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Scream It Until You're Coughing Up Blood - An Early Medieval Punk Fairy Tale

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[X] You hurt yourself.

I don't really think lashing out at others is a good idea to be honest. Unless we're doing some sort of medieval vigilante route or something. I could be persuaded to get behind that.
Adhoc vote count started by A_Knight on Aug 6, 2018 at 2:45 AM, finished with 46 posts and 34 votes.
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Gargulec said:
Another skeleton, wrapped in nothing but shreds of a colored sash leans in and extends a hand to you. There is a smile on its face, as there always is. You refuse to take his hand, and it withdraws, instead helping other dead crawl out of the mud-pit. Some of them carry instruments - a wrecked harp and and a banged-up drum. The noise they make is unbearable, but it doesn't stop others from dancing, and the black birds cheer them on as they make merry, knee-deep in mud.
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What a beautifully written bleak as fuck downward spiral. Ngl it's kinda- it's hard to read and I wouldn't necessarily say in a good way? Like I absolutely don't hate it, and I do love it a lot this weird fucking mix of, like, strung out and exhausted we'll-all-be-washed-up-wrecks-before-we're-40-and-god-I-hope-all-the-drugs-we're-doing-kill-the-STI's-we've-picked-up punk desperation mixed with the more mythic tones, the lack of dialogue, and sorta folktale delivery. I guess part of it is that like...it's very clearly cast as a downward spiral without a light at the end of the tunnel. There isn't a sense of progress so much as a steadily decaying holding pattern. Like treading water y'know? You can only kick and churn your arms so long before you get worn down, worn out, and sink all the same. It definitely works for the atmosphere and overall mood but it makes a lot of the traditional ("traditional") quest stuff sit weirdly. They're usually characterized by shades of increasing personal power or trying to achieve strategic goals or even just "this is cool". But there's no real structure and no real personal goal in mind beyond a "live at peace" which was fundamentally, fatally flawed the moment we began.

It's honestly unclear how/if/if it even can all pull together too. Ultimately though I think:

[X] You hurt yourself.

This is partly because it'll probably lead to shattering the bracelet (and I'll cop to finding "your thoughts are muddied and muffled" stuff frustrating OOC so that's an element) but also because, like, the "you hurt others" is pretty obviously telegraphed towards the weird fanged forest nymph who's done her best to be kind to us in her weird way. Part of it too is that, mnm, like per the danse macabre style scene all these monsters crave blood and, like, in terms of storytelling spilling blood (your own or other's) to seal pacts with unholy forces and fey powers is definitely A Thing.

It's an uncomfortable vote, which is what it's supposed to be. And it'll definitely leave an impact on the Girl going forward. I guess what I'm angling at is that, between the two, this might at least propel her into the start of a journey rather than prompt another flight/attempt to numb the sensation.
 
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Gargulec said:
Whatever drove you away from the Laughing Painter and his work fades, until it becomes just a dull throbbing in your chest, not nearly potent enough to be called paint.
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'pain'
Gargulec said:
You reminds yourself that you are not afraid.
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'remind'
Gargulec said:
When she takes you in her hands and when she leads into an out-of-step dance to a tune without rhythm, all you can think about is how her touch burns you where you skin meets and of how she looks at her with those fire-filled eyes: you can see all the contempt she has for you.
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'she looks at you'?

[x] You hurt someone else.

This quest is going places.
 
[X] You hurt yourself

This poor girl doesn't deserve more pain, but the QM doesn't seem to be giving us much choice.
 
[X] You hurt yourself

This is bad. It's a really bad thing to do and it says that she's in a really bad place. Yet it's not as isolating as lashing out at other people and, dulled as her thoughts may be, she does have something of a companion in the Woods Girl.
 
Okay, so I think you are long overdue some form of an explanation, and I will feel better once I type this out, given how close to my heart this project was and still is.

I've been trying to write the next update for this quest for last six months. This is not an exaggeration, people who know me will confirm this; I've gone through many drafts, many attempts and clung to the idea of continuing the quest with some tenacity. However, nothing that I'd work would work... at least not as a Quest. It's been repeatedly suggested to me that Scream would work better as a short story of some sort. It is possible that I will attempt to rewrite it as such, eventually.

The combination of early medieval styling, exploration of gender dynamics and a measure taken from the punk cultures of dissent and disagreement is as close to me as it gets; I want to write that. But it just doesn't work in the Quest format. I apologize for trying to get it work here over and over again; I understand also that this is an apology and explanation posted 7 months too late, but it is something, as much for you as it is for me.
 
Well, I completely missed this when it was updating and just read it all and it was wonderful, so to see it only as it gasps out its death is a little saddening, but I can't regret it. Thanks for taking this as far as you did.
 
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