The Soundstage
It seems strange that there is no entry on this despite the term being so widely used in the Atlas.
Most stories are set physically here in Carousel. If you aren’t careful and you ignore the NPCs trying to shoo you away, you can find yourself on the set of an active storyline that you aren’t a part... 2024-03-12 06:36:58 +0000 UTC View Post
Antoine laid back on the overstuffed chair I had grown fond of in our time at the hilltop suite that had once been Jedediah Geist’s home. Every few moments, it looked like Antoine was about to get up and go somewhere else, but he didn’t.
We sat and had the same conversation we had been having ever since the second Tutorial storyline. It was going nowhere.
“That’s it,” Antoine finally said as he started to get up, “I’m making myself something to eat. I can’t think a...
2024-03-10 07:59:28 +0000 UTC View Post“One at a time,” Madam Celia said firmly from the doorway of her shop. She had been waiting for us. The elegant dress she had been wearing in the town square was gone. Instead, she was in a purple cloak and frock that looked absolutely pedestrian by comparison. Wrapping herself in her cloak, leaving only her skinny, bejeweled fingers exposed, sh...
2024-03-07 10:08:23 +0000 UTC View Post“Come here, boy,” Bobby said. “You can do it!”
The tall wolfhound from the Permanent Vacancy B&B stepped over the boundary they were previously unable to cross. It joyously hurled itself into Bobby’s arms. Bobby looked happy. That’s all that mattered.
We had trekked across the town so that Bobby could check in on his dogs. He fed them, played with them, talk about his plans with them for at least an hour. The rest of us hung out on the porch of the B&B and wait...
2024-03-04 05:04:55 +0000 UTC View PostDays passed while we waited at the hotel suite that had once been Jed Geist’s home.
Kurt Willis, the GI Paragon, had told my friends to wait a couple of weeks or so before pursuing the next storyline.
Weeks.
That didn’t match up with what I knew about the Tutorial at all—nothing we had seen about the Tutorial referenced weeks. Then again, I had never seen or heard of an account of the tutorial from someone who completed it when it was new. I had estimated days.
I...
2024-03-02 05:48:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe Tutorial will soon be done, and the world will start opening back up. I know two of the stories that will be featured in the next book after the Tutorial, but I was wondering what kind of stuff you might want to see. It can be anything from a genre to a trope type. Just leave it in the comments.
I will try to get through this next story much faster than the last two.
I am still working on the next chapter, and it will be out shortly. Just got to get some things buttoned ...
2024-03-01 02:25:50 +0000 UTC View PostThe needle on the Plot Cycle was nearly to The End. I thought about crawling toward Isaac, but then I thought better of it. His Dead indicator was blinking longer and longer. He was unconscious. The only thing that approaching him might do was wake him up. That would only cause him to suffer.
I sat and contemplated how he was even still alive. His Grit was nothing to write home about. He must have triggered his If he’s still cracking jokes trope constantly throughout ...
2024-02-28 06:22:18 +0000 UTC View Post“You asked about Simon Halle,” he said. “How do you know that name?”
I had asked. He had not answered me at the time. I suspected that the script had been the reason. Now, both of us Written Off in a dark tunnel, the script didn’t appear to be stopping him.
“I met him a few months ago,” I said. “At Halle Castle.”
Dr. Halle leaned his head back. I despair on his face. He didn’t speak for a moment as he took it in.
“They brought that damn castle too...
2024-02-26 01:20:45 +0000 UTC View PostLillian Geist closed the distance across the office toward Halle in a matter of seconds. They had the same Plot Armor, but I had to imagine that hers was more geared toward melee than Halle’s.
“You did this to me!” she screamed. “Tell me why!”
She grabbed him and quickly threw him toward the water foundation in the corner of the room. As she had said, the treatment Halle gave her did not make her beautiful, but it did make her strong.
As the fight bore on, the chor...
2024-02-23 05:39:56 +0000 UTC View PostHere it was, the villain monologue. I had seen them before but never like this.
