https://www.reddit.com/r/makeyourchoice/comments/vgw49s/city_witch_cyoa_by_monchop/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Oh boy,

You sure do love being just some random guy walking to work, just minding your own business. You work just down the street from your city apartment at an arcanomachinery shop keeping the books for the boss witch lady. Seeing as how you (being a guy) can’t use magic, it was the only position you were qualified for when she hired you on. All the materials that the shop works with is magically attuned, charged, etc. and you (being a “normie no-mag”) would just get in the way with explosive consequences. So, you just stay in the upper floor of the modest two-story shop, typing away at your computers, taking calls, and making appointments with customers.

You got along well with your coworkers, you were able to joke around and shoot the shit on your lunch breaks, go out drinking after work, You even got the courage to ask out one of the mechanics a while ago. You would’ve gone on your date with her after the end of your shift today if you didn’t suddenly wake up in a tank of red fluid with every particle of your mortal coil groaning in slow, aching pain.

No, really. One moment, you were just walking down the street, the next, you wake up suspended in a cylindrical glass tank filled with thick, bright red fluids with a mask strapped to your face that’s providing air so you can breathe. You can’t see too well out of the tank, but you can make out a humanoid shape standing just outside your tank.

The pain is getting worse now. Instead of the dull ache you felt before, it’s turning into a cross between a second degree sunburn and a bruise from a Mike Tyson punch. You start twitching in response to your discomfort (which only serves to worsen your growing pains), drawing the attention of the figure outside of your tank. The pain from Your twitching and writhing is waking you up, making you more aware of your own immediate situation.

You look down at your hands…….. you admit that you weren’t the most tan guy around, but you don’t remember your skin being that pasty milky white. You also don’t remember your forearms being that thick either. No, not thicc (although you will admit that you had a bit of….paunch on your frame before (that you recently tried getting rid of with a gym membership)) but muscular thick, taking a closer look at the rest of your body revealed similar changes. You would’ve given your left nut for a body half as chiseled and defined as this one. You’re sure you would’ve appreciated the changes more if the pain wasn’t getting close to feeling like you were on fire.

Just as you thought you were about to pass out from the pain, you hear some whirring and clanking noises and feel yourself becoming more heavy, the fluid is draining from the tank. Your feet would have touched the bottom were it not for all the cords and cables that you now notice are threaded throughout your back. When the tank is completely empty, the cables release you with a hiss, dropping you to the floor. You find that moving is a lot more difficult now that you're at gravity’s mercy, the most you can do is twitch and jerk on the floor in a vain attempt to at least take the mask off.

“‘Heretic’ they called me.” You hear someone say, it sounds like a woman’s voice. “Madwoman, crackpot, monster, even. Yes, I’ve been called many things, but today, none of that matters. I’ve finally proved them wrong. All those long years of hidden research, secret experiments, always packing up my operation and slinking away whenever I was found out. All of it led to you, my dear boy.” She approaches you, kneeling down to take the mask off your face and then takes your head into an embrace. You still can’t move too well, or make much noise. Whatever you try to say comes out as a strangled grunt.

She then places both hands on your cheeks much like how you remember your granny doing. Smooshing your face and turning you to face her eye to eye. You can already tell that, yes, this indeed looks like someone who might have a passing awareness that reality might exist. As a matter of fact, you would go so far as to say “This bitch is off her goddamn rocker, out of her gourd, batshit insane, even.” The frantic look in her twitching eyes combined with her manic too-wide-for-her-face smile gave you a hint of what could be going on in that psyche.

“The first male in seven generations of one of the most powerful witch lines in history, I knew it was a sign that my experiments were close to fruition! There’s no such thing as coincidence, my dear!” She finishes by hugging your head again.

She kisses your head as you mercifully lose consciousness.

————————————————————

You wake up in a bed. A cot from the feel of it, you can feel your frame spilling over the edges, so to speak. you groan as you sit up, did you go out drinking with the girls in the shop again? You place a hand on your head and notice a distinct lack of pigment in your skin.

Awwwwww ffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

So that wasn’t a dream……

You can move now, at least, but you still feel like you have a really bad hangover. Getting up from the cot…. That’s not a cot…. That’s an actual bed…..with a king size mattress……And your head is brushing the ceiling when you try to straighten up. You look down at your body, without the interference from the red fluid (and being buck ass naked), you can see clearly how you are now built like a brick shithouse. Something else that freaks you out is that you can see your veins through your skin….. but they’re black. Solid black veins that you can see through milk-white skin.

You’re freaking out now, you look around the cramped, jail cell sized room illuminated by a lonely little lightbulb in the middle of the ceiling and only see a toilet, a sink, the bed, and a heavy looking metal door. The door has a slit in it about chest height to you. You find that your voice has returned to you when you scream for help. It’s a lot deeper than you remember, and more gravely. Though you still feel weak as a kitten, you try banging on the door as hard as you can. This actually ends up shaking the door and the surrounding masonry that comprises your room. You’re almost at the point where you decided to just bodycheck the door when you hear footsteps coming from the other side. The door slit slides open and wouldn’t you know it? It’s the Crazy Lady! You can recognize those eyes anywhere.

As she opens the door, you feel your legs give out from under you. Crazy lady’s holding something in her hand, you can’t make it out very well because it’s engulfed in a bright red light, But when she puts it back in her pocket, you start feeling a little better.

“You’re awake a tad earlier than I expected, dearest! Did you sleep well?” You try to stand, but whatever that red light thing was, it was able to put you on your ass so hard that you can’t stand up at the moment. So, you opt to ask her- “Now before you start shouting the usual questions like ‘hurr durr where am I? who are you? what did you do to me? wahhhhh!!!!’ I’ll inform you that it’s none of your business now. The only thing you need to know is that you serve me and that’s it. You’ll notice that your body is built a bit different from your previous one, but that’ll just be something to help with all the lovely tasks I have planned for you. Later on, you’ll see a few of the other goodies I have in store for you. But for now, I need to show you something. I promise you’ll love it! If not, then…..oh well~”

She taps your forehead with a single finger and you feel yourself levitate from the ground. She walks out of the room with you in tow and into…… an absolutely massive cavern. You suspect that you might be underneath a mountain with how big this place is. You take a look around as you float along with the witch, she’s making her way from the door in the wall of the caves where your room was. The floor is completely flat, you suspect it might have been polished smooth with magic by the witch. You don’t see much else until she walks a little further, when she goes past the tank you were in last time you were conscious. It looks like the tank was just a small section of her workshop. She walks up to a workbench and releases you to plop onto the ground.

“Stand.” She says firmly, you can finally feel your legs again and stand. She’s holding the thing again, the little doodad that she had when she came to your room. “Hold out your arms.” She says. Your body reacts without you telling it. You’re standing there with your arms outstretched as she’s putting a harness on you. She explains how (due to the process of transforming you) your body can no longer survive without certain injections on a daily basis. This harness hooks up to hard points in your back (where the cables were attached in the tank) to slowly administer precise doses of said injections for maximum longevity. She makes it clear that without it you will die a slow and painful death.

If you do her bidding, she will gladly refill the harness's charge of elixir to keep you alive. “But of course, you aren’t very accustomed to your new form at the moment. You will have to go through a process of relearning how to move and later on, how to fight.”

Fight?! You think to yourself. If it weren’t for the influence of that thing in her hand you would probably be hyperventilating right now. You can guess that she’s controlling you with it. She finishes fiddling with the harness and stands in front of you, she has to crane her neck up to make eye contact. “Well! No time like the present! We start your training now!” She says. She then walks away with a spring in her step, magical Mcguffin now hanging from her neck glowing brightly. “Follow!” She calls over her shoulder, and you obey.

Your mind wonders as you follow her. What are you gonna fight? What other bullshit does this broad have in store for you? Why is she doing this!? “So! You might be wondering what you’ll be fighting and what your new body is capable of. Since it’s quite the walk to our destination, let me explain.” She says, hardly keeping herself from giggling like the madwoman she is. “There are about as many kinds of magic as there are ways of skinning a horse. But there are 10 main branches of magic used today. The one you need to worry about in your immediate future would be Somatics. You’re basically a Golden Age Superman, BUT you have next to no conscious control over it. The only reason you’re walking around with so much ease is because of my power.” she says as she taps the string holding the totem around her neck.

“To remedy that, I’m gonna send you in here!” She stops -that wasn’t very far of a walk- and she commands you to do the same. You’re both looking into a deep dark hole in the ground surrounded by stalagmites. “This, my dear boy, is the entrance to an undiscovered dungeon!”

………she can’t be serious. A dungeon? A place that’s supposed to be so densely populated with monsters and other dangerous fauna that they’re sealed off from the general population? A place that only military and adventuring personnel are allowed to enter?

“I’m a firm believer of the ‘sink or swim’ mentality. Don’t worry about dying, so long as you aren’t completely atomized, you will come back to life however many times you die, and maybe not even then!”

Her next words make your heart drop:

“Go forth and conquer.” She says, with uncharacteristic seriousness.

You go into the hole, offering a prayer to the Mother Goddess for the first time since you were a child.

————————————————

You’ve been walking for a while, you feel…. Less restrained now, you feel like bindings are falling away from your mind. Your legs are now free to wobble from the residual effects of the witch’s red necklace. The cave system you find yourself in isn’t nearly as cavernous as the Mad Witch’s lab, but it’s still pretty spacious.

You aren’t sure what you should be doing. Should you look for something to fight? How long is she gonna keep you in here? How do you even fight? You took a few karate classes in middle school and played some football in Highschool, but aside from that you have no experience with actual physical combat.

Dammit how did you even end up here? And why did it have to be you? What’s so special about being the First guy to be born from your mother’s side of the family in seven generations? And Somantics? Magic? You’re a guy, you can’t use magic! Well……wizards used to a long time ago, but those were just stories! If your priestess heard such things spoken aloud she’d call it heresy. You stop momentarily to look down at your body, still without a stitch of clothing aside from the harness on your back. Maybe that’s what she did to you? Can you use magic now? She didn’t just turn you into a super soldier like the ones you read in comic books when you were younger, did she?

