Out of sight, in your hands.
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Justify It
- Thread starter TimelessThing
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- Original Modern Mystery
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Prologue 1
You are being judged.
You are being judged.
What was your name?
[X][Name] Alexandra "Al" Bell
Why are you being judged?
[X][Judge] I killed something.
...
There's not much to say about you.
You're an only child. Single parent, but that's kinda a downer (even if it was the right call). Uh... you...
[X][You] are a talented sprinter?
All in all, you hate introductions. Giving some stilted spiel about yourself to a bunch of strangers is something you can comfortably declare to be "the worst".
[X][Worst] It's not like you have much choice. Better get this over with.
Ties will be broken by random selection between the frontrunners. Simple, approval and plan votes are acceptable.
You are being judged.
What was your name?
[X][Name] Alexandra "Al" Bell
Why are you being judged?
[X][Judge] I killed something.
...
There's not much to say about you.
You're an only child. Single parent, but that's kinda a downer (even if it was the right call). Uh... you...
[X][You] are a talented sprinter?
All in all, you hate introductions. Giving some stilted spiel about yourself to a bunch of strangers is something you can comfortably declare to be "the worst".
[X][Worst] It's not like you have much choice. Better get this over with.
Ties will be broken by random selection between the frontrunners. Simple, approval and plan votes are acceptable.
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Reserved
Reserved
Notebook
- Judgement
- Decay
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Requiem for a John
John couldn't understand just how things had gotten so bad so quickly.
Sure, the foundation of lies supporting his demesne was bound to collapse, but for it to happen so quickly and totally was beyond the pale. A leak here, an accusation there, those he could plug or deflect as needed. Sustaining his success demanded a quick mind and flexible morals, neither of which he was above abusing -- and neither of which would avail him now.
An Icarian fall from grace wasn't acceptable, not from this height. It would be a death sentence -- well, more likely a life sentence, but there's little enough difference that....
Maybe it's better to take a leap of faith than fall from a crumbling precipice.
After all, if there's one thing John's learned from the past couple years, it's this:
A martyr's faults are easily forgotten.
This may be decanonized depending on some stuff, but I wanted to write at least a little bit more than basically nothing to start out with. It's just a sample of a character's internal monologue prior to the story's beginning.
Sure, the foundation of lies supporting his demesne was bound to collapse, but for it to happen so quickly and totally was beyond the pale. A leak here, an accusation there, those he could plug or deflect as needed. Sustaining his success demanded a quick mind and flexible morals, neither of which he was above abusing -- and neither of which would avail him now.
An Icarian fall from grace wasn't acceptable, not from this height. It would be a death sentence -- well, more likely a life sentence, but there's little enough difference that....
Maybe it's better to take a leap of faith than fall from a crumbling precipice.
After all, if there's one thing John's learned from the past couple years, it's this:
A martyr's faults are easily forgotten.
This may be decanonized depending on some stuff, but I wanted to write at least a little bit more than basically nothing to start out with. It's just a sample of a character's internal monologue prior to the story's beginning.
Prologue 2
"Uh... are you awake?"
The voice sounds from ahead of you, masculine and slightly muffled. Parting your chapped lips, you let out a scratchy, incoherent cough in place of words.
"Oh, right. You were sobbing for a while. Let me just..."
There is the sound of running water followed by a dripping rag being placed in your mouth. You suckle at it, soothing your ragged throat at the expense of your dignity.
"Ugh, man, this is fucking nuts."
You
[X][You] Demand that he gets this over with.
...
Homeroom was weird. You've had unenthusiastic teachers before -- in fact, most of them fit that particular bill -- but they at least bothered to acknowledge students when they started leaving before the bell. Mr. Truman was so laissez faire that he could've passed for a mannequin.
The rest of the day fit your expectations a little better. Getting work to play catch-up with, failing to make social inroads with your fellow sophomores, et cetera. If anything left an impression on you, it was when
[X][Impression] The girl sitting next to you started crying, unprompted.
You transferred after track try-outs had already concluded, so you'll have to find something else to do after school. You wind up attending the
[X][Club] Astronomy Club
to kill time.
The voice sounds from ahead of you, masculine and slightly muffled. Parting your chapped lips, you let out a scratchy, incoherent cough in place of words.
"Oh, right. You were sobbing for a while. Let me just..."
There is the sound of running water followed by a dripping rag being placed in your mouth. You suckle at it, soothing your ragged throat at the expense of your dignity.
"Ugh, man, this is fucking nuts."
You
[X][You] Demand that he gets this over with.
...
Homeroom was weird. You've had unenthusiastic teachers before -- in fact, most of them fit that particular bill -- but they at least bothered to acknowledge students when they started leaving before the bell. Mr. Truman was so laissez faire that he could've passed for a mannequin.
The rest of the day fit your expectations a little better. Getting work to play catch-up with, failing to make social inroads with your fellow sophomores, et cetera. If anything left an impression on you, it was when
[X][Impression] The girl sitting next to you started crying, unprompted.
You transferred after track try-outs had already concluded, so you'll have to find something else to do after school. You wind up attending the
[X][Club] Astronomy Club
to kill time.
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I'm going to live dangerously and close the vote early, since I'm eager to keep going.
