Light and Rain: Roleplay

ladybugheart • 2 June 2013 at 2:11 PM

Light and Rain::..

Legend speaks of a time; after many years, the heroes would finally awaken. Several people would play a game that would change everything.

Discussion thread: [We’re currently giving away cookies.]
http://www.eggcave.com/forums/topic/41371

The story begins on the second post! Skip down to read it, or take a look at the introduction right below. (THIS IS LONG. HAVE SNACKS READY. ;D)

Summary:
Several people install a game leading to a new universe only to find that they must enter it to narrowly escape death. As it turns out, survival isn’t their only purpose in this new land; they must save and rebuild the world, soon to be brought down. But this game isn’t one to be played, and they must risk their lives to do so.

This is an original roleplay that I wrote called Light and Rain! The character titles and parts of the setting are concepts derived from Homestuck, so credit goes to Andrew Hussie for that. However, as you will notice, this isn’t a Homestuck roleplay at all. If you have suggestions or questions, please let me know!

ladybugheart • 2 June 2013 at 2:12 PM

Story:

It’s late spring, approaching early summer, in a modern environment. A new game was recently released, and though its description was foggy at best, many still purchased it. To play, all you have to do is install it on your computer.

Once it’s installed, a message pops up, giving you some sort of “title” and a “planet.” You assume that everything will be explained once you begin gameplay and proceed, selecting a weapon of choice from a list of items.

Another message appears along with a timer counting down from five minutes.
“Proceed to the portal to enter the game.”

~

The heroes were unaware that their title would determine their role and powers within the game, and that their planets would be where they began their journey. And they had no idea that Earth would be destroyed.

As they installed it, meteors would come to destroy the Earth, and those successful in entering the game would be the only survivors. Outside their houses were the portals, the entrances, leading to another universe.

~

You go outside, scanning the area above your house, where there is a portal. There is also a meteor headed straight for you. The countdown: this is how long you have to escape. Five minutes. If you are to survive, you must reach it in time.

When you cross through, darkness surrounds you. You wake up in a new world, revolving around the name of your “land.” Your land, your title… exactly what did they mean?

Only animals are in sight, and by your side lies the item you chose as your weapon. You’re in a new place now, unharmed by meteors. But what happened to everyone else?

You entered the game and escaped, but those who didn’t faced destruction, just like the Earth. You, only an individual who happened to play a game that was more than it seemed. And yet, you are the player – the hero.

ladybugheart • 2 June 2013 at 2:13 PM

Backstory:

The heroes have entered this new universe, each awakening on their own planet. But why did this game exist, dragging these humans into it?

Long ago, the universe consisted of 144 small planets orbiting an equal distance around a kingdom known as the Center. Each planet had a unique species of simpleminded but civilized creatures called consorts. Every planet was also ruled by a distinctive denizen, an extremely large and powerful creature, but these denizens were not kind rulers.

The denizens’ glory was wrecked when they were all sentenced to sleep by the Center’s power. Each one slumbered in some sort of structure, and only the heroes would be able to enter and awaken the monster inside.

However, this wasn’t enough. Eventually, the denizens overcame the power withholding them and woke up. Using their combined powers, they demolished the Center.

~

With the Center gone, the planets orbited the empty space that came to be known as the Void. The denizens no longer had anything restraining them, but their powers were exhausted, and they continued their slumber. Meanwhile, ill-intentioned monsters came to exist on the planets as well.

But legend spoke of the humans, heroes who would save the world from the denizens and restore the universe. The consorts still waited for the day they would arrive.

The denizens, though still worn out, were able to send the meteors toward Earth to kill the heroes – and all the other humans – before they could arrive and overthrow them.

~

There was still one last hope, though. Before it was destroyed, the inhabitants of the Center developed a game, intended as a last resort to transport the humans into their universe. It was flawed, for the heroes were meant to come on their own, but it was necessary. The consorts sent out the game to the humans, which would allow them to awaken on their planets before meteors annihilated them.

Some meteors hit randomly, but others were sent toward certain locations, specifically the house of each person who installed the game. Five minutes; this is how long it took for one of these specially directed meteors to hit. And for those who understood the warning provided by the timer, this was how long they had to reach the portal.

And even with the game, many of the heroes would not escape the meteors. With each player that died, their respective planet was obliterated as well. The ones that did survive have now resided in this universe. Although they are safe from the meteors, they’re really in more danger than ever.

Each hero has unique powers that they will gradually uncover. With battles looming ahead, they must gain the experience and skill they need to defeat their enemies. Entering an unfamiliar environment with only their weapon of choice, nature is their opponent as well. And although the denizens are currently inactive, they won’t be for long. The damage these creatures did still takes a toll, leaving the heroes with the task of rebuilding the Center if they can.

ladybugheart • 2 June 2013 at 2:14 PM

How to play: Game information

Players install the game on a computer and are given a title and a planet name before choosing a weapon of choice. When they have finished, a meteor will be sent for them. They have five minutes to enter the portal above their house.

Inside, they awaken on a planet and lose connection with Earth. As there are 144 heroes, 144 people will install, each with a different title. Only a small percentage will successfully enter.

How to play: Titles and powers

Classes~
Heir – Heirs are powered and protected by their aspect.
Seer – Seers see and know their aspect.
Knight – Knights use their aspect as a weapon.
Witch – Witches change their aspect.
Rogue – Rogues steal their aspect for others.
Thief – Thieves steal their aspect for themselves.
Mage – Mages understand and are guided by their aspect.
Sylph – Sylphs heal their aspect and use it to heal.
Maid – Maids provide themselves with their aspect.
Page – Pages provide others with their aspect.
Bard – Bards influence others through their aspect.
Prince – Princes destroy their aspect and use it to destroy.

Aspects~
Breath – Breath is the aspect of wind and spirit.
Light – Light is the aspect of fortune and knowledge.
Time – Time is the aspect of entropy and change.
Space – Space is the aspect of creation and the universe.
Mind – Mind is the aspect of thought and choice.
Heart – Heart is the aspect of emotion and self.
Life – Life is the aspect of life force and health.
Void – Void is the aspect of secrecy and nothingness.
Hope – Hope is the aspect of willpower and trust.
Doom – Doom is the aspect of circumstance and destruction.
Blood – Blood is the aspect of unity and relations.
Rage – Rage is the aspect of chaos and tension.

Titles~

Titles reflect the players’ role in the game and determine their powers. Each title consists of a class and aspect, formatted as [Class] of [Aspect.] No two players can share a title.

Aspects~

Aspects are like elements. Your aspect determines what your powers revolve around. If you’re a hero of Light, your powers revolve around fortune, knowledge, and light itself.

Classes~

Your class decides what you can do with your aspect by channeling it into powers. However, your class does not limit your powers or decide how they are used. How you use them is up to you.

The Bard and Prince classes are male-only, while the Sylph and Maid classes are female-only.

Powers~

Powers are the special abilities you have according to your title.

A Knight of Light would use fortune and knowledge as a weapon. They might be lucky in attacks and know the most favorable place to hit an opponent. A Prince of Light would destroy their opponent’s luck or use luck to destroy their opponent.

Aspects can also be literal, so a Knight of Light could use light as a weapon while a Prince of Light could use light to destroy or destroy light itself, leaving only darkness. Heroes have multiple powers, all fitting with their title.

How to play: Planets

The players are given planet names, formatted as “Land of _____ and _____.” The two words can be nearly anything that might be used to describe the land.

Every land…
- Reflects the player’s title and possibly interests.
- Has a single species of consort, for example, turtles. There are no people.
- Has several portals to take the player to other planets.
- Has monsters that want to kill the player.
- Has a denizen locked away in a certain structure.

