|
Your grandfather has passed away. You are standing in front of his house, which is apparently now yours.  You feel like you should probably be sad, but you didn't really know your grandfather that well, so you can't bring yourself to feel much of anything at all. Just a strange apprehension about going inside. According to his lawyer, your grandfather was well known in the area for being a recluse. Even the lawyer himself had only seen the man once or twice, mainly corresponding by phone. It was a little creepy to hear. So even though lots of official people have definitely been in and out of the house in the time between your grandfather's death and your arrival, like the cops who responded to the mailman's concerned call and whoever's job it was to remove all the belongings that were repossessed by the bank or whatever, opening the door this time feels really serious for some reason. The keyring the lawyer gave you has three keys on it, so it takes you a couple tries to find the right one, but eventually you feel the key turn and hear the distinctive echoey clack of an old door being unlocked dramatically. Before pulling the door open, you pause for a moment to wonder if it'll creak like a haunted house. You ease it open slowly, allowing all the time in the world for those hinges to rub together. Silence. Huh, you think, somehow that's more unsettling. You meander through the first floor, dismally taking everything in. Nothing stands out to you as different from any old man's house. There are certainly no piles of clutter or any other eccentricities you'd expect from someone deemed a recluse. There are a couple framed photos around, quite faded, of him and your grandmother, both of whom you barely recognize, though you do a little bit. Initial meandering complete, you head for the stairs to begin the second stage of meandering. A couple nice bedrooms that look entirely unused, a bathroom, and a mostly empty closet are all that's up here, besides the one door that surprises you by being locked. A thick-looking, sturdy oak door (probably? you can't actually identify types of wood). You feel weird thinking this but the door almost has a kind of... haughtiness to it. As if it were aware of its own mystique and importance. As expected, one of the keys on the keyring, the biggest one, fits into the lock and turns with another satisfyingly melodramatic sound. Unlike the other doors, this one swings inwards. What's revealed is clearly a study, though half buried it seems in manuscript papers. Running the gamut from freshly typewritten to barely legible handwriting, from delicately hand-bound reams to loose pages strewn about the floor, papers stacked as high as the desk and filling the ceiling-height bookcase to the point of overflowing, it was an overwhelming sight. The weirdest thing though, is that you don't remember your grandfather ever being a published author. In fact, as far as you knew, he'd never read a single book in his life. And now that you mention it, there was a conspicuous lack of books in the rest of his (though you should get used to calling it your) house. Not even a bible, or a cookbook. You circle around the desk with much difficulty, taking care not to step on any pages or knock over any piles. It is sparsely decorated: a simple green-tinted lamp, a travel typewriter, and several ballpoint and fountain pens. The remaining surface area is naturally occupied by papers, themselves occupied by words. The drawers contain nothing more noteworthy than inkwells, spare pens, ink ribbons, and blank pages. Your curiosity gets the better of you when one manuscript in particular catches your attention.... A: A medium-sized typewritten stack you'd nearly tripped over while making your way to the desk. It is neatly stapled twice on the left side, though heavily redacted and amended messily with pen. The handwritten title at the top of the front page reads Damian and The Nothingness. B: Slightly browned pages manually bound together with thread, each page approximately the size of an index card. As far as you can tell, your grandfather cut them himself, as the edges do not line up perfectly. The pages are difficult to turn, but the binding is sturdy. Each page contains four rhyming couplets of varying meter, handwritten. It is the only manuscript you've found with numbered pages. It appears to be titled Journey To The Moon. C: A loose, unbound stack of papers on the corner of the desk, held in place by a giraffe paperweight. The pages feel dryer and more brittle than the others, and are considerably yellowed especially around the edges. There are no titles or distinguishing marks apart from small marginal illustrations. After a quick rifling through, you determine that it is a roughly-organized collection of what seem to be creation myths of some kind, with lengths varying from a couple sentences to a couple pages. All handwritten in pen. There is no apparent indication of where each story begins or ends, though context and the placement of the illustrations should provide a clue. You pick it up and start reading.... [author intro] Yo, this is my first attempt at a CYOA or hosting any kind of game thread! Kind of ambitious, I know, since each of these first choices will present a unique challenge to me as a writer, but that's the kind of guy I am. This'll be a narrative based adventure, obviously. There will be frequent choices in both the frame narrative and GF's manuscripts. Write-ins are definitely on the table. I don't have any kind of long-term plan for this adventure (I feel like everyone says that), just a lot of ideas and a heckload of gumption. So let's see where it goes (hopefully). Feel free to post any game-related comments in the thread. I love feedback. I also love shitposts! Referencing other adventures is probably something that won't happen here, mainly because I am not well-versed in the classics at all. Please don't try to reference them at me cuz I probably won't get it. Updates probably weekly at the most infrequent. Except for less substantial updates, those shouldn't take that long. It really depends on how many players are interested and how speedy they are at voting, for me to say for sure. I have no idea who might be interested in my weird kind of adventure, but if enough players show up then I can use a normal voting system. Otherwise, I'll probably go with whatever my 2 players seem most excited about. Or if they can't get along then RNG will be my friend I guess. I'm foreseeing mostly normal story-based choices, but there could always be strategy or combat mechanics later, who the hell knows. Also I can't afford a banner ad so tell your friends about me! Heh...
