More TWC back here with @spacebrick3 , @arynneva , @superwaywardangel , and @no-url-ideas-tho !!
It’s gonna go downhill from here! Leave tips and tricks for our characters to survive perhaps?
Chapter 3: The Wishful Cursing
After a slight detour that none of the characters will remember at all, the characters discover more blocks, again written with their names.
These blocks were able to be open, though how wasn’t clear. They needed to discover how to open the blocks, what could be inside?
Cayol examined her block, seeing a four-letter combination on it. She tried a few combinations.
FOUR.
CODE.
NOTE.
Cayol sighed but tried one last time, AICE.
The block opened with a small click.
Inside the block was...a box.
Cayol pulled it out and shook her head.
“What material is it?” She asked herself, despite the fact it was clearly wooden, “Well, wood you look at that!”
There was a moment of silence, before everyone sighed.
“What?” Cayol giggled, “Don’t be so hard on me!” She tapped on the hard side of the box as she spoke.
Moving on from Cayol’s puns, the others tried to figure out their puzzles.
“If it’s a bad pun like my name, then it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out, right?” Ion Anec said, looking over his block, it also had a code, though only three letters long.
He shook his block, hearing nothing.
Ellienne Emperaire watched the others with a sigh, “Come on guys! It isn’t that hard!” Somehow, someway, she had already opened her block and was waving it around. Empty, huh?
If that was something to be suspicious of, the others would be required to decide.
“I’m not the traitor!” Ellienne Emperaire suddenly insisted, having realized the subtle insinuations of the narration.
“Notey, you are anything but subtle,” Aspen pointed out bluntly as he was quick to do despite not having even managed to open his block yet. “There’s literally nothing on this block but my name!” He shouted to the empty room.
It wasn’t exactly true, but Aspen wasn’t allowed to know that, he needed to unlock the block first. So did Ion, but at least there was a finite number of combinations for him, only 15600-17576 possible ways.
But would he have the time to figure it all out?
~
That night, when Eli (EST) got online to peek in on the server, they were shocked to see that they were the only admin online! It was a wonder for it to happen, but they didn’t question it much. It was late after all and they should have been asleep ages ago.
They wouldn’t question anything, despite how much questioning was needed.
They didn’t know of the voice call gone wrong, the link that was made, or the TWC.
“So, uh,” Ion started, looking at the black cloud that was now growing, free of the restraints of the white void room. “Should I apologize for that?”
“No,” Aspen answered, “It’s Notey’s fault for not telling giving even the slightest hint that you shouldn’t have opened it.”
“Well, at least now, we’ll probably make some progress?!” Ellienne Emperaire guessed.
“Or not,” Aspen interjected with his otherworldly knowledge, that knowledge being of the world they came from, “Notey’s probably off socializing and too busy to write any action this chapter, if she even writes it at all.”
“You know what I like?” Ellienne Emperaire suddenly said, “Socializing! Which I can’t do here! Gosh, Notey why would you do this to me?”
“But, you’re socializing here with us?” Ion pointed out.
Ellienne Emperaire paused, “Oh, you right, you right, Ion.” Ellienne Emperaire stopped, realizing something.
Ion seemed to realize it too, “Why can’t I say my name?” He asked, “I mean, I can say Ion, but not...Ion?” Ion shook his head and frowned, “This isn’t working.”
“I’m Cayol the Kale, so I don’t really mind,” Cayol offered. “ But, I can say Aspen’s name.”
“Yeah, because it’s the same name!” Aspen shouted, “When’s that going to become plot relevant in this poor excuse for a fanfiction, huh Notey?!”
“...Nowotey, pwease, save us?” Cayol decidedly said.
“Cayol, you’ve just made her more likely to not help us.” Aspen sighed and started to look around. “We’re in a field now, why?” Aspen was growing more and more frustrated. It was like a poorly designed video game in his eyes,
“Maybe,” Ellienne Emperaire offered, “This is all a plot to allow us to redeem the Malformation!” She pointed at the cloud, utterly serious. “So, Mally, tell us,” Ellienne Emperaire leaned forward, “How do you feel today?”