Feel free to be creative with your land, and keep in mind that the consorts can also speak.

Example:

Land of Ash and Pyramids; A mysterious world with lavender clouds above and ash covering the ground. Stone paths lead to large pyramids to explore. It is quite calm and cool in temperature, inhabited by brightly colored birds that communicate though song. There are forests of dead trees, and jagged rocks stick out of the ground. The denizen lives in one of the pyramids.

How to play: Battle

Players choose their weapon of choice, the main weapon they will wield, at the very beginning of the game. This can be anything. A pencil, a knife, a cookie, whatever.

At first, weapons are basic, but later become more powerful and better suited for battling stronger enemies.

Thus, the player’s weapon of choice is permanent. While they can use other things as weapons, they cannot replace it. Fortunately, it cannot be lost or destroyed; it will always come back, even if it’s not a boomerang!

ladybugheart • 2 June 2013 at 2:14 PM

Rules:

~ All Egg Cave rules apply. http://eggcave.com/terms
~ Everything must be appropriate; no bad language, excessive gore, or romance roleplaying.
~ BE ACTIVE! If you are leaving, please let me know.
~ No god-modding or powerplaying. Also, be reasonable.
~ Literacy is essential! Please be understandable and give us a good idea of what’s going on with your character.
~ Respect everyone; negative out-of-character behavior toward others is not acceptable.
~ Out-of-character talk should go in the discussion thread.
~ I have final say in everything regarding these rules, but I’m open to questions, suggestions, and concerns.

Reminders:
~ Each person can create up to two characters.
~ Feel free to use any point of view or tense you are comfortable with, but please identify your character at the beginning of each post.
~ You don’t have to pressure yourself to remember everything I wrote up there. xD
~ I used second person to explain what happens to the characters because I was more comfortable with it. I’m not referring to “you” as in your character, and they don’t have to follow what I wrote.

Form:

Please put effort into your character’s form and make them realistic. Make sure that you ping me! Forms go in the discussion thread.

Form:
Username: [Your main account, or whatever you will be using to roleplay.]
Name: [First and last. Middle and whatever is fine too.]
Gender: [Self-explanatory.]
Age: [Any age is fine.]
Appearance: [Please include a description. A visual aid is optional.]
Personality: [This also includes interests and such as well.]
Background: [Things like general location, family, daily life, and history.]
Title: [Explained.]
Land: [Name and description.]
Weapon: [Fighting item of choice.]
Ping: [Ping me!]
Other: [Anything else?]

…Okay, that was longer than I expected. Meh, whatever.

Form:
Username:
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance:
Personality:
Background:
Title:
Land:
Weapon:
Ping: @ladybugheart
Other:

ladybugheart • 2 June 2013 at 2:15 PM

That’s it!

Post away. (: Forms go in the discussion thread.

taffy789 • 11 July 2013 at 11:32 PM

 "Seven a.m., waking up in the morning
Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs
Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal
Seein' everything, the time is goin'~"

 With this song blaring in her room at eight in the morning, it went without saying that Alyssa woke up screaming.
 Roughly fifteen minutes later, after managing to drag herself from the evil clutches of a heavy, warm blanket and a feather pillow, she stared at her reflection in her bathroom mirror, dark eyes squinting from the overhead light.
 Inwardly, she was still grumbling at the fact her Mom thought it funny to switch her normal alarm song- Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night- to such a... HATED THING. She swore her mother was trying to either kill her or give her nightmares.
 Alyssa pulled her toothbrush from its holder, applied the toothpaste, and started to move the bristles across her teeth, taking her sweet time. She thought it a very nice to have a change in pace once in a while. On a week day, she would have to frantically speed through her morning routine, barely having time to breath during the rush to school. Weekends, on the other hand, had to be the best things in the world. To her, they could be likened to the cherry on the top of an ice cream sundae, the prize at the box of the cereal box, or... something else rewarding to wait for. It was hard to think of another metaphor having just woken up.
 After she got done with her bathroom business, the girl, still dressed in her pink pajamas, stumbled down the hallway and down a flight of stairs, thankful that today wasn't one of the dreaded days that dead people occupied her living room.
 She walked through the empty, huge parlor room, and found her way to the kitchen, stopping and staring with large, now fully awake eyes when she saw what awaited her. A large meal fit for a king sat on the counter in front of her, pancakes piled high, three eggs cold, but over easy and cooked to perfection, expertly browned hash browns and a tall glass of fresh orange juice. The entire meal had to be enough to feed four grown people and a very hungry toddler by the looks of it! Alyssa blinked in surprised, and walked over to the counter, finding a card written in bright pink, swirly familiar cursive to explain the sudden feast.
 "Sorry! Had to go into town, but I made you some breakfast before I left! Hope this is enough~! Love you, XOXOXO- Mom."
 ... For somebody who worked with the dead for a living, Alyssa thought her ditzy Mom was full of a lot of life.

ladybugheart • 12 July 2013 at 2:04 AM

June Kim -

WHO IS SHINING A FLASHLIGHT IN MY FACE. SERIOUSLY. I'M NOT EVEN AWAKE YET.

I shield my eyes until my brain starts working and figures out that the light is coming from the window.

...Is that even possible?

On any normal day, rain would be persistently pattering against the weathered rooftops of houses. The sun would be blotted out by clouds.

IT'S A GOOD THING IT'S NOT NORMAL.

I climb out of bed, wearing a pale blue sweatshirt and my normal pants (because I'm too lazy to change into pajamas) and open the window. The flowers growing in the window box aren't exactly doing too well; they've been way too overwatered, and this is probably like their third time seeing sunlight. I don't really pay attention to them.

I notice that there's silence for a change. And sunlight, with zero clouds. It makes sense, considering that summer is beginning. Looks like it's time to go to the park and play with all my wonderful and abundant friends!

AHAHA NOPE. Time to go sit in front of the computer and do nothing! Yeah, to be honest, my life is pretty much void of anything meaningful.

Oh yeah, I'm supposed to get that game today. I'm still not quite sure what it's about, but hey, it sounded pretty cool. I'm okay with almost any type of game, anyway. However, as soon as it gets dark, I know exactly what I'll do. The thing about rain is that there are always these stupid clouds blocking the stars. I have my telescope positioned by the window, and maybe I'll go outside to observe them.

I decide to message Chris Man Lee, pretty much my only friend, with the power of instant messaging.

JUNE: Are you awake yet? What time is it over there, like, six?

nightmare • 13 July 2013 at 1:43 AM

{Fang Deces Slyth}

Fang was enveloped in the warm softness of his blankets. An unnecessary amount of pillows was strewn about his room. The boy rolled over, his hair flopping into his face as he drifted into reality. The light pitter-patter of rain falling onto the roof droned on in the background. He tumbled out of bed and onto a pillow so conveniently placed there the night before. A loud hiss caught his attention. Fang stood up slowly, attempting to find where his pet boa constrictor, Thing, was hiding. From the sound of it, she sounded hungry.

The dark haired boy finally found the snake perched on his table, it's midsection on top of his computer keyboard and it's tail hanging off the side of the table. A thin package was in Thing's jaws and Fang decided to see what it was later when he felt more up to the task.

After washing his face and putting on pants he strode over to Thing and slowly pulled the familiar package from her mouth. With a disgruntled hiss, she relented before curling her head in on herself to rest on her body, tongue slipping out before darting back in her mouth.

Fang sat on the chair. He pushed Thing off the table before inserting the game into the computer.

linpug • 20 July 2013 at 6:17 PM

Chris

. . . . .__
|_n_|(__)_n_|
. . . . |#|
. . . .// \\
. . .= . . =

Sweat trickles down my face as I run on my elliptical. The early morning rays warm the house, and I feel like my face is on fire! I stop running, exhausted from jogging for a full hour. I should probably eat my breakfast.

