All pictures of the amusement park vanished, taken up with information about Harry Doonlogger; pictures of his family, his associates, copies of his financials, and, most telling, several lawsuits. "In the three summers since Doonlogger bought the place, injuries an' lawsuits have skyrocketed. Maintenance an' upkeep have been practically abandoned; just enough to make it past inspection every year, which usually involves some new paint and some cleanin', but not actually takin' care of these old rides. The woman who contacted us, Susie Mariani, is a long-time employee of the park. She's been workin' there since the 80s an' her dad worked there before her. She got hurt this year when the Dr. Kahl's Robot Ride threw a bolt the size of her fist. If that had happened after they'd opened for the day, there probably would have been fatalities. She'd convinced that Doonlogger's runnin' the place into the ground so he can get around the contract he signed sayin' he wouldn't sell it to a theme park competitor so it could turn into another Six Flags or somethin'. But I--I ain't so sure."
[Establishy, unless the roommates want to tag in!]
The next click of a button brought up footage of an amusement park, a compilation of generations of news stories, amateur video footage, even bits and pieces of movies that were shot on-location there. "So, Cuphead Kingdom was opened by Studio MDHR back in the late twenties right before the stock market crashed. There were other amusement parks open by then, but the Kingdom was the first one dedicated to a specific media property, rather than just a park with rides an' stuff. They weathered the Crash pretty well, managed to be one of the county's biggest employers durin' the Great Depression, an' even did okay durin' wartime because of the Cuphead cartoons that would play before the movies an' stuff. Bad times came in the 60s an' 70's after some other folks started gettin' the same idea." He flashed to pictures of Mickey Mouse and Mooby the Golden Calf. Cuphead did good enough to stay open through the end of World War II, but didn't really thrive. An' then when it started getting its feet back under 'em, competition came in swingin'. They kinda limped along through the 80s an' 90s, nearly closed for good after the dot.com bust in the early aughts. They closed down for about a decade, openin' only durin' the two weeks of the Fourth of July so it could keep its distinction of bein' the oldest theme park in America. Then, in 2014, it was bought out by a private investor, Mr. Harry Doonlogger of Doonlogger Entertainment."
All pictures of the amusement park vanished, taken up with information about Harry Doonlogger; pictures of his family, his associates, copies of his financials, and, most telling, several lawsuits. "In the three summers since Doonlogger bought the place, injuries an' lawsuits have skyrocketed. Maintenance an' upkeep have been practically abandoned; just enough to make it past inspection every year, which usually involves some new paint and some cleanin', but not actually takin' care of these old rides. The woman who contacted us, Susie Mariani, is a long-time employee of the park. She's been workin' there since the 80s an' her dad worked there before her. She got hurt this year when the Dr. Kahl's Robot Ride threw a bolt the size of her fist. If that had happened after they'd opened for the day, there probably would have been fatalities. She'd convinced that Doonlogger's runnin' the place into the ground so he can get around the contract he signed sayin' he wouldn't sell it to a theme park competitor so it could turn into another Six Flags or somethin'. But I--I ain't so sure."
[Establishy, unless the roommates want to tag in!]