Of zombies, and aliens, and angels
Replies
Hmmm.. for me the best way to love someone is to respect them.. Love, any kind of love, should be based on respecting the other person, even if you don't approve their choices or their point of view. Your partner, your child, your friend is not something you own, you can't keep them in a cage even if you think it's for their own good. As Sting said, if you love somebody set them free.
[item=What is Love?]
Message By a stroke of luck (or persuasion from the flyers,) you find yourself in Shadowglen.
Although a visit to Shadowglen used to be at the centre of the yearly Survival festivities, with the Volunteer Infection Program, a decline in the dreaded (or anticipated) occurrence of airborne zombie virus infections seems to have reduced tourism to other areas of Shadowglen. It's not something that bothers the Unliving, who still see local businesses flourish at this time of the year.
You don't see anything vaguely resembling a nuptial service or anything out of the ordinary close to the Underground, save for a small, yet familiar tent.
A strange figure emerges from the tent. You can't help but notice that their eyes are closed, and their facial expression unchanging.
"Greetings, stranger. Might I ask you a question?"
Wait a minute… that's a mask! That grin didn't move an inch. Without waiting for you to respond, they continue. "What is the best way for someone to express their love for someone? How do you desire to be loved?"
They hand you an… eyeliner pencil and a pink book covered with question marks and a conspicuous kiss mark. You flip through the pages and find it to be… empty.
Thank you again kind anon, that is one tough question to actually put into words an answer; but like Lia above, there must be respect and trust. I think love can take many shapes.
As for me, I want to be loved for who I am, quirks and all. Luckily I have people in my life that do just that. I love them back just as much.
Opening your heart to love is a scary thing and you can most definitely get hurt, but if you never take the risk you can miss out on so much.
Ah, there I go rambling on. :)
I'll just end by saying I choose love. Always.
Happy Wednesday dear stranger.
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org
As for me, I appreciate mundane gestures of love and care the most. Like taking out the trash every now and then, preparing a meal for your family/significant other, helping your shorter friends get stuff from the upper shelves, telling someone they have a nice shirt, etcetc...
- A little please and thank you go a long way, really!
...But the real question is, WHY IS THIS STRANGER WEARING A MASK? Who are they?!
The strange person walks to your side, peering at what you are writing on the notebook. They nod as you finish some of your thoughts, and take the book once they&;ve seen that you&;re done.</p>
<p>"Thank you very much for your thoughts. I will give them a lot of thought. I wish you safe travels!"</p>
<p>As though they were a hermit, they retreat back to their tent. As you make your way out of the vicinity of the Underground Spring, back into the surface, a man approaches you.</p>
<p>
"Good day. I&;m Brandon Dorian from Centropolis. I&;ve been looking for a certain person… do you recognise the person in this image?" He takes out a photograph from his pocket.</p>
<p>
[art by Lanalu, background by Benjamin Horn.]
I'm sorry I don't recognise them, they're a cutie though!
bird and bear and hare and fish give my love her fondest wish
</p><p>The strange person walks to your side, peering at what you are writing on the notebook. They nod as you finish some of your thoughts, and take the book once they&;ve seen that you&;re done.</p>
<p>"Thank you very much for your thoughts. I will give them a lot of thought. I wish you safe travels!"
Safe travels to you, mysterious person!
<p>
</p><p>"Good day. I&;m Brandon Dorian from Centropolis. I&;ve been looking for a certain person… do you recognise the person in this image?" He takes out a photograph from his pocket.</p>
<p>
Oh hey. What's this? Huh. He looks an awful lot like a guy I ran into recently, but I'm not sure... Wait. Exactly who are you and why are you looking for this guy? Are you police? I think you dropped this.
Thank you anon! This plot is sooo good. <3
HONK!
Mysterious cloaked person, can I add something about how I'd like love to be expressed to me? The other day, my husband brought home like 10 boxes of cheesy rice & broccoli steamer things, and like 4 packages of cheese, including fontina and gouda. That's love. True love.
Anyway. Brandon, I'm not sure. I've seen a lot of people. It is Survival, after all - people are out in droves lately. Why do you ask?