The cloud offered no response other than it’s continually growing state. Ellienne Emperaire sighed and tried to come up with another plan, scanning the group before her before settling on one person. An idea struck here.
“Ion! You’ve written Malformation fanfic! What’s it thinking?” She asked urgently, looking at Ion deadly serious.
Ion took a step back, raising his hands in defense, “It’s an AU, but I had to ask Notey about everything for the Malformation. I’m all for malformation good but…” He eyed the cloud, “Is that even the Malformation?”
“If that’s the Malformation…” Cayol started, “And Notey’s the Malformation...then….” She looked up, “Who’s writing this story?!”
“Plot twist!” Ellienne Emperaire helpfully added. “But, I thought Aspen was the Malformation?”
“I’m a being of chaos, not an entity. There’s a difference.” After answering the question, Aspen began to look around, for anything really.
They were in an empty field, well, mostly empty. Not too far off there was a forest of trees and the opposite way looked far too dangerous to even consider but that didn’t mean they should. After all, this was a novel and the easy way was usually the wrong way.
“Which way do we go?” Ellienne Emperaire asked the group, “I have no idea, since I’m not the traitor and I don’t know how the story’s gonna go!”
“Yeah, yeah, Ellienne Emperaire, we get it. You don’t want us to think you’re the traitor.”
“Ellienne Emperaire, ugh,” Ellienne Emperaire frowned in disgust, “I hate it. Fuck the French and their ‘N’s and ‘E’s and Notey, how dare you give me a name like this!”
“I dunno, Ellienne Emperaire, it’s kind of funny,” Cayol giggled.
“Aspen gets to keep his name! Why?”
“I wish I could tell you,” Aspen muttered. They needed to get back on task, figure out which way to go and what would that do. It was this moment, that Aspen realized something. They still had their blocks and the last time he had thrown something onto the black cloud, he received something from it.
“Okay, I have an idea!” Aspen announced, “Throw your blocks into the cloud.”
“But what if it hurts Mally!!!” Ellienne Emperaire gasped, “We can’t do that!”
“Look, either we stay trapped in here and journey endlessly with no tools of survival or we try to see if we can get something out of this cloud.”
“But...what if the blocks are our tools of survival?” Ion pointed out.
“Ion, at least get rid of the cursed block that gave us this black cloud of ambiguous morality.”
It took a moment, but Ion gave in with a shrug and did his best to throw the empty block into the cloud. It rumbled ominous before spitting something out.
Another box.
Everyone was silent for a moment.
“Oh come ON Notey!” Aspen shouted, “At least develop the plot!”
Ion picked up the box and examined it, “I don’t think we can open this one as easily, but something tells me we shouldn’t damage it.”
“Keep it away from Aspen then,” Cayol warned.
“Wait, Ion,” Ellienne Emperaire started, “How do you know not to break it? Are you the traitor!?”
“He did get a note that he didn’t disclose to anyone,”Aspen muttered.
“I’m not a traitor! I promise!”
No one thought to quickly trust him though.
“Well, whether you’re the traitor or not,” Aspen started, “I want to get back at Notey. Therefore, I’ll be bringing up her mind control kink.”
Aspen’s decisions were not appreciated, despite the fact that his existence was.
“Notey, you’re not allowed to use the narration to sass or compliment me,” Aspen said, again forgetting the fact that he had no power in the realm of the TWC. “Rude. You agreed I was an being of chaos and now you claim I have no power?”
Aspen, despite bringing up fairly valid points was to be ignored, because the black cloud of ambiguous morality was still growing and beginning to cover the sky in size.
“We should leave,” Cayol helpfully offered, “Now.”
“Agreed,” Ellienne Emperaire said, “Nice, safe woods or spooky path that will inevitably lead us to our doom?”
Everyone wanted to go to the nice and safe woods, but they knew what they had to do.
Ellienne Emperaire sighed, beginning to lead the way, “Spooky path that will inevitably lead us to our doom!”