I get my pre-made breakfast of eggs, sausage, and bacon out of the fridge and put it in the microwave. My parents are at work and I don't know how to cook.

As I start eating my manly lumberjack breakfast, I hear a loud beeping. It almost penetrates my ears and demolishes my ear drums, so I cover them to protect myself from the sound.

I walk over to them computer to mute it, since it's at full volume. June just messaged me.

CHRIS: HI! 😃 Yeah, I woke up a long time ago. What's up?

ladybugheart • 21 July 2013 at 9:02 PM

June Kim -

I grab my teddy bear and hug it while I search up the weather forecast for the next few days. Fortunately, it's going to be clear tonight, meaning I'll be able to observe the stars. The following days should be relatively unclouded as well.

What, what?

There are a few external links, something involving meteors. I click on them, hoping for a meteor shower, nothing destructive.

My heart sinks as I read through a news report. Nope, this isn't good. It seems that today, a few meteors actually struck Earth and demolished entire towns. Apparently, it's as if they came out of nowhere.

...

WHAT.

Meteors. Coming out of nowhere... and killing people?

That's plural, meteors.

Urghhhh. This is really bad. But it's not like I'm going to get killed by a meteor, right?

/Pshh. Don't fool yourself! Ahahahaha./

I decide to ignore my stupid inner voice and just message Chris.

JUNE: It's sunny today! Did you get your copy of the game yet?

asi • 21 July 2013 at 10:48 PM

[ Evan Innocent ]

In another house, in another bedroom, one far, far away, a different boy was lying in bed, having just awoken.
A howling, wailing, thrashing monster lashed against the walls, throwing itself desperately at the ancient corpses of oak, all that stood between the wind and the boy.
Evan had to remind himself that the Wizard of Oz was only a fiction before he could find the will to brush aside his covers and slide out of bed, wincing a little as the cold bite of the floorboards sunk into the soles of his feet. On tiptoes, he made his way over to the window, which was not covered by curtains, as it had been years since Evan had dared to touch the things, on fear that one poke and they'd fall to pieces. Outside, it was still dark, but judging by the amount of water remaining in the bowl of his mystery potplant, Evan could determine that the time was around three am.
Although as far as he knew, his older brother never slept (if you just whispered or even simply THOUGHT his name, you would turn to find him standing behind you... Evan had had enough experience of this to simply refer to him as, 'his older brother), it should be a good two hours before he surfaced from his room for breakfast. Hopefully that meant for Evan that he would be able to experiment and cook something special for breakfast today. He wasn't sure why he wanted to make it different particularly today, but he had a bit of a strange feeling. Like today was special, and a special day demanded a special breakfast. Or perhaps he simply felt that today ought to be special, and with a special breakfast, it would be made so. In any case, Evan headed out into the living room early.
This trip only took a few steps, because of the incredibly small proportions of the house- despite how mammoth and towering it appeared from outside. It only had three rooms; that of Evan's, the lounge- which pentdrupled as the living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry and guestroom- and his parents' room, which had remained undisturbed since their death.
Huh? Now that Evan thought about it, where was his brother's room?
...
On sight of the kitchen, he quickly forgot whatever unimportant, trivial matter he was fussing over. A sudden silence had come over the house; it seemed the wind had died down for now. Much more relaxed without it's pounding, he skipped towards the kitchen area... However, on his way to the appliances, Evan stumbled and tripped over an object. It seemed he'd forgotten to turn on the lights. After twice stubbing his toe yet again on the same object, he located the very strangely-placed lightswitch (above his parents' room's door, he had to stand on an armchair to reach), and flicked it on.
Strange. The object, whatever it was, had now vanished. On an unrelated note, a long string which Evan knew belonged to the hatch leading to the attic now dangled above the space where the object had been. His toe's pain-sense was telling his the object had probably been something like a ladder, but after several minutes of pondering this and gaining no answer, Evan's eyes drifted back towards the cooking appliances and he forgot whatever silly thing he'd been spacing out over. Really, he was such a space cabinet.
After preheating the oven to his estimated temperate, he began gathering ingredients for the breakfast, which he'd decided on being a variation on his favourite vegetarian meatloaf. While looking over his dear collection of herbs and spices, it occurred to him that today was the day his new batch of carrots would be ready. He'd also planted them specifically so that they'd be done on a special date. However, at that moment, the reason why this day was so special eluded him.
In any case, he ought to go dig up the carrots. Evan began skipping happily over to the door, but on his way, he was startled by the sight of glowing red eyes, and long, thin, razor-sharp white teeth...
Of course, it was only one of the posters from his older brother's temporarily-disbanded heavy metal band, the Rainbow Drinkers. They seemed to have a cute name, but... To be honest, Evan sort of found them a little... Terrifying... Therefore, he tried to spend his time in the living room fixedly with his eyes on the kitchen appliances, and made care not to pay much attention to the rest. Pretending as hard as he could that the haunting red eyes were not watching him, Evan then tip-toed to the door, which groaned loudly as he opened it, and stepped outside.
Instantly the door was slammed shut and Evan sent flying back with it. Unfortunately, he'd ventured outside just as the wind had started up again. It looked like Evan would have to wait another forty-eight minutes before he could go over to his greenhouse shed; or use the bathroom, for that matter. With much difficulty, he fought against the storm and pried open the door, before being hurled inside by the wind's force.
After a moment collapsed on the floor, panting and regaining his breath, Evan noticed a strange package had also been blown inside with him. Of course, how could he forget? Today was the one day of the month mail was delivered to his house. They didn't usually get much anyway, just late slips for books Evan had accidentally forgotten to return to the library (this happened a lot), but this month was different. This package had to be the game his friend, Alyssa, had got him to order! Evan had never really played a video game before, so he was a little- okay, very- excited over this.
Forgetting even to be nervous of the scary Rainbow Drinker posters plastering the lounge walls, Evan skipped back to his room, dug up his glasses, and turned on his computer. It would be thirty-four minutes before it finished waking up, but that was okay, because in that time Evan could make a good start on breakfast.
Thirty-four minutes later...

EVAN: Alyssa!!!! Guess what!!!!?

taffy789 • 22 July 2013 at 1:33 AM

<Alyssa>

Alyssa finished shoveling down all the food she could possibly pack into her stomach, and the pile of leftovers still stared her down from the table. With a sigh, she gave up. She dubbed the mountain of food unconquerable, put the leftovers in the fridge and retired to her room.
 Her room was bland, boring, and very pink, but the main attraction of her room had to be her laptop, which was less bland and boring, but still very pink. When Alyssa held the portable computer in her hands, she knew she held the WORLD. All the information she could ever need in one place. She could learn the answer to any question; search for anything... And she used it to look up funny videos of people falling off trampolines.
Throwing herself across her bed- a WATER bed, by the way...very jiggly- she pulled her computer close to her and began her daily routine.
 She checked Tumblr- no new followers for her blog. Ah, well. Facebook was up next- nothing new there either. Her favorite webcomic,  "Stuck At Home", was on hiatus as well, but it didn't stop her from checking it out and refreshing the page a few times to make sure there wasn't an update. 
There wasn't one.
 Everywhere she checked, it was as if nothing was happening anywhere...sigh. Like every other weekend, she could tell it was going to be BORING~
 Alyssa yawned, and opened a messenger chat on her laptop home screen. She saved the most faithful internet-related thing for last: PokeABuddy. An online messaging system where you can chat to people all over the world!
 The thing was outdated, but she had a good friend she still communicated with using it, so it wasn't as if she could just trash the download. She knew there would probably be a reply waiting for her to answer back to, but didn't expect her friend to be on or anything, because he lived in Middle Earth.  Seriously. He lived in the middle of nowhere on that one country where they filmed those "Lord Of The Rings" movies. Thus, it only made sense he lived in Middle Earth.
Upon checking PokeABuddy, Alyssa reeled back in surprise when she saw that Evan had actually MESSAGED her. Recently. As in, was currently logged in! The guy lived in a completely different timezone than her- pretty much on the other side of the planet! Doing the math in her head, she figured it out to be at least three or four in the morning where he was... Alyssa shook her head. Unbelievable. 
She found herself feeling more concerned for the guy than she already did. ...In any case, she typed a quick message back to him.