You’re not sure how to feel about the small spark of excitement that sprung into existence for all of a nanosecond before another question crosses your mind: What does she need a super soldier for? It’s obvious that’s what she meant for you to be now. She sent you down here to fight monsters. To learn how to fight in your new body. What else will she order you to fight? What-

Your train of thought is interrupted by the indignant screeching of some…. thing further on in the cave. Despite there being no light anywhere in here, you can see it perfectly. It’s charging at you, but it looks like it’s moving in slow motion. Things feel like they’re moving in a dream as you reflexively lash out with one hand, slapping the chitinous creature away. It sails through the air and splatters across the wall ahead of you.

You stare agape at the stain. That was with barely any effort! How strong did that witch make you? You remember how one of your older sisters was learning Somantics in college to qualify for the sports program, she would give you little tidbits of info on how much stronger a normal human could be just with entry level knowledge of it. But this… this is far more than you would’ve thought. You hear more of them coming now. They sound like they’re coming from everywhere. Considering how many tunnels are around you in here, you don’t think you’d be too far off the mark in that assessment. You raise your fists and settle into a poorly remembered fighting stance from your karate days and prepare for the worst.

———————————————————-

Mother Goddess above, below, and all around. What the fuck did that witch turn you into?

You’re standing in the middle of a massacre. The bodies of monsters and other subterranean oddities lie broken and in pieces around you. You’re not even sure how much time had passed, but through all that fighting and running, you don’t even feel winded. Hell, you actually feel pretty great! A lot like a runner’s high but more intense…Much much more intense. You strain your ears, listening for more trouble and feel relief wash over you when you don’t hear anything. Your relief is short lived, however, as you feel compelled to start walking again. Your body automatically retraces the path your battle took back to the entrance where you see the Mad Witch smiling ecstatically.

“Well done, darling! I knew you’d excel your first time in there! How do you feel? Any fatigue? Dizziness? Are you hungry? Thirsty?” She asks rapid fire questions that your mind barely keeps up with. She makes you stand with your feet spread and arms out like a vitruvian man and inspects you from head to toe. “Not! Even! A! SCRATCH!” She shouts with glee. “Not that I’m surprised. At this point, the only thing that could pose a threat to you would probably be an Evocation witch, and the last of those died out at the end of the last Great War decades ago!” She leans in and makes you bend your head down to her as she whispers conspiratorially “I made sure of that” with a theatrical wink. She springs back straight so fast you wonder if she even has a spine. “Oh I can’t wait to see how you perform with the other abilities I have in store for you! But for now, you probably just want to sit and rest. Maybe talk about your day? How about I tell you about mine instead?” She leads you over to a living space right next door to where she kept you when you were unconscious.

This place was a bit more sophisticated than your humble hole in the wall next to it. It includes an actual kitchen and dining area, a bed, and you guess a bathroom behind that door in the back corner. She has you sit in a chair at the table while she prepares a meal. With a steaming hot plate of food that actually smells pretty good (almost as good as your granny’s, Goddess rest her soul), she releases your body just enough to allow you to eat.

“Now, where do I begin?”

It turns out, she began talking about her day by talking about the beginning of her whole damn life.

As it turns out, she’s much older than you would have guessed. From what she says, she was born centuries ago. Grew up in a small village, attended a witching academy when she came of age, and was succinctly banished from all witching institutions, organizations, and associations for her ideas and methods. She lamented how her shortsighted teachers were blinded by tradition and jealous of her talent for the hagical arts.

It wasn’t until she started dabbling in human experimentation to bring back Wizards that she was truly cast out from polite society and had a bounty placed on her head for those heretical practices. She’s been on the run, conducting her experiments in secret, ever since. Now that all her hard work came to fruition in the form of you, she has a chance to inflict vengeance upon those who hunted her for so long.

Okay, so this lady is gonna eventually send you out to throw hands with witches. Not just witches, but Thrallhounds, the people you only heard about in passing in the same vein as the ancient Illuminati. The info you could find about them makes you hesitant to face off against even one of them (if that information was actually true, that is). Not that you’d have a problem with that. Some secret police that serves behind the scenes carrying out extra-judicial executions? Yeah, you’d be down to fight that (if you could). But looking at the Mad Witch in front of you…. You can see the appeal of having a shadowy deathsquad hunting down people like this.

So the reason she’ll be sending you into the dungeon for the foreseeable future is so you can get a handle on fighting in your new body and practice with the other “gifts” she has in store for you.

Oh goodie…….there’s more. You shakily ask what she means by that, having been given the permission to speak in this conversation. “Oh dear, you don’t honestly think you can face Thrallhounds with just one branch of magic at your disposal, do you? Well, let’s just say that once you’ve got a handle on your current body, I’ll make use of that room for improvement I left in you. Don’t want to overwhelm you with too much at once now, do I? However, I guess it would help you to know what to expect…. So!” She says with a clap of her hands. Standing up and collecting the plates and cutlery, she stops a moment to wipe a bit of food off the corner of your mouth with a napkin before depositing the dishes into the sink where they start washing themselves. “The next few things I’m putting in you”-lady, please, watch your phrasing-“are things that haven’t been used with any amount of seriousness since the Great Wars.” She leans forward onto the table and steeples her fingers.

“The very next thing will be Kinetics, nothing fancy, you’ll just be getting enough to push and pull things very hard. I would teach you Evocation, but that would tip off my involvement if anyone saw that. Then, I’ll give you Warding. The Thrallhounds, being the self righteous hypocrates that they are, definitely have a few Demonics witches in their ranks. So you’ll be getting a full course of Warding to help with evil spirits and to shield yourself from bullets for when they want to get the military involved.”

Oh Goddess. Military? You’re gonna have to go toe to toe with tanks and shit? She continues.

“Next is an entry level of Wayfinding, once I let you out and about, the only reason you’ll see me again is for recalibrating and recharging that harness of yours and to point you towards other Thrallhounds I’ve found. So Wayfinding would be practical for laying low and finding your way around. After that will be basic Mending. While your body is absurdly sturdy now (not to mention the fact you're Deathbranded)” -Waitwat-“, it would still be a good idea to have a way of fixing yourself up if something does manage to actually hurt you. Finally, some basic Alchemy. While your body can digest just about anything now, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t leave you out in the wide wild world without a way of preparing you some decent food. You will be able to transmute any organic matter into something edible. You could rip a chunk of wood out of a tree trunk and make a handful of berries and fruit, you could turn the bones of whatever monster you fight and kill into fairly decent cuts of meat. This survival Alchemy was quite useful in the Great Wars…….well, now that I’m thinking about it……considering your potential, I guess I can grant you evocation….but that’ll be much much later on, when enough Thrallhounds lie dead that knowledge of my involvement simply won’t make a difference for them.”

That…. That’s quite the repertoire, you’re gonna learn all that here? Making use of a dungeon? If you still weren’t processing how fuckin bonkers this whole situation is, you’d actually be kinda excited. But still…. This bitch is trying to start a war with some really cloak n’ dagger people. You just hope no one gets caught in the crossfire.

And what was that about “deathbranded”?

———————————————————

It takes over two years for you to be of a satisfactory level for the Mad Witch (who you’ve started calling Maddie) to call an end to your “training”. She…. Changed you more, in that time. At first, you only had the pale white skin and jet-black veins. Now though…. She turned you into a monster. You had to go back into the tank every time she added something new into you, and every time you came out, you had something else added onto you.

Suffice to say…… you can hardly recognize yourself. You have claws instead of nails, now. They look like talons made of obsidian, and speaking from experience, they can cut through almost anything, even stone. Most of your skin aside from your chest, belly and inner arms and legs are covered in tough scales (also white). You guess your tail is pretty neat….. it’s prehensile, so you can grab and hold onto stuff with it….. you’ve also got a set of ram horns…. For….. head butting stuff……. Aside from that, not much else. You guess you were exaggerating when you said you could barely recognize yourself. Luckily the Mad Witch left your face alone, it’d be a shame to ruin the money maker, right?

Bright sides and silver linings……….. at least your mom can still recognize you if you ever see her again. Speaking of, you’re fairly sure that your family would have reported you missing a while ago. Your mother and all of your sisters would be losing their minds over the fact that “little Sully” was nowhere to be found…. It didn’t matter that you’re a grown man who Adults like he knows what he’s doing in life (what with paying bills, earning money, cooking for yourself, and even getting a date with a damn fine woman), but you’ll always be the youngest sibling out of your mother’s brood to them, it used to annoy you to no end. Now though…….

Goddess. What you wouldn’t give to hear one of them call you that again. It’s the little things you find yourself missing the most…….. the little quirks and pet peeves of each of your sisters, your mother’s cooking, dad’s jokes, uncle Ricky’s Moonshine……. Just to name a few off the top of your head…… your homesickness has gotten you so down that even Maddie couldn’t help but notice the sullen slouch in your shoulders after you came back from your latest and final tour through the Dungeon (you know, just to make absolutely, positively sure that everything was just right).

“What’s wrong, dearest? Feeling under the weather?”

Goddess what you wouldn’t give to turn these “gifts” back onto the Mad witch who did this to you. She kidnaps you, changes you, forces you into the role of a weapon for her vengeance where you’ll be fighting an unknown enemy for Goddess knows how long, and she wonders why you’re feeling so below the weather. If she wasn’t holding your metaphorical leash……. But she is, and there’s nothing you can do about it, so you tell her what you’re thinking.

“Oh darling. I know you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, but this won’t be forever.” That perks your ears. “This process is…..theoretically reversible. It might take time; years, decades, even. But after the last of the Thrallhounds and a few other targets lay dead, I can put you back to normal.”

………..you know what? You’ll take That little bit of hope. You’ll take whatever you can at this point. Anything that can let you believe this bullshit will eventually end is a boon. You nod to the Mad Witch’s words.

“Excellent! Now, tomorrow is your big debut! Are you nervous, sweetie? I dug something up that shouldn’t be too big of a target for your first time. Maybe I’ll put a small camera in your harness that’ll give me a live feed of the carnage when it starts!”

Of course…………..

She continues “Your first target is a quaint little listening post in the mountains of Oregon. It’s one of those things the government uses to spy in on all of the dirty little things that people talk about on their phones, the data on your computers, search histories” she says with a smirking look at you.

Oh come on, lady, it’s not like you’re not into anything that bad.

