Lost Rambler

Book Five, Chapters 24, 25, and 26

I will post their stats and trope with the next chapter.

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I stood in the living room area of the loft next to Antoine and Kimberly. We had taken days off, but knowing the task that lay ahead, there was only so much relaxing that we could do.

The storyline, Itch, taunted us.

No matter how much work we put into it, we never felt like we were learning enough. But at the end of the day, we were never going to escape Carouse...

Update

Chapter tomorrow. It'll be a big one.

The first rescue begins. It's time to see if Riley and the gang can live up to Project Rewind's goals.

It's time to save lives.

It's time for... Itch.

Book Five, Chapters 22 and 23

The Carousel Atlas’ section on rescues was written, or at least rewritten, by Curtis W., who was the same guy whose journal entries in the Atlas told us about Project Rewind.

He proposed a system for rating rescue tropes based on three criteria: Potency, Availability, and Risk (PAR).

I read through the entry in the Atlas aloud so that everyone else could hear.

"Availability is exactly like it sounds," I said. "It's how likely, on a scale of one to five, a rescue trope is t...

Book Five, Chapters 20 and 21

It didn't take long after acquiring the Carousel Atlas to figure out that the book was made for Scholars, not puny Film Buffs.

At first glance, it did look organized.

Everything was divided into sections based on spoilers, geography, and by topic. But beyond that, there was no way to navigate the massive tome.

There was no reference section in the back of the book like you would expect.

The best you could do was try to find something related to what you were looking fo...

Book Five, Chapters 18 and 19

"Are you sure we can't just call Sal again?" Isaac asked. I could tell there was something he was aching to say. He was afraid. Unfortunately, his fear came out in the form of insincere apathy and overdone caution. "We just need to ask him the right questions."

"We already talked to Sal," I said. "I am telling you, it is best to just have a good attitude about this sort of thing."

If not a good attitude, at least dread things silently.

"I am telling you, I have a funny feeli...

Next Post Tomorrow

Carousel Book Five starts tomorrow. I guess you could say it's about to... take off.

See you then.

Book Five, Chapters 17

Kimberly looked through the tropes and then stared back up at us, hoping that we would be able to encourage her decision.

We had discussed this a long time ago, back when we had nothing but time and the Carousel Atlas to look through. When it came to the Eye Candy archetype, there were no bad choices.

The Atlas made it a point to warn that the Beauty aspect required a lot of commitment because the Beauty had to juggle a lot of characters and interactions. That made them pow...

Book Five, Chapter 16

I lay still in the cornfield as I waited for my wounds to disappear.

I didn't even notice when it actually happened. My head was laying on my arm, and at some point, I noticed that the fabric of my loud 1970s business suit had turned back into the soft fabric of my hoodie.

I got up off the ground as fast as I could.

It was daytime, and I hadn't received my rewards, but I still felt like I needed to hurry. We weren't here just to get a couple of tickets or a few coins; we wer...

Checking in and a Question

Alright, Kimberly will get her aspect.

Thanks to all readers who provided their arguments for and against. Based on your ideas, I might adjust some things in the edit.

As requested, I will also be writing about what happens to her in the finale after she leaves Riley so you can see her final performance.

Her aspect selection will be a bit odd for Patrons, though. She will receive the choice in Monday's chapter, but you will not know what her choice is until Friday because I...

Does Kimberly Get Her Aspect?

Kimberly has completed a storyline after level 21. Did she perform well enough to earn her Aspect? Eye Candy Archetypes get their aspect after a "perfect" performance.

Did she do it?

You decide!

If you vote yes, her aspect vote will appear on Discord.

Book Five, Chapters 14 and 15

"We have to leave now," I said as I ushered them to follow me.

Luckily, whatever weird ancestor-worshipping ritual the Patchers were going through was keeping them from turning to us, but I knew it would only be a matter of time.

The Patchers did what they had to do to protect their family. They covered up the death of Tamara Cano. They killed Benny Harless. We knew of those crimes, which meant we were next.

Antoine, Kimberly, Ted the cameraman, Dina, Rose, and I hoofed it b...

Book Five, Chapters 12 and 13

I could hear footsteps and Ted screaming as someone dragged him along the floor. I had a gun that Antoine had given me and enough Hustle to be able to use it.

I climbed out of the treehouse in what probably looked like a very clumsy crawl. I managed to land on my feet and point the gun in the direction of the open door, where I could see a mysterious figure standing.

He still held Ted's foot as he dragged him.

I took a shot.

And I missed.

I couldn't have missed. ...

Book Five, Chapters 10 and 11

I stared down at the page.

The name Sheriff Thomas Patcher stared back up at me.

What happened to Sheriff Jonathan Miller? They made Tommy Patcher the sheriff—the very guy who we suspected helped foil the community's attempts at finding Tamara Cano.

I took in my surroundings. I was standing right outside of a large office that just happened to have my name on the door. Lead Investigative Producer was my title according to the plaque. That meant I was the boss now.