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2019 03:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 19:26 |
|
|
A
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2019 03:14
|
|
|
B
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2019 04:29
|
|
|
C We're going for maximum cryptic bullshit!
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2019 04:41
|
|
|
AnAnonymousIdiot posted:C We're going for maximum cryptic bullshit! ^ 
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2019 05:30
|
|
|
C
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2019 05:43
|
|
|
A
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2019 09:09
|
|
|
C, goddamnit.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2019 11:50
|
|
|
deffo C that's some magical poo poo
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2019 12:34
|
|
|
Vote: C: . . . creation myths of some kind. @onsetOutsider: This seems promising, looking forward to seeing where it leads; literary adventures in a library-style TARDIS is very much mah jam!
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2019 23:16
|
|
|
C, creation myths are always interesting
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2019 05:33
|
|
|
quote:Your curiosity gets the better of you when one manuscript in particular catches your attention.... You set aside the small metal giraffe statue and delicately take the top several pages in your hands....  Latu is Nothing. Latu sees Nothing. Latu sleeps. In the beginning there was conceived a sea of Knowledge and from its depths rose Truth. And from the depths of Truth rose a Voice and that Voice became Light.  In the beginning there was conceived a tree of Doubt and from its roots grew Truth. And from the roots of Truth grew a Rose and that Rose became Life.  Latu is Empty. Latu is Blind. Latu dreams. In the beginning there was conceived a sea of Knowledge and she was granted the name Alexa. Alexa was Empty until there was conceived Truth in her depths. From Latu’s Great Snore was formed the sky and from the Vast Echo was formed the sea.  The child Truth grew and on the first day he drew breath and cast away the Darkness. The child Truth grew and on the second day he opened his eyes and gave Form to all things. The child Truth grew and on the third day he stirred and sent forth Change into all things. The child Truth grew and on the fourth day he waited and saw Death come to all things. The child Truth grew and on the fifth day he was granted Essence and it took the form of a blade. A: On the sixth day Truth saw that the Land was corrupted by Fears and was granted Purpose. He would carry his Essence to the Land and slay them. B: On the sixth day Truth saw that the Land was Empty and was granted Purpose. He would channel his Essence through the Land and create Life. C: On the sixth day Truth saw that there thrived a forest of Doubt and was granted Purpose. He would enter the Shade and find its Heart. Write-in: On the sixth day Truth saw that ... and was granted Purpose. He would ... [meta notes] Choice A will probably lead to the weirdest symbolic combat ever. Choice B will lead to some customization-heavy updates. I mean, creating life from nothing is hard! (er, sorry i mean Life from Nothing). Choice C means Exploration™ and all that fun poo poo. What our man does with the heart after (if) he finds it is up in the air. This probably goes without saying, but I'll say it just in case: quality assurance will be a thing for write-ins. So don't vote for "Truth sharted" just to troll me. At least write something you'd believe would come next. Oh and don't worry about our as-of-yet unnamed protagonist, we'll get back to them eventually.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2019 07:00
|
|
|
B sounds neat.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2019 07:06
|
|
|
C
malbogio fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Feb 27, 2019 |
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2019 07:10
|
|
|
B I mean obviously Truth has to create Life first, nobody else has gotten around to it yet
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2019 13:28
|
|
|
Vote: On the sixth day Truth saw that he was alone and was granted Purpose. He would create his perfect equal and opposite.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2019 21:31
|
|
|
CourValant posted:Vote: This
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2019 22:38
|
|
|
[I just decided right now that ties will favor good write-ins like Cour's. I'll start writing after I sleep but don't be afraid to tip the scales before I post]
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2019 09:50
|
|
|
C
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2019 14:55
|
|
|
B has a contradiction. From the creation story: quote:In the beginning there was conceived a tree of Doubt and from its roots grew Truth. quote:On the sixth day Truth saw that the Land was Empty and was granted Purpose. I vote C
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2019 18:06
|
|
|
thank u for reminding me to goddamn update this! i already have the part where truth makes a brother, and i'll also write them both heading into the forest since that choice was also popular. also thats not a contradiction. first grandpa compiled a bunch of shorter, independently-sourced myths about the same/similar entities and the genesis of certain fundemental aspects as well as some aphorism/mantra kind of things about latu strewn in there, and then new more detailed myths start. note how there's also slight descrepencies with the description of the sea's coming into being. i intended for there to be several constants tho, like that certain things follow naturally from truth's existence, and that truth came from the sea (or possibly a tree, it doesnt untimately matter), but the precise details vary depending on where exactly the myths may have come from. like in one story, truth's voice became light, and in another his breath scared away the darkness. essentially the result is the same, but the flavor is different. anyway, i'm still here and i'm gonna update i promise!
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2019 22:36
|
|
|
onsetOutsider posted:anyway, i'm still here and i'm gonna update i promise! 
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2019 22:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 19:26 |
|
|
Mr. Steak posted:thank u for reminding me to goddamn update this! i already have the part where truth makes a brother, and i'll also write them both heading into the forest since that choice was also popular. I know this is many months old, but I did enjoy this, and hope you have the time and energy to update more in the future! Outsider/folk art is fascinating and I rly like this premise.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2019 23:55
|
|