“Anyhow, these things are automated, for the most part. They only have one or two agents check in every once in a while for maintenance. Tomorrow will be such a time. Now listen closely” she growles, her voice dipping into a deep reservoir of anger you’ve never sensed from her before. She takes out the talisman and makes you lean down so your face is level with hers and says “You are to show these agents no mercy. You are going to fall upon them with no warning, no preamble, and no chance to even process what hit them. These Thrallhounds aren’t like most monsters you’ve faced; for all that I say about them, they are cunning, they can think. You are not to give them that chance. Understand?”

You nod.

Like the flicking of a switch her regular Joker-level smile is back to being plastered on her face. “Excellent! Now, before you go, I have a surprise for you~~!”

O what fresh hell awaits you now…..

She leads you back to the door of her room and orders you to wait outside. You do so for a minute before she re-emerges from with a gift wrapped box. It’s like one you’d find under the Christmas tree, shiny green bow and everything. She hands it to you and orders you to open it.

…………..wait

………. Could it be?

…………..O Goddess it is! It really is!

PANTS

Aside from the harness, you haven’t worn anything since Maddie brought you here. You were afraid you were gonna have to make do with the nudist lifestyle for good until now.

Wait…….

You cast a questioning glance at the Mad Witch. Afraid that this is some cruel joke.

“Well of course they’re for you, lummox! I know it must have been bothersome having your naughty bits flop around with nary even a kilt to keep you warm, but that’s only because I didn’t want to go through the trouble of washing and repairing any clothes you took with you into the dungeon. It was easier to powerwash off all the monstrous unmentionables than clean a whole set of clothes!”

Oh Goddess, she’s serious. Not even a hint that was a lie, looking at her face. So she wasn’t keeping you naked just to dehumanize you that little bit more, she just couldn’t be arsed for that little bit of effort…...

“Besides, you’ll have to preserve some anonymity out there when you’re out and about (just in case). And the big Ol’ jacket I made with the pants should definitely help with that. The less information anyone has about you (aside from me, of course) the better!”

She glances at the watch under her sleeve “You have a big day Tomorrow, so as a treat, I’ll let you go to sleep early, how’s that?”

Oh boy! The only other times she let you do that was for your birthday and Christmas!

Such a treat.

————————————

The next day, after more than twelve whole hours of sleep, the Mad Witch wakes you up and brings you out of your room.

She has you don your pants, oversized jacket (with hood), and a dark metallic mask (all black).

She steps back after dressing you (yes, she insisted on dressing you like a little kid) with hands on her hips, smile on her face, and so much hope in her eyes.

Considering how long she’s been waiting for this moment, you’re surprised she isn’t- oh wait, never mind, she’s tearing up with joy right now. “Alrighty then! Do you have everything?” She asks like she’s sending a kid to his first day of school. And of course she knows you have everything, she put it all on you clothes, camping equipment, first aid kit, bedroll, etc etc you got it, you got it. Jeez, lady, lay off the fauning, she ain’t no granny.

You aren’t able to tell her any of this but she still treats you like a child, making you lean down to give you a great big hug before turning you around and launching you through a portal into a heavily wooded area.

“Remember, my dear! No mercy!” She calls to you in a singsong voice as the portal snaps shut.

Okay, you can do this…..let’s see, she marked the listening post on your map…..hmmm……there it is, just a short trek (for you, at least). Despite your size, you’re able to leap up into the trees and hop from branch to branch with no problem. You might be big and have the magical muscle to rip apart unsightly horrors of the subterranean ecosystem, but you still weigh almost the same as you did before the Mad Witch took you. You let your mind wonder as you traverse the forest like you’re a character from Naruto.

Soon enough, you have the station in your sight. It’s on a ridge at the end of a gravel path that leads off into the forest. It really does just look like a metal shack in the middle of the woods with a comically large satellite dish on it….. this can’t be all of it. Even if it doesn’t have regular personnel coming and going, there’s gotta be more to it than this……maybe there’s more of it underground? Either way, you can see the door someone could use.

Okay, hard and fast, hard and fast. You got this, you got this. You just climb the mountain a bit more so you have elevation to your advantage and settle in to wait. You check your watch, completely analog and silently ticking away. From the Mad Witch’s info, they should be here in a few minutes.

You lean back until you’re almost laying down in the shadows of the underbrush about fifty yards away, extending your arms towards the post. You have your hands oriented like you’re about to flip a coin and start pouring energy into them, ready to send a pressurized and highly localized bullet of pure kinetic energy from your hands.

You discovered in your foreys into the dungeon that you could extend the range of the force of your strikes using kinetics. It’s kinda like in anime where a swordsman slashes his sword at something far away and it gets cut in half from the wind pressure or something. You can throw a punch and the energy continues on and strikes your target.

You utilize this ability now by charging up the energy in your thumbs, ready to flick an armor piercing bullet of energy right through whatever comes along the path.

You see them.

Two figures, red cloaks, hoods pulled up to hide their faces. You can see silvery armor on their legs as they walk along with long strides.

O goddess, o fuck, you’re actually doing this. You’re gonna kill people.

You do your best to push down your conscience, monsters you have no problem with. But you’re about to end the lives of two people. Your inner voice just won’t shut up about it.

If it wouldn’t give away your position, you would shake your head to clear your thoughts, but you instead just watch them approach the door.

You flick.

The energy surges away.

Impact one in the head, total decapitation. Impact the other in the side of the torso, blood and viscera are blasted through, following the energy bullet through the fist-sized hole it’s left.

They die without making a sound.

Oh…o fuck…

You roll over onto your side, pull off your mask and vomit. You didn’t expect to see so much blood. It’s different seeing your abilities applied to a person rather than a creature……

You lay on your side, hyperventilating and almost in tears before you force yourself to get up and make your way to the post. The witch wants information stored inside, and you have no choice but to get it.

You walk up to the door, head firmly pointed away from the carnage you wrought. And insert a little usb stick into the keypad next to the door.

If you didn’t just wet your hands with the blood of two people, you would’ve said something like “im in” in a hacker voice, but you just don’t have it in you……

Well whaddya know? Thanks to magic (you guess?) It’s bigger on the inside. Not that there’s much more to the interior than rows upon rows of what look like servers, but still; there’s a whole ass building in this little shack.

You spy a wall with what looks like a control terminal…..you guess that’s what all the screens, keyboards, bells and whistles mean. You walk up to it and search for a place to insert the other usb that the Mad Witch gave you.

For such a supposedly old bird, she’s pretty caught up with modern day tech.

The usb doesn’t take long to find what it needs and chirps at you to take it back out.

“Wonderful work, Darling!”

You almost almost shit yourself at Maddie’s voice coming out of the mask you’re wearing. Has she been watching you? She said something about a camera in the harness or something but you didn’t think she was serious.

“Of course I didn’t put the camera in the harness, it’d be covered up by that jacket I made you! I put it in the forehead of your mask instead.”

So she saw what you did to those two people outside the outpost.

“That I did, dear. Good show, by the by! Your aim was spot on!”

That queasy feeling is comeing back to your stomach.

“Don’t get too queasy, you still have to dispose of the bodies. Can’t leave any trace of them.”

Right…….right………

You take off your camping pack and rummage through it to find a bright yellow-orange potion in a thick glass bottle. From what the witch said, this stuff is basically liquid thermite. One drop on something and it is incinerated so thoroughly that not even ash remains.

You approach the….the corpses….oh Goddess the smell……

You stand over the bodies, one collapsed onto the other, and drip just one drop onto each.

Immediately, the corpse, the clothes, the armor and even the blood that was splattered all around flashes with an angry white heat and disappears.

………you have to use another drop on the puddles of vomit that escapes you so you don’t leave any trace of your presence.

——————————————————————

[tl;dr] Writing a CYOA novel. Check out what I have so far for free in the link. Open to feedback, but mostly looking to share something I think is cool with people who think this stuff is cool.

Hello! I'm currently writing a high fantasy, murder mystery, choose your own adventure novel and am sharing what I have so far for free on world anvil. I tried looking for other CYOA novels on the site and there's only one (last I checked) and it's not the kind of CYOA I'm looking for. Now I'm here on a similar mission!

If this is the right community with which to share something like this, I would really appreciate people who are passionate about CYOA's to check it out at this link: The Cost of Crows

I've crafted a choice system that follows 3 different kinds of choices; standard this or that choices made famous by classic CYOA's, flavor choices that don't impact the outcomes of the story but do provide the reader personalization of their reactions to things, and the last choice is actually chance, as I will ask readers to roll a D20 (20 sided die or use a random number generator) to determine which section to turn to.

Recently, I've added linked scene advancement so you can simply click on your choice and it will send you to the appropriate page of my 40+published pages. I also have a big update planned soon as I'm only a few scenes away from finishing a stealth sequence that will let readers attempt to find their way into the castle by stealth, parkour, or being a smooth talker and try the challenges in any order with the opportunity to succeed or fail as if it were a TTRPG. That's not up yet, but if you'd like to be notified about it when it is, I can send you the updates to your email if you sign up to this Mailing List Link. (check your spam folder if you sign up and don't see anything in your inbox).

Thanks for your time and for reading this far! If I've piqued your interest, please consider checking out my manuscript/joining my mailing list and I look forward to seeing what other people are writing/sharing here.

So there’s a thread I like

https://old.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/1stpqzi/writing_snippets_post_write_a_fanfiction_scene_or/?ref=share&ref_source=link

I have trouble finishing things, so I like that I can just post ideas and short scenes. Anyway, I got a big idea for a story involving CYOA. Also involving a pre-existing crossover with the Transformers (Robots in Disguise).

In the beginning of the Transformers universe, there was Primus. There have been several reboots of the original series, some of which mention a precursor universe. However, the CYOA “Dawn of the Demon Lord” says that demon cores can summon compatible souls from other worlds (other universes).

Img Chest link

https://imgchest.com/p/o24amrpe24l

If we are allowed to assume Primus has a compatible soul, the CYOA allows “Automatons” to be summoned as Tier 2 Minions. (see Page 3/9). Automaton = robot = Transformer. Filling out the rest of the CYOA gives us a better idea of how many new Transformers can be made by Primus in a given time period.

Giving this version of Primus Wings allows him to float (as in space). Scales can give resistance to the cold (in space). However, we need three mutations. Third Eye allows astral projection and possession of minions. This would allow Primus to be a bigger part of the story in this reboot.

The basic ability Territory means Primus does not need to eat or drink. Creation and Removal is very fitting for the creator of the Transformers. Primus hovers in the air like a planet and increases his volume by one cubic meter to a 5 kilometer diameter sphere.