Astronomy Club is locked in, but the other options are tied. They'll be rolled for individually with a 1 resulting in SolAnon1's choice and a 2 being Mars's.
It might take a bit for the next part of the prologue to be finished (update: it did not). In the meanwhile, I figured out how I wanted the Notebook section to be formatted and that's now up-to-date. The other reserved infopost was going to be a character sheet, but it'll be left blank until I actually have a reason to make one (or use the slot for something else).
Next update should (hopefully) start demonstrating what this quest is about.
Astronomy Club is locked in, but the other options are tied. They'll be rolled for individually with a 1 resulting in SolAnon1's choice and a 2 being Mars's.
It might take a bit for the next part of the prologue to be finished (update: it did not). In the meanwhile, I figured out how I wanted the Notebook section to be formatted and that's now up-to-date. The other reserved infopost was going to be a character sheet, but it'll be left blank until I actually have a reason to make one (or use the slot for something else).
Next update should (hopefully) start demonstrating what this quest is about.
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Prologue 3
"Okay, jeez. It's not like I'm any more comfortable with this than you are."
You're doubtful and aren't shy about saying so.
"Well, m-maybe... uh, anyway."
There's the sound of a chair scraping across a ceramic floor, and a soft thud you presume is your conversation partner seating himself.
"Um, John said that --"
Who's John?
"Who's -- you don't remember?" He's getting worked up. "You met us on Monday, when you came by the Ethics Club after school."
Monday? That's when you visited the Astronomy Club. Ethics didn't cross your mind.
"...No? The Astronomy Club meets at the same time as us, and you were here from start to finish."
That
[][Club] makes no sense. You're going to check out the Astronomy Club, like you decided.
[][Club] sounds right, actually. Somebody invited you to stop by the Ethics Club and you intend to take them up on it.
...
Astronomy's not really something you've ever been all that into, but apparently there's enough interest in Moresbrook that a dedicated club's been around for years. Mr. Truman's their advisor, conveniently enough, so you just return to your homeroom to attend it.
The teacher's absent, predictably, but you meet three members of the club -- Elena, Patrick, and Niko. They seem alright, but it's difficult to match their enthusiasm for celestial cartography in kind. You're glad to leave by the time you do.
On the bus, your thoughts drift to the girl you met in History. She was... weirdly angry? A lot of it felt directed towards you in particular. You just wanted to see if she was alright, but she damn near bit off your helping hand.
Metaphorically, anyway. You came out of that situation mercifully unscathed. Some boy came up from across the room and scolded her for the way she was acting, which prompted another bout of tears as he led her outside. At least one group of students started whispering to each other, but the teacher was unfazed.
You
[][Girl] decide to talk to her tomorrow. Whatever her problem is, you aren't about to let it fester.
[][Girl] decide to talk to the boy tomorrow. Maybe he knows what's up. At least he seemed more level-headed.
[][Girl] decide to let it go. Really, you already tried getting involved in her business and look where it got you.
[][Girl] write-in
You're doubtful and aren't shy about saying so.
"Well, m-maybe... uh, anyway."
There's the sound of a chair scraping across a ceramic floor, and a soft thud you presume is your conversation partner seating himself.
"Um, John said that --"
Who's John?
"Who's -- you don't remember?" He's getting worked up. "You met us on Monday, when you came by the Ethics Club after school."
Monday? That's when you visited the Astronomy Club. Ethics didn't cross your mind.
"...No? The Astronomy Club meets at the same time as us, and you were here from start to finish."
That
[][Club] makes no sense. You're going to check out the Astronomy Club, like you decided.
[][Club] sounds right, actually. Somebody invited you to stop by the Ethics Club and you intend to take them up on it.
...
Astronomy's not really something you've ever been all that into, but apparently there's enough interest in Moresbrook that a dedicated club's been around for years. Mr. Truman's their advisor, conveniently enough, so you just return to your homeroom to attend it.
The teacher's absent, predictably, but you meet three members of the club -- Elena, Patrick, and Niko. They seem alright, but it's difficult to match their enthusiasm for celestial cartography in kind. You're glad to leave by the time you do.
On the bus, your thoughts drift to the girl you met in History. She was... weirdly angry? A lot of it felt directed towards you in particular. You just wanted to see if she was alright, but she damn near bit off your helping hand.
Metaphorically, anyway. You came out of that situation mercifully unscathed. Some boy came up from across the room and scolded her for the way she was acting, which prompted another bout of tears as he led her outside. At least one group of students started whispering to each other, but the teacher was unfazed.
You
[][Girl] decide to talk to her tomorrow. Whatever her problem is, you aren't about to let it fester.
[][Girl] decide to talk to the boy tomorrow. Maybe he knows what's up. At least he seemed more level-headed.
[][Girl] decide to let it go. Really, you already tried getting involved in her business and look where it got you.
[][Girl] write-in
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I messed up the phrasing on the [Club] options, so those have been changed slightly. The votes already cast will be counted for the updated Astronomy option, since the change is very minor.
- Location
- Attached to a wall
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X][Club] makes no sense. You're going to check out the Astronomy Club, like you decided.
[X][Girl] decide to let it go. Really, you already tried getting involved in her business and look where it got you.
Ethics? Not My problem
[X][Girl] decide to let it go. Really, you already tried getting involved in her business and look where it got you.
Ethics? Not My problem