What are the limits of human ingenuity? Usually it is Nature who decides when a species is no longer worthy of continuation, but humans alone are able to truly understand their own limitations. However, understanding what you cannot do is not always enough, and eventually Nature decided to put human ingenuity to the ultimate test. Unfortunately, humanity knew they would fail that test the moment it was revealed. Unable to save themselves, they created something that could: PSYOPS.

Some quick info on the setting: It is generally believed that hominids lost their thick fur around 1.2 million years ago or so, give or take. However, for the sake of this story, Homo neanderthalensis will have thicker body hair than Homo sapiens (not bear-thick, but still thicker). There are two reasons I have chosen to do this: (1) They lived in the colder regions. (2) Homo neanderthalensis appears to have had primitive clothing compared to Homo sapiens; basically just fur capes, while Homo sapiens had more advanced stitching and more tightly tailored clothing (which kept them more warm). So I feel having neanderthals a little more hairy than Homo sapiens is a reasonable liberty for me to take in this story.

As for language and technology, both Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis shared almost identical vocal anatomy where it matters. Despite neanderthals not having left behind nearly as much advanced artwork, they very likely had complex language just like Homo sapiens. As for fire technology, for the purpose of this story I am assuming that different hominid tribes were further advanced than others, irrespective of species. The neanderthal tribe the protagonist comes from has yet to master creation of fire.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Update: Put an End Game link on the same page the Epilogue link is, so you can skip it if you want, since it is so unpopular ;) .

The plague has come.

Humanity's brief moment on the clock of existence is winding down. As the undead slowly replace the living, the experts and leaders of the world have told you to accept this new reality, and survive the best you can.

And worst of all, they didn't tell you of the shame: the shame you feel as you watch your loved ones being torn apart by your own cold, undead hands...

________________________________________________________________

The Story of Count Osmond Jorgensen

There's no price a good man won't pay to save the woman he loves...

It was an unlikely marriage, but still somehow a happy one. Though he barely knew her, Count Osmond Jorgensen counted himself fortunate on the day of his wedding. Talia was more than he could have ever hoped for: beautiful, temperate, and always smiling. Osmond was fully taken, and believed that he would do anything for her. Over the years, he discovered just how far he'd go for the woman he loved.

WARNING: There isn't much by way of blatantly graphic sex in this storygame, but there are plenty of deviant erotic situations, including some pretty rapey ones. If such scenarios disturb you, this storygame probably isn't for you.

At its core, this storygame is a tale of a screwed up BDSM relationship, which you cultivate as the ultimate "sub." The goal of this storygame is to get your boss to engage in as many "unprofessional" acts as possible, and to eventually sway him into falling for you, all without getting fired along the way. If you make the right decisions, the game escalates from event to event, bringing you closer and closer to a relationship with your boss. It's pretty linear, and you'll know for certain if you get the "winning" ending. Let's just say it will involve a leash and some public humiliation. *1/8/2019 Republishing to re-upload background images.

You work in a small law firm, performing both receptionist and data entry roles. Your job is thankless and tedious, but one thing keeps you coming back: your boss, Brandon Wheeler. Aloof and dispassionate, Wheeler exudes a muted but overwhelming power you find irresistible, and you are determined to tame that power, even if it costs you your career.

432Hz Cosmic Music for Sleep & Lucid Dreaming | RAIN in SPACE | Sleeping Music, Dreaming Music

Enchanted Mystery Forest ? Nature Sounds ? 528Hz Background Solfeggio Tone (??)

1 hour of Ambient Fantasy Music | Enchanted Lands - Volume 2

The Lovely Moon: Music for Dreams (relaxing ambient music and cloudscape)

As an aside, this introduced me to AI Dungeon. I suppose I'm a neckbeard, but this happened:

I'm just impressed that the AI immediately shot down my immaturity.

If ever a name-change is needed (perhaps from new degenerates perverting the name), I think the article has a good idea.

It's got to be "grim," but you ought to have some trope-control in there, for lack of a better term.

“'Horror is a story where the protagonist is helpless in the face of a supernatural threat. The protagonist seeks to destroy the supernatural threat in order to save themselves or others, but only when they are forced into a confrontation.'”

"'Dark fantasy is similar to horror in that it is a story where the protagonist is helpless in the face of a supernatural threat. Unlike horror, dark fantasy tends to have a thread of hope running through the story. While at times being helpless, the protagonist generally wins in the end; although the cost (loss of friends/family or even their own innocence) will be great.'"

"'Grimdark is a story where the protagonist faces a supernatural threat, but s/he isn’t helpless against their adversary. Rather than run from the supernatural threat, the grimdark protagonist actively seeks to subvert or control it.'" [...] "One reason grimdark stands out from other subgenres in speculative fiction because, 'the antagonist can be as relatable, or if not more so, than the protagonists. And, you never know if the villain is going to be defeated or the book will end with the world in a worse shape than when it first started.'"

"In all, grimdark can be summarized as: 'a subgenre or a way to describe the tone, style, or setting of speculative fiction (especially fantasy) that is, depending on the definition used, markedly dystopian or amoral, or particularly graphic in its depiction of violence. In most grimdark literature the supernatural is a passive force, controlled by humans—unlike supernatural horror where the preternatural forces are most often an active entity with agency,' (Frohock, 2015). It should be mentioned that the violence depicted in grimdark include: rape, dismemberment, death, torture, all types of abuse, sacrifice, regicide, dark magic, vengeance, etc. This subgenre is not meant for everyone. If you cannot handle more than a few scenes of this sort of violence, then grimdark is NOT for you."

"Of course, we could work it out if there were a line-up of monkeys, but in this case, we can't say for sure if there are one, two, or several monkeys."

So they can't establish who the perps are. But most likely this is a well-organized guerrilla military campaign.

The beginnings of the second inter-species war...