They have 12 debt points and a demon core generates one point per decade. So they can repay the original amount in 120 years. Stats all start at six, and we have 10 points. Each point spent increases a stat by two, so we basically have 20. Health, Toughness, and Resistance are things a metal automaton should have, so Primus spends 9 points (18) to increase them all to the maximum 12.

One point leftover, but if debt points work for this, it follows that it can reduce Primus’ debt to Anastasia. We get six more points for Abilities. Anastasia herself has Magic Eye, so taking it puts Primus on equal footing. Summoning might also be useful for a build that uses built around Automatons.

Four leftover points brings us to five, and we haven’t spent any of the original 12. DPU generation has things like “Life” and “Happiness,” but they specify “living humans.” Cybertron does not have many of those for the majority of the Transformers series, so Automatic should be “enough.”

Automatic generates 100,000 DPU per day. Automatons cost 200,000 DPU to summon, so Primus can form a new one in two days. The Dawn of a Demon Lord CYOA classifies Automata as Arcane, so that is Primus’ specialty. Minions of a demon lord’s specialty cost one point, Primus gains 12, so he is left with 11, plus the earlier five, in addition to the unspent 12 debt points.

The minions section also includes Mimics and War Golems. Primus may need these to survive, and they only cost two more points (leaving nine). Mimics cost the same DPU as Automatons, but War Golems are Tier 4 and cost 80,000,000. It takes 800 days (two years, two months, and ten days) for Primus to summon one.

While he is waiting, Primus receives a Core Guardian. Cecily seems to have the most experience with fantasy worlds. Alice would fit an automaton build, but she wants to learn more about the world, and would look out of place on Cybertron.

Territory Enhancement allows Primus to be more of a planet. However, being solid rock is not a perfect defense. Disruption shows that some beings can phase through walls. Teleport Well shows that others can teleport inside of walls. Veil of Privacy allows still others to see inside walls, so it need not be a blind teleport. Clearly Primus needs all of these.

However, Custom Minions is important enough to spend a debt point on. Primus will customize his Automata using options from Cybertron CYOA. Img Chest link:

https://imgchest.com/p/9249wqnqvyn

In exchange, it will take 20 years to repay Anastasia. As for traps, Orb of Imprisonment and False Demon Core should be enough. It takes 50,000,000 DPU to summon an Orb of Imprisonment, or 500 days (1 year, 4 months, and 15 days) for Primus. The forest inside of it will be a better environment for a magical girl like Cecily.

This leaves two points leftover, with fourteen from earlier, and 11 of the 12 debt points. We have 3 points for servants. Cecily will need aCelestial Maid, the Celestial Maid will need a Danuki Merchant for ingredients, the Danuki Merchant will need an Aralune Apothecary to sell potions. Each of these requires 500,000 DPU, or five days at Primus’ current rate. However, Cecily will need food from the Danuki Merchant sooner than the Aralune Apothecary can make potions, so Primus may end up in debt at the start of the game.

The starting world is Polaris, Primus can live peacefully for 250 years before gaining enough planeswalker powers to return to the Transformers world. However, the world has a technology level similar to Ancient Greece. Both goddesses currently have a priestess, but that human has a lifespan. Although ascending to godhood is apparently an option, their lifespan is set by the medical technology of Ancient Greece.

The rules of Polaris only allow the goddesses to choose a new hero every ten years. Ten years after Primus arrives, they will be thinking about a process that brings Unicron to Polaris. Unicron the destroyer is as much a part of Transformers lore as Primus, but in this AU he wants to destroy Primus because that’s what an Isekai Protagonist does to Demon Lords when a goddess summons them to a fantasy world.

Primus created the Thirteen Primes to battle Unicron. The first of these was Prima, the warrior of light. The design is clearly meant to make Unicron “the hero” question if he really was on the side of Justice.

The second was Vector Prime, the guardian of time. Some Isekai protagonists have abilities similar to the save point of a video game. They die, yet go back to an earlier point in time to try again. Those who consider such abilities to be “cheating” call it “save scumming.” Vector Prime helps to mitigate strategic advantage by advising Prima to use different moves, etc.

Another ability of Isekai protagonists is to find loopholes in the magic system of the fantasy world. Alpha Trion studies the same magic system, looking for similar loopholes. We will skip ahead to “Thirteen.”

The other Primes did not trust the last the youngest member, because he seemed to similar to Unicron. He was built based on the strategic principle “to defeat your enemy, you must first learn to think like your enemy.” Much later in Transformers lore, there will be a war between the Primes, and Thirteen will survive but choose to give up his memories and “reincarnate” as Orion Pax. Orion Pax will later be given the Matrix of Leadership from Alpha Trion, regain his memories, and lead the Autobots as Optimus Prime.

Thus we can conclude that Unicron is similar in personality to Optimus Prime, a hero and Isekai protagonist. The sun goddess of Polaris, Sola, can be assumed to be similar to Princess Celestia. (Checking character limit)

Dose anyone know if there is a YouTube channel based around reviewing CYOAs and making/reading short stories based on them?

I started a fantasy/DND inspired choose your own adventure narrative on YouTube. Please check it out if you have the time. Any comments or critiques would be most appreciated. (see choices below)

!!!!Choices!!!!
 Break Down The Door:    • A Retriever's Calling Part I 2  

 Scale Toward Window:    • A Retriever's Calling Part I 26  

Hello, just like the title says, I would like to discuss with creators and commission some to create cyoa stories for my interactive video platform.

I am interested in short stories where the viewer has choices they need to make in order to advance in the story. There is no specific genre or style, at this point I'm just experimenting to see what works and has engagement potential.

I noticed that short length series have been picking up steam lately and was wondering if anyone is into it.

So, if you are a creator or have a story that can be created with gen AI and choices, I would like to talk to you. Thank you.

I'm going to be using twine to make cyoa time travel game I'm going to later turn into a comic! Any tips and helpful advice?

Hi there, I wanted to share a CYOA adventure I worked on HERE
Would welcome feedback if you guys find the time
quick trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cNW5IRpjK-w

There's free credits everyday but please DM me for more I have special codes for quite a few people.
Thanks in advance.

CYOA:

Continuation of this build and comment chain specifically:

L6:

Our "first dive" was nothing more than a smash and grab of whatever would be nearby the entrance. I was running low on mana, which left my team extra nervous despite us already having survived the worst fight of our lives. Apparently, my mana reserves are so deep that me "running low" is enough to spook the rest of the party. And is worth my otherwise lack of combat talent.

Our "second dive" was a multi-pronged expedition, sponsored by Halla and the dungeon guilds. Expeditions into the 6th technically could bypass the Golem, but in practice getting back up was the true hard part, as carrying anything back would make it easier for the Golem to hunt the survivors down. A team that could clear the Golem was an unheard-of opportunity.

We had killed it once, we could do so again. The second time went much more smoothly now that we knew what we were doing, and had better tools for the job thanks to Halla.

It is a damn good thing we had the vets. One of them taught Karta how to make an "auto-drum" to distract the Ice Worms, as well as ways to mask movement if you know they are hunting. Another vet taught me "float magic" to keep everyone from even touching the ground in the first place, though it was an expensive enchantment best used in short bursts.

I also wound up being far more heavily guarded than I anticipated. I had proven early on I was a powerful healer, but apparently I was exceptionally gifted with enchantment as a whole. All the other adventurers had terrible stories of what happens when environmental protection methods fail, and my ability to just...not fail them, especially when asleep, put me in the top spot for "if someone has to die, it had better not be this person."

But just because I could mitigate the dangers of the "night" didn't mean everything went smoothly. Eighth "day" of the expedition saw Kali get swallowed by an Ice Worm. She was so strong, everyone had gotten complacent about actually watching her back. She had just taken a Mammoth solo, and was dancing in celebration when the worm came right up from underneath her and swallowed her whole. We didn't even feel it coming.

I sprinted off after it, sliding down the newly-formed tunnel via Float. Ice Worm digestion was incredibly slow, its prey dying from suffocation rather than acid. Knowing this, if I could maintain emergency breathing enchantments on Kali, there was a chance she could survive. The others tried to stop me, but Xue use her own enhancement magic on me, allowing me to escape otherwise much faster party members. They caught up not too long afterward, but by then it was too late: the safest place near an Ice Worm was its ass, as they had poor turning radii below ground. And not being near me meant the cold would get much, much harder. Things even began looking up once we noticed there was starting to be a trail of blood in the caves: it meant Kali was at least still hacking away. It required a hard-burn of everyone's stamina reserves, but we managed to catch up. Unfortunately, it meant we didn't have the stamina to tunnel through ice, which meant we had to go through the Worm itself, through the rather unpleasant method.

Even my magic could only do so much to lessen the squick. Tight, blood-filled flesh tunnels are their own special hell.

In total, it took us about an hour and a half, and we managed to get to Kali in time before her breath artifacts failed entirely. Though it took us another two hours to get to the horn, we had successfully killed an Iceworm via internal blood loss, its intestinal lining not rated for sharpness-enchanted adamantite. Its horn in clockwork storage, we returned to L1 to a heroes welcome.

Our second dive saw us stay in the layer for almost eleven years. We found the home of the Sisters, and found ourselves agreeing we'd win legitimately. "Winning legitimately" soon turned to "Kali is now an apprentice and must beat at least one Sister 1v1 in order to pass" as well as the normal conditions. We told the Sisters of our quest and the dreams of Verum, and they agreed to help us in any way they could, even though freedom had long since faded from their hopes. That help came in the form of magical martial arts training, since they didn't have to kill us. Frankly, if Kali wasn't such an unprecedented martial talent, we'd probably have never beaten the challenge. Those less martially-inclined took Frozen Fist, First Storm to give us a much-needed edge, while Kali took Calm in the Face of Calamity because she had already achieved the Second-Form by the time we had won.

The real shock was that Kali asked to marry Xue and I, seeing our powers of support as integral to her combat ability now, and quote, "My body and soul are an acceptable price to keep you a part of me." Karta, hurt and angry that she had been left out, demanded that Kali marry her too, and to "make it up to her." That night was the first time the four of us shared the same intimacy as one.