ALYSSA: Evan~ Guess what~ You're up at... early in the morning. You realize that, right?
 ... 
Just checking.
And what is it?

asi • 22 July 2013 at 5:26 AM

[ Evan Innocent ]

Not expecting his friend to reply right away, Evan removed his glasses so he could properly examine his bedroom. Yes, it was just like he'd predicted; during the night, the force of the wind had yet again triggered a collapse of his percariously stacked piles of fantasy adventure books- he'd long since run out of shelving. The sheer mass of them began to make Evan feel a little guilty. Because Evan rarely (never) left home, all of them had been brought to him by his older brother, and he wouldn't find out where they came from until he got those letters in the post from various different libraries saying that books were overdue (or rather, had gone missing, and were politely blamed on him. His brother often- all right, always- forgot to do things like checking them out). However, although he gently reminded his older brother to please return these, and thoughtfully placed them by the door, he would always stumble across the same volumes again later in his piles. Evan usually figured it must have been the wind. There were other books which weren't accounted for, and Evan guessed his brother had visited a bookshop, and... Well, bought them, of course! How else does one get books?
Evan thought there also ought to be similiar reminders for DVDs, as his brother had an equally large collection (hoard) of horror movies. But the libraries only knew he was the cause of missing books because he had visited two once with his brother. Therefore... The video rental places probably had no idea where they were going... Was this legal?
Just as that thought occured to him, Evan remembered that he ought to tidy up the mess of books! Space cabinet, why on earth had he been simply standing around, staring into thin air? The microwave was probably done melting butter, too. After lovingly returning his copy of Sabriel- the story of a girl necromancer who wielded the power to command the dead with her seven bells, and with them, conquered the frightening darkness- (in which the dead were thankfully only bearably terrifying, and mostly just sad, unlike his brother's movies. (His brother unfortunately happened to inadvertently often pick up books with horror in them, even while in the fantasy/adventure/childrens' section...)) to it's proper place of honor at the top of it's pile, he took up his glasses again and checked his computer. To his delight, it turned out his friend had replied already, but Evan hadn't noticed because of his unfortunate long-sightedness.

EVAN: Yes!!!! I got up a little earlier in order to make a special breakfast!!!! It's a new pasta meatloaf, by the way!!!! It's going to be great!!!!

For a moment there, Evan lost himself in his enthusiasm for cooking. If only he could find a recipe that his brother would appreciate as much as he did. Although he cooked all three meals of the day for his older brother, Evan had yet to find a plate eaten clean. It really bothered him that the only thing his older brother seemed to really like was the ketchup... He worried that that kind of appetite was likely a little unhealthy!

EVAN: Anyway!!!! I hope you had a nice breakfast!!!! It's really great when I get up at this time, because then we're practically in sync, even though you live all the way over there in America!!!! But oh!!!! What was I talking about!!!!?

Evan screwed up his face in concentration, struggling to remember. 'Guess what'? What had he been so excited about again? He stared blankly at the package for several minutes before forgetting completely whatever he had been trying to remember about. In any case, the package was addressed to him, so he'd better open it!
Only after looking at the game's case for another couple of minutes did it finally hit him; the game he was going to play with Alyssa had arrived! How could he have forgotten that? Shaking his head at his own space cabinet-ness, Evan continued;

EVAN: Hey, weren't you supposed to guess!!!!? But don't worry, I forgive you!!!! That game actually arrived today!!!! I can't believe my luck, you know; the game just happened to be released the day before I get mail!!!! So that means, since you're a day behind over there, we get it at the same time....!!!! Have you got yours yet!!!!?

Suddenly remembering, however, that his computer would probably take an hour or two to process the game, Evan hastily opened the case and took out the disk.
He looked at it.
He looked at the computer.

EVAN: Uh!!!! Sorry to bother you with this, but!!!! How do I....!!!!? Um!!!! What do I do with the disk!!!!?

He then hastily sent the message. Feeling somewhat stupid for asking that kind of question, Evan skipped back into the lounge/kitchen/dining room/etc area to check on the vegetable butter. He sighed lightly on realizing the butter had both melted too much, into liquid, then solidified again in the time that he had spent spacing out. Blaming it on the appliances was wrong, he knew, but Evan couldn't help but feel they were slightly unpredictable, as last time an extra minute on this same setting had underdone it, and he had chosen this to try and be safe...
In any case, the pasta seemed fine thus far, and so his vegan meatloaf was well on it's way. After putting in another lot of butter and crossing his fingers, Evan checked the time. Yes, the wind had stopped again for now, and so he had around twenty-three minutes before outside would yet again become untraversable. However, when he went out, he would undoubtably be stuck in the shed until the next windless period, and of course wouldn't be able to access his computer or the internet...
The wind would leave for a four hour break at five fifty-one am though, so it was tempting to just leave the plants until then. They weren't all that picky over perfect timing like the wind was, but they'd still get a little thirsty... Evan didn't like to do that to them, but he was really excited about this game. Deciding to at least check if Alyssa had replied yet, he skipped back to his room.

taffy789 • 25 July 2013 at 1:27 AM

<Alyssa>


... There were so many things to facepalm about in the messages Evan sent her that she didn't even bother to.
 Instead, she actively pitied her friend, who had no air head mother to make him tons and tons of delicious food that even a bus full of hungry lumberjacks could not finish, and was forced to cook terrible pasta meatloaf for himself. Alyssa felt sorry for his technological incompetence, and how he had little to no idea how to put the game disk in. She wept at his over excited way of typing, and at all of these things, despite the fact that she actually did not care about any of them, and that the best reaction any of them got out of her was a motherly, reprehensive one. With a sigh, Alyssa typed a quick message back to Evan.  
 
 ALYSSA: What you really need to do is to ask the computer nicely to open the slot that the disk goes in, then you'll be able to start the game~

She sent the sarcastic message and rose from her water bed with a sigh.
 The window to her right overlooked the cliffside her home was perched on, and Alyssa walked over it to, drawing back the curtains to let the light shine onto her faded pink quilt which laid across her bed. Very little light came through, however, as the sky looked stormy and dark. This was unsurprising, as that was the usual weather Alyssa was used to. She stared out at the churning waters below her, yearning for the temperature to rise so she could go swimming. But alas, the wind felt colder with each passing day, and the girl found herself curled up on her chair reading her novels more often, instead of enjoying the sea which she lived so closely by and loved deeply. Not that reading her books was a BAD thing- Alyssa loved her romance novels also, even if the girls at her school sometimes poked fun at her for her interest in them. Something about the real, buff and beautiful models posing on the covers of the books, and the swirly, cursive, "overly extravagant" titles screamed "Old Lady Romance Novels" to her friends! What exactly was so funny about Fabio riding a horse through a gorgeous green meadow, with the wind blowing through his silky, wonderful hair that made her friends burst into fits of giggles every time she pulled the book out? "The Last Night Of Summer's Dream" was excellently written! Her friends simply did not get the powerful meaning behind the slowly wilting, dying rose dropping its petals on the tabletop lit up by only one beam of sunlight on the cover of "Hope's Dying Breath Of Love".
 Alyssa shook her head, knowing her friends would never understand good, emotional, powerful literature when they saw it. They were lost causes, really. The girl watched the sea churn beneath her before remembering how much time had elapsed, and exactly how gullible Evan could be. It was entirely possible the boy may have believed her when it came to her technological "advice"...
 Just in case, Alyssa jumped back onto her bed, causing the water inside it to jiggle around crazily. After she managed to calm her bed down, she quickly went to work on another message to Evan.

