I Love Bees: Difference between revisions

 

{{quote|''"I've been thinking a lot about bees."''|'''Durga'''}}

 

 

The gist of the plot is that in 2552 an [[MacGuffin|alien artifact]] [[Literal Split Personality|splits up]] the human AI Melissa into three parts. One part stays in 2552, has amnesia and is named Durga. The other two parts, The Operator and The Sleeping Princess, are sent back in time to the website I Love Bees. Also with the latter is a [[Contagious AI|Trojan Horse]] AI sent by the alien enemy faction The Covenant as a spy. The Operator falsely believes The Sleeping Princess is the Trojan Horse, and tries to kill her. Participants in the ARG would communicate with The Operator and The Sleeping Princess to learn details of the plot, forming different factions for either character.

This is a heavily shortened summary. For the best guide to the game, see [http://www.wonderweasels.org/apiary/guide.htm here]; for just the audio drama, see [http://halo.bungie.org/misc/ilb_reordered/ here].

 

* [[Action Girl]]: Jan.

* [[Action Mom]]: Gladys and Gilly, both fulfilling the maternal role for Jan.

* [[Afraid of Needles]]: Yasmine.

* [[Alliterative Name]]: James James and Janissary James.

* [[Dead Serious]]: Thin Kinkle.

* [[Death Glare]]: Jan does this at Jersey after he makes a pervy comment.

* [[Delicious Distraction]]: Kamal interrupts Hiro's tirade by offering him koftas.

* [[Dirty Cop]]: There are few of these.

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: An IRS guy audits Jersey, so Durga [[Frame-Up|frames him]] for various crimes, makes his wife leave him, and has him transferred to Alaska. A guy unintentionally interrupts Durga's conversation, so she gets him fired and tells him his son isn't his. A guy follows orders given to him by the corrupt Major Standish and follows Rani around, so Durga frames him for grand theft auto.

* [[Doomed Hometown]]: Coral

* [[Doomsday Device]]: The deep-space artifact.

* [[Double Entendre]]: Jan jokingly suggests that the beverage dispenser should date the fire suppression system because the latter "really puts out".

** Used to underline Aiden's threat before he reveals he's kidding.

** Used when Herzog and Standish have their chat at the duck pond in which they trade threats.

* [[Even the Guys Want Him]]: Played with in regard to Aiden and his ponytail.

* [[Expy]]: Standish is very similar to Colonel Ackerson.

* [[Fantastic Slurs]]: “Refue”, for refugees. Plural is “refuse”.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: Repeatedly, but most obvious with the corrupt cop attempting to renegotiate with Aiden, and Jan's 'there's always a bigger dog' speech.

* [[Friendly Target]]: Jan discusses this as a reason not to get romantically involved with Jersey.

* [[Future Food Is Artificial]]: ''I Love Bees'' features a scene at a restaurant, where a character gawks at how the menu has ''real'' tuna, instead of what is implied to be this. Further implications of human society relying on this includes a mention of how Customs Agents were bribed with four ''goats''.

* [[Future Slang]]: "Ghosting", "refuse", "flash" etc.

* [[I Need a Freaking Drink]]: Kamal frequently needs a beer, even though he hates Earth beer.

* [[In Love With the Gangsters Girl]]: Kamal, in love with Sophia, girlfriend of Aiden. Despite Kamal initially being worried about Aiden attacking him, it turns out Aiden's a really decent guy, though, and most of the tension comes from Sophia simply being in a relationship with someone already.

'''Thin:''' No, just experience. }}

* [[It's a Long Story]]: Melissa says this before clarifying a few plot points.

* [[Loveable Rogue]]: Aiden.

* [[Madness Mantra]]: He's not insane so much as hyper-focused, but The Seeker's/Pious Flea's constant rumination of his program priorities comes off as this.

* [[Mafia Princess]]: Sophia dates gangster Aiden primarily for the benefits of being with a rich guy.

* [[Meaningful Echo]]: In reference to "[[Kiss Me, I'm Virtual|slut bots]]", Jersey flippantly says, "For a quality experience, the girl's got to be real." Later, upon making Durga confront the reality of being the [[Transhuman]] form of a dead little girl, he says, "For a quality experience, the girl had to be real." In Melissa's farewell letter to the players, she says, "It's been the last, best kind of quality experience. You made the girl real."

* [[Public Execution]]: ONI induces permanent comatose as a form of execution, and executions of traitors are broadcasted publicly. Standish uses this as a threat to get Rani to stop investigating him.

* [[Real Women Never Wear Dresses]]: In-universe example: Jan doesn't like it when you compliment her domestic skills.

* [[Right Place, Right Time, Wrong Reason]]: Durga assembles her crew and saves the world only because Jersey is a voyeur.

* [[Running Joke]]: 'Not me, the other dog who looks just like me', and everyone assuming Rani is a Sunday school teacher.

* [[Sacrificial Lion]]: James James.

* [[Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right]]: The raids on Chawla Base and Crystal Security.

* [[Shout-Out]]: Kamal's line “People think time is a river that flows in one direction, but time is an ocean” references the line "Some say time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction, but I have seen the face of time and I can tell you they are wrong. Time is an ocean in a storm" from the Prince in [[Prince of Persia]]. Both characters were played by the same actor: [[Yuri Lowenthal]].

* [[The Sixth Ranger]]: Rani Sobeck.

* [[Super Strength]]: All Spartans, although directly observed with Jan and James James.

* [[Techno Babble]]: Done by Kamal.

'''Mr. F:''' Jesus, just show me the thing already. }}

* [[The Ace]]: Yasmine, and Jan. Drives at least two of the plot threads.

* [[The Casino]]: Kamal's first job for Aiden is helping the owner of one of these find out how people are counting cards as a group. He plays the illegitimate business man, and seedy thuggish part completely straight.

* [[The Illegal]]: Sophia.

* [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]]: Jan spends some time trying to figure out whether or not it makes sense to kill bad people. She later tries to kill a bad guy, but Gilly stops her because she doesn't want to see Jan become [[He Who Fights Monsters|hardened by killing]] like happened to Gilly.

* [[Understatement]]: During the exposition:

'''Jersey:''' Durga doesn't know, but she thinks it'll probably be bad. }}

* [[What Does She See in Him?]]: Kamal wonders this about Sophia in reference to Aiden.

* [[You Bastard]]: A lot of the story involves the concept of spying on people for entertainment and how it's unjustifiable but people do it anyway. Kamal does it, but feels insulted when Jersey does it to him. Jersey does it, but notes it would be creepy if someone did it to him. The Sleeping Princess spies on him saying this and agrees with the sentiment. As the characters in an alternate reality game are supposed to exist in the same universe as the player, it [[Your Mileage May Vary|can feel like]] the player is just another person in this chain.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Alternate Reality Game]]

[[Category:I Love Bees]]