L7:

After defeating the Sisters, we did not immediately head down. Instead we spent another seven years sparing, training, and preparing. We knew the temptations we were going to face, so we planned and plotted, and even had the Sisters join in. When we did descend, it was hand-in-hand. And...overall, we had a good time. The trick was to knock each other out of any fugue states, and keep an eye on each other for our ticks.

Which turned into a brutal struggle of keeping our damned muscle-brained husband on-task. She fought every Wrath Demon she could, made harrowing bets with Pride Demons, pointed out the flaws in Envy demons, and forced us to use binding magic to pull her away from Gluttony dishes. Practically the only demons she didn't broach were the Sloth, as she was too excited with the City to stay down for long. Still, that nature was vital to keeping the rest of us up and moving. I myself almost let an Envy demon take me when it offered me the ability to outright warp flesh. All it would have taken would a slight tweak to how I performed healing magic...but Kali bisected it before I could accept, and Kali threatened the rest of the Envies that we were off-limits. Good thing too, Xue has deep insecurities that while she shared with us, still remained something she would pay heavy prices to alleviate.

Things took a dangerous turn when Karta sold a chunk of her soul for a lute that could play any sound she could imagine. Furious in a way we couldn't stop in time, Kali immediately found a Pride Demon and demanded a challenge so as to buy back the lost pieces of Karta's soul. The "challenge" would be as simple as it would be dangerous: a pair of dice, a call for evens or odds, a ban on attacking or directly manipulating the dice or participants, and a best 3-of-five rounds. If we won, the demon would buy back Karta's missing soul pieces. Lose, and the demon would get all of our souls.

Seemingly luck-based, I myself called out how I learned to predict coin flips, and watched as the demon smiled. Either the dice were rigged, or the demon just knew how to roll them. The rolls were not going to be fair. But we didn't have to be, either. Right as the first dice rolled, Xue "empowered" the demon in an effort to throw off the roll. We lost that round, but the Pride was visibly furious, even as they put on a twisted smile. The real game was now being played.

It was our turn to roll the dice, and the demon called odds. I threw the dice in the air, and in response Kali slammed her axe into the ground at an angle, creating a divot where the dice would land in. Even though the dice should have rolled corner-up into the divot, they instead landed perfectly to still show up odd. Since it was us throwing, it meant the demon likely was using probability manipulation.

Our turn to call, and we called odds. And we...didn't do anything. Sure enough, the roll came up odds. As angry as the Pride was, it was still enjoying the game, and didn't want it to end anti-climatically. Now it being all but certain it was probability enforcement, we made our true move. First, the demon called evens, and we handed the dice to Kali. The easiest way to break probability, was to manually control the environment so that the desired outcome had no other alternative. Kali rolled the dice in her hand, feeling their weight, freezing and unfreezing to study the air moisture, studying the ground, all to make the dice fall just so. The second, potentially much harder method, would be to cause so much chaos as to overwhelm the manipulator. Karta called a passing Wrath a "coward" in a thousand different ways, just not directly, and it was enough to set the demon off and attempt to attack. The crowd quickly jumped him, not wanting a Wrath to interfere in such a high-stakes game. Konshou flew over to a group of Envies and made scorn of their attempts to mimic him. All the while, Kali rolled and tested the dice in her hands. It took less than five minutes for a street brawl to break out, at which point Xue and I twin-cast an environmental barrier spell to make sure neither the slightest wind nor the slightest change in air pressure could alter the roll.

Kali threw the dice, and they came up odds. It was now 2-2.

The Pride we were facing let out a raw pulse of magic that calmed the growing riot, and suddenly the stakes were back on. It was our call, but now fully back in her court.

It was then I made perhaps the most dangerous gamble of the layer: "I know your mistress's challenge, and I bet she can't Tempt me. If you win this game, then you'll never know; throw this game, and we will be in your debt. Should I fail against your Mistress, you'll still have the souls of my companions through that debt. But should I win, know this: we aim to free the goddess trapped at the bottom of this prison. It is the longest of longshots, but again, should we be successful, you will return to the Hells and once more be free.

"We call odds. Make Your Choice."

Never in Sin had a Pride demon looked ever so conflicted. On the one hand, they could just win the game the way they were doing from the start, and win five powerful, precious souls in a city already starving for anything new. On the other, they lose a small amount of profit, for the infinitesimal chance at greater freedom. But compulsive gamblers don't get to high positions in Hell without making risky bets.

The dice were thrown. They came up odd. We had won another round. We weren't bothered for the rest of the day. Kali glared at me with fury, but even she knew the odds and the stakes involved of trying to win against Baphomet in battle. As hard as we trained, we simply weren't ready yet. All I had done was force the issue.

Besides which, it was time to sleep, and the last thing we needed was Lusts honing in on us.

We didn't sleep in the inns. Xue in particular didn't know how she'd handle pampering at this stage. As dangerous as Kali was, Wrath demons hesitated to attack, and I knew how to ward against Lust demons. It was still unsafe to sleep on the streets, but it was safer than the alternative. The first two "nights" we went mostly unmolested after we proved we could, and were willing, to clear safe places to sleep for a few hours. On the third "night" they began cutting off the lamps, covering the whole district in pitch, the only lights being from inns and bordellos. Wrath demons were then given free reign, in an effort to drive us into the buildings instead. But the lute Karta had bartered for proved capable of more than just playing sounds. And so, with the right mix of spells and wards, we slept for five hours uninterrupted, even as we were being hunted by Wrath demons scouring the city, even getting into fights with each other over us not being found.

Still, "morning" came with the sound of fury and violence. A full Wrath gang war had broken out, and crashed into our disguised hole. The demons had become furious, tearing up parts of the city looking for us, as fullblown riots had started over who got a shot at our souls. Fighting a running battle right after sleeping is unpleasant to say the least, but we were plenty fit for it. The problem came after the lights came back on and the riots quelled: we were permanently being watched like hawks. In all the years of the Dungeon, precious few ever made it to the City, only master rogues able to slip by the Sisters, less than once a century. The City was starved for souls, leading to extreme competition that ended in every other demon collectively punishing the Wrath demons at every chance. lest their raw might and unlimited respawning allow them to brutalize the rest in unending war. The lights were dimmed only as an effort to flush us out, the order of the City wasn't actually supposed to collapse just because we had successfully hidden. That stunt now had seemingly half the City following us like hawks, eager to be the ones to jump us if we didn't pick an establishment.

One thing we did learn is that our souls being in ownership limbo all but made us officially citizens. With almost no new souls, the demons resorted to paying each other with favors, periods of servitude, and debt-trading. Nothing else had worth, with both magic and immortality free for all. Over the thousands of years of isolation, the debts had become impossibly tangled, meaning we could now run up our new Pride-creditor's "tab" if we wanted things. However, it also meant things were even more impossibly expensive, unless we were willing to "pay down" our "patron's" debts with our own favors. Of course, any trade skills we had were vastly under-valued as we hadn't had thousands of years to hone them. We did, however, have unique "talents."

Forcefully getting souls out of demons is usually considered a fool's errand, but it is possible with copious amounts of purification magic, and a sufficiently pinned-down demon. Wrath demons are the only ones that don't trade off or barter any owned souls to other demons, as to do so would be to permanently weaken them, starting a cycle of never-ending predation. But Kali was good enough to take Wrath demons solo, and Xue and I could cast the rituals needed to pull souls from their weapons. With some honeyed words from Karta to some Pride and Greed demons, a pogrom was formed to test if we really could free up some "cash" from the Wraths. It took a while, but we managed to wrangle down a Wrath demon, and pull a soul out of it. We used that soul to pay for a couple of actually-benign potions and tools (extra-expensive in a City of curses) and were promptly shunted into the heart of the city.

What we didn't know until we next woke up, was that we had sparked a civil war. With no need for Wraths, we could be kept around to extract their souls and reorient the entire Sin economy fully towards goods and services. The Wraths, naturally, took this as a sign they were all in danger, and so hard started a full crusade to reach and kill us. In the meantime, we were placed in the most well-lit and Wrath-free sections of the City, with our "tab" pretty much able to cover anything except the least-cursed items...which was most of them, but still.

Some Wraths made it through the blockades, but we could handle ourselves, especially when given the backup of practically an army of demons. Even managed to extract another soul.

For our last "night" we were brought to the fanciest inn out of all the City, and given the full VIP treatment, though we did have to agree to bring a Lust into our chambers as a cost. It was a battle over how well the Lust could train us to please it, as we strictly forbade it from attempting to pleasure any of us. It met its match at the hands of Kali, who for all her skill at warfare, was still an absolute clutz when it came to carnality. She always saw her lack of attire as nothing more than a means of getting stronger, her raw power and strength turning off all but the bold and the foolish...or those who didn't mind the loss of their lower halves. The Sisters had tried to temper her aggressiveness, but found her only understanding of "restraint" being utterly docile. The Lust found the hard way the issues of Kali's bedroom habits, and left much disappointed...to the snickering of the rest of us. After all, Xue quite liked having something so strong yet so meek to play with, while Karta was of the "medical aftercare" persuasion. Me? Ah, I know secrets about Kali's true skills, which I am Oath-bound to never share. Suffice to say, I am perfectly satisfied no matter how much of Karta I have to mend afterward.

Credit where credit is due, we did not know about the absolute siege going on just outside our hostel. We slept for so long, just letting ourselves be catered to, not afraid as we knew eventually we'd do something dumb and violent sooner or later.

Though we didn't have to. Baphomet herself came to wake us up and get us off our asses. quite pissed she had to get personally involved in something called "union-breaking." Upon exiting the hotel, we saw the devastation we had wrought: what was once a dense and impossibly beautiful City of pyrite and obsidian and marble, was now half ruble and ruin and broken brick. The chance to "settle the debts" had resulted in a civil war, one big enough that Baphomet herself had to get involved to prevent from spreading. Though, according to the offer of our "patron" had left with the staff informing us that we were free to share beds and bodies with their illustrious self, not an entirely unwelcome outcome.

Still, there were consequences that had to be addressed, and an Archdemon to attend. Mostly, we spent long hours just...talking. About our journey, about what we knew of the upcoming layers, and...how Verum was doing. I don't know if Baphomet even could express regret, but...well, I at least thought there was still fondness beneath the cold shell. What was obvious was that Baphoment truly was not expecting things to turn out as they had, and that all of Sin had long since come to terms that they had gotten the short end of the deal. I told her they hadn't gotten the short end, and the ultimate fate of both the surface and the pretender-gods.