~
The absence of Notey (PST), Aspen (PST), Cole (EST), liv, and Charlie was becoming noticeable. Where had they all gone? School? Work? Had their internet just broken? Despite all these questions, the people were still online, still on Tumblr.
no-url-ideas-tho had still been posting about her projects and her excitement for them.
arynneva was still working away at her worldbuilding and sharing small facts about her work.
writerofwriting had her regular posts rambling incessantly about new projects and ideas.
spacebrick3 had an AU going regularly each morning.
superwaywardangel had his queue and was responding when tagged in things.
My lovely friends: @spacebrick3 , @arynneva , @no-url-ideas-tho , @superwaywardangel are back at it again in Chapter Five!
Want to help them live? Comment with ideas for them to suffer in!
Chapter 5: The Worst Consequences
The room was silent, as the characters watched the black cloud linger at the top of the room.
“What is that?” Cayol asked, hoping to get some kind of answer.
“Yeah, Notey! Tell us!” Ellienne Emperaire shouted. She looked around the room, maybe something else had appeared in the room. The room was still empty, but not so white anymore. The black cloud’s shadow cast it in an eerie gray.
“Notey?” Aspen called out, “Hello? Notey?” He frowned when there wasn’t a response. “Earth to Notey! Did you just get distracted or something?” Aspen sighed and looked at his disc once again. Then at the cloud. He shrugged, why not?
Aspen proceeded to chuck the disc into the cloud.
“ASPEN!” One of the other, more concerned about the mysterious cloud, characters shouted.
The cloud rumbled and something dropped out of it.
A d20. 17. It read.
“What does that mean?” Aspen questioned, rolling his eyes. “Notey’s just fucking with us.”
“Yeah, like c’mon Notey!” Ellienne Emperaire agreed, “You promised us drama, where’s the betrayals! The actions! The fight scenes.”
“Would we have to fight each other?” Ion asked, “Or would there be people for us to fight?”
There was a beat of silence, as everyone looked to the black cloud again.
“I’m getting concerned,” Aspen mumbled, “And why did it give me a dice in return for me throwing my disk at it?” He picked it up, and looked around, “Wait...can I?” Aspen rolled the dice, “Roll for, uh, what is it again?”
“Initiative?” Ellienne Emperaire offered, “I don’t know, I don’t play DnD!”
But, in fact, they had done something. They had done something very bad.
The room rumbled loudly.
Roll for It.
“This is just DnD!” Aspen shouted, getting annoyed.
They had to huddle around the small die, ever so aware of the looming presence of the cloud, just a few feet above them.
“8.” Ion winced at the number. “That’s...not a great roll.”
Ellienne Emperaire grabbed the die next, “You fools, this is how you roll a die,” she said, rolling the die with confidence and flare.
“...10,” Ellienne Emperaire paused, “Well, it’s better than 8.”
“And I got a 12,” Aspen noted, “Well, I hope that’s good.”
“10 as well,” Cayol said. “That’s not much...a total of 40 though.”
The cloud seemed to react to the number. 40. There was a rumble, a loud aching rumble.
Then the walls fell and they weren’t alone.
~
Cap was online again, after ages, hoping to see her friends online.
But liv wasn’t online. Notey (PST) wasn’t online, neither were Aspen (PST) or Cole (EST). Not even Charlie. It was weird, they weren’t in a call or even online, not even Do Not Disturb!
@spacebrick3 , @arynneva , @no-url-ideas-tho , and @superwaywardangel !
Chapter 4: The Wednesday Criminals
Aspen had successfully opened his box, seeing as he had destroyed the box. Inside the box was a disc.
“Goddamnit, Notey,” Aspen muttered, shaking his head, “What am I supposed do with this? I don’t have a CD player!” Aspen, as usual, was preoccupied with things completely unimportant. “Well, fuck you too, Notey.”
Ignoring his rude comments, the focus settled on Ion as he quickly tested out a handful of words he guessed could be correct.
twc?
mal?
val?
The block clicked out and out spilled a dark black cloud.