But this time, something was different. We were not consistently On-Screen as she spoke, and more than that, it felt like her speech was not happening in the moment despite the words coming from Lillian’s mouth. It reminded me of the cutscene that had occurred with the mayor and the time capsule.
The audience was not seeing the scene as it was happening. Lillian was narrating.
She started to sp...
2024-02-21 04:53:59 +0000 UTC View PostWe moved as quickly toward the hospital as we possibly could. Isaac was slowing us down. He was bleeding out. Unfortunately because of his sedation and the tropes that he had equipped it was nearly impossible to tell exactly how close he was to death.
A few times I actually thought he had died but the red wallpaper confirmed that he had not yet, though his Dead indicator status had lit up briefly once or twice, sending Cassie into tears.
As we moved, I tried throwing out ideas of ...
2024-02-19 06:39:27 +0000 UTC View PostThe book's launch has fried my brain a bit so I haven't gotten the chapters out in a timely manner. I apologize.
The current storyline will be finished by the end of the weekend and then you'll finally get to see what's in store for Riley and the gang. Now that I have some runway in front of me, I am going to try to finish the tutorial stage ASAP.
Once that's done... we have some rescuing to do and that part is going to be really fun!
PS If you have ordered the book in some ...
2024-02-16 02:40:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Game at Carousel Book One: The Bystander is live on Amazon. If you want the print version or audiobook, those are both available too. If you do get the book, please take a moment to leave a review (no pressure).
I cannot begin to express the gratitude I have for the readers on Patreon who have made it possible for me to get to this moment. I still ...
2024-02-14 04:11:47 +0000 UTC View Post“What are our characters’ motivations?” Kimberly asked.
“Good question,” I said.
I thought for a moment. There were countless movies where things like motivations were dropped leading to the conclusion of the story. By that point, the audience is usually invested enough to not even realize that the protagonists could just walk away.
“They’re headed to the hospital,” I said. “That’s the only set piece in that direction. We just so happen to have someone wh...
2024-02-14 04:04:37 +0000 UTC View Post“Everyone grab a scalpel,” Antoine suggested. He dumped the contents of a drawer that had been filled with the little metal surgical implements wrapped in protective wax paper onto a cold metal table. “I have a feeling we’re going to need something sharp soon.”
A cackle came from behind him.
“We’ll take our tiny knives and you take your gun. We’ll see who’s best,” Isaac said with a giggle. The sedative had washed away his panic. He sat and pressed a finge...
2024-02-10 00:42:41 +0000 UTC View PostFor a while, it was just me and Cecilia On-Screen. She talked in circles. At first, I thought she was just redoing lines to get a better take for Carousel, but then I started to suspect that she was lacking some of her higher faculties.
“When Howard fixes me, I think I will run for Miss Carousel. I’ll have to make a new name, obviously, but that is hardly a problem. If you can change your name, you can change who you are,” she said. After a few moments, she added, “Oh, you reall...
2024-02-07 06:11:59 +0000 UTC View Post“You may need that gadget after all because there is no way in hell I’m swallowing that thing,” I said, I said, staring at the wiggling tadpole.
Dr. Halle was none too pleased. He didn’t grab for the bolus gun. Instead, he grabbed a tool from the table that a demented dentist might use to hold my jaw apart.
It was only at that moment that I realized I was restrained. Whatever sedative he had used before had dulled my perception and made it so I didn’t even try to escape....
2024-02-03 20:03:47 +0000 UTC View PostI carefully scanned the area ahead, making sure to keep the mental image of Isaac in my mind so that I could see which way he was being taken.
A flood of self-doubt and shame moved over me as I began contemplating how my plan had failed that badly. Was it Cassie’s Foreboding Signs trope that did it? Perhaps her vision predicted my demise, but then when Oblivious Bystander countered it, Carousel was robbed of its victim.
Was that it? Had Carousel...
2024-02-02 00:00:28 +0000 UTC View PostOnce Doctor Halle was gone, we went Off-Screen.
Willis started to clap. “Things are moving right along. Been a while since I had to change my shorts in a story before,” he said with a grin. “Speaking of, you guys know what's next?”