ALYSSA: Oh, hey! I forgot to tell you! Uh, I was joking about the "asking nicely" stuff. Really, there's a button on your computer unit that should have some sort of an eject sign on it. Mine looks like an arrow pointing up, and it's right by a slot that says something about it being for disks- or something. It's different for a lot of computers.

She paused for a moment, wondering why he even needed to open the slot for the disk, and read through his messages once more to figure it out.
 ...
Oh! The game! Alyssa recalled that she and Evan had chosen to play it together earlier, and that it should've arrived in the mail by now...
 Wait. The MAIL.
 If there was one thing Alyssa actually disliked about her house, it was her mailbox. Her large, two-story house stood at the top of a semi-steep hill which transformed into a cliffside, and it was a one-way road up it... The large mail trucks would never drive up the rocks and gravel to get to a mailbox right by their house. So their mailbox, sadly, was located at the very bottom of their driveway.
 Alyssa felt assured that her mother forget to pick up the mail, as she always did, so the game should be waiting, at the bottom for her...
With a sigh, the girl tapped out another message to her friend.

 ALYSSA: Hey! Guess what I have to do? I'm about to go for a "super fun" jog down a steep hillside at about nine in the morning~!
 ... Wish me luck.

With that, she got dressed out of her pajamas, laced up her running shoes, and rushed outside.

nightmare • 27 July 2013 at 12:47 AM

{Fang Deces Slyth}

While the game was being processed into the computer, Fang clicked google chrome and checked his Facebook. Nothing new. Literally. His entire profile and news feed was blank. Really, there was no reason for the boy to even check the site anyway. He exited the page before logging into a messaging website he occasionally used when he was either very bored or just felt like harassing people over the internet.

Fang went to the 'recently online' list and scrolled up and down before randomly clicking a username and sending a friend request. As he waited for a response, he headed downstairs to go grab breakfast, or lunch if you wanted to call it that. The dark-haired boy made his way down the stairs just as this notification would (hopefully) appear on Evan's screen.

"Iwilleatyourbabies requests to add you as a friend. 😊"

One of the few reasons Fang actually liked the site was the fact that he could make his username as long as he wanted with what he wanted.

asi • 29 July 2013 at 6:52 AM

[ Evan Innocent ]

Evan looked at his friend's message and blinked. Oh, how simple! Why ever had he never thought to try something so obvious? Sighing at his silliness, the boy immediately opened his mouth and spoke gently to the computer;
"Dear Sir Computer. It is with the utmost sincerity that I do depart my apologies that I am troubling you with my humble woes. Although I truly understand that it is not my place to so selfishly beg such a boon from your generous heart, I again must convey my profound regrets that I ask this of you. I only hope that you, in your mighty shining benevolence, condescend to gift your loyal servant but a moment of your precious time to consider his plea. Oh, Sir Computer, would you please do me the honor of opening your heart and opening your slot which the-"
His heartfelt speech, which had just been reaching it's climax, was interrupted by another message.
"..." Oh! An eject sign button. An arrow pointing up. After a few minutes of hard searching and wrong button-pressing, Evan was victorious; he had successfully succeeded in bringing about the opening of the disk slot thing!
... But it wasn't because he had seen it and pressed it. No, it was because when attempting to lift the box and look on it's underside, Evan had accidently bumped something, and it had just opened...
Nevertheless, he felt a deep sense of accomplishment on inserting the disk.
ERROR: UNABLE TO READ DISK', the computer said.
Evan wasn't stupid. He knew that this must be because he put it in upside down. It happened enough to him with records. Actually correcting this mistake fairly quickly, the game began downloading itself onto the computer. He'd done it! Yayy!! He was so touched!

EVAN: Thanks Alyssa, you're the best!!!! It's started to download, so exciting!!!! Ahh!!!! It changed from two percent to three already!!!! So fast!!!! Unfortunately, I can't wait around and watch every nice new number!!!! I also have to venture into the outdoors; the plants call!!!! Good luck on your run, and remember to watch out for the wind!!!!

Stowing away his glasses once more, Evan this time prepared properly for the outside... He solemnly retrieved his yoyo from it's high pedestal of fantasy. It was a family heirloom, passed down through hundreds of generations of Innocents, along with it's most secret techniques, in which Evan, like all those before him, had been painstakingly trained in until he could control each of it's movements with only his thoughts... Nay, dreams! This weapon, which had originated in ancient Greece, had never lost it's point, still as sharp as the day it was conceived.
In all, it was not something that could be taken lightly. The lethal weapon known as a yoyo was anything but a toy...
... Wait, was that a new message? He thought Alyssa had left..? Evan reequiped his glasses to look properly at the screen.
He read aloud... "Iwilleatyourbabies requests to add you as a friend."
Eh... What? Surely Evan had read wrongly.
"..."
... Iwilleatyourbabies? Nope, he was just coming up with the same thing...
That was a little... Odd. It must be some kind of joke, Evan just didn't really get it, tha's all. He didn't have any babies to speak of, in any case... The person was obviously being friendly! They asked so nicely to be Evan's friend, and of course there was no way Evan could ever be as cold-hearted and cruel to press such a button as reject! Evan gladly accepted it, cast aside his glasses once more and set out...
To the kitchen. The butter had worked out happily this time, and Evan was able to proceed into placing the dish within the oven! Yay! He set the timer, and then it was done.
Evan was ready to leave.

linpug • 5 August 2013 at 4:03 PM

Chris Man Lee #

Chris looked at his computer, noticing a new post.

CHRIS: It's bright outside, but kinda cold. I don't think I did. The mail just arrived, let me check it.

Chris got on a sweater, and shoes. He put on arm in his sweater, than another. He put one foot in his sock, then he put another in. He put one of his feet covered socks into a shoe, then another. He tied one of the laces, then the other. He walked outside.
/It's so tiring to go outside... No wait! It's exercise!/ He thought positively.

He opened the mail box, looking inside. There was nothing. Suddenly, the DownPS came up to his house, holding a small package. "What's this?" He asked the guy handing it to him.
"YA THINK I KNOW?! I'M PAYED TO DELIVER STUFF TO YOU. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS! IT'S ILLEGAL TO LOOK INSIDE!"
"Uh, thanks." Chris said, grabbing the package.

He walked inside, getting off his coat and shoes. He didn't really care about his socks.
The DownPS truck drove away. He carefully cut the tape, and opened it. Inside, covered in bubble wrap there was a CD inside a case carefully tucked in the middle. /What's this? Oh, must be the game./ He thought to himself. /Ew... So unmanly./


CHRIS: Yeah, I just got the game. Do I have to play it, June? Games are so unmanly.

/So, do I just put it in the disc drive?/ He thought, trying to figure out how to play. Then, someone sent him a friend request. It was from "I-love-exersize" Chris was happy to know he wasn't alone. He was pretty much known for his exercising. There was a private message, sent from the same person. After he accepted the friend request, he clicked the PM.

