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Chatterbox: Inkwell
the terminal
the terminal
okay introductions first off. this is like a text adventure kind of. if you dont know what that is celineburningbright explains it here: http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/inkwell/node/553133
sidenote: celine im so sorry i promise im not stealing your idea please ive had this idea for a while im begging you i plan to contribute to your thing youre a good writer im not a plagarist officer please.
other sidenote: everybody please do celines thing too
anyway ive always wanted to do something thats kind of like a text adventure because there was a game i played when i was knee high to a grasshopper. (please assist me in bringing that saying back into common usage) and anyway the game was a text adventure and it was real cool. ive tried making text adventure type things before but they all failed. failed ideas freak me out, i feel personally guilty about their demise.
okay im getting off topic, which is a skill of mine. this is set in the same universe as everything i write, because thats the kind of perso i am. it will include: supernatural stuff. weird bit characters. elements of mystery. nightmare sequences. distinct stylistic choices by yours truly.
and most of all, it will involve you, reader. for through the terminal, you will be able to support the character you have been given control of. dont let the power get to your head. possible suggestions for actions will be provided, if you ask for them.
ill post the first turn after this post shows up. feel free to ask questions, ill answer them if i decide that i want to.
submitted by Lord Entropy
(August 24, 2023 - 9:47 pm)
(August 24, 2023 - 9:47 pm)
BOLT OUT FRONT DOOR==>
You consider running out the door for a second, but realize that would be too conspicuous, so you just kind of sprint. Fortunately, Wren and Alex are also moving rather quickly, so your movements aren't too out of place. You sprint around a corner, and out a door in the laundry room, and onto the deck in the backyard.
You pause, and absorb your surroundings.
There's th backyard, which stretches back unusually far, with its meticulously tended garden, which Wren keeps growing, even in the midst of the overgrown grass and weeds that make up the majority of the yard. What a perfect synopsis of her existence, and of the role she has chosen. In a wild, chaotic place, she keeps something beautiful. She toils over it, because she feels she must. You glance over at her, at your closest frien-
Oh geez, she's kind of glaring at you, what did you do?
YOU: Is something wrong, Wren?
Wren: Hm. No.
YOU: You are glaring at me. Are you irritated?
Wren: Heh, no... Well, okay, a little. Just, you runnng behind me the second we were in trouble... But no, not really. Next time you're scared, just leap into my arms, like Scooby-Doo.
You nod, storing this request in your mind.
Wren: Mostly, I'm mad at Grandpa, for messing with you guys on purpose. He's such a jerk sometimes! It's not like he has anything to gain from antagonizing you, he just does it for giggles, I guess! You're freaked out already, you're having nightmares and stuff... I'm not doing a good job looking after you...
YOU: Hey, you do not have to look aftr me! I am not a child... Well, I am, but you are as well. Do not infantalize me! We look after each other, okay?
She nods, smiling slightly.
YOU: And one of us should probably also look after Alex. He might feel left out.
You turn to Alex, and give him a quick thumbs-up, to make sure he noticed you defending his honor. He doesn't respond. He's just kind of... looking up at the line of trees blankly.
Wren: Alex, are you all right?
Alex: ...
YOU: Alex?
Alex: ... Let's go see some rivers.
You nod, and the three of you begin to walk. You realize that you kind of form a triangle shape while walking, with Wren at the front (on account of her long legs, and long strides) and you and Alex behind her, Alex with his uneven, short strides, and you with your... short legs. After a short while, you cross into the forest, and the change in atmosphere is sudden and jarring. Wren leads you down a very steep hill, which Alex almost falls down. Your reach the bank of a stream.
Alex: Huh. The water is definitely green.
He dips his hand in the water.
Alex: Yeah, it actually is... Weirdly thick.
You suddenly hear the sound of something rapidly sliding down a cliff. You look up, and se it's a person. They have shoulder length black hair, and they're wearing an oversize burgundy jacket. They're moving toward you rapidly...
What do you do?
(September 29, 2023 - 9:58 pm)
hey, this is kinda random, but i feel the sudden urge to inform you of my voice headcanons for some of the characters.