“That’s...not good,” Ion commented slowly, setting the block down and backing away.
“Is it Mal!Notey?” Ellienne Emperaire asked, “And see, if I was the traitor I would have known not to open it!”
Ellienne Emperaire wasn’t the best at coming up with proof of her not-traitor-ness.
Ellienne Emperaire groaned and crossed her arms, possibly because she was tired or possibly because she had realized that time might be passing outside the world they found themselves in, which meant one thing.
“Oh, fuck my paper!” Ellienne Emperaire shouted before pausing, “Well, honestly I was already procrastinating it so this might as well happen.”
Once the dark cloud had made it’s way out of the small block of Ion’s, he went to go examine it, finding a note inside.
What it read, only Ion would know, seeing as it disappeared after he finished.
Throughout all this, Cayol had been silent, seemingly watching the others figure out their respective problems.
She giggled a bit, that giggle.
Aspen turned around immediately, “Cayol!”
~
WhimsyMimsy got online to see if anyone was in a conference call but no one was.
There’s a long moment of silence as the characters solve the code. The moment is tense and heavy, because clearly it is. Ion has kept a secret for far too long.
“Oh, really?” Cayol said, staring at the paper, then at Ion. “Really?”
Aspen stood, staring at Ion silent. “What the fuck, Ion?” He questioned angrily.
Obvious betrayal was very obvious.
“Uh, sorry?” Ion apologized nervously, taking a large step back.
“You didn’t tell us this?”
“It...didn't seem necessary?”
“And you were assuming I was the traitor,” Ellienne Emperaire scoffed, crossing her arms, “But, Ion! I can’t believe you. I trusted you, I thought you were my friend!”
“I’m like five seconds away from fighting you,” Aspen warned, “And everyone here knows I have very little impulse control.”
Ellienne Emperaire shook her head, “Okay, Okay! Seeing as I’m obviously not the traitor, we should move on and get the hell out of here.”
Aspen sighed loudly, “I’m watching you, Ion, but let’s get into this castle and die already.”
There was a pause before everyone nodded.
They would head into the mysterious castle in hopes of getting the hell out of the TWC.
They would, possibly, because the story had to end next chapter.
“That’s...reassuring?”
“Shut up, Ion!” Someone said, but everyone was similarly upset at him so the specific person who said it didn’t really matter.
Ion sighed but followed behind.
The squad of four headed through the castle, looking through the doors and at the paintings. It seemed very stereotypically spooky.
Not too dark though, because, well.
“Thanks, Notey,” Aspen interrupted the narration, like he usually does.
“Wow, Mal!Notey’s being oddly nice…” Ellienne Emperaire noted, “Maybe…”
“Ellienne Emperaire, don’t.”
“Maybe she’s being nice in order to convince us it’s actually Notey so that we trust her! But, then again, she might actually be Notey?” Ellienne Emperaire started to theorize, “Which is the truth?!”
“Honestly…” Aspen sighed, “I don’t care anymore.” Rude. “That was the intent, Notey!”
“So, Aspen! Do your chaotic powers allow you to figure out things about this mysterious castle.” Ellienne Emperaire asked.
“Well, I think we should go through that door.” Aspen pointed at a large door before them.
Ellienne Emperaire nodded, “Brilliant!”
“Is it because there’s a sign on it that says to enter?” Cayol asked.
“Yeah, pretty much, there’s no reason not to go in,” Aspen shrugged, “Either we wait here or go in.”
“Who goes in first though?” Ellienne Emperaire pointed out.
Everyone slowly turned to look at Ion, who turned to look behind him, as if there was going to be someone there.
There wasn’t.
“Oh,” Ion said, looking back at the group. “I mean…”
“Go in, Ion.”
“Sorry, Ion, it only seems fair?” Cayol offered, softly.
“I guess?” Ion shrugged, “I’ll probably be fine. Notey wouldn’t kill me, would she?”
“Well,” Ellienne Emperaire noted, “Notey wouldn’t, but Mal!Notey? Noteformation….Motey….Matey?” She snickered, “Matey.”