We somberly looked around at each other and nodded.
“You're going to be First Blood,” Kimberly said.
“Right you are,” he said. “And then what happens?”
We had all been through this before. We know what happened next...
2024-01-30 08:20:59 +0000 UTC View PostFinally, the NPCs started to pack things away and break down the room. We were ready for the next scene. The tables of food were being packed up and taken somewhere in the distance. The sad part was that Bobby's Craft Services Are The Real Heroes trope had likely played some part in the absolute feast and he was the only player who had not gotten to enjoy it.
Not to mention that he was Mutilated wherever he was.
Kurt Willis, the GI Paragon who had been leading us ...
2024-01-28 05:37:28 +0000 UTC View Post“Do you have any idea who might have wanted Jedediah Geist dead?” Antoine asked. He wasn’t going to waste any time beating around the bush.
Dr. Howard Halle smiled. “In fact, I do. His whole family bore one grudge or another, but as they all famously predeceased him, that might not be useful information to you. Then there were the townsfolk who developed a sort of… superstition about the Geists and their fabulous wealth and good fortune. Those people are too many to name and t...
2024-01-25 05:39:37 +0000 UTC View PostQuestioning Dr. Howard Halle was coincidentally very easy. All it took was a call to the number on his business card to find out that he was at an event at Hallowed Heart Hospital just up the street.
He was Jed Geist’s personal physician. He knew something. He may even have been the killer. It was clear that the plot was pushing us in his direction.
We could have walked, b...
2024-01-23 04:59:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe ebook pre-order is live!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CSFB25XB?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_0&storeType=ebooks
Check it out if it's something you are interested in.
2024-01-17 22:19:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Player Tropes:
(I would like to remind readers that this is a reference. I will describe tropes before they come up. You don’t have to read this unless you want to)
Riley Lawrence is the Film Buff.
Having risen to level 25, he can equip 9 tropes and one background instead of 8.
Just checking in to announce that the Audible Pre-Order is now Live. If you have been one of the readers who have been waiting for the audiobook, the time is near!
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Bystander-A-Horror-Movie-LitRPG-Audiobook/B0CRSF24JT
Thank you for all of your support!
2024-01-10 00:22:31 +0000 UTC View PostWe're coming up on the next storyline and I am excited to show you what's in store, both in terms of the storyline itself and the revelations about how the Throughline works and the path forward.
At this time, I have a draft due on Friday for Book II and I need to spend every waking hour going over it and making sure it is exactly as it should be. Therefore, I will not be posting this week as I had planned. I just can't do it all. I promise I will make it up to you. I just know that the...
2024-01-08 05:52:02 +0000 UTC View PostThat was the first night in a while that I was able to use my instant sleeping trope all to myself. That was fortunate, as every noise in the suite jolted me awake with thoughts of ghouls and ghosts. I woke up early and sat around in one of the chairs in the living room, planning what I thought was going to be a very important meeting.
I needed to rally everyone toward figuring out what we were supposed to do next. It was clear that we needed to find the weapon used to murder Jedediah G...
2024-01-07 03:09:00 +0000 UTC View PostI need some time to get my killer frogs in a row. I was intending to release tonight, but it's not ready. Remember, I will still get your chapters to you.
Right now I am in the process of finishing the draft of Book Two for my publisher so I am super busy. Book Two will feature two new storylines (one short, one longer) that I am adding for pacing reasons. I am also swapping the place of Subject of Inquiry and the Campfire Anthology for... reasons. These are just tidbits
The first...
2024-01-05 05:29:52 +0000 UTC View PostBack to the resort we went. We were all anxious about finding the spirits of the dead there, but it was clear that we were meant to return to Jed Geist's old home, now the largest, fanciest hotel suite I had ever been in.
Since we had triggered the time capsule scene earlier this time, there was no need to enlist a Paragon to guide us to our hotel room. It was still light enough outside. The scene with the front desk clerk at the resort played out similarly but without Bobby’s involve...
2024-01-02 00:24:06 +0000 UTC View Post