Group 3: Heliodor, Ruby, Sapphire, Jasper

[dramatispersonae]

The room you find yourself in is a bit odd. It's clearly just a white tent with a table and chairs in the middle; on the table is a single picture book. But the walls of the tent have been sloppily painted to look like a room, a bookcase painted on one wall, a bed, a basket of apples. The paint seems wet, elements dripping and blurring into each other and the ground below.

Comments

ROUND 1

[dramatispersonae]

In front of you, you see a picture book which is almost more of a toy catalog -- images of all sorts of toys for children from dolls to teddy bears and beyond.

Marjory's voice comes hesitantly: "Please... make a toy. Um, it can't be just any toy, but it can be, too. It'll accompany the main character on a story we'll tell. You can't control the main character or anything else, but you can influence her through the toy s-so keep that in mind. You can make it look like whatever you want. A stuffed toy, or a toy soldier, or whatever you like. You need to give it one flaw, too, and one positive trait. Like... it could be protective, but missing a button. P-please discuss and decide quickly."

DISCUSSION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DISCUSSION

[betterserved]

[actually looks a little interested, then immediately pretends that he didn't]

. . . a toy?

Re: DISCUSSION

[primetimehero]

. . . A "protective" toy? Are these things alive?

Re: DISCUSSION

[mirroredvalue]

A toy, huh...?

[Mmm... What would be good...]

TURN-IN

[dramatispersonae]

Re: TURN-IN

[glorious]

Our toy is a...unique ragdoll. A galvanic mechamorph to be precise. It's positive trait is its adaptability and we've given in a wire skeleton to allow it to be posable depending on the situation. The negative trait is that it's quite fragile, and the fabric can be easily torn and the wires capable of breaking -- which means the toy will likely need frequent repairs if our main character has a tendency to play rough.

ROUND 2

[dramatispersonae]

DISCUSSIONS

[dramatispersonae]

Individual 'pages' of the story will be fast-paced individual turn-in with no discussion requirement. Please use this section for if your characters wish to talk during the storytelling.

Re: DISCUSSIONS

[primetimehero]

—wait, are you seriously suggesting there's poison in the food?

Re: DISCUSSIONS

[primetimehero]

HE'S DEAD WE KILLED HIM HIS MOM KILLED HIM SHE'S A MANIAC HOLY—

Re: DISCUSSIONS

[primetimehero]

[ LOOKS AT MECHAMORPH DOLL WITH WORDLESS DISTRESS!?!? ]

PAGE 1

[dramatispersonae]

The picture book closes and reopens to show an image of a little girl with brown ringlets dangling from one hand the POSEABLE BUT FRAGILE GALVANIC MECHAMORPH.

"Marlinchen's mother married a new man. They had been poor before, and it had often been difficult to see where their next meal was coming from. But the new man was friendly, and if not rich he was well off, with a garden and orchard of his own. He had a son, too, who became Marlinchen's brother, and the two got along nicely. But the boy was older and would inherit, and the mother dreamed that Marlinchen would be able to inherit instead, would be the sole recipient. She cautioned Marlinchen to not love her brother too much. After all, he might betray her later in life, leave her with nothing; something similar had happened to her mother before. Disturbed, that night, Marlinchen clutched her GALVANIC MECHAMORPH to her chest and asked what she should believe?"

(PLAYER INPUT: Please leave your thoughts for the toy to pass on, individually, in reply to this page comment. The toy cannot take action directly but can influence Marlinchen by telling her things - advice, suggestions, ordering her to do things, etc. You do not need to discuss as a group; I'll take all the input as a whole and move on after a break for replies - 10 min-ish or after everyone's in)

Re: PAGE 1

[betterserved]

Who cares what—your mother wants? What do you want?

Re: PAGE 1

[glorious]

...You can continue to love your brother, but do watch him closely. If he ever does intend to betray you, you should make certain you know ahead of time so you can plan accordingly.

Re: PAGE 1

[mirroredvalue]

[...This one is kind of complicated and touches on some of my older issues...]

...People are selfish. That's never going to change, so your mom isn't completely wrong. Love's the same too, really. It's easier to like people that like you back, right?

The world isn't a happy place, and you might get betrayed, but... Think it's fine to keep caring about other people. That's the first step to get people to care about you too, after all.

Re: PAGE 1

[primetimehero]

Dude, your mother's got some issues. Look, before you make any judgments about what or what not your brother's gonna do, why not get to know him first? Maybe he won't betray you in life. Like, that's not actually a thing people do unless they're psycho?

Round 3

[dramatispersonae]

The toy you've made has become tattered and dirty, bloodied and stained. It looks up at you with an intelligent, eye, vengeful but deeply loving and protective.

"Will you destroy it, and its damage along with it, and be rid of it? Will you keep it exactly as it is? Will you change it in some way - your choice? Please answer individually. Please. I need as many voices as possible. I need to know the best option. Not just what one person is telling me. Not just what I'm telling myself."

Re: Round 3

[betterserved]

It's not up to us to tell you what the best option is! For the love of—look, you have to decide these sorts of things for yourself, but you aren't alone! There's dozens of people here that will give you suggestions, and help you, and be by your side while you figure it out.

Re: Round 3

[dramatispersonae]

[Go to Endgame]

Re: Round 3

[primetimehero]

. . .


What do you want to do? What do you want to be?

Re: Round 3

[dramatispersonae]

[Go to Endgame]

Re: Round 3

[mirroredvalue]

Won't destroy it, but won't keep it exactly like it is, either. It's been through a lot, so it's important to fix it. It's hurt, and it's helped a lot in its own way, so one should repay the favor and help it, too. That would mean... fix what we can, clean what we can, accept the rest. It's a partner, so you should treat partners really well, so they'll stick with you no matter what. Even if that means some bad stuff's left behind, accepting that and finding a way to help through the injuries is important too.

Re: Round 3

[dramatispersonae]

[Go to Endgame]

Re: Round 3

[glorious]

[...]

What do you want? What does this toy mean for you? What is it a symbol of?

If this toy is the symbol of the pain and the suffering you endeared, then destroying it would not be the answer. Clean and repair it to the best of your abilities, but also take a chance to change it. Keep it's intelligence and it's love, but remove the vengeance from it. Vengeance will do you little good at this point.

But if this toy is only vengeance then...Then it may be time to move on. That does not mean you must forgive or even that you must forget, but vengeance is a heavy weight that makes it difficult to move away from what's happened.

For your own sake, think carefully through what this means for you, and make the decision that allows you to continue moving forward instead of being caught in this terrible, unending loop.