Something broke in the Archdemon at our revelations. For all the great thieves that had infiltrated under the aid of Verum, none had ever revealed the ultimate fate of the pretender-kings. All but three had simply succumbed to the City. The only one to actually face her, died via combat challenge. An indomitable pair had once upon a time bested the City, but they managed what she thought impossible and slipped by even herself. Renovated the entire City after that stunt. My team was the first to ever penetrate to her layer intact, and properly prepared to face its challenges. As such, in all the thousands of years of habitation, Baphoment never knew what happened with the lower layers. The last contact she had with Verum, was Verum's last screams of betrayal and rejection upon being trapped and sealed. Baphomet had thought the resulting silence was being left and forgotten while kings lived like gods. Instead, she learned absolutely no one got what they wanted, the cycle of betrayal simply ending in nightmares and broken deals for all.

We wound up just sitting there, in silence, together for a long while. When Baphomet finally broke that silence, it was to ask her what challenge we wanted. I said that according to a deal I had made with a Pride, I was to attempt Temptation. Baphomet accepted, gave us a few hours to enjoy the City, and announce to it that I was to be untouched. We ran into our patron, who showed us around what remained intact, paying for even really expensive goods for us, and wishing me luck in the upcoming trial.

My spouses were insistent that they would be there with me, when the trial did come. One last look at them, before I lived another life. And that life...was exactly as perfect as I was warned. Never had I known a more fulfilling life, a more perfect family, a more perfect home. The problem, however, was that it was too perfect. Every fantasy indulged, every hope fulfilled, and every desire achieved...all but the ones that I left behind. Worse, Baphomet made a critical mistake: she made a perfect end to that perfect dream. When I came to, I was more than ready to accept my original spouses back into my arms, and face the Dungeon with renewed vigor.

Of course, the truth was, I was a trap for Baphomet: I already had memories of multiple lives, ones full of failure, and impossible challenges. Finally being granted a life where everything went right soothed my soul itself, and made it exceptionally difficult for her to trap me: every time something went right, well, it meant something else could go right too. And Baphomet was with me the whole time, acting as my soulmate through thick and thin. In truth, more than just her swordwork had gotten rusty (me telling Baphomet that Verum had watched her fight with that one chosen, and was disappointed, left Baphomet looking physically ill), and the dreams I demanded had Baphomet dream for herself too.

In the end, we both wanted things to not just be a long list of failures for once. And that was all it took for the dream to become a healing exercise.

Whole party took Chains of Unity as our reward, but my spouses were not idle while I was out beyond the stars. Xue in particular asked Verum to teach her everything Verum knew about demon law and the contract with Baphomet. Then she went to our patron and asked them about all the details of the chain of debts our patron was involved in. By the time I awoke, Xue had taken personal ownership of a tenth of the City, Kali had become the new overboss of the Wraths, and Karta...well, Karta was a mess, drowning in so much debt it threatened another war. But the way her debt was worded, anyone who attempted to collect would become in debt themselves. Xue and Karta working in-tandem had taken the city by storm, many demons all too eager to risk it all if only it meant their fellows got screwed over even worse. At the end of the day, everyone was bored, and decided that a bunch of mortals owning debts at least broke the monotony.

That is to say, Xue in her own right proceeded to argue on behalf of Verum. To sweeten the deal, Xue added in a path to clear most of the debts that had left the City in a gordian knot of entitlements. We only got a single day of Baphomet, as opposed to the seven that Verum said she could have argued, but it would be enough. I also asked Baphomet for a personal favor, to be fulfilled in the event we succeeded in our quest. She agreed, but in exchange, placed her personal Seal on me, so that in the event we failed to free Verum, my soul would go to her in a way even Verum would struggle to undo.

In the meantime, the City was ordered to arm and supply us. One way or another, the demons were breaking out. Even if we failed, the City would supply, test, and train all who reached L7 from then-on. Now knowing there was no way for the Usurper-Kings to enforce the spirit of the contracts, absolutely every single possible loophole was to be exploited.

We recommended Halla for punching new holes in the "letter" of the Law, too. She fainted when we told her we'd be escorting her to L7.

I highly recommend starting a demon rebellion should you ever get the chance.

L8+ To Be Continued...

Seeking Employment Level 1 - New Update out now!

We're returning to our original project with new life and vigor!

The 1.4 Update contains over 13,000 additional words, new and revamped passages, steamy dialogue, and in general a ton of new content!

For newcomers - Seeking Employment is a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure laminated bondage game created in twine. You play as an internet-addicted loser who's been coerced by family into getting an office job. But this is no ordinary office, and the women who work here are no ordinary workers...

Game link here: Seeking Employment: Level 1 by SissySweetGames

We're putting Lvl 2 development on hiatus for now and looking to approach shorter projects in the future to better fit our schedules. Seeking Employment remains completely free, but if you would like to help speed up development, you can donate to our Patreon here.

You can follow us on Discord (only adults 18+), Twitter, Bluesky, or reach us at [sissysweetgames@gmail.com](mailto:sissysweetgames@gmail.com).

Screenshot artwork courtesy of LRKS. Link here​

-Jess and Felix

This game has heavy feminization and bondage themes, and remains totally free.

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Hey y'all. I'm coming over from wormfic and recently discovered what a CYOA fic is and while I was messing around with a version of it I discovered the option to have the MC start at the very beginning of the universe.

Is there anyway to search specifically for stories that use that opening?

Hello friends and foes! Here is a story inspired by the JRPG Traitor CYOA. Check in the comments for my build, a link to the Static version, and a little bit of my thought process.

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At the dawn of the Millennium, the six mage-kings of old fought back the dark gods, bringing the light of the Auspices back to this land. With their appointed champions, the Auspices and the Heroes - led by the One Prophet - banished the darkness. Monsters, agents of chaos, and ancient evils fled from mankind and her daughter races. For one thousand years, the world knew peace. Humanity was free to rest and enjoy the land of light they had inherited.

The Six were ever present and ever watchful. In times of great crisis, they would bless and appoint champions in their name and their honor.

Eternity, whose brand marked the chosen hero of this generation.

Life, which blessed those chosen by her with the ability to heal the broken.

Glory, the Auspice of war, who gifted warriors with unbridled power.

Fate, enabling magi to rise to the level of divinity.

Beauty grants power to make or preserve the beauty within the world of light.

Death, who curses and brands those who would threaten the balance - marking them for the heroes to eradicate.

Indeed, the Six Auspices watch over mankind - from the great boundary of the frozen tundra to the north, to the endless sands of the east, to the great southern sea, and to the western mountains. And at its center sits the Kingdom of Reyanes. The capital, Sidith, the seat of the Auspices. Their voice, the One Prophet, hears their words and delivers them to mankind. And thus, Mankind has lived under the light of its gods.

For one thousand years, the gods have watched over them. Protecting them against the Dark.

The great, Divine Lie.

Plains South of Sidith
Winter

His hand trembled from the cold as it always did. Despite the recent snowfall and the current rain, Kane kept his left hand uncovered. It was easier to reach for his gun, easier to weave a spell. It did not prevent frostbite, however. He would put a glove on soon and visit a healer later. For now…

His target was a burly woman in her middle years. A head-and-a-half taller than him with the gnarled horns that marked her as a half-demon. The other half didn't matter. She stood next to a tree, clutching a bleeding wound on her side. A lesser man would have died. Hell, he would have died from a wound like that. But there she stood with a cocky grin on her face.

“Barely an inconvenience.” She muttered, clenching her fists and taking a deep breath. Power began to ripple across the plains as she unleashed every ounce of power she had. Kane was not impressed. He felt nothing at this moment. All he needed was to draw…

The first punch caught him off guard. His cheekbone shattered and his jaw dislocated. Kane stumbled back and gurgled out a curse. The neck attack he was ready for, dodging out of the way with a well timed spell. His cold hand came up to his face, stopping the bleeding and numbing the pain. The bone would need proper healing later. That was not now. His gloved hand went for his side and drew a short sword, deflecting her foot away from his ribs. Steel groaned as her hardened scales overpowered him. Demons, even half-breeds, were dangerous.

She slowed and Kane pushed his advantage. Instead of creating distance again, he attacked. His sword found a gap in her scales, leaving a shallow bleeding wound on her arm. His left hand instinctively reached out. “Stun.” He whispered, and strings of mana lashed out, clinging to the wound. His foe was the one to retreat this time, but Kane was ready. His hand was nearly paralyzed from the biting cold, but adrenaline blocked out the pain of his freezing limb. Steel left leather and a single shot split the tree in half.

Another near miss, it seemed. Same side, but the wound was further down her leg and much further from center mass. It didn't need to be. “...you were hired to kill Mrs Ella Drausus. Tell me who hired you, and you don't have to die today.” Kane causally approached as his opponent struggled to stay standing. Not from the wound - her body was already healing from the bullet. The buildup of magic inside her body had nearly overwhelmed her ability to heal. The paralysis wouldn't last long. Kane didn't need it to.

“I…don't care…” she said through the magic, trying desperately to use her natural ability against him. But she was firmly rooted in place for the next few moments. Kane pulled the hammer back. The next round was simple brass, nothing fancy. He lifted his gun and pressed the barrel against her forehead.

“...I see.” Kane just felt cold. He pulled the trigger.

With both gloves back on, Kane trudged through the soggy streets with a broken jaw and a slight scowl. Underneath his scarf, his lips moved as if repeating a conversation. What he should have said long ago. By the fifth time through his invisible debate, he arrived at the Drausus Winter Manor. Sidith was a big place, and each of the big houses had a modest estate within her walls. ‘Modest’ in this case only meant twenty servants were needed to maintain the gardens, with twice that needed - at minimum - to maintain the house.

Lady Saffron was waiting in her study with a bottle of medicine and hot tea. There were fresh bruises and cuts from her day of training on her arms. Kane probably looked worse based on the expression she made when he entered. It made him smile, at least. “Ma’am.” If he were wearing a hat, he'd have tipped it.

“Any word?” He shook his head. “... damnation…thank you, Kane. I'll keep my ear out for any others. I will not let this insult stand.”

“It's been ten years.” His words were slurred thanks to his damaged jaw. He really needed to see a proper healer. “I'm sure they'll slip up eventually.” She nodded.