The Alien-David Lynch
Diana-Peridot (from steven universe)
Grandpa-Ron Perlman
thats all i got
(September 29, 2023 - 10:01 pm)
Charge the person and splash them with river water
(October 3, 2023 - 8:16 pm)
CHARGE MYSTERY PERSON==>
You charge at the person and kick the green water, splashing them.
???: Wha... Why?!
YOU: Sorry, sorry! I do not know why I did that! You were charging me, and...
???: Okay, understood I guess. But I'm lost in the woods, and I swear I've passed this cliff three times. And Then I found you guys.
Wren: We literally just entered the woods. You can see my house from here.
Wren turns around to look behind her, and you turn too. You can't see her house.
Wren: That's weird... How did we get this deep in the woods?
Alex: Wait, I want to know who this random stranger is before we do anything else.
Ten: Okay. I'm Ten, I'm from Western Washington University. I live in Bellingham, usually.
Wren: That's... A far way from Emerald Springs. What are you doing here.
Ten: My girlfriend vanished, and I have reason to believe she's around here. She was... uh... researching this thing called "zonal sciences," which I don't know the first thing about but somehow has something to do with a bunch of secret societies in your town. And then she vanishes overnight, and won't answer her cell phone, and I get this really weird dream....
YOU: Did this dream involve an alien?
Ten: No, but there was a short guy in a green suit...
You turn to Wren, and see she's gone pale.
Wren: ... This is weird. This is... This is too weird.
Wren suddenly runs into the woods, without warning.
What do you do?
(October 4, 2023 - 9:09 pm)
follow her duhh!
(sorry sorry I'll stop answering I need to let other ppl answer Ik I just can't... ahh.. ok I won't answer next round if I do ignore it sorryyy)
(October 4, 2023 - 10:33 pm)
i really don't mind who sends commands as long as a command is sent.
i'll try to have a part done tomorrow, but no guarantees, i have drivers ed!
(October 5, 2023 - 9:05 pm)
Top
(October 3, 2023 - 7:55 pm)
a little late, but it's whatever.
~~~
FOLLOW WREN==>
You run after Wren, who seems to be heading in the direction you came from. The chase is hectic, and you wonder about halfway through about Alex, realizing that you actually just abandoned him, leaving him with a complete stranger. Oh well?
Wren stops about as suddenly as she started, going from a full run to a complete stop in under a second.
Wren: This doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense. We should be out of the woods. We should be home. But look, the forest keeps going. It stretches on... And on...
YOU: Wren...
Wren: And I ran! I ditched you and Alex the second I was scared... That isn't... That's not like me.
YOU: Yes, I have been acting strangely recently as well. Perhaps the very same issue is affecting you.
Wren: No... This isn't like me, but it is me. I'm doing this, don't you understand? I'm a coward.
YOU: Well I think you-
Wren: AND a hypocite, we can add that to the list. I mean, I was just getting on your case for being afraid of Grandpa, and here I am panicking over... Over...
YOU: Wren, I-
Wren: But this is weird, right? This is weird. Having the same dream as some rando from miles away, a forest that just keeps growing... This is weird, none of this is possible...
YOU: I am trying to-
Wren: But, but you've been trying to tell me all this kind of stuff is real for ages, and this means your alien dreams are probably real too, and I... Oh, Deen, I'm so sorry I laughed at you...
YOU: WREN. I never minded when you laughed at me. It... Actually made me kind of happy. In a weird way. And, okay, you are scared. Big deal, you are a falliable human being! I forgive you. But we cannot do anything about our situation if we are seperated from our friend. We need to plan this. We do not know the mechanics of how these strange occurences work. If the froest can stretch to such a point where we can no longer reach home, the forest could likely stretch in any direction. We should head out now, who knows how far away Alex is now?
Wren: Deen... some thing is approaching.
Something is. And whatever it is, it doesn't look human. You could get a better look at it, or you could run.
What do you do?
(October 8, 2023 - 9:24 pm)
top
(October 9, 2023 - 8:09 pm)
Be brave and take a closer look
(October 12, 2023 - 3:06 pm)
GET A CLOSER LOOK==>
You try to move, but you can’t budge. You wonder if this is what being paralyzed with fear feels like. You take a closer look at the… thing approaching.