"Hello.
I go to this gym. I love it! I'm sure you would too. It's completely free. Click the link below to register.
www.24-7-gym.com/register/"
/What's this?/ He thought. /Well, maybe it's cool. Guess I might check it out. /
He clicked the provided link. It said:
"Click download for the register application."
He clicked the download button, suddenly noticing that it was a virus! "Oh no!" Chris thought, not knowing how to get rid of it. /Maybe I'll ask June./


[OOC: It took me forever to find a gym name that wasn't real. I tried "24hourgym" "get-fit-gym" "getfitgym" 24-7-gym"
"workoutgym" and tons of others, but they were all real. D: ]

ladybugheart • 7 August 2013 at 9:26 PM

June Kim -

It's been a while, so I plop my teddy bear on my desk and get up from the navy blue swivel hair. I look out the open window with its billowing white curtains against the clear sky, eager for nightfall to finally arrive. With the sun shining in, my room is actually lit up; usually, the only light emanates from the computer screen since my light is broken and no one bothers to fix it. Walking across the wooden floor with my bare feet, I wonder what I'll be able to cook for myself today.

I walk downstairs and rummage through the cupboards before deciding to just prepare some Top Ramen. While I wait for that to cook, I ponder what the deal is with those meteors.

Probably some "end of the world" thing like last year. Yeah... no. Not falling for it.

Well, you never know...

The idea amuses me for a while as I go back upstairs with my ramen. Sitting down on my swivel chair, I slurp up the noodles and respond to Chris' two messages.

JUNE: Cold? Oh yeah, it's only six in the morning, lol. Also, video games aren't unmanly! You exercise your hands and your brain. I didn't get mine yet so I'm going to play it later, if you want you can wait or do it now.

taffy789 • 12 August 2013 at 12:10 AM

<Alyssa>

The gravel road crunched beneath her sneakers as Alyssa jogged down the hillside. It was a long trek to the mailbox, so the girl started to gaze upon the scenery surrounding her to pass the time. Autumn was just around the corner, so the trees had already begun to change their colors. Some of the orange leaves already littered the ground, but had not yet turned brown, so there was no crunch as her shoes stomped them into the dirt. The air felt chilly, and Alyssa had just begun to think to herself that she should've put on a scarf when suddenly, BAM! The girl tripped, and skidded across the path, catching herself before she started to freely roll down the hill.
Muttering a long string of PG-rated curses under her breath, she managed to pick herself up while proceeding to pull the twigs out of her curly hair at the same time.
At least Alyssa could feel certain that, after all that running and the quick test she did to make sure gravity was still working, she had made it a considerable way down the hill...
She looked down the rest of the path she had left to run, and indulged in another bout of her adult approved cussing as she saw she had only gotten two yards past her driveway.
She still had a whole two football fields and a half to conquer before she got to the mailbox, gosh darn it.

Two and a half football fields worth of running later, Alyssa arrived at the bottom of the hill her house sat on, sweating, panting, and wishing that her mom could just install a ski lift to the mailbox instead of forcing her to trek down that dreaded path once a week.
Even though the sun was barely visible in the sky from underneath all those clouds, the girl still felt hot, sticky, and sweaty. Alyssa found this utterly disgusting, and recoiled from the repulsive feeling that her own skin gave her.
This was why she thought swimming was one of the best sports in the world; you didn't have to worry about sweat when immersed into the water!
In any case, the girl was overjoyed that she had finally made it to her mailbox, and unlatched the container, pulling out a small package from the inside of it.
Alyssa knew it had to be the game CD, because nothing else was in the mailbox, so she took the package and started the even harsher climb back UP to her house.


Once she got to her house, she downed two glasses of water, kicked off her sweaty shoes, and returned to her room to start the game. Before opening the package, she clicked opened PokeABuddy and read Evan's message before typing out her own.

ALYSSA: I should've taken your advice about the wind I guess, because I tripped and fell down during the run. :/ Must've been the wind~ In any case, I got the game now, and I'm about to start it up.

Alyssa closed the chat log after replying, and went to open the package.
Suddenly, just before she could do so, she felt... excited. As if, contained in the packaging, lied something important. Something she'd been waiting for her whole life. Adventure, fun, the promise of a new world... all in a CD that only was a thin, plastic padded bag away from her fingertips. Alyssa did not know where these emotions came from, but they made her hold her breath in silent anticipation as she worked at tearing open the plastic...

A paddleball.
A PADDLEBALL.
So much for adventure, unless the new definition of adventure was a mundane, mindless game invented in the stone ages by cave men sitting around on their butts and just trying to pass the time as they were waiting TO DIE.
Alyssa checked the print on the package- something, in hindsight, she should've done before getting all excited about it- and saw that it was just her Mother's monthly subscription to the "Mindless Game of the Month" club. This did not surprise the girl, as her mother was ecstatic about getting mail and therefore would subscribe to a bunch of random things just so she would get something other than bills. What her mother did with all the extra magazines, toys, and random thank-you cards from the hundreds of children in far away, poverty stricken countries that she'd chosen to sponsor for less than the price of a cup of coffee a day, Alyssa didn't know.
All Alyssa knew was that her game hadn't come in the mail yet...
She walked over to her window, pulling back the pink curtains, and felt like putting her fist through the glass as she saw the DownPS truck driving away from her mailbox, rolling down the road merrily along it's way, laughing at her...
With a sigh, Alyssa started to lace up her running shoes once more.

linpug • 5 September 2013 at 10:23 AM

Chris sat on his computer. Yes. He sat on in. "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT!!!" Chris screamed. He debated calling 911, but ruled out that possibility. He didn't know what to do. /Wait!/ He realized. Then he hit it with his shoe.

Nothing he did seemed to help. He cried, not knowing how to fix the computer until he gave up and just stuffed his computer in his mouth.

After a few minutes of despair Chris sat up and called his dad on his phone. His dad gave him a phone number and I call it. "Hi." Chris said, waiting for someone to answer.

After a few minutes of talking, someone knocked on Chris's door and Chris welcomed him. The man fixed Chris's computer.


"Thank you very much," Chris said.

"No problem," The man said.

Chris gave the man the money and left.

CHRIS: Sorry about that. I got some kind of virus on my computer. How are you?

Chris still didn't want to play the game, convinced games are unmanly. He had no idea what the object of the game was, no idea at all. He wasn't even sure of the rating of the game.

ladybugheart • 7 September 2013 at 4:08 PM

June Kim -

I pick up my wooden brown chopsticks and pick up a dripping clump of noodles, stuffing them into my mouth. While I don't hate roomen or anything, it tastes slightly bland. I guess that's what happens when you eat it every day. Messily slurping it down, I notice that Chris is now offline. I wonder where he went and hope that he didn't start to play the game without me after I explained to him how video games can be manly.

Actually, it's pretty obvious where he went. I mean, he's at the gym practically 24/7; it's not like it's a surprise to me that he left. His rambunctious, "manly" nature is pretty much the opposite of me. I rarely leave the house, if ever, while he loves being in public places. Particularly the gym.

As I devour the last of my ramen, I consider going outside for a while. If I got more sunlight, I'd probably be taller and more healthy. The only thing stopping me is that I have no idea where I'd go; unlike Chris, I don't have a gym membership or anything like that.

Okay, you know what? I'm going to go take a walk in the park.

YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO GO SOMEWHERE BESIDES THE LIVING ROOM AND KITCHEN FOR A CHANGE. I'M GOING TO ACT AS IF I HAVE A LIFE.

I take off my sweatshirt, wearing a long-sleeved striped shirt underneath. I consider putting on some jeans, but the pants I'm wearing now are way more comfortable. Putting my bowl and chopsticks in the sink with a loud clatter, I put on some sneakers and walk out the door.