An...

Book Five, Chapter 9

As we drove back to the boarding house, we discussed our plans for the future. We had suspects to question. We could see a line of attack to get to the bottom of this mystery, even if we couldn't see all the pieces at once. My He Has a Tell trope had been working on overdrive and had given us several clear leads, even if it didn't flat-out give us the truth.

The murder of Benny Harless was a massive clue to what this story was about, even if we hadn’t worked it out yet.

Our spir...

Changes to The Tutorial

I told you that I would be editing the Tutorial ending based on feedback and then tell you what changed.

The lead-up to the Silas Dyrkon monologue is largely the same. The only difference, really, is that I have tried to improve many of the character motivations and situations. I didn't want to change too much.

Silas's Monologue

Silas's monologue, however, is very different. One of the most worrisome notes I received was that some of you felt the Tutorial wa...

Book Five, Chapters 7 and 8

Dina continued to fight back tears as Benny watched his son run off into the distance.

"I'm so sorry about that, ma'am," he said. "The boy's just going through a lot right now. Not as much as you, I'm sure. But he's just gonna go to one of his hiding places, and he’ll be fine."

He kind of looked down, unsure of what to do next, taken by intense emotion. "I'll fix your car. I can do that. I'll fix it," he said, looking at Kimberly. Then he walked off to do just that.

We wer...

Book Five, Chapters 5 and 6

Trigger Warning: While no violence towards children is depicted, the narrative deals with distressing situations related to a missing child and childhood trauma. Reader discretion is advised.

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Antoine Stone is the Athlete.

No aspect has been chosen.

Antoine has a Plot Armor score of 26, Mettle of 7, Moxie of 4, Hustle of 5, Savvy of 3, and Grit of 7.

Current Trope Limit: 9

"Gym Rat" buffs Mettle a...

2024-07-06 03:30:37 +0000 UTC View Post

Checking in

We are officially on the Friday/Monday schedule.

In the future, I will try to make it so that storylines take around a few weeks to post instead of months. I felt like the stories didn't have the impact they could have if they hadn't taken so long to get out. I feel full of writing energy and am ready to let it out!

The Tutorial was kind of restrictive, and now I feel like things have freed up. Always feel free to ask for things you want to see. While this book is pretty well plan...

Book Five, Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4

I walked through the aisles of the general store with a purpose.

I was making a mental shopping list. The shelves were stacked with a meager supply of canned goods as well as all the staples that you might expect, such as flour and salt. Did we need kidney beans? Did we need beets? Did anyone need beets?

The refrigerated section was even less impressive, but it had eggs and milk and bacon. What more could we ask for?

As I rounded the corner of the aisle, I came across Dina. ...

Chapter on its way

I met my deadline and am working on your chapter. It should launch late tonight into the early morning hours.

Thank you for your patience.

Just to clarify

I will be starting the Friday and Monday Schedule ASAP, but as I have said before, I have a manuscript due soon. I will get the next chapter in soon, hopefully tomorrow. This one should be around 5000 words. I am working on adding in the downtime and storyline planning elements that you all have requested, and I would like to get them right. I have them written, but I need to fill them out.

There has also been a change of plans with book three (the one where Project Rewind was revealed)...

Character Rundown

Riley Lawrence is the Film Buff.

His aspect is Filmmaker.

Filmmaker: The Filmmaker has a comprehensive understanding of the filmmaking process. They can manipulate the game environment effectively, altering the game's dynamics in subtle but impactful ways. Their abilities are a mixture of meta-Insight and meta-Rule tropes. They have higher Hustle, reflecting their ability to stay out of the way, stay alive, and remain unseen as they...

Heads Up

With Book Four finished, we are now onto the next phase of the adventure.

While I prepare for Book Five, I am going to write and publish an in-between storyline that I fear I won't get another chance to write once Book Five starts in earnest.

It's called The Final Straw.

You may have heard of it. I have wanted to do the story for a long time, but it doesn't make sense as a rescue, so I am considering it as a transitionary treat between books.

Right now I am ...

Arc II, Chapter 85: The Remainder (unedited)

Isaac got two stat tickets and three tropes, along with a few coins. His low level meant that even an… uninspired performance netted him some gains.

After obtaining them, he kept calling himself a Cynic even though he had not chosen his aspect yet. I didn’t argue. I liked that he was contemplating his role in the party finally, even if he was a little preachy.

Hindsight is 20/20

Type: Insight

Archetype: Comedian

Aspect: Cynic

St...

2024-06-17 03:41:41 +0000 UTC View Post

Arc II, Chapter 84: The Loft

Even as we stood there in shock at what had just happened, Carousel started to come back to life all around us.

I could hear that the Centennial Celebration, the modern one, was starting up in the distance. Every time I closed my eyes, it was like I was closer and closer to leaving the story world behind.

The cries and screams in the distance turned to laughs as NPCs rode the rides and played the carnival games.

The Ferris wheel was starting back up again. I could hear it, b...