Hmmmm yeah, he does look familiar. Why are you asking, Brandon?
Hi Brandon, I don't think I recognize that person, but I've met so many people, it's hard to say. That pendant looks a bit like the Eye of Ra but it's probably just coincidence..
This is your first time opening this, so these items are now in your inventory!
Message
The strange person walks to your side, peering at what you are writing on the notebook. They nod as you finish some of your thoughts, and take the book once they've seen that you're done.
"Thank you very much for your thoughts. I will give them a lot of thought. I wish you safe travels!"
Safe travels to you as well.
As though they were a hermit, they retreat back to their tent. As you make your way out of the vicinity of the Underground Spring, back into the surface, a man approaches you.
"Good day. I'm Brandon Dorian from Centropolis. I've been looking for a certain person… do you recognise the person in this image?" He takes out a photograph from his pocket.
Thank you again anon.
I'm not sure if I recognize him or not. It would help if my head didn't hurt so much right now. I'll continue pondering this and see if anything or anyone comes to mind.
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org
(A quick tip to those who have difficulties recognizing him: he's the guy we've been talking to!)
SPOILER (click to toggle)
"Thank you for your time." Brandon takes the photo away from you and places it in his pocket.
1A) Ask Brandon about the person on the photograph. 1B) Ask Brandon why he's looking for that man
I choose B... "Why are you looking for him?"
Brandon leaves you in a rush, allowing you to go wherever you were headed. As he walks away, you notice that the back of his jacket has the words "Subetan Anti-Alien Alliance" embroidered on it.
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org
DOH! Thank you, I clealry have the attention span of a goldfish xD
<p><details>
<summary>1A) Ask Brandon about the person on the photograph.</summary>
You ask Brandon about the man on the photo he just showed you.</p>
<p>"He&;s Grace Vaya, a physician from Saherimos. He has been missing for a few weeks now. We received unverified reports stating that he is presently in Shadowglen."</p>
<p>[[Proceed to 1B.]]
</details><details>
<summary>1B) Ask Brandon why he&;s looking for that man</summary>
You ask Brandon why he&;s looking for that man in the first place.</p>
<p>"We just aren&;t certain of his origins. He seems to have proper professional documentations, but we are suspicious of their veracity. He and a few other individuals associated with him do not have any other global records prior to a year ago."</p>
<p>[[Choose between 2A (Insinuate that Grace is a fraud) and 2B (Question Brandon&;s motives.)]]
</details></p>
<p><details>
<summary>2A</summary>
If Grace has suspicious records, there&;s a possibility that he&;s a fraud. You express this concern to Brandon.</p>
<p>"I thought of the same thing. I really shouldn&;t be telling you this while we are still investigating the case, but he has harmed a few youth in Centropolis. Apparently some sort of fist fight. What kind of respectable doctor does that thing?"</p>
<p>[[Choose between 2B (Question Brandon&;s motives,) 3A (Offer to assist Brandon in catching Grace,) and 3B (Ask Brandon if he&;s a police officer.)]]
</details><details>
<summary>2B</summary>
You question Brandon&;s motives for pursuing Grace. For all you know, this guy may be lying to you.</p>
<p>"I want to bring justice to the people he harmed. If a doctor can hurt some troubled teenagers, he can probably jeopardise his patients!"</p>
<p>[[Choose between 3A (Offer to assist Brandon in catching Grace,) and 3B (Ask Brandon if he&;s a police officer)]]
</details></p>
<p><details>
<summary>3A</summary>
You offer to assist Brandon in his quest for justice. You think he is credible enough, even if you&;ve only met him now.</p>
<p>"Thank you very much. Please look out for him. I will contact you once I have any leads."
</details><details>
<summary>3B</summary>
You ask Brandon if he&;s a police officer. He tries to sound like one, and even has a walkie, but you&;re not entirely convinced.</p>
<p>"Technically, I&;m not. I&;m more of a vigilante. But you know how the police are these days, they claim to hate us yet they thank us for helping rid the streets of scum."</p>
<p>[[Return to 3A or proceed to 4 (Don&;t assist Brandon.)]]
