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Choice: Create a children's fable. I picked this topic because it felt pretty open-ended, not to mention I discovered the contest thread late. I'm still discovering a direction to take the story. Most of the examples of children's fables online are really short (like a paragraph long). Due to the storygame branching format, I think it'd be difficult to create an interactive fable. Sure, I could write a story with a few anthropomorphized rabbits and slap a moral to the ending, but I don't think that would be fun for me or for the reader. So, I'm leaning more towards a conversation between an adolescent and mentor. The reader's choices will lead to several topical fables sprinkled throughout the dialogue as well as discovering the relationship between the two main characters. It'll go something like this... It breaks my heart to find you here. I used to be like you, searching for answers that seem on the verge of grasping. I would stretch my arm out, desperately, for anything stable to calm the chaos – even a false truth would have satisfied me as long as it gave me a shred of purpose. And yet I find you here: uncertain of your life and the direction it’s heading. Maybe that’s what caused you to do what you did. Shame, really. You didn’t follow the example set before you. If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t – I didn’t – either. How much wisdom can you expect from someone of your spot in life? No, ultimately, only you know why you do the things you do. What’s that? God? Yes, perhaps we’re all pre-destined to act in accordance with our nature based on a supremely divine, omniscient being. After all, no one blames an untrained puppy for peeing on the floor. It’s their nature to act impulsively before being taught how to conduct themselves. And that’s why you’re here. You lack guidance. You lack a proper teacher. You lack the meaning of life. As fables are used to teach life lessons, I'm going for somewhat of a philosophical, introspective approach in order to give the fables a better platform and setting. I'm finding that adding a page to Mizal's Rift Station: Open Worlds is a fun distraction to keep the words flowing when the contest piece hits a road block...just an idea for my fellow contestants.

Thanks. Yeah, I was going to incorporate a discoverable backstory into it showing how the adolescent and mentor meet. I'm imagining the adolescent to be early teens. That's still a child to me. You should. Feel free to use any of my links too. I'm keeping all my pages open for contributions.

Oh this was supposed to be updated twice a week? I thought it was twice a month...hopefully Bucky buys that. Well, this has by far been the hardest contest for me (4th this year). At least I'm getting to use my other WIP for productive procrastination. I should finish everything on time, if not a little early.