My shoes look brand new since I don't go outside much, aside from the fact that there's some dried mud flaking off. I look around, wondering where the park is before finally choosing to go left. A few dead worms lay shriveled up on the damp sidewalk, and the lawn of each house I pass is soggy and overgrown. Although my neighborhood looks nice at first, it's actually not that great of a place to live.

Usually, there's only the occasional passerby with an umbrella and coat, but today's the exception. With weather this nice, many people don't want to miss a chance to go outside. Even I'M going somewhere, and that's saying something.

I walk around in the park, the wet grass soaking through my shoes and socks and leaving them muddy. Well, this is fun.

Even though it's sunny, there aren't too many people, and those who are here are wearing rain boots. The playground is empty; no kid wants to get their pants wet from the slide. Except for me, the only one there.

I really do have no life.

taffy789 • 8 October 2013 at 7:57 PM

<Alyssa>

Coated in a layer of her own sweat, Alyssa pushed open the screen door to her home, panting like a dog. She clenched the DownPS package to her chest, protectively as if it was something precious- like a newborn baby, or a golden, powerful ring that could only be melted by being thrown into lava.
The kitchen spun in a whirlwind of color and shapes, and she felt woozy, and sick... dehydrated... Stumbling to the sink, Alyssa slapped the cold water on, and stuck her face under the faucet- first to gulp down water and then wetting her entire head. After cooling down, the young girl sighed, and removed herself from the sink, feeling much better- and much wetter- than before.
Black curls dripping, she walked to her room, found her bed, and promptly collapsed on it. Tired, she took another look at Poke-A-Buddy, saw she had no new messages, shrugged, and then finally opened the package.
 The game CD looked like nothing fancy, and she couldn't help by think she'd seen cereal boxes with better cover art than what the disk had- which wasn't saying much, considering the game title was written in COMIC SANS. Alyssa shuttered. What sort of sick joke was this?
In any case, Evan was expecting her to play, so she guessed that was what she was going to do. With a press of a button, she popped the game disk into its tray and waited for it to load. 
When the loading bar did pop up against a milky white background, the girl's eyes widened, seeing the current percentage loaded was one out of one thousand-! 
 Having little patience when dealing with anything but her dear mother, Alyssa stood up, stretched, and began to wander aimlessly around her home.
 Back in the grand parlor room, she found her way to the equally grand piano, which is where she took a seat.
 She ran one hand across the smooth oak surface of the piano, and thought back to all of her ancestors that had played this wonderful instrument before her. ...That is, if this HAD been a family heirloom, and not a ratty old beast fashioned out of chipped wood and broken, clashing keys that her mother had bought at a garage sale on a whim. Alyssa sighed; while her mother swore up and down that she would learn how to "fill our home with beautiful melodies", the woman remained ignorant at even the placement of basic notes! Plus, she called the black keys "those small black rectangles", so Alyssa highly doubted she would be awaking to the blissful sounds of Mozart breaking the dawn anytime soon, and would instead be stuck with her trolling mother's habit of making her listen to Justin Beiber at six AM.
 While her mother lacked proficiency in the musical arts, Alyssa held herself at an "okayish" level. She could play a few nursery rhymes on the piano, after all, and decided to buy her time by practicing the tunes she knew.
 Her fingers dashed across the the keys, filling the parlor room with the wondrous sound of "Three Blind Mice" which, consequentially , made all the mice under the floorboards but the deaf ones dearly wish they were butchered with a carving knife instead of being tortured with the thunderous, off-tune, pounding piano keys.
 After a few minutes, Alyssa declared her practice- and the unintentional extermination of every mouse in her house- a success, and she decided to return to her room to see how far the game had loaded.
 Upon seeing that the bar and managed to shoot up a whole two percent in her ten minute absence, the girl sighed, laid down on her pretty pink bed, and promptly fell asleep.

ladybugheart • 2 November 2013 at 9:23 PM

June Kim -

I trudge across the muddy grass, finally reaching the sidewalk. After scraping my shoes on the concrete to get off the dirt, I head home. My clothes drip with water from the playground, but I feel like my attempt to go outside and have some fun has failed. I don't even think climbing ladders and crawling through tunnels is really a form of exercise.

About an hour has passed since I arrived at the playground, and the air /still/ smells like worms.

When I near the house, I notice that the red flappy thing on the mailbox is up and the FedUp truck is driving away. Eagerly, I take out all the letters and carry them inside.

After shuffling through them, I throw aside all the bills, advertisements, and coupons into a pile by the door and carry the disk up to my room. For once, the mail is on time! Must be the nice weather.

And, I tell myself, this sunny day is only the beginning of things! Summer, no school, my namesake. I frolic to the computer, chucking the disk somewhere and responding to Chris.

JUNE: Lol, fail. I'm doing fine; no viruses here!

Eight hours pass by surprisingly quickly. I figure that now would be a good time to go outside again and hang out in the yard, but the grass is still muddy. Instead, I decide to stay inside and use the telescope - there's always tomorrow.

As I wait for the stars to come out, I pick the game up off the floor and slip the disk into the computer. Ten minutes remaining; not bad. After about two seconds, there are five minutes remaining. Four. Three.

Then, it shoots up to twenty. I saw that coming.

I swirl around in my swivel chair, propelling myself off the walls and bookshelves for twenty minutes. Crater swims around in his tank, and I almost crash into him. As I dump a few food pellets in, the game finishes installing, and I roll over to the computer.

asi • 9 November 2013 at 3:23 AM

[ Evan Innocent ]

Evan opened the door and stepped outside. The air was eerily still, like a corpse of its former self. In this world, he was the only thing that moved. The door creaked loudly as he shut it behind himself, then a full symphony struck up as Evan made his way across the deck and down the stairs. He winced slightly. Evan always worried about them breaking underneath him, but they had only done that once or twice yet. The consequences of those few times had been... Unpleasant to say the least. But he should be fine, as long as he watched the cracks. Probably.
When his gumboot-clad feet finally touched solid ground, he breathed a sigh of relief. The hills were rolling and green, a shade of which Evan could only describe as phthalo and somewhat phthartic to the eyes if stared at for too long a duration.... And the sky was blue, cloudless, and for now, utterly void of wind. He'd passed the danger of the shoddy house-front and now only had to worry about the random and twice-daily alternating bogs and sink holes. Also, sunburn. But that was only a problem until he fell down a hole and got covered in mud. Then there was nothing to worry about except getting out of the aforementioned pit.
Evan, in a manner consisting of appropriate levels of both caution and wariness, began his trek across the treacherous land. The boggy areas, which for the most part were situated about the house, were no good for growing crops. So much of the land they owned, they couldn't actually use. Evan often wondered why they didn't keep animals instead. Once, he had put this question to his brother, and the next week, a cute little white lamb had been brought back from town. Evan had loved that cute little white lamb. Unfortunately for him, it disappeared the next day. He always figured that was his brother's way of answering the question. Lambs always got lost, and that was why they didn't keep them... He hadn't specifically said anything about lambs though. Surely another animal would be more suitable? For some reason though, Evan had never brought it up again with his brother. Strangely enough, it always seemed to simply slip his mind...
Just then, his foot slipped, and in an extremely unpredictable turn of events, Evan plunged down through the bog and down, down...
A few centimeters. Like seriously? If Evan had drowned, suffocated or asphyxiated himself within the first four posts of his story, then it would all be rather meaningless and rather A HUGE WASTE OF TIME, now wouldn't it? And while we're broaching the subject, there was definitely no cavernous underground expanse for which he could fall into either, even if that would, among other things, explain the suspiciously low rent which meant they could afford this place. No, that would be ridiculous, and possibly illegal. Please, be realistic, okay?
... Thank you.
He reached the shed with little difficulty. Really, he does this what, every day? There's no need to make a song and a dance about it.
Unfortunately, he'd locked it up last time he'd left- as per usual- but now, Evan couldn't seem to remember where he'd placed them. We are all totally blown away by this shocking revelation. He forgot? Really? NO WAY.
Later, he'd find they'd been in his pocket all along. But for now, he utilized his hairpin which he'd had in his hair for this very reason and certainly no other, more girly alternative, in conjunction with his amazing lock-picking skills which we certainly knew all along that he had, to open it anyway.
Because really, Evan forgot where his keys were EVERY DAY. It seemed like the ONLY thing he ever did remember to do was lock the shed. Even HE would learn to expect this after more than seven years of it, and with that he would gain much practice for the skill.
In Evan's belief, there was certainly no practice more sacred, other than, of course, the ancient art of the yoyo, than that of lockpicking. What could be more noble a quest than the retrieval of goods you yourself cast beyond your reach through your own stupidity? None, of course.
Unfortunately, for all his pride of his ability, Evan was disappointed in the lack of uses to which he could put it to. If only he could find for the skill another purpose. It was great an all that he could get through locks, but only for things he really ought to be able to access anyway, if only he hadn't put the lock on it in the first place... He sighed, then entered.