It has long, ropy arms, hanging at its’ sides. And it’s tall, really tall. It has pale pink skin and a face that opens like a flower. It has long white hair flowing in the wind.
It looks like something that’d never seen a human being tried to sculpt a statue of one, described to them in snippets of almost indecipherable sound, and that after completing the statue, thay had melted the face off of it.
And it was moving.
You leap into Wren’s arms, like Scooby-doo.
Wren: What are you doing?!
YOU: What you instructed me to do. I am afraid.
Wren: … That was a joke, Dee.
YOU: Oh. Sorry.
Wren: Heh. That’s okay. But, please get down.
You do.
The thing sees you, that much is clear. And it’s coming towards you.
What do you do?
>FIGHT
>RUN
>STAND YOUR GROUND
(October 13, 2023 - 2:59 pm)
stand your ground
(October 15, 2023 - 1:14 pm)
STAND YOUR GROUND==>
Somehow, in the dizzying cavalcade of fear and reservations consuming your mind, you manage to find enough strength to not run away.
Wren: What is that thing? Deen, do you have any idea? Any plan? Or...
YOU: I have never been the level-headed one before, and I do not wish to start now!
Wren: You're the expert on stuff like this! I'm fairly certain you've thought this through before! Do you know what this thing is?
YOU: I have heard stories about lost people being transformed into things that wander the forests... Things called "woodsmen."
Wren: Okay, so this is a woodsman-
YOU: Not necessarily. I would not base my worldview around folktales. I am a serious scientist.
Wren: Okay, no you're not. Psuedoscience is not science. And.... This is the wrong time for this discussion.
The thing speeds up from a slow gait to a sprint. The things' arms are scraping against the ground as it bounds toward you. It's... Face folds? Petals? Whatever terminology is best for the pieces of its face, they are currently shifting. It's making a noise. A noise that almost sounds like a name.
Woodsman(?): lllliiiiiiilllllliiiiiiiieeeeee..... hssssshhh...lllliiillieeeeeeeeeee
Lillie. Is that it's name? Is it introducing itself? Or is "Lillie" the name of whatever it's hunting for? And you can't rule out the possibility that the noise it's making has no real meaning.
YOU: Wren! Stay perfectly still! Mmmaybe it can only see motion?
Wren: Yeah, and maybe it can smell fear! We have literally no basis to make guesses about how it works biologically!
"Lillie," for lack of a better name, has stopped directly in front of you.
What do you do?
(October 16, 2023 - 10:02 pm)
"Stay perfectly still" like Wren said and try to telepathetically communicate calm, friendly thoughts to the creature. (No idea if Lillie chases people when they run away, or if Lillie has any bad intentions, so I thought it best to stay safe). Hopefully this is the right choice...
(October 18, 2023 - 10:39 pm)
STAY PERFECTLY STILL ==>
You stand perfectly still. The thing, "Lillie", is leaning down toward you. It makes these odd panting noises...
Lillie(?): hhhhhhh.....wwwwhhhherreessssss....llllliiiiiillllliiiieeeeee?
Okay... So it's looking for someone named Lillie? Huh. You still don't have anything better to call it. So "Lillie" is looking at you... Looking? It doesn't have eyes, so it's hard to tell what t's doing. You start to wonder about how it works, biologically. No eyes, ventilation in the face that is ostensibly for breathing purposes, and some form of vocal chords, because it can speak, or at least make noises adjacent to speech.
You've gotten off track again. You need to pay better attention to the actual things happening.
THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS==>
You try to keep your mind on positive things in case "Lillie" can read your thoughts or whatever. This is a little more difficult than it might have been, since one of the most positive things in your life is standing next to you, and you're uncertain as to whether you could save her if it came down to that. No. That's a bad direction to go down. Think about something else. Think about...
Alex! And the random college student you left him with. What are they doing right now? Are there... things near them too? The person who leapt down a cliff... what did they say their name was?
Lillie(?): ttttttteeeeennnnnnnnn.......hssssssss....
Ten. That was it.
Lillie(?): knnnnnoooowwwwsssss....wh......where.....lllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee.....
Lillie(?): hhhhhhhh..... YOU WILL TAKE US.
What do you do next?
(October 21, 2023 - 10:03 pm)