Ion takes a deep breath and enters the room.
There’s silence. Too much silence.
“Notey, fuck you, did you kill Charlie so I couldn’t?” Aspen paused, “Wait, Charlie?”
“Charlie. Charlie?” Ellienne Emperaire repeated over and over again. “Does the room fix the names?” Ellienne Emperaire thought for only a moment, then bolted in. “FREEDOM?!”
The silence was shorter than before.
“Guys! Someone say my name!”
“Liv...Bonbonfant?”
“Fuck you Notey.” Liv Bonbonfant muttered. “It’s safe in here, I think, other than the fact that fact that there’s a really big box in the middle of the room.”
Aspen entered the room, “Fuck the box, I’m staying right here.” He said, sticking to the side right by the door.
Finally, Cole entered, “Aw man, I’m not a cultivated edible plant anymore.” She looked around, “Oh, hey Charlie. Congrats on not dying.”
“Thanks?” Charlie answered weakly.
“Okay, let’s figure out how to murder this box so I can get revenge on Notey for this,” Liv Bonbonfant said seriously.
“I’m not going anywhere near that thing!”
“Come on,” Cole tried to assure him, “It’s Notey, she’s not gonna be able to do that much.”
My lovely friends, @spacebrick3 , @arynneva , @no-url-ideas-tho , @superwaywardangel
Chapter 7: That Wild Concern
As they walked quietly on the path, they realized something. This dark and spooky path was still dark and spooky. Their new pet black cloud of ambiguous morality was still growing.
Or following them, with it’s increasing size, it was difficult to tell. They all hoped that it was the former because if it did have enough sentience to follow them, then that meant it could be the Malformation. It could be evil.
“Notey has been quiet recently,” Cayol nodded, “Narration aside, there’s been not much commentary on our actions.” The others nodded in agreement. It was quiet, too quiet.
Above them, ravens flew past, crowing loudly.
“That’s...ominous,” Ion noted. “But ravens! Ravens are cool.”
“Ravens are cool!” Ellienne Emperaire agreed, “Spooky, but cool.”
Aspen frowned and crossed his arms, “We better get some actual plot development now, I’m getting tired of wandering.”
“How long is this story even gonna be?” Ellienne Emperaire asked, “10 chapters? 20? Is it ever gonna end?”
Ellienne Emperaire’s question was answered quickly, as beyond the trees, there seemed to be a house of sorts.
Well, more like a castle.
“Let’s hope there’s nothing bad in there,” Ion said, “I mean, it is Notey, but…”
“Could we even trust the real Notey?” Aspen pointed out.
When they arrived at the front of the castle, there was something to quickly notice.
A envelope, on the castle door.
It read on it, “The Message Ion Received.” Everyone turned towards him. He had kept the note he received secret but now it seemed it would be revealed.
~
Falling (PST) was suspicious. Aspen (PST) hadn’t responded to any of her messages, not for the past few days. Where had he gone? She had to find out.
First, she asked in #the-void if anyone had spoken to Aspen (PST). That’s when she learned that Notey (PST), Cole (EST), liv, and Charlie also hadn’t been online.
Something was wrong. There was something that needed to be found out.
They had been stuck in the box for ages. It felt like months on end and there wasn’t even a way to know the true length spent here. Aspen wasn’t too bothered, he could easily waste the time by sleeping yet there was one clear issue with the situation. There was no way to write and with the eerie silence, everyone could only wonder what Notey had in store for them. When they decided to talk about the issue, all sitting in a circle using their blocks as chairs. The empty white room was still empty, but more gray than white at this point. “What are we going to do?” Aspen asked simply, “This is getting old. Has Notey abandoned this story already?” “Hey, okay, we can’t be mean to Notey like that,” Ellienne Emperaire pointed out before pausing, “I mean, we can, she’s already trapped us in a box.” “She’s gonna do something,” Ion noted, “She’s Mal!Notey, after all.” “But what does that mean?” Cayol asked aloud, hoping for an answer. There was silence. Complete and utter silence.