nightmare • 12 December 2013 at 12:24 AM

~Fang~

Fang almost smiled in glee when the loading bar for the game finally reached 100%. He took in a deep breath and got ready to play the game when suddenly - another loading bar.

"Download 1/2 complete."

One out of two. The teenager punched his table in frustration before standing up and heading to the kitchen. Might as well eat some food as the game completed the download.

asi • 17 December 2013 at 5:40 AM

[ Evan Innocent ]

The air was rich with the dark scent of damp fertilizer and the fiercely pungent aroma of his herbal assortment, located at the very back of the shed. The sun had only just embarked on his trek to the center of Evan's sky, and had not yet reached the high windows, leaving the room entrenched in shadows. However, Evan knew this place like the back of his hand, so it was no prob-
Ouch! That was the third time this morning he'd hurt the very same toe; only this time it was a sharp pain, not a dull stubbing. With a singularly beatific smile of forgiveness, Evan reached down to retrieve the offending object and examine it thoroughly. A small speck of a light source previously left unnoted by our hero was reflected by the piece he held in his hand, and Evan correctly identified it as a shard of mirror. This in itself was an utterly unextraordinary occurrence, due to the fact that mirrors in the Innocent household were simply routinely and invariably discovered in no state other than broken. It seemed to Evan a perfectly ordinary and accepted certainty that mirrors that were not shattered were simply not a thing that was viable to the plane of existence within his house, despite the evidence due to the contrary in that new mirrors constantly appeared with their broken remains lying in perfectly believable disorder beneath them, and the effort of carrying out such a plot as smashing the things elsewhere and then artistically faking their demise inside was truly absurd. However such things were regularly lost on Evan and this could come as no surprise to any of his acquaintance.
Although the reasonable conclusion would be that his brother was the culprit and possessed some kind of mirror-smashing obsession to the point where it bordered on fetishistic, predictably that was not the explanation of which Evan had convinced himself. The ancient Romans believed that the breaking of a mirror curses the person to seven years of bad luck, due to one's soul being held in the mirror's reflection, and then trapped. Because of an incident which occurred exactly three years ago, Evan is now thoroughly ensconced in the belief that the broken mirrors are haunting him in some kind of horrible conspiracy of revenge, currently in the stage of slowly breaking him down via paranoia. He also thinks that the mirrors are broken in more ways than one, because for some reason his brother never shows up in any of them. Unfortunately, he'd been forced to sit through too many horror movies to dare try ringing an expert on the matter. The guy would undoubtably be a hero, yes, but he'd always be too late to save the cute little cursed boy. At least, that's what Evan had fearfully assumed due to the fact that he had yet to make it past the first ten minutes of any such film.
Though briefly tempted by the strange urge to test this mirror piece by speaking his brother's name three times while staring into it's depths... Evan, though with much difficulty, resisted and slipped the shard into his pants pocket, mind completely innocent of the looming hazard of sitting on the sharp edge and getting his butt cut. Tip-toeing forwards, he moved on to explore the origins of the mysterious pinprick of light he'd caught reflected in the mirror.

ladybugheart • 21 December 2013 at 9:34 PM

June Kim -

"You are the Witch of Void. Your planet is the Land of Nebula and Echo."

...Okay then. Thanks for the explanation, game creators.

It seems like one of those fantasy games with classes like Mage and Knight, but it's a shame you don't get to choose which one you want. Maybe it's multiplayer or something and needs variety. If that's the case, I'm totally playing with Chris.

JUNE: Just installed the game. I got Witch of Void and Nebula and Echo. What'd you get?

Looks like the next step is to choose a weapon. I surf through the options, which range from swords to pencils. Sure, a realistic weapon might give me an advantage, but they probably wouldn't include common items if they were powerless. Besides, it'd be fun to run around and kill enemies with a sheet of paper. I must say, paper cuts hurt.

Towards the end, the umbrella catches my eye. Now, THAT'S something I know how to use. Where I live, you don't have much of a choice, even if you're a recluse like me.

Click. Next is a timer, ticking down from five minutes, along with something that says “Proceed to the portal to enter the game." I click around with no response as the amount of time remaining decreases.

What even is this.

WHERE IS THE PORTAL EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE.

I decide to consult Chris.

JUNE: I think my game is glitched. -_- Where the heck is the portal?!

The only problem is that he might not even be online, and my time is running out. I usually avoid using walkthroughs, but I can't even start playing! Typing as quickly as I can, I search the internet, but to no avail. I guess that's normal on the first few days a game is released, but I'm down to four minutes until whatever terrible thing happens.

I resist the urge to punch my laptop screen. Is this really all the instruction they give me? The game's description was equally foggy, now leading me to question its legitimacy. A scam - that's all it was. Chris and I were scammed, and stupidly, I never questioned it.

bunnyshadow • 7 January 2014 at 6:47 PM

(Fang Deces Slyth)

When Fang trekked back to his room, the download was just about complete. He picked up his pet snake and gave it a few quick pats on the head as the 99 turned into an 100. The game started up, and two sentences appeared on his screen.

"You are the Thief of Blood. Your planet is the Land of Exsanguination and Hegemony."

Satisfied with his title, and land, he continued on to a weapons page. He scrolled through the list, with his right hand and rubbed his snake's head with his left.

"Pen, rock, book, sword, spear, scissors..." He murmured under his breath as he continued scrolling. "Zhua...?" Fang questioned, wondering vaguely what it was. "It sounds interesting...." He said as he picked the weapon.

“Proceed to the portal to enter the game."

Fang stared at the screen and the numbers ticking down on the corner of his screen, starting from 5 minutes.

What.

What portal.

He continued eyeing his screen, clicking the words portal, and enter but to no avail. Fang then began pushing all the buttons on his keyboard, expecting something to happen.

"What is this?" He said in frustration. Fang's snake hissed and squirmed as the boy squeezed it to hard. As the timer ticked from 5 minutes to 4, his patience wore down to nothing. He stood up, his pet spilling out of his lap as he slammed the door shut on his way out of the room.

(Cont.)

linpug • 21 January 2014 at 9:05 PM

Chris Man Lee

/June is playing it,/ Chris thought "so I guess I will."
Chris swallowed his pride, and put the CD inside the computer.
I CAN'T DO THIS!!!! Chris threw up his pride and sobbed in the corner.

Too Late. The game was already installed.
The message "You are the Night of Light. Your planet is the Land of Iron and Movement ." popped up on screen. OH HAHAHAH NIGHT AND LIGHT RHYME!!!


[I have writers block don't judge me.]