</details></p>
<p><details>
<summary>4</summary>
You&;ve heard enough. There&;s no way you&;re going to get your hands dirty helping someone who might just be out to tarnish the name of a young doctor.</p>
<p>"That&;s your decision, huh? Fine, I&;ll respect that."
</details></p>
<p>Brandon leaves you in a rush, allowing you to go wherever you were headed. As he walks away, you notice that the back of his jacket has the words "Subetan Anti-Alien Alliance" embroidered on it.
1B) Ask Brandon why he's looking for that man 2B (Question Brandon's motives.) 3B (Ask Brandon if he's a police officer) 4 (Don't assist Brandon.)
Brandon leaves you in a rush, allowing you to go wherever you were headed. As he walks away, you notice that the back of his jacket has the words "Subetan Anti-Alien Alliance" embroidered on it.
1a 1b 2b 3b 4 Brandon seems dicey, and that conversation and his jacket confirm it. Im not going to be recruited by this guy for vigilante justice. (I recognized him, I just don't trust Brandon! ;)) Also this choose your own adventure format for this was awesome, well done!
JUST LEAVE GRACE ALONE ;3; (I opted, mentally, also not to help Brandon)
bird and bear and hare and fish give my love her fondest wish
My Answers
<p>"We just aren&;t certain of his origins. He seems to have proper professional documentations, but we are suspicious of their veracity. He and a few other individuals associated with him do not have any other global records prior to a year ago."
Okay, makes sense that you'd want to look into something like that. It is a bit strange.
<p>"I want to bring justice to the people he harmed. If a doctor can hurt some troubled teenagers, he can probably jeopardise his patients!"
Grace has hurt people? Now this I'm finding a little hard to believe. He seemed nice enough when I met him. Plus the guy I met can't see very well. I just can't imagine him hurting anyone.
Could the guy I met and the guy in your photo NOT be one and the same? Are we dealing with twins here? A lookalike? Maybe even a shapeshifter?
<p>"Technically, I&;m not. I&;m more of a vigilante. But you know how the police are these days, they claim to hate us yet they thank us for helping rid the streets of scum."
Uh-huh... I get wanting to deal with the scum that the police fail to, but how can you be sure you're not pursuing an innocent man? And how can I be sure you're being entirely straight with me here? Yeah, I don't think I can help any more.
<p>"That&;s your decision, huh? Fine, I&;ll respect that."
Yep. I'd rather not get involved with this. Maybe if I knew more I'd feel differently, but I'm not feeling comfortable with this vigilante thing.
Good luck out there, Brandon. I hope you're wrong about Grace, and if there is someone hurting people, I hope you get the right guy!
Riiight... Somehow, I don't think this guy's concerns lie with getting justice for some hurt teenagers.
Thanks anon! Looking forward to seeing where this goes next. I'm very curious about Brandon's real motives...
HONK!
I chose:
1A) Ask Brandon about the person on the photograph. 2A) Ask Brandon why he's looking for that man 2B Question Brandon's motives. 3B Ask Brandon if he's a police officer 4 Don't assist Brandon.
Nope not going to trust this guy so easily!
<p>A figure lies in front of you, initially shrouded by fog. It clears to reveal someone clad in purple.</p>
<p>
</p><p>Could that tome be held up by some wire that this person is bobbing up and down to simulate levitation, or is it really floating to their side?</p>
<p>"Are you ready to witness a REAL spectacle?"</p>
<p>Before you can say anything, a flash of light abruptly blinds your eyes.</p>
<p>
</p><p>"Heh, that&;s not the magic I wanted to use! I guess this planet will never allow me to reach my full potential. Oh well, pithy mortal, enjoy staying in this wintery wasteland."</p>
<p>Just like that, it seems you&;re in the Arctic Frost. How strange.
Oh hey, new person! Wait... What just happened? O.O
...
Dammit! I knew I should have worn a jacket today. T_T shivers
Well, she seemed rather unpleasant. I wonder who she is? Thank you, anon! <3
HONK!
Noooooo it was just starting to warm up I don't want to be cold again come back practice your magic harder teach me how to be warm
bird and bear and hare and fish give my love her fondest wish