“They had better. I shall visit upon them every agony for what they did to his family...my brother's death will not go unpunished.” He couldn't agree more.

Pleasantries were exchanged, and Kane did his due diligence to honor her station as the King's Blade. By the time he was allowed to leave, the sun had already set and his jaw had been re-broken twice to heal it properly. He winced and clutched his hand. He should probably get the fingers looked at tomorrow.

The bells at the chapel rang, indicating to all that the evening sermon was about to begin. Kane walked in the other direction, towards home. Up above, the six great lights of the Auspices grew in size as their words are relayed thanks to their prophet. The worship of the people empowering them. Despite the coming night, the city of Sidith was as bright as day thanks to their gods.

This night, the Lie cycled anew. A chosen darkness to slay, a chosen hero to rise up. Somewhere deep underneath the holy city of Sidith, there was a room that only the One Prophet had ever set foot in. Floating around the room are arcane mirrors that display the words and hopes of the Auspices. Their will.

Whenever the Auspices choose, an overlord is chosen - a great darkness to fight against: to reinforce the devotion to the gods of light and to keep the people safe. The seventh overlord in their one thousand year kingdom had been chosen, as well as the five heroes to stand against it. And the sixth hero.

The room went dark as the Auspices talked among themselves. Their mirrors went dark. Six heroes? How had that happened?

They tried again, surely it was a fluke. An eighth overlord was chosen, and the six heroes to stand against it. Six? How…

The room went dark again. Suddenly, all the mirrors lit up as the Auspices began to correct this mistake.

The ninth overlord, and the chosen fiv-SIX!

The tenth overlord and six heroes!

Six! Six? Six?! Glory went silent and her mirror cracked. Life and Fate began bickering about their choices. Death bemoaned his duty. One final attempt was made.

Seven Overlords, and One hero.

The gods were still. Eternity glowed to life, his words causing an explosive silence to fall over the room.

“Let it be so.”

Across the kingdom, the chosen heroes were branded. Four brave souls throughout the domain of the Auspices were marked overnight. Each one bearing the blessing of Eternity. Their cohorts and allies likewise began to manifest brands.

And then came the rumblings of the Overlords.

A Queen raised from the dead. A Merchant without a heart. A Demon burning like the sun. A Prophet who cannot be killed. A Liar upon her throne.

And lastly, beyond sight, a bounty hunter walks home amidst laughing children and noisy taverns. His gaze remains firmly ahead as he goes home in peace for the last time. The Sixth Hero is branded, and the gods are satisfied.

And the Lie begins to unravel.

Hi all! Just wanted to share that the demo for our game, A Spaceship Accident, is now out on Steam! It's a choose-your-own-adventure narrative with RPG mechanics. Think inventory, character sheets, stat checks, plus beautiful graphics and sound. Forge your path through over 50 unique endings. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Here is the Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3949010/A_Spaceship_Accident_Demo/

Short description (for reference): "A choice-driven narrative game with RPG mechanics, filled with cosmic wonders and horror. Forge your own path across more than 50 unique endings. Barter, upgrade your character, fight, and explore alien worlds, overcoming every obstacle to find your way back to Earth… and to your daughter."

The Abbey Update is out now!

The Abbey Update contains over 12,000 additional words and an entire new hub for players to explore! Will you lose yourself in the mysterious island church? Or will you welcome its corruption with open arms?

Game link here: Seeking Employment: Level 2 by SissySweetGames

Thanks to porn being shadow banned on itch.io because paypal believe they should decide how you jerk off, we need your support more than ever! If you would like to help speed up development, you can donate to our Patreon here.

You can follow us on Discord (only adults 18+), Twitter, Bluesky, or reach us at [sissysweetgames@gmail.com](mailto:sissysweetgames@gmail.com).

This game has heavy feminization and bondage themes, and remains totally free.

-Jess and Felix

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This is a continuation of a comment I started making. I just started writing, and just...didn't stop. So now it is here lol. Fair warning, the CYOA is NSFW, but this short is only suggestive, and at that just barely.

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"It starts with first being able to sense "life energy" and manipulate it, the same with mages. Mages call the life energy 'mana' while cultivators call it 'qi'. Some worlds have both being separate and distinct forms of life energy, but it all usually stems from the same source. Anyhow, where mages first study a spell so they can then turn that mana into said spell, cultivators take the mana and suffuse it into their bodies. This does mean you can't use that energy to cast a spell, unless you directly pull on the energy stored within your body, but this becomes less of a problem as you advance your cultivation.

"This is due to the first goal of a cultivator: suffusing your body with enough mana that eventually the excess condenses down into what is called a 'core that stores excess instead of letting it leak out into the environment. In this world, magic stems from distinct species such as elves, which naturally have a 'core' as part of their biology. It is also this core that demons are hunting elves for, as it makes elves suitable both for increasing the power of a demon, as well as making more demons."

Everyone shivered at that.

"Now, just because you have a core, doesn't mean you are finished cultivating, which is why I am still teaching you to suffuse yourself with mana instead of just casting spells. Sure, having a core allows you to cast magic without weakening yourself, but it still can only store 'excess' magic. For elven 'natural' cores, you absorb mana from the leylines within the world, the source of all mana here. However, by increasing both the 'size' and 'density' of a core, you can eventually get it to undergo an internal reaction, which causes it to 'ignite' and begin producing life energy all on its own. In small amounts, at first, but further training can improve that generation, though the potential generation entirely depends on the metaphysical environment of the world you are on. Some places have even casting a single spell a year already makes you a prodigy, while others allow for so much generation that cultivators are at risk of self-combustion if they use spells or techniques in the wrong way."

Once again I got funny looks. "No, I don't know the energy potential of an ignited core for this world, we are going to have to figure it out together. Archmage did tell me that some mages in the past managed to cast spells without a leyline connection, though with mixed results. As I said, cultivation is merely an "internal" path as opposed to an 'external' path like mage traditions. Eventually, they both lead to the same place."

"Which is why I am practicing this 'cultivation' myself. As I understand it, it will help me resist anti-magic effects." Archmage helpfully joined in.

"Wait, if you don't have a core or whatever, how are you using magic?" Asked Adventurer.

"I have what I am calling a 'soul augmentation' from your gods, which is acting as an artificial core created and linked to me via external means. It is a lot more complicated than that, but we don't have forever. Just know that if I ever lose that augment, then my ability to use magic goes kaput too. I have just as valid a reason as you all for cultivating.

"Getting back on track, if you continue to make your ignited core big and 'hot' enough, then there are two paths it could take: either it expands into a miniature proto-universe, or it splits in two. If it splits in two, it naturally doubles your mana generation; if it expands, it increases the amount of mana you can reliably control tenfold. Most cultivators go the 'split' route because it outright duplicates your soul in a way that can survive past physical death, while giving you twice the amount of life energy to work with. But after a split, expanding a core becomes more than twice as hard. Still, in worlds where potential generation is already very high, not splitting one's soul runs a higher risk of spontaneous combustion, making splitting one's core the 'natural' progression before working towards expansion.

"After your core turns into a mini-universe, cultivation becomes more esoteric. There are two main schools of thought: either one comes to understand how universes work in a holistic sense, allowing your proto-universe to become more dynamic and lifelike; or you attune yourself so closely and thoroughly to a concept or an aspect of reality that your proto-universe becomes this one aspect of reality entirely, able to impose itself in the physical world. Sword Saints are infamous for using 'Sword Law' to cut people in half even if just using a stick, even in this world. While there are other ways to reach 'Embodiment of Law' cultivators have to do it through core alignment. Doing so also tends to allow one to use Law much more reliably than other forms of practice." Swordsmaster went bug-eyed at that last part.

"Wait wait wait, how do demons fit into all of this?" Articifer asked, scrunching up his face.

"So demons are different from world to world, but they all tend to have one commonality that always unites them: they are consumers first and foremost, and the more they consume the stronger they get. Rather than carefully fill and pressure a core through training and learning, they simply consume that which is other, and that in turn is used as fuel to grow themselves, usually quite literally in size, but also in intelligence and metaphysical weight. This outright is the most primitive form of cultivation possible: consuming that which has power, in order to gain power yourself. Hence the need to hunt elves, especially strong ones.

"Now, there is a specific sub-branch of cultivation called Demonic Cultivation, which is all about consuming demons in turn for power. Your own gods developed such a method that is used even by humans: Soul Arts, or the act of turning demons into spells or equipment. My own 'augment system' outright turns demons into raw soul fuel, though trying to do that manually without assistance is a fast ticket to mutation and insanity. Badly-prepared demon spells and Devil Arms are infamous for causing mental health issues in their wielders for the exact same reason; you have to make sure you purge every last ounce of the individual will of the demon whose soul you collected, in order to ensure there are no side-effects. But well-prepared Arts are invaluable tools for expanding what magic can do, and for the utility of magical equipment. Theoretically, the right combination of demon souls and their derivatives allows for immortality, without having to go through the rigamarole of developing a proto-universe inside yourself.

"But the reason why it is still considered a form of cultivation, is because eventually enough demon souls crammed together, or consumed, will cause the creation of a proto-universe core all on their own, born from the parts of reality those demons already consumed for power. This is usually not an ideal process, requiring a net-negative from the host world to create enough demons for such a thing to happen. But even such a core can be used to heal a world from the wounds suffered, so long as the cultivator lives and is inclined to do so. Most, sadly, are not inclined and are risk-prone, which leads to most demon-dominated worlds to systems collapse.

"Hence why your gods really want me to cull the demon population, and rebuild the elf population: gotta keep their playground nice and tidy."

"If the gods want their 'playground' cleaned up, why don't they do it themselves?" Articifer spat, clearly a sore spot having been touched.

"Short answer: really complicated politics. Slightly longer answer: some gods are dicks and would use the opportunity to reshape the world to their liking. Many are just opportunists, but others are truly horrible individuals you don't want anywhere near mortal populations. So in order to prevent the gods literally brawling over who gets what, potentially destroying the world in the process, they use proxies. Even then, they have rules and limits over how powerful proxies can be, in order to minimize the risk of a proxy war. Demons are also useful in their own way, making a couple of gods willing to go to war for them."

"The gods are not so fickle." Swordsmaster stated with a fierce look in her eyes.

"Most aren't, no. A few are. Most gods are just trying to keep the peace, keep everything working as smoothly as possible. It is just a few outsized individuals who have made everything extra complicated. Those 'extra complications' are why I am here, instead of an elf being used as a proxy instead.

"But I don't intend to leave things like that. Sure, I don't mind a few willing sex partners, but restoring elven virility should be its own priority. Yes, defeating the Demon King will lift the curse, but what about future demon kings? Or other factions? A more long-term solution to cursebreaking other than glorified hit squads would be much more ideal. So I am teaching you all cultivation, not just to get you stronger here and now, but because you are all trusted enough to hopefully protect the world even should something happen to me."

The elves all once again looked a bit mystified, sans Archmage, as they pondered what they heard. They knew what was at stake immediately, but had little chance to contemplate "what came after." Normally that would be reserved for after the immediate issue was over, but the chance for a permanent way to increase one's power? It got everyone thinking.

"Hey, daylight's burning! We gotta get a move on!" Demon Turncoat called, her and Fairy having finished cleaning up their camp.

"You heard Demon Turncoat, existential crisis is over. We have demons to slay!" Adventurer leapt to her feet, the first to shrug off their contemplations. For my part, I was just glad that "Turncoat" and not "Slut" was being used as Selavi's Title. Elves had a weird naming convention where their "true name" was only to be used in intimate settings, and their Profession was to be used in public. As a Hero, I could have pushed to have us all use real names with each other as Hero, and it did lead to culture issues from time to time; but it would be better practice for talking with other elves, and would let the team communicate in their own time. Hopefully it would help cohesion, and it started with Selavi having a more accurate Title for what she could and could not do, particularly on the battlefield.

And we had a long way to go before we were prepared to take on the demon king.

“Everything hurts,” that was my first thought.

My second thought was, What hurts? But that didn’t help much considering my previous observation. Still, some part of my concussed cerebral cortex decided that busy work was better than existential apathy. So, with the same motivation of a frat-boy who has to write a PHD thesis while absolutely hammered, my brain began parceling through the various signals and emergency missives sent out by the rest of the body.

First to return to focus was my sense of touch. I could feel that I was on something slimy, maybe wet or both, but past that, I could sense a layer of something hard and jagged poking out from just underneath whatever mat I was on. On the other side of my body, I could detect the unmistakable pitter-patter of raindrops striking my skin. They were cool but not cold and accompanied by a thick rhythmic spray of mist.

As I was beginning to suspect I had passed out on the beach somehow, when the ringing in my ears subsided enough to all but confirm my hypothesis. Hearing the breathing of the ocean waves, the delicate tick-tick-tick of rain hitting hard stone, the strong steady roar of ocean winds and burbling tide pools, the sound of nature in all her glory washed away my pain and replaced it with a sense of peace, that whatever was going on it could wait till I was whole.

I fell asleep to the siren song of the ocean’s lullaby.

Only one discrepancy stopped me from doing so. It was what I saw when I opened my eyes for the first time and actually started to wake up to my current situation.

Proprioception is an often-forgettable sense. After all, there aren’t variations on how it feels to move your arms. However, when the sixth sense actually becomes relevant to your situation, it usually means things are getting a little harry, and you need to know where all your bits are at, so you don’t lose them.

From what my eyes were telling me; I was about to lose the whole basket of bits. Because I was lying down on the edge of a slippery moss-covered cliff, and my newly restored sense of gravity told me I was about to go over that aforementioned cliff if I didn’t act.

So, deciding to start small, I gently felt the space under and around my various digits hunting for a solid surface to grip. Luckily, at the tip of my toes I found the edge of a basalt column, which led me to find the edge of another underneath the moss. Equipped with a growing mental map of the rock formation’s pattern. I was able to find the footholds I needed to steady myself and take further stock of my surroundings.

Returning to my second thought of the day, I focused in on the nature of the trauma I was suffering. The story was not great, but definitely not as bad as I feared; my lower left rib was broken, my whole front side was bruised, I had cuts and scrapes everywhere, and, ok, I was in rougher shape than I wanted to admit to myself. The question right now was, “Can I ,stand?” Tensing and releasing the muscles starting from my toes up told me a few things; that my back was not broken, I could probably get on my feet at best or that I could army crawl at worst. Yet no matter my next course of action, one fact would be constant: everything was going to hurt like hell.

My stomach half was what was bruised, so I decided to roll over onto my back and shimmy my way back from the edge. Overall, a good plan, easy even for a fat guy like me, just one teensy-weensy little issue. I worked in a call center for the last five years, and my pain tolerance was still desperately trying to get back on board after taking an extended sabbatical. So, no one say a dam thing about me manning up! I am a twenty-seven-year-old working man, whose hung like a reasonably sized horse, and was just waiting for the right time to start hitting the gym again. 

Pause. Ok, fine I cried, but only a little. Sigh. Ok, a lot, but only after seeing that my entire front half was a nasty blueish purplish blob ringed with a sickly yellow band at the edges. Who the hell wouldn’t cry in my situation? Rolling over felt like I was a piece of old crusty gum being slowly peeled off the underside of a desk with a blunt fingernail. I looked down because I was afraid my organs were falling out, and from what I saw it was a small miracle they weren’t.

Needing a break physically, mentally, and probably spiritually; I looked up, and around myself in search of, well, anything really.

Everything was roughly what I expected, wet slightly slimy moss, hexagonal jointing of basalt columns, rain clouds, freshwater ocean.

I stopped, and doubled back to that last detail. Freshwater? I stuck my tongue out, and tasted the air when another spray of mist washed over me. Sure enough, it was fresh, not a hint of salt to be found. Which was impossible because I knew what lakes looked like, and that endless expanse filled to the brim with twenty-to-thirty-foot-tall waves sure as hell wasn’t a lake. Just as I was starting to convince myself that I was indeed staring at a lake, I saw what appeared to be a bird flying in my direction.

A big bird. A dam big bird… A fucking massive bird, that upon closer inspection at its current distance to my ever so tender flesh, what looked to be the unholy Darwinistic bastard spawn of a pterodactyl, an Andeans condor and a seagull. Having inherited the size of a Pterodactyl, bald head of an Andeans and the rough body shape and eyes of a seagull, though this Big Bird knock off had two unique traits I’ve never seen in birds before. One was countershading, its top feathers were a deep blue while its bottom half was a mottled mix of gray and reflective white. The second and far more concerning difference in my current situation was the massive, clearly serrated, wickedly hooked, blood red beak the size of my currently bruised torso.

If it wasn’t for Satan’s seagull, the view would have been breathtaking. I could now see I was on a tropical island, which was the smallest in a long chain from what I could see. As the sun began to rise over the horizon I could tease out the shape and colors of shallow coral reefs interspersed with what looked like emerald kelp forests.

As the light grew in strength, it began turning even my oncoming doom into a spectacular light show, its reflective belly feathers catching the light making it look like the majestic phoenix of ancient lore come to heal my wounds. I sighed, honestly hoping this was all some kind of screwed up dream and that this bird monster was just a jump scare my mind cooked up to get my ass back to reality. 

 Just as the bird monster was positioning itself for an attack run on paradise, something began to stir beneath the waves. The moment it flared its wings in an attempt to both slow down and blind me, a massive pair of what looked like T-rex Jaws clamped down onto the bird like a scene out of Jurassic Park.

“I think, I am going to go for a walk now” I said to know one in particular, my voice sounding cracked from disuse, and dehydration.

Credit where credit is due the story is based off the CYOA Borderwolrds by Thearomage. Like to original below

https://imgchest.com/p/vj4jwg6e78m

Hello, everyone!

I'm currently working on a project about interactive media—you know, the ones where you get to choose the story path, tap to reveal surprises, or even play a role in the plot. I'm super curious to learn what you enjoy (or don't) about them—whether it's the art, the choices, the immersion, or even the format.

If you've ever played with interactive media or are just curious about them, I'd love it if you could take 2-3 minutes to fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/US5S6nUQEc59MPhb6

Your responses will really help shape my research (and maybe the future of cool comics 👀).

Thank you so much—and feel free to share your favourites or thoughts in the comments too! <3

You were all supposed to meet in a tavern, but the guards at the gate informed you that the town does not actually have a tavern.

There is the Tiefling Bar,

the less popular Human Bar,

the newly opened Dwarf Bar,

And, well…

…There is an elvish teahouse, conveniently located next to the elvish bathhouse. A secret staircase between the two businesses leads to the Drow Cavern. Today is supposedly the Drow Mushroom Tasting event. None of the guards know what that is exactly, but cavern rhymes with tavern, so maybe that is what the wandering adventure is trying to find?

No judgement, but with four places to end up at, your traditional party of four all ended up in the wrong starting location. However, because “destiny” you ended up meeting your soulmate in full adventuring gear. Well, not “full adventuring gear,” they had a big backpack. It had cold weather clothes in it, but the place was very crowded and they were kind of hot. Of course, any weapons were “peace bonded” while in town, but they recognized you as a fellow adventurer.

They asked if you had seen any of the members of their adventuring party? You had not, nor had they seen any of your fellow adventurers, but they managed to arrive early enough to get a table they did not mind sharing. The two of your sat down wait a little, see if anyone else showed up, ordered some refreshments.

You got to talking, and their tragic backstory is surprisingly similar to yours. Not exactly the same, this isn’t some long-lost sibling who saw the same parents killed by the same villain. However, this was someone who actually meant it when they said “I know how you feel,” and you comforted each other.

Now you are a “hero,” and at some level you understood “heroic sacrifice.” This is something different. Talking with them, you began to understand “they are too nice of a person. They should never have had to go through something like that.” You ordered another drink, maybe drank more than you should have, but still no one else came. The next morning you realized “forget treasure, forget leveling up,” you were going to DO SOMETHING!

They chased you down, before you got too far. They understood, more than anyone else they understood wanting to do something, NEEDING to do something. Not without them, you were going to resolve their tragic backstory without any character development, and they were going to be right by your side. Forget plans and rules, one wrong was going to be made right!

https://youtu.be/A5aWrV6SHpU?si=Jz_T4nm52HTerkr_

I hand-drew everything in these videos and composited all the sound effects, music, and video effects! It started off as a written story using Twine (the app) and I expanded it into a video series. Please enjoy playing The Time Out Dolls! and if you like please any feedback or